it was frigid and windy, and Mom said she didnât want me to die of pneumonia.
So FunJungle it was. We had to take some precautions,though. For example, I couldnât go in through the back gate as usual. That was staffed by FunJungle security, and Marge had put out an all points bulletin for me.
Instead I walked right in through the main entrance. There were security personnel posted there, but they just searched through guestsâ bags to make sure no one was bringing anything dangerous into the park, like weapons or fireworks. They werenât really part of Margeâs platoon of guards, and they were so focused on everyoneâs belongings they rarely looked at anybodyâs face.
Marge hadnât posted anyone at the front entrance to keep an eye out for me. Most likely she assumed that I wouldnât come through the front gates because you needed a ticket to get through themâand tickets were expensive. However, all park employees got a few free passes every year. (Technically, these counted as bonus pay, although Dad always grumbled about them. âIn the first place, they donât cost J.J. McCracken a thing to give away,â heâd say, âso itâs not like heâs giving us money. And second, what good is a free pass to a place that we work at anyhow?â) The passes were ostensibly for us to give to family and friends, but none of our family had visited yet, so we had a wad of them sitting unused in a kitchen drawer.
It was more than two miles to loop around the park to the front gates. Dad went with me, though we split up in the main parking lot. Dad went through the front employeeentrance, while I fell in with a group of schoolkids. Another part of J.J. McCrackenâs plan to increase attendance at FunJungle was to offer big discounts to schools (which also allowed the PR department to claim FunJungle was âa major supporter of educationâ). On this particular morning, there were a dozen yellow buses discharging students at the front gates. Given the cold weather, half the kids had pulled the hoods of their jackets up over their heads, so I did the same. Since I didnât have a bag with me, the bag checkers waved me past without even a glance. I was through the front gates in less than a minute.
I kept the hood on and joined back up with Dad by the FunJungle Friends Theater. (This had been the Henry and Pals Theater back when Henry the Hippo had still been alive, but FunJungle had renamed it, for obvious reasons.) Dad had hoped to leave me with Mom in her office all day, but when we got close to Monkey Mountain, we saw several of Margeâs minions posted by the doors.
âLooks like the heat is on,â Dad sighed. âMarge must have realized by now that we sent her on a wild-goose chase. Guess youâre spending the day with me.â
âI canât,â I said. âYou have to see your friend about the security recordings, and thatâs inside the administration building. Admin has more security than any other building at FunJungle.â
Dad frowned. âI canât just leave you alone.â
âIâll be fine,â I said. âBesides, Iâm probably easier to spot with you than without.â
âHowâs that?â
âThis place is crawling with schoolkids today,â I explained. âIf I stay close to a school group, no one will look twice at me. But if Iâm only with you, weâll stand out. If security knows to look for me, theyâll probably be looking for you, too.â
Dad waffled a few moments, but he ultimately realized I was right. âYour motherâs probably going to kill me for this,â he sighed. âBe careful. This is a big park. It shouldnât be too hard for you to keep some distance from the guards. And youâre right about the schoolkids. Try to blend in with them if you can.â He pointed toward a large, rowdy crowd of students my age gathered
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