Shawn pressed his eye to the crack at the edge of the door and tried to peer out.

“One of two things,” Shawn said. “Either he’s taken our clothes and woven them into a cloak of invisibility, or he’s gone.”

Shawn pulled open the stall door and stuck his head out. The mime was gone. And so were their clothes. Shawn checked every stall and tore through all the trash cans, but the mime hadn’t left them so much as a sock.

“What do we do now?” Gus said.

“We’re taking him down.” Shawn bolted to the door.

“You can’t go out there,” Gus said as Shawn reached for the door handle.

“Watch me.”

“It’s not me who’s going to be watching,” Gus said. “It’s all the moms out there with their little kids.”

“So what do you suggest? That we just stay in here until everyone has gone home and we can slip out without anyone seeing us?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Gus said. “But my car keys were in my pants pocket. So even if we do get out of here, we’ve got to walk through one of the San Gabriel Valley’s least progressive suburbs stark naked. How long do you think we’ll last out on those mean streets without any clothes?”

“I’m still waiting for a suggestion.”

“There are a lot of people out there,” Gus said. “Sooner or later, most of them are going to need to use the bathroom. And when they come in, we can beg them for a piece of clothing. It may take some time, but we can piece together enough clothes to walk out of here.”

“Because most people who come to a public garden wear an extra pair of pants just in case.”

Gus fumed. Of course Shawn was right, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant to have his only idea shot down.

“Maybe if we wish really hard, the magical elves will hear us and weave us a new set of clothes,” Gus said.

Shawn beamed as if Gus had said something brilliant. “That’s it,” he said.