Entry #6: THE BATTLE OF WONDERLAND GARDENS

THE BATTLE OF WONDERLAND GARDENS

MG Fantasy

41,000 words

Pitch

Ellis has a big problem—a rivalry that drives him crazy. He wants to finally beat Alicia, the thorn in his side, and even a small victory in their youth theater ticket sales contest will do. He concocts a plan to sell a boatload of tickets to the old folks at the Wonderland Gardens Retirement Community. His hopes crumble after he finds Alicia beat him to the punch and sold her tickets to the residents.

Things go from bad to worse when an evil spirit possessing the community’s beloved owner kidnaps Alicia. It’s searching for a new, younger body and Alicia fits the bill. Ellis can’t just sit idly by, although a tiny part of him wants to, and he joins the fight. With the aid of a talking terrier guide, Ellis leads the oddball elderly residents against the fiend and its raven minions to rescue Alicia and reclaim their home.

First Page

The air seeped from Ellis Brown’s balloon of hope and instantly ruined his once-promising Saturday morning. He could not believe what just happened. “You mean a girl has already been here?”

Mr. and Mrs. McGregor, the Wonderland Gardens Retirement Center’s hosts, sat in the lobby’s red velvet armchairs smiling. Mr. McGregor held four orange colored tickets that matched the tickets in Ellis’ hand and said, “Yes, she came by about an hour ago. Still in the building, I believe.”

Mrs. McGregor beamed. “Such an angel, blonde hair, blue eyes, and full of joy.”

Yep, that’s Alicia. What a fake. Ellis forced a smile as the anxiety bubbled in the pit of his stomach. “And I suppose she sold you those tickets to our show?”

“As a matter of fact, she did," Mr. McGregor said. “Such a sweet young lady. She did mention that a friend of hers, a boy, might stop in later, and here you are.”

Sweet? Maybe, if rattlesnake’s venom’s sweet. “She does have a way,” Ellis said.

Alicia Swanson had been a thorn in his side all throughout middle school. She beat him at everything and, to make matters worse, she had a habit of broadcasting it to everyone.

He was counting on using the retirement home's residents to beat Alicia by selling more Alice in Wonderland show tickets to them. Not anymore. Ellis felt a familiar churning in his gut as, once again, a sure victory over Alicia slipped painfully through his fingers.