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Man, was Schneider always such a spazzy cheerleader? All that encouragement seemed suspiciously over the top. Or maybe it's normal for him. I really have no idea. Since I essentially just met him a minute ago.

Amnesia, Part I was bad enough, but Amnesia, Part II is full-on loathsome.

Later Decided it was a bit too late in the day to make a social call to Schneider's grandma, so instead I went to re-meet Jakey and apologize for not saying bye when I left to go be Molly. One nice thing about that kid is, if you ever need to apologize to him, you don't really need to do it out loud.

I apologized out loud, anyway. I thought it was better manners.

JAKEY:.

Don't worry about it. Wow, you have a lot more in your mind these days. And...also a lot less. Too bad about Amnesia, Part II. Good thing you keep that notebook, huh.

ME:.

Huh. Anything interesting?

J:.

Eh, the ponies sound cool, but the rest of the Molly stuff is kind of...kind of not you.

ME:.

Yeah. Pretty glad I turned out not to be her.

J:.

What about your dress, though?

Me: .

Huh?

J:.

Don't you think it's kind of, uh, unusual that you could fit all that stuff in the pockets?

ME:.

I guess.

J:.

[Looking awkward.] Sorry to be nosy. It's just, I'm supposed to be on the lookout for, uh, you know, unusual stuff. For Attikol.

ME:.

[Getting nervous.] Why would Attikol care?

And that's when I heard all about Attikol's fascination with the Magical World of Magic. Apparently he fancies himself quite the Mystical Dude, although he has absolutely no unusual talents aside from whatever a boatload of money can buy. He believes, get this, that many, many generations ago, his ancestors were robbed of their Great Mystical Power, and it is his DESTINY, handed down through a long line of rich jerks much like himself, to find and steal back the secret source of this power. Oh, my. I have to admit that did cheer me up quite a bit. Nothing like a belly laugh at someone else's expense to chase away the Amnesia Blues.

Then, of course, Jakey told me the sad part, which is that he hasn't seen his mother since he was a year old, because Attikol keeps him traveling from town to town, looking for that magical something.

ME:.

But what are you looking for, exactly?

J:.

Anything...unusual, I guess. Some kind of magical recipe in someone's mind, or whatever.

ME:.

[Feeling uncomfortable.] Are you going to tell him about my dress?

J:.

[Looking uncomfortable.] Um, well, I don't know, I mean, I probably SHOULD...

ME:.

[Feeling even more uncomfortable. Giving Jakey a "Don't Betray Your Only Friend" look.]

J:.

[Looking SUPER uncomfortable.] Uh, well, it's probably not what he's looking for, anyway. I guess.

ME:.

[Somewhat relieved.] Yeah, no point bugging him about a little old DRESS, right?

J:.

[Looking very relieved.] Yeah, no point talking to him about ANYTHING if I don't really have to.

Um, CREEPY!

I am feeling kind of afraid of Attikol right now.

Also, poor Jakey. Eight-ninths of his life on an adventure he doesn't want to be on. I mean, my adventure has only been twenty days long, and that's about twenty days too long for me.

Day 21 EXCELLENT RESEARCH TODAY.

OK. I FINALLY went upstairs to visit Schneider's grandma, the town vet. More on her later, but let me just say that she is INSANE!!! And get this, the entire attic of the El Dungeon is packed with Emma LeStrande's belongings, which used to be all set up in the Old Museum before the Mayor started holding slide shows and personal parties in there. And Mrs. Schneider, I mean Hilda, got all agitated when she saw me at her door, and even though I really couldn't understand a word she was saying, it was pretty obvious she wanted me to follow her up to the attic right away, which was pretty exciting in a kind of scarytale theater sort of way, like she was going to trap me in a giant birdcage, fatten me, and then eat me. So I followed her up there, and got to check out all that crazy lady's crazy stuff-crazy Emma, not crazy Hilda-but more on that later too. Right now I gotta tell you about this book. It was lying out on display on Emma's coffee table. It was a sc.r.a.pbook of photos and news clippings going back decades. I sat down and started flipping through it and here is a list of the amazing things I have learned: [image]

1. I look like Emma LeStrande!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. I look a LOT like Emma LeStrande!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. It is very unnerving, when you have amnesia and don't even know your own name, to keep encountering people who look just like you. Wonder if I could get a little break from the constant doppelganger action?

4. Emma founded this town about seventy years ago with the idea that it would be a getaway spot for oddball world travelers like herself. Her friends, in other words.

5. Back then, there were just two buildings in Blackrock: the El Dungeon and the bus depot.

6. About twenty years ago, this dude showed up, bought a plot of land from Emma, and built the junk-mail plant and City Hall, and called himself mayor. As they say, the rest is history.

7. As years went by and the mayor's friends moved in, Emma sold everything except this building and the plot of land the minipark is on.

8. About 13 years ago, this building was actually wrapped in burlap, then drowned in plaster, and then painted beige. Thus its horrid shapelessness. No info on who did it, though evidence is pointing toward the mayor.