And Riley loved every minute of it.
As far back as she could remember, this was right where she wanted to be.
But there was another place she wanted to be, too.
Tonight, after years of wishing and longing, it was finally going to happen.
Riley was going to Auntie Athena’s West Hollywood Nursery, the famed Hollywood Haven for Littles like her.
Just a few hours to go, and she’d finally be living that dream. She just needed to get through the next take first, have a quick meeting with her agent, and then she’d get ready for that magical space.
It was coming soon, she told herself.
Only a few more hours. Just hold on…
Chapter Two
“Look out!”
The Little shouted the warning about two seconds before they would have mowed over Briggs Mullaney if he hadn’t dashed out of the way just in the nick of time.
He nearly fell to the ground, staggering several steps, unable to regain his footing for a few long seconds. Unfortunately, he was stumbling in the direction of the scaffolding he’d just erected against the historic mansion that housed Auntie Athena’s nursery. And the scaffolding had buckets of paint on it.
In his mind, he could see it all: he’d fall into the scaffolding, it would fall over sending the paint onto him and the surrounding lawn and nearby porch.
Thankfully, though, his feet steadied about an inch away from disaster.
Another disaster was unfolding, though.
The Little—and the rocket they were driving—seemed out of control.
Normally, the gate that stretched across the driveway was closed, keeping uninvited guests from visiting the unique establishment. But today it was wide open as Briggs brought his work truck in and unloaded all his stuff.
He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Had the gate been closed, the rocket would have most likely crashed into it. And as fast as it went, that could have been awful!
Open, though, presented another problem.
The Little was in the street now, in the middle of busy West Hollywood!
“Crap,” Briggs said, taking off across the yard and onto the driveway. The small decline gave him an extra boost of speed as he descended the smooth pavement and came out onto the road. Turning left, he could still see the go-kart as it zig-zagged all over the road, reminding Briggs of a pinball bouncing around a machine’s board.
It nearly collided into a parked Mercedes on the right curb. The Little was able to steer away from it, but that sent them to the left where the nose of a moving van stuck out of a driveway.
“Whoa!”
The Little’s exclamation reached Briggs’s ears even from a distance.
Poor cutie. They were probably terrified. He hadn’t gotten a chance to see who was behind the wheel. Athena had a packed house today, so it could be any number of Littles who were hanging around, getting into mischief.
But this was more than just harmless fun. It was clear the rocket was out of control. This wasn’t just a case of a Little being naughty and taking the vehicle out for a spin.
Something was wrong.
Briggs pumped his legs harder. His ankles started to hurt as his feet pounded the pavement, reminding him he wasn’t as young as he used to be.
It wasn’t that he was old, exactly. Just forty-one. But at times like this he felt every one of those years.
Ahead, it looked as if the rocket was slowing down. Good! That would give him the advantage he needed.