7 Riddles to Nowhere by A.J. Cattapan

Author:A.J. Cattapan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: education, school, catholic, riddles, puzzles, middle grade, cattapan
Publisher: vinspirepublishing

Chapter Twenty-one

The couple at the next table threw away their wrappers and headed out. The sub shop was now empty except for the four friends and the teenage boy manning the counter. He was whistling softly as the four approached. With no customers to wait on, he entertained himself by placing a quarter on his upturned elbow and then flipping his arm down to catch the quarter in his hand.

“Excuse me.” Analyn used her sweetest voice. “Do you happen to have a back exit?”

The boy dropped the quarter. “Ah man, I was going for a record—fifteen in a row.”

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to break your record.”

The boy’s pimply face reminded Kam of a pepperoni pizza. “That’s okay. Miguel’s way better than me anyway. He can do a whole stack of quarters on his elbow and catch them all with one hand. What was it you wanted?”

“A back exit. Do you have one?”

“Of course we got one. Gotta have it for safety reasons. You know, fire codes and stuff. Plus, it’s where I take out the trash.”

“Do you think we could use it?”

“Ah, the boss man doesn’t like strangers back by the kitchen. You know, health codes and stuff.”

“We wouldn’t touch anything in the kitchen. We just need to get out of here, you know…” Analyn lowered her voice. “Unnoticed.”

Pimple Face bent toward Analyn and imitated her voice. “Unnoticed?”

“Yeah.” Analyn kept her voice low. “We’ve got some old guys following us.” She pointed over her shoulder toward the window.

The boy grinned. “What, are you like some spy kids?” He gave a short, nervous laugh. “Like in those movies.”

Vin crossed his arms. “Listen, buddy, it’s a matter of national security. Do you really want to be responsible for the downfall of civilization as we know it?”

The boy stopped laughing. Vin could look pretty serious in his button-down shirt. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place? C’mon.” He waved with his hand. “The boss man’s out on lunch break. He’ll never know.”

He led the four past a small kitchen with a large sink. Beyond it was a door with a red “EXIT” sign. It opened before the teenage boy could push the metal bar.

On the other side of the door, a burly man wiped a hand on his grease-stained t-shirt. “Roger!” the man yelled. “What are these kids doing…?”

“Run, kids, run,” Pimple Face screamed, pushing the four kids past the burly man.

Kam and company didn’t hesitate. They skittered around the man, who stood with his hand holding the door open and his mouth gaping.

“This way.” Vin pointed down the narrow alley behind the row of shops. They took off, running.

“Save the world!” Pimple Face shouted.

“Thanks,” Analyn yelled back.

They could hear the burly man yelling at Pimple Face behind them, but they kept their eyes on the end of the alley ahead.

When they came out on the main street, Analyn asked, “Where are we?”

“Division Street,” Vin pointed to a street sign, “which means St. Stanislaus should be a couple blocks this way and then a left on Noble.

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