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  To our favorite copilots, Griffin and Chloe

  Chapter One:

  Take Your Kid to Work Day

  Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

  It’s not every day a regular kid like me gets to wake up at midnight. But this is no regular day. Today is Take Your Kid to Work Day, and I’m going to ride with Dad in his taxi! Dad works the night shift, so he’s usually awake when I’m asleep and asleep when I’m awake. But not tonight.

  I’ve been waiting eight years, eight months, and eight days for this day to arrive. Instead of staring at the maps of the big city taped to my walls, I’ll actually get to go places. Mom likes to keep us close to home, but I’m itching to explore. My little sister, Penny, is the same way. Any open door and she takes off like she’s late for something important.

  Mom sticks her head in my room. “Archie Morningstar, aren’t you up yet? Dad’s waiting outside.”

  Mom always uses my full name when she wants to make sure I’m paying attention. I wish I had a normal last name that no one would tease me about. The real Morning Star is a nickname for the planet Venus, which is so bright you can still see it as the sun rises. Maybe Morningstar would be a cool name if I lived in the country and could actually see the stars and planets. But here in the city all we can see is bright lights and smog.

  I jump out of bed, fully dressed.

  She frowns. “Did you even sleep at all? It’s going to be a long night and you don’t want to fall asleep on the job.”

  I shake my head. “I was too excited to sleep. But I’m not tired, I promise.” I hurry over to the window. Dad’s yellow taxi gleams under the streetlight. He keeps it really clean, even though it’s old and clunky and most mornings he comes home without any hubcaps on his tires.

  I push up my window. “I’m coming, Dad!”

  Mom groans. “Archie, it’s midnight. You probably woke your sister. And half the block.”

  “Oops, sorry.” I run over to my desk and grab the one thing I don’t go anywhere without—the metal tube my grandpa gave me before he retired to Florida. It looks kind of like an empty paper-towel roll, but it’s black with a single silver star painted on it. I bring it with me to baseball practice, to school, even to the bathroom! My friends are so used to seeing it they don’t even tease me anymore. Well, not much, anyway. When Grandpa gave it to me, he told me I’d need it one day and I’d know when that day arrived. So until that day comes, it goes where I go. “See ya later, Mom!”

  “Archie, wait,” she says.

  I stop, pretty sure she’s going to tell me to leave the tube at home, like she always does.

  But Mom doesn’t mention the tube. Instead, she hands me a brown bag and a warm thermos. It’s the same thing she gives Dad before he leaves every night. It would be dorky to show how cool I think this is, so I just take it and mumble, “Thanks.”

  “Let me take one last look at you,” she says, wiping her eyes. “I never thought this day would come. I’m going to miss you.”

  Mom can be so mushy, always hugging and smooching me. She doesn’t like it when I complain that I’m too old for that stuff. So I hold in my groan and say, “Oh, Mom. I’m only going to the other side of town.”

  “Well… it may be a little farther than that, honey.” She pulls me in for a hug.

  “I’ll be fine,” I tell her, squirming away after what I feel is a reasonable period of time. “I’ll be with Dad.”

  She opens her mouth to say something, but instead she kisses me on the cheek, whispers, “I love you, honey,” and shuts the door behind me.

  Chapter Two:

  Barney’s Bagels and Schmear

  With my supplies in hand, the dark night before me, and Mom inside, I’m feeling pretty grown up right about now. I hold up my thermos and paper bag. “Hi, Dad, I’m ready to go to work!”

  He lets out a deep, rumbly laugh. “Buckle up then, Archie! You’re in for a wild ride.”

  I carefully place Grandpa’s tube on the floor behind my seat and put my seat belt on. The old taxi rattles and groans as we pull away from the curb. I don’t think the ride’s going to get too wild. Our biggest adventure will probably be going over a bump and losing a hubcap!

  I’ve never heard the streets so quiet. It’s almost spooky. I shiver, even though it’s not cold. I have to remember not to let my imagination run away with me. That’s what Mom used to tell me when I was a little kid and thought a four-armed, three-eyed alien was living under the kitchen sink. Plus, I’ll be with Dad, and he does this every night.

  I look around at the empty streets. “How do you find someone who needs a ride?” I ask.

  “I get my assignments from the depot,” Dad explains. “Then I go pick up my fare. That’s what we call the person—or people—who need a ride. Then I take them wherever they want to go. It’s different every night. And tonight I’ll have my best pal along for the ride. Sounds like an adventure, right?”

  Feeling better, I smile back at him. “Right, Dad!”

  A few minutes later we pull up in front of Barney’s Bagels and Schmear. It’s not closed for the night like the rest of the restaurants and stores in the area. Through the large window I can see that half the tables are full with people eating, sipping coffee, talking, and laughing.

  “Our first stop,” Dad says, turning off the car.

  “But Mom already gave us food,” I say, pointing to the brown bag at my feet.

  “That’s breakfast,” he says with a grin. “This is a midnight snack.”

  As Dad pushes the door open, all the eyes in the place look up. Some people shout, “Hey, Morningstar, how’s it going?” Others wave or give the thumbs-up sign. Dad shouts back greetings and leads me to the counter. For a second I think I see what looks like a dog wearing headphones slip out the back door. I rub my eyes. Mom was right. I probably should have gotten some sleep.

  Dad orders us each a tuna sandwich on a bagel, along with a coffee for him and an apple juice for me.

  “Is this your boy?” the man asks as he neatly slices our poppy-seed bagels. He has a big, round belly and a happy smile.

  Dad nods and pats me on the shoulder. “This is Archie. He’s eight years, eight months, and eight days old today.”

  “Big day for you, eh, young Morningstar?” the man says, and then winks. At least I think he winked. Maybe a poppy seed flew into his eye.

  I almost tell him that it’s a big night for me, not day, but Mom always says it’s rude to correct people. So I just nod and say, “I’ve never seen the city at night before.”

  “You’re gonna see a lot more than that,” he says, winking again. Those poppy seeds must really fly! Someone behind us chuckles and I turn around. For a split second it looks like a lady sitting at the counter has one more head than she’s supposed to have. But when I blink again, she goes back to normal.

  Okay, I definitely see a nap happening in my near future.

  On the way out of the deli, Dad stops at almost every table. How does he know all these people? When we get to the street, I ask, “Are we going to the depot now?”

  “We just did,” he replies, pulling a slip of paper from the bag holding the sandwiches.

  “Huh?” I look behind us at the bagel shop. A