Chapter 2: THE NEXT DESTINATION

“PET!” Finn cried, rushing toward the front of the camper. “I knew you’d come back. Molly, give me my seat.”

“This time it’s Molly’s turn to drive,” PET said. “Fair is fair.”

Finn flopped into the passenger seat. “Well, fine. But remember, next time it’s my turn.”

“Buckle up, kids,” PET said. “Molly has chosen our next destination.”

“I didn’t choose anything!” Molly said.

“Where are we going?” Finn asked.

“That’s for me to know, and you to find out,” PET said.

The dashboard screen lit up in every color of the rainbow. Molly and Finn grabbed on to their armrests tightly. (Even when you’re excited about something, you can still be afraid.) The camper started to hum, then it started to shake. There was a near-blinding flash of white light, and they were off!

Molly squeezed her eyes shut, but she opened them when Finn called out, “Hey! Look!”

A flock of birds with royal-blue and reddish-brown feathers flew by the windshield. “Oh, those are eastern bluebirds,” Molly said. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

They sailed over a trio of waterfalls, fields of green, and trees….

“I think those are apple trees!” Molly cried.

“Look over there! Is that the ocean?” Finn asked.

“Wow, I think so!”

“Cool!”

But pretty soon the ocean wasn’t in sight anymore. All they saw were buildings, and more buildings, and even more buildings. And then the camper landed with a jolt.

Molly still had questions for PET, but she didn’t get a chance to ask them. “I’ll be back when your work here is done,” PET said. With that, the screen went blank. The camper doors swung open. Molly and Finn quickly undid their seat belts and jumped down onto the asphalt.

“Where are we?” Finn asked.

Molly looked around. PET said she’d picked the destination, but so far she couldn’t tell what it was. They were standing in an alley, in the shadow of tall buildings. In the distance, there were muffled sounds of tires screeching and horns honking. When Molly turned toward the camper again, it had disappeared.

She looked over at Finn. “Uh, Finn,” she started. “You’re not going to like this.” She pointed to something on her brother’s shirt.

Finn felt his heart beat a little faster as he looked down. Gone were his plaid pajamas. In their place were blue jeans and a white-and-navy-pinstripe baseball jersey.

“Are you okay?” Molly asked.

“I’m a traitor is what I am,” Finn said. He turned around. “What’s on my back?”

“The number two,” Molly said. “And then over that it says ‘Jeter.’ ”

“Ugh,” Finn said. “Jeter. One of the best shortstops in history and a five-time World Series champion.”

“That sounds pretty good.”

“But he didn’t play for any of my favorite teams,” Finn said. “He played for the Yankees—the New York Yankees.”

Finn reached up to the top of his head to feel for what he knew was there—a baseball cap. He almost couldn’t bear to look at it, but when he did…

Phew!

It was his trusty Little League Moonwalkers cap. He put it back on and folded his arms across his chest, covering up as much of the blue and white as possible. He’d walk around like this all day if he had to.

Molly spun around in delight. “We’re in New York!” she cried with glee. “The Big Apple! The City That Never Sleeps! The Empire State!” She paused. “Wait. What am I wearing?”

She looked down at her own clothes: black leggings, pink high-tops, and a white T-shirt with the famous logo I NY.

“I’m going to have to buy some new clothes,” Finn said.

“I don’t have any money,” Molly said. “Do you?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Listen,” Molly said sternly. “The magic worked. We’re going to have our next big adventure—that’s way more important than clothing.”

Finn let his arms fall to his sides. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s figure out what our work is.”