Annie
studied herself in the mirror. She looked ridiculous, but she knew her mother
would be happy. It had been her idea to sign Annie up for this experience in
the first place. Glancing once more at her leather jacket and fedora hat, she
walked out of the dressing room.
Her mother’s
brilliant smile greeted her. “Oh, honey, your costume is amazing!”
Annie tried
hard not to roll her eyes. “Are you sure this is necessary? I feel a little like
Indiana Jones. Couldn’t I have just stayed in my shorts and T-shirt?”
“Of course
not. The director says that the costume is part of the experience.” Her mom
pulled her in for a hug. “Good luck!” She gave Annie a gentle push toward the
director.
Resigning
herself to this ‘once in a lifetime experience,’ she went to stand next to the
director, who brightened when he saw that she was now in costume. “Very good.
Now remember, you’re an archaeologist looking for the treasure in the cursed
mummy’s tomb.”
“Cursed?”
Annie asked in surprise.
“Yes. You
want an adventure, right? Well, we’ve got to make this interesting.”
“How will I
know what to do? Do I have lines to remember or anything?”
The
director shook his head and smiled. “Just go with the flow. We have all our
trained actors on the other side of this door.” He pulled a curtain aside to
reveal a bright yellow door with a neon green trim. “All you need to do is let
yourself become a part of the adventure.” With another smile, he opened the door.
The only
thing Annie could see through the door was blackness. “Um, I can’t see
anything.” She would do a lot for her mother, but standing alone in the dark
wasn’t one of them.
The
director put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve got to go inside for it to start.
As soon as the door closes behind you, everything will become clear.” He gently
guided her to the open door.
Trying hard
not to panic, Annie reluctantly drew closer to the darkness. When she reached
the door, she hesitated. Could she really do this? She took a small step back,
but the director was surprisingly strong. With a shove, she found herself inside
the pitch darkness as the door closed behind her with a click. “Hey!” she
screamed. “Let me out!”
She ran
back to where she thought the door was, but she couldn’t find it. She threw her
hands out in front of her, but she didn’t feel anything. She screamed, “Get me
out of here! I can’t see!”
A blast of
hot air washed over Annie. Great. Now she was blind and hot. She had to
get out of there before she melted. She turned toward where the air was now
blowing from. Was that a light?
Far away, a
small speck of light had appeared in the gloom. As she watched, the small dot
of light got bigger. It grew brighter and brighter until she had to cover her
eyes. The intensity of the light blinded her almost as much as the darkness had.
Finally,
she opened her eyes and was astounded to find herself in the middle of a
blistering desert. Where was the door? She quickly spun around, but there was
no sign of it. However, she did see what appeared to be a small campsite with a
few tents and camels. Behind them was a massive pyramid. Her jaw dropped. Everything
looked so real. Was she actually in Egypt?
A group of
people at the campsite spotted her and one of the figures ran toward her. As he
grew closer, she could see that he was dressed similarly to how she was
dressed. This must be the start of the adventure, then. How much had her mom
paid for this? The amount of detail around her was so incredible, it all felt
real. When the man reached her, he held out his hand. “Welcome to Egypt!” he
cried cheerfully. “You must be Annie. I’m Cody. Are you ready for a grand
adventure?”
Sweat
trickled down the back of Annie’s neck. This was too much. “I-I don’t know if I
can do this.” She glanced around her. “I think I want to go back now. Where’s
the way out of here?”
Cody looked
at her with compassion. “The only way out is forward, I’m afraid. Didn’t they
explain anything to you?”
Annie shook
her head emphatically. “No. No one told me that it would be like this. I
expected to be like an actor in a play on a stage. I didn’t agree to somehow
travel to Egypt.” She was starting to get angry now. “It’s also like a thousand
degrees out here!”
Cody
cleared his throat nervously. “They didn’t tell you that this was a magical
adventure?”
Annie let
out her breath in exasperation. “Right, magic.” Did he really expect her to
believe in magic? “I’m ready to leave now. If this is a magical adventure, then
you can just magic me out of here.” She folded her arms and waited for
something to happen, but Cody just watched her.
“That’s not
how it works, I’m afraid. Why don’t you follow me back to camp? Let’s figure
out how to get the treasure out of the pyramid, and then you can go home.” He
gestured back to the campsite.
Annie
couldn’t believe this was happening. She didn’t move for a minute as she wondered
about what she should do. Realizing that she didn’t have any other choice, she
took a step across the sands.
Cody patted
her shoulder as he walked next to her. “Don’t worry. This will be fun.” His
smile had reappeared.
He started
talking about the expedition, but all Annie could think about was getting out
of here. When this was over, she had a few things to say to her mother.
