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kids wanna hit the usual tourist hotspots? Times Square, Statue of—?”
    â€œBeen there, done that,” Lexi snapped. “This isn’t our first time here. Besides, we’re not allowed.”
    â€œWell, don’t bite my head off. Just being the friendly native.” Kim Ling did a strange neck-cracking maneuver that looked and sounded like it hurt. “So, anyway, how insipidly boring was that orientation? A total boondoggle, right?”
    â€œIs that another one of your crazy made-up words?” Lexi had to ask.
    â€œNo, it’s legit. It means an unnecessary, wasteful activity. Uh, no offense, but you guys might want to start carrying around a pocket dictionary if you’re going to be hanging with me.”
    Lexi added smug and pseudo-intellectual to her mental list of reasons for disliking Kim Ling, although she wasn’t sure what pseudo-intellectual meant exactly.
    â€œWe can do Macy’s,” Kim Ling suggested.
    â€œHello? Missing wallet, remember?” Lexi collapsed onto the smoldering top step of the Y and pulled Kevin down with her. “We only have emergency money, so we plan on spending the day without—spending. But don’t let us stop you.”
    Kim Ling didn’t bolt like Lexi thought she would, but plopped down next to her, scratching her head like it was infested with fleas. “Well, Grand Central’s right over there. A hop, skip, and jump. We could check out their lost and found—you know, see if your wallet’s turned up there.”
    From the look Lexi gave her, you would have thought she had suggested they jump off the top of the Empire State Building. “Aah-uh-oh,” she replied to the tune of “I don’t know.” She knew it was unlikely she would run into the jewel thieves again at Grand Central, but even that slim possibility made her knees sweat. “I promised my aunt we wouldn’t wander.”
    Two colorful horse-drawn carriages came clopping around the corner and Kevin practically elbowed Lexi’s eye out grabbing for his camera. “Photo op! So cool,” he gushed.
Snap
. “Are those buggy rides expensive, Kim?”
Snap. Snap
.
    â€œThey’re called hansom cabs, and this is New York—everything’s expensive.”
    Lexi perked up at the sight of the decked-out horses, too, and the cute drivers in top hats—until the second carriage almost got rammed by a double-decker tour bus. The dapple-gray shook his head with a frustrated whinny, adding to the clamor of horns, sirens, and deafening street drills. “Omigod, did you see that? Poor horse.” She let out a groan. “I am so over this place already. All that crime in the news; then my wallet gets lost or stolen, or whatever. I’m sick of breathing in exhaust fumes. And urine. I miss the smell of—I don’t know, fresh-cut grass and—”
    â€œStop dissing my city!” Kim Ling scolded. “If all you’re gonna do is kvetch and complain, then keep the lips zipped.”
    Lexi didn’t lash back since she knew Kim was right.
If you haven’t got anything good to say …
So with chin propped on hands, she watched the hansom cabs disappear into a blinding splotch of sunlight and yellow taxicabs. The other two followed suit. They sat silent and motionless in a grumpy clump, staring at the endless parade of passersby and picking up snippets of their cell-phone conversations.
    â€œHe had the nerve to go over my head, straight to the manager of East Coast Operations. What a—”
    â€œâ€”jerk chicken. And these amazing buffalo wings that are super spicy and—”
    â€œâ€”hot under the collar. So, I tell him, I go, ‘Dave, give the new guy a shot. I mean, one less commission ain’t gonna kill ya.’”
    Shot? Kill?
Lexi found herself gritting her teeth. She had had more than her fill of eavesdropping, thank you very much! Her heartbeat was giving