فصل پانزدهم

chapter-15

“Everybody, please take your seats,” Dr. Zinchenko said to the parents gathered in a conference room at the Parker House Hotel.

“When do our kids come home?” asked one of the mothers.

“Rose has soccer at two,” said another.

The librarian nodded. “Mr. Lemoncello will—”

Just then, an accordion-panel door at the far end of the room flew open, revealing the eccentric billionaire dressed in a bright purple tracksuit and a plumed pirate hat. He was eating a slice of seven-layer birthday cake.

“Good morning or, as they’re currently saying in Reykjavik, gott síodegi, which means ‘good afternoon,’ because there is a four-hour time difference between Ohio and Iceland, a fact I first learned spinning a globe in my local library.” Mr. Lemoncello, his banana shoes burp-squeaking, stepped out of a room filled with dozens of black-and-white television monitors—the kind security guards watch at their workstations.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this grand and auspicious day. Today I am pleased to announce the most marvelously stupendous game ever created: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library! The entire library will be the game board. Your children will be the game pieces. The winner will become famous all over the world.” “How?” asked one of the fathers.

“By starring in all of my commercials this holiday season. TV. Radio. Print. Billboards. Cardboard cutouts in toy stores. His or her face will be everywhere.” Mrs. Daley raised her hand. “Will they get paid?”

“Oh, yes. In fact, you’ll probably want to call me The Giver.”

“And what exactly does Haley have to do to win?”

“Escape! From the library. I thought the game’s title more or less gave that bit away.” Mr. Lemoncello tapped a button in his pirate hat and an animated version of the library’s floor plan was instantly displayed on the conference room’s plasma-screen TVs.

“Whoever is the first to use what they find in the library to find their way out of the library will be crowned the winner. Now then, the children cannot use the front door or the fire exits or set off any alarms. They cannot go out the way they went in. They can only use their wits, cunning, and intelligence to decipher clues and solve riddles that will eventually lead them to the location of the library’s super-secret alternate exit. And, ladies and gentlemen, I assure you, such an alternate exit does indeed exist.” The parents around the table started buzzing with excitement.

“Participation, of course, will be purely optional and voluntary,” said Mr. Lemoncello, clasping his hands behind his back and stalking around the room.

Several parents pulled out cell phones.

“And please—do not attempt to phone, email, text, fax, or send smoke signals to your children, encouraging them to enter the competition. We have blocked all communication into and out of the library. Only those who truly wish to stay and play shall stay and play. Anyone who chooses to leave the library will go home with lovely parting gifts and a souvenir pirate hat very similar to mine. They’ll also be invited to my birthday party tomorrow afternoon.” He held up his crumb-filled plate. “I’ve been sampling potential cake candidates for breakfast.” Mrs. Keegan crossed her arms over her chest. “Will this game be dangerous?”

“No,” said Mr. Lemoncello. “Your children will be under constant video surveillance by security personnel in the library’s control center. Dr. Zinchenko and I will also be monitoring their progress here in my private video-viewing suite. Should anything go wrong, we have paramedics, firefighters, and a team of former Navy SEALs—each with the heart of a samurai—standing by to swoop in and rescue your children. It’ll be like The Hunger Games but with lots of food and no bows or arrows.” “Why not just have the kids play one of your other games?” a parent suggested. “Why all this fuss?” “Because, my dear friends, these twelve children have lived their entire lives without a public library. As a result, they have no idea how extraordinarily useful, helpful, and funful—a word I recently invented—a library can be. This is their chance to discover that a library is more than a collection of dusty old books. It is a place to learn, explore, and grow!” “Mr. Lemoncello, I think what you’re doing is fantastic,” said one of the mothers.

“Thank you,” said Mr. Lemoncello, bowing and clicking his heels (which made them bruck like a chicken).

“If any of you would like to check up on your children,” announced Dr. Zinchenko, “please join us in the adjoining room.” “Oh, they’re a lot of fun to watch,” said Mr. Lemoncello. “However, Mr. and Mrs. Keeley, I’m afraid your son Kyle does not enjoy the theme song from Rocky quite as much as I do!”