Paige Not Found by Jen Wilde

Author:Jen Wilde
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Either the Astoria roads are extra bumpy on the way to school the next morning, or Paige’s stomach has worked itself into a mess of knots and twists and pretzel-shaped anxiety. She hardly slept a wink. Her mind replayed the fight in the cafeteria like it was a video stuck on loop. It only paused to remind her that she probably came out to her parents, and oh yeah, today she’s going to risk detention and miss the field trip to face off with an evil billionaire who’s trying to control her mind.

No big deal.

Paige runs her fingers down the rough material of her lanyard. She doesn’t usually wear it to school, but it’s field trip day and her parents and Ms. Penny prefer her to wear it in case she gets lost and needs assistance. The lanyard is black with rainbow infinity symbols on it, the symbol for Autistic Pride, and attached at the end is a little notecard with all her important information on it—that she’s autistic, her parents’ contact information, allergies, asking people not to force eye contact and saying that sometimes she doesn’t speak much when she’s too overwhelmed.

Today, Paige packed some extra things in her sensory fanny pack, too. She has the usual things, like her mini-rainbow pop-it, a fidget spinner, a lime-green dinosaur mini Squishmallow she named Sir Squishalots, hand sanitizer, Advil, and a spare set of earplugs in case she loses the ones she’s already wearing. She’s added two of her favorite peanut butter Kind bars and a packet of the Liquid IV her mom makes her drink to stay extra hydrated—the chances of today being the most stressful day of her life are very high, so she wants to make sure she has snacks to keep her strength up—plus four hot-pink USB sticks for downloading whatever Nucleus secrets they find, and lastly, a small canister of pepper spray her mom gave her when she turned eleven.

“This is strictly for emergencies,” her mom had said, treating the pepper spray like it was a precious jewel or family heirloom being handed down to her. “But you’re getting older now. You’re riding your bike around, and we live in the city. You’ve got to be ready to protect yourself.”

As the bus hits a pothole, Paige’s stomach leaps into her throat, and she cradles her bag in her arms, feeling the pepper spray inside. Her mother’s words echo in her mind.

You’ve got to be ready to protect yourself.

Well, she has a plan. She has her team. She has her bag of weapons and support needs. It might not be as glamorous as Realm of Wonders. She doesn’t look like KingPaige, androgynous, short-haired, draped in a cool, mysterious-looking cloak. She’s just Paige, a white girl-but-not-a-girl. A queer, nonbinary, almost-teenager, with brown hair that feels much too long even though it’s barely past her shoulders, and an obsession with dinosaurs. She doesn’t have a coven made up of witches or elves or orcs, or even her best friend, MarLord.

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