The Train of Lost Things by Ammi-Joan Paquette

Author:Ammi-Joan Paquette
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-03-20T04:00:00+00:00

13

WHAT IF YOUR IMAGINATION COULD FILL YOUR STOMACH?

They found Star in the car below. She seemed to be waiting for them, standing between a lamp shaped like a smiling squash (a label on its base said SOPHIE) and an action-figure kangaroo. Star stood so the lamp’s yellow glow lit her up, from her pink polka-dot tights to her long gray sweater to the jaunty orange scarf looped around her neck. Her mouth had a faint green ring around it, but Marty didn’t have the chance to wonder about that for long, because Dina came at her with question-guns firing.

“You say you run the train? Prove it. What do you know? How did you get here? What’s up with all the mess everywhere? Are you really that bad at stuff?”

For a second Star looked ready to run away again, so Marty said, quickly and super gently, “Don’t go. We just want to know more about you.”

Star’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, okay,” she said. “I’m not exactly in charge. But I’ve been here for ages. I’m trying my best. The train is . . . stubborn or something? Just . . . Somebody’s gotta run things ever since . . .” She swallowed.

Marty and Dina exchanged a look.

“Since what?” Marty asked, before Dina could bark at her and muddy the mood.

Star sighed. “Since the last driver left.”

“Left?” yelped Dina.

Star looked up suddenly, considering them. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

Marty thought of the granola bar he’d eaten back at the train station. It seemed like ages ago, and his stomach growled at the prospect of food. But more than anything, he really wanted to keep searching for his jacket.

“We don’t have time to sit down for a story,” Dina said, obviously on the same track as Marty. “We’ve got searching to do, stuff to find.”

“Can’t you tell us as we search?” he cut in.

“Nope. If you want to know what I know, you’ll have to come along. I haven’t eaten for hours and I’m starved.”

They could have just left her, Marty supposed. But a quick glance at Dina showed that she was thinking like him: Star had information. She probably had answers to questions they didn’t even know they had. And as any good finder knows, the best way to get to what you’re looking for is to first make sure you know everything there is to know about your search. So they set off after Star.

Thankfully, she didn’t walk far. In between the car they were in and the one up ahead was a little round cab. Star pushed expertly inside, where they found a cozy room arranged with a few sets of tables and chairs, and a couch-and-loveseat area. If there’d been a TV, Marty thought, the room would have been pretty much perfect. Not that they’d want to watch any shows right now (magical train and all that) but it would have been nice to have the option.

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