The Hanging Hill

80

Meghan and Zack, with Zipper on his leash, bounded down the steps of the Hanging Hill’s front porch just as their mothers walked up the winding footpath from the street.

“Hey, Mom!” said Zack and Meghan at the same time.

The two mothers laughed.

“Where are you guys headed?” asked Judy.

“Taking Zipper for a walk,” said Zack.

“Good idea. I have to head back inside for more rehearsal.”

“I don’t!” said Meghan.

“Lucky you,” said Judy.

“Meghan?” Mrs. McKenna said.

“Yes, Mom?”

“Don’t forget—we still have schoolwork to do.”

“I know.”

“And you have to dress for the party.”

“Really?”

“He’s your director, sweetie. I think a nice pair of pants and a clean shirt would be appropriate. Be back by two, okay?”

“Okay!”

Zack glanced at his watch. They had about an hour to figure out why the Pandemonium Players were called that and why ghosts were telling him to beware of pandemonium.

Zipper led the way as they strolled along the sidewalk and headed for the library.

“Your mom’s pretty cool,” said Zack.

“Yours, too,” said Meghan.

“Yeah. I guess I got lucky the second time around.”

“What do you mean?”

Zack figured he might as well go ahead and tell Meghan the truth. “My real mom never liked me.”

“How come?”

Zack shrugged. “I dunno. She said I ruined her life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Judy’s a great stepmom!”

“Yeah,” said Zack, feeling weirdly guilty the instant he said it.

“They close at one?” said Meghan, sounding surprised as she read a sign in front of the Chatham Public Library.

“August hours,” said a lady wearing red reading glasses and standing on the stoop outside the library’s front doors. “No air-conditioning.”

“We just want to look up one word,” said Zack.

The lady, who was probably the librarian, started hyperventilating. “You’re Meghan McKenna!”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m—”

“In town doing that new musical.”

“Yes. It’s called Curiosity—”

“Cat! I can’t believe you’re really you!”

Meghan shrugged. “I’m me, all right.”

“Meghan McKenna!”

“Yep.”

“I’m Doris Ann Norris. Town librarian. Is that your dog?”

“Well, actually …”

“Oh, where are my manners? Won’t you children please come in?”

“I thought you were closed,” said Zack.

“Not when a movie star needs a book!”

Meghan scooped up Zipper. “Is it okay if …?”

“Of course. Come in! Come in!”

Zack followed Meghan and Zipper into the building.

The librarian peered at him over the tops of her half-moon spectacles. “Are you somebody, too?”

“No. Not really.”

“He’s Zack Jennings,” said Meghan. “His stepmom is Judy Magruder Jennings.”

The librarian gasped. “She was just here! Just a few minutes ago! Oh, my! Famous authors! Movie stars! What an exciting day this has turned out to be!”

And the librarian hadn’t even been chased by a crazy lady swinging a bloody hatchet.

“Does the word ‘pandemonium’ mean anything besides, you know, the usual stuff?” Zack asked once Meghan had signed a few autographs for various members of the librarian’s family.

“Oh, yes.” She led them to a short bookcase filled with encyclopedias and pulled out the volume marked “M.”

Zack had always thought it was spelled with a P.

“Here we go,” said the librarian. “Are you familiar with John Milton?”

“Not really,” said Zack.

“Milton was an English poet in the 1600s most famous for his epic Paradise Lost. In it, he called the capital city of Hell ‘Pandemonium.’ It’s Greek for ‘all demons.’ In Book IV, all hell breaks loose—literally. The demons scatter across the earth, creating chaos. The city’s name, therefore, has become synonymous with disorder.”

“Beware Pandemonium,” Zack mumbled.

“Indeed. If such a city truly existed, I certainly wouldn’t want to live there or visit it!”

“Can I ask another question? Why is the resident acting company at the Hanging Hill Playhouse called the Pandemonium Players?”