8. Number 812

Chapter 8 Number 812 A man in a white coat stepped out from behind a door. “Number seven sixty-seven,” he called. A red-haired boy followed him back through the door. “You sure you’ll be okay?” asked Mrs. Redpost. Marvin nodded. “Okay. Well be back in about an hour.” She kissed Marvin. Marvin watched the Redposts leave. They were a nice family. There was a line of red-haired boys going up to a desk. Marvin got on the end of the line. “We were here first!” said the nasty woman from the elevator. She cut in line in front of Marvin, dragging her

son with her. Marvin let them in. It didn’t matter who was first. There was only one Prince Robert. The man in the white coat came back out. “Seven sixty-eight,” he called. Another red-haired boy followed him through the door. “When you’re Prince Robert, you can do anything!” the nasty woman told her son. “Just sit on your throne all day, eat candy, and boss people around.” The man in the white coat came out several more times. “Seven sixty-nine.” “Seven seventy.” “Seven seventy-one.” Each time another red-haired boy followed him through the door. Marvin was almost to the front of the line. The woman behind the desk was wearing big gold earrings. As Marvin got closer he noticed that one earring was shaped like a dog. The other was a cat. “Next,” said the lady with the earrings.

The nasty woman and Arnold stepped to the front of the line. “Your name?” muttered the earring lady. She seemed tired and bored. “Arnold Miller,” answered the nasty woman. “Eight eleven,” said the earring lady. She handed Arnold a slip of paper. “Next.” “Your name?” “Marvin Redpost.” The earring lady looked up, and her face turned bright. “Oh, hi, Marvin!” Marvin looked at her. “Hi,” he said, unsure. “I’m Jennifer,” said the earring lady. “Oh, hi!” said Marvin. “I mean—I am delighted to

make your acquaintance, Lady Jennifer, Duchess of Bathwater.” He bowed. Jennifer laughed. It was that same musical laugh he heard over the telephone. “I’m not really a duchess,” she said. “I just made that up. This is a part-time job.” “Oh,” said Marvin. “I wouldn’t want to be a duchess anyway,” said Jennifer. “It sounds so stuffy and boring. All that—” She stopped, then said, “I guess you want to be a prince, and that’s okay. But it’s not for me.” She wrinkled her nose. Marvin shrugged. “I like your earrings,” he said. Jennifer laughed. “Thank you, Marvin. Well, good luck.” She gave him number 812. He thanked her. “You’re welcome,” said Jennifer. “You know what I like about you, Marvin?” she asked. “You’re polite. No one else has said thank you to me all day.” “What happens when they call your number?” he asked

her. “You just go back for a blood test. To find out your blood type. The King and Queen have blood type O negative. So that means Prince Robert has to have blood type O negative too. It’s pretty rare. Most people are type A or B. And almost everyone is positive, not negative.” “So then what happens?” asked Marvin. “Well, if you’re A or B, you’re sent home. If you’re O negative, you do a second blood test. It’s called an HLA test. It’s a lot more complicated. But it will tell for certain if you’re Prince Robert.” “So they haven’t found Prince Robert yet?” asked Marvin. “No.” She shrugged. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be here. I don’t think they’ll ever find him. The odds are one in a million.” Marvin found it all a little confusing. “Just hope your blood type is O negative,” said Jennifer. “That’s the first step.”