Page 23 of Freak Camp
Jake’s jaw dropped.Surely evenmonstersknew ...But Toby was just a little kid.“You know.Birthdays.It’s the day you’re born, and everyone in school sings you that stupid song and sometimes the teacher has cupcakes or something, if she’s nice.People give you stuff and are extra nice to you.Dad took me out for an ice cream sundae, and later we went shooting and he let me try out his new shotgun.”Jake grinned, even though his shoulder was still sore from the recoil.It had been an awesome birthday.
“Oh.”Tobias shrugged dismissively, a gesture Jake recognized as meaning Tobias found the information so alien as to be completely useless.“Monsters don’t have birthdays.”
Jake looked at him, dumbfounded.“Yes, you do.You gotta have a birthday.I mean”—he waved a hand in the air, grasping for the right word—“it’s the day that you’reborn.What, do you think you just ...appearedsomeday?Popped out of an egg?Even then, it’d still be a birthday.”
Tobias shook his head again.“Monsters don’t have ’em.Not like reals.”
Jake sat back.Not often did he run into a stubborn belief contradicting what he knew to be true, but he’d been learning how to do research to prove he was right.It could be really boring, but sometimes totally worth it.“Okay, Toby.I’m gonna find out your birthday for you.Just you wait.”
Tobias looked at him like he was crazy, a look that Jake got at least once a visit, usually when Jake told him about his latest showdown with a teacher, principal, or mall cop.“How are you gonna do that?”
“You’ll see.”Jake stood up.“I’ll be back in a minute.”
Tobias bit his lip, nodding as he dropped his gaze.
“Really,” Jake insisted, because he didn’t like Tobias looking the same way he did when Jake had to leave.“I’ll be back in a flash.”He turned and headed for Reception, quick and determined.
The guards let him through with a basic silver-cut test, just to make sure he wasn’t a shifter trying to sneak out.The lobby was empty, except for the receptionist, Mrs.O’Donnell, so Jake went straight up to the desk, folding his arms on it, and smiled brightly through the Plexiglas.“Hi.”
Mrs.O’Donnell looked like she might smile for a moment, but instead she said, “Where’s your father?”
“Special Research.Don’t worry, he can take care of himself.”
Now she did smile a little, before turning stern again.“You should stay here to wait for him.”
“Nah.He likes me to have firsthand experience with monsters.Actually, he sent me here for a bit of research.I need some information on one of them.”
Mrs.O’Donnell raised her eyebrows, even as her fingers moved to the computer keyboard.“What supernatural would that be?”
“Eighty-nine U I six seven zero three.”He had been sure to get a good look at Tobias’s collar before he left.
She typed it in, frowning a little.“What does he need to know?”
“How old is he?Dad wants to know exactly, down to the birthdate.”When she hesitated, Jake put on his bestI’m a very trustworthy young manface.“Dad’s very interested in 89UI6703.”
Mrs.O’Donnell shook her head.“We don’t always have that information, particularly for those brought in for bounties.”
Jake’s stomach dropped.He didn’t know how else he’d find out, unless he found out Tobias’s hometown and persuaded Dad somehow to visit there.Hehadto find out after promising Tobias—it seemed really important to prove that he was right about Tobias having a birthday.
“Most of the information on 89UI is locked—I suppose because he’s unidentified.But I do have his birthday here: April 11, 1984.”
Jake repeated it, once aloud and again in his head so he wouldn’t forget.“Cool.Thanks, Mrs.O’Donnell, my dad’ll appreciate that.”He flashed his best smile again—never let your guard down, Jake, whether it’s a monster or a con—and he darted back out before she could stop him.
Tobias was still in the same spot, and he looked up as Jake approached, eyes wide.
“Guess what I found out!”
“What?”
“You,” Jake informed him, “have a birthday.”Tobias didn’t look blown away, so Jake went on.“It’s April 11th, 1984”—same year Mom died, he realized, but pushed the thought aside at once—“and that means you’ll be seven in a few months.”
Toby looked like he didn’t know what to do with this information.He blinked at Jake, then glanced at the ground.
Jake’s glow of triumph slowly slipped away.He looked around at the packed dirt yard, fences, and patrolling guards, and realized that Tobias had been right.Monsters might have a birthday, a day they were born, but it wasn’t the same kind of birthday everyone else had.It couldn’t be—not here.
It made him kind of mad, after all that hard work he did, after he’d promised to prove to Tobias he had a birthday.
“It’s okay, Jake,” Tobias said.“I have lots of birthdays.It’s my birthday whenever you come see me.”
