Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods Page A

hope,” she’d replied.
    They made it sound like the flu.
    The Reindeer parents have a rule about no cell phones until you’re twelve. But because I knew they felt sorry for me, I thought maybe they might make an exception. Parent pity just might work in my favor. “Can I please get a cell phone?” I’d begged at dinner. “That way, Quincy and I can text each other.” I glanced from Daddy to Mom, hoping at least one of them would weaken, but they remained parent-allies.Not even pity could make them break their cell-phone rule.
    â€œCan I use yours sometimes?” I’d asked Jade.
    Jade cracked up laughing. “You can’t be serious. As if . . .”
    The only thing that really changed at the Wonderland was Daddy taught me how to use the register. But mostly it wasn’t teaching because I already knew from watching him and Grandpa all this time. It was pretty easy, and after a while he started letting me ring stuff up for customers and even count out the change.
    And that’s where I was when the tall man from Madagascar came back to the Wonderland. Because it was a warm day, the door was propped wide open. Quietly, he ducked inside. The T-shirt he wore had the word CURIOSITY printed on it.
    Just like before, it was a Saturday morning, and also just like before, Daddy wasn’t there. This time, he’d gone to a plant show at the botanical gardens in Arcadia. But unlike before, Grandpa Reindeer was outside, asleep in the hammock, one leg dangling off, the book he’d been reading resting on his chest.
    The tall man smiled, showing both his top and bottom teeth. “Hello again, young lady.”
    Young lady is not a name, I thought. “Zoe,” I informed him.
    â€œHello, Zoe. I’m Ben . . . Ben Rakotomalala.”
    I’d never heard a last name like that before. I tried to pronounce it but couldn’t. “Rakoto . . . huh?”
    â€œRakotomalala,” he repeated. “Actually one of the shorter names in Madagascar and quite common. Most people call me Ben.”
    Seeing him again made me instantly un-forget about the baobabs. Since the day I’d planted the seeds, I’d completely ignored them. They hadn’t even been watered. And Quincy hadn’t reminded me. I suppose both of our minds had been on other things. As soon as the man leaves, I promised myself, I’ll head to the greenhouse.
    â€œWe still don’t have any baobab trees,” I told him. “And I asked my daddy, but he didn’t want to buy any, so my friend and I bought some seeds and I planted them, so we should have some pretty soon, maybe.”
    My Zoe shyness is never completely gone. Sometimes, like lint in the dryer, there’s a huge wad of it, and other times, there’s only enough to make a small ball of lint fluff. Right now, probably because I liked the tall man, there was only a little fluff.
    â€œSo Zoe is an entrepreneur?”
    I didn’t know what an entrepreneur was, but I felt ashamed to ask, so I just shrugged. “Spoze so?”
    â€œDidn’t see you at the open house we had at JPL last week.”
    â€œOh. I forgot all about it, plus I’m not really into science. My brother, Harper, he’s the scientist. He knows a whole bunch of stuff.”
    â€œBut you’re the imaginer?”
    Because he was right, I nodded.
    â€œImagination is sometimes more valuable than having a head full of facts. Without imaginers, it’s likely we’d still be living in caves. Imaginers and adventurers can change the world.”
    â€œBut I’m not an adventurer,” I told him.
    â€œI’ll be right back. I have something for you!” he exclaimed as he dashed outside.
    Through the open door, I peeked as he rummaged through his car’s trunk. On the back of his T-shirt was a picture of a telescope. “Rakotomalala,” I whispered.
    Seconds later, he slammed the trunk