The Transatlantic Railroad

by Nia Rivera on 09.18.2009

55 Responses

Callie and I took the only one of Amanda’s journal pages that I was able to hold back from Principal Singh that seemed very clear—the one of ticket window #7—and went where it pointed, to Orion Station where Luce saw an Amanda-like girl, possibly on her way to Paris. Or knowing Amanda, somewhere else entirely?

We thought it seemed worth checking out...especially since Kyle is suspended and Heidi is, well, Heidi.

At the train station, Callie and I talked to the man behind the ticket counter who absolutely claimed to remember Amanda when we described her, which is actually nearly impossible to do, since you never really know what she is going to look like on any given day!

“This was back a few months . . . She was buying a ticket to the airport. She had no luggage, though. That’s the first thing I noticed. Then I saw she had this magazine with sticky notes poking out all over. She asked to trade it for the copy of Fast & Faster Cars Magazine I was reading. I subscribe,” he said with pride.

“Anyhow, I asked her if she knew anything about fast or faster cars and she goes, ‘I know very little about cars of any speed. That’s why I want your copy.’ ”

He still had the magazine she had swapped him. It was a medical journal, with an extensive feature article about a high-level genetics research facility in France.

It seemed to have something to do with new advances in gene therapy but really, it was BY doctors and FOR doctors. Except Amanda had covered it in spidery microscopic handwriting that we could barely read, much less understand. And apparently she had left it with this guy for safe keeping? As we paged through it, a train schedule fell to the floor. Certain numbers were carefully circled, but in no particular order. It made no sense, but we asked the guy if we could have them both, and after some hemming & hawing (and then WE traded him a couple of new car magazines from the news stand, plus a Dr. Pepper), he parted with them. So now we have them.

But here is the thing, Amanda isn’t careless enough to leave such an obvious trail of clues unless she did it deliberately.

How can we connect all these dots? Do you guys think she was going to Paris or running from Orion?

55 responses

  1. ArtsyFartsy

    It sounds to me like Amanda led us to the train station on purpose, and left those clues on purpose too.  Did you check whether or not the circled numbers on the train schedule correspond to page numbers in the journal, or lines of paragraphs on one page that’s really marked up or something?  Perhaps Amanda is trying to point out some specific information to us.

    Also - are we sure Amanda is the one who made all the spidery notes?  Doctors are known for their terrible handwriting…

    • AwesomeAnna93

      Artsy is totally right.

      But where would amanda get the money for this… i know that a flight to france from maryland is superrr expensive for a teenager like myself.

      • GemmaStone

        The numbers can be read in at least two different ways, if not many more. If you’ll notice, There are never two numbers in the same row OR column. So that leaves us with top-to-bottom (5-0-0-2-7) or side-to-side (7-5-0-2-0). Could this be a sort of code? Like a combination?
        I can’t imagine why Amanda would be running from Orion. She never seemed like the type to give in or get discouraged by those who had less-than stellar opinions of her. She must be going to this Genetic Research facility.
        We should research the facility and find out about ongoing and upcoming projects. Amanda could even have a preexisting appointment or have volunteered for research—that would explain where she got the money—they compensate you for travel expenses.
        It’s even possible (as ArtsyFartsy suggests) that the handwriting doesn’t belong to Amanda. Surely we have some sample of her handwriting? We should compare them. If they match, they’re Amanda’s notes. If not, they’re not.
        Everything Amanda has left us has had a use; why should this magazine be any different?

        • GemmaStone

          Sorry to double-post, but I found out from Gracie_Hayes that Amanda was working at Gracie and her mom’s store because she needed to “earn some money”. Maybe that’s where the ticket came from.

          • theresaax2

            I was thinking about the handwriting analysis, from Dot Your i’s (or was it Cross Your T’s?) and even though that used letters, could we try to use that on the writing in the magazine? The censesus was it was pretty accurate, so maybe Amanda traits will come up.

            • crummyblaire

              It certainly looks like Amanda’s handwriting.  I used to look over her shoulder when she wrote her poetry on our hammock. 
              She has always talked about going to Paris if there was an emergency at home or at school.  She also said that if she left unexpectedly she would leave me her safe-code for an account for her super secret contact information.  I think that this might be her safe-code that she left and knowing someone (like us) would find it and contact her.

              • themidnighter

                Let’s say that it is Amanda, we all know she wouldn’t do this for no reason at all. Does anybody think that Amanda knows someone who has illness of any kind related to genes? Because that’s what she’s researching about. If she went to Paris, where did she stay? Does she have any relatives there? Our questions just lead to more questions.

                • crummyblaire

                  Maybe her parents were sent there to a realy good doctor.  The day Amanda left I saw her go into her house and then ran out side a few minutes latter with an envolope and a mgazine in her hand.  Maybe that’s the magazine she traded.

                  • BellaTru

                    Maybe the #7 she circled is like ticket window #7 and ticket windows #5and 2 need to be searched or that like an address to where she’s going. Maybe she wants us to know something and this is her way of telling us.

                    • CheekyMonkey

                      I think Arr means arrival, so it probably does have something to do with where she was going. Maybe a zip code…

                      • GemmaStone

                        ...or an address.

                        • Kenzi

                          Maybe she didn’t want the magazine anymore. Because of what the scribbly writing says. Remember the note that made her turn pale and said I’m watching you or something I forget anyways maybe she found the magazine. And traded it just so she could get away for it. I think you didn’t ask the guy enough questions you should of asked him about her behavioral patterns after they traded. Did she seem relived?

                          • Emily.K

                            Maybe it’s her Locker Combo! I’ve got the one directly Beside her, on the left, But She never opened it during lunch or anything. She would go stand in front of it, whistle or talk, then leave again. I have never seen her open it, and it Always bugged me. We were pretty good friends, but We never really hung out. She gave me A lot of Advice, and I always refused to play with her Cards. They gave me the shivers. But we were still pretty good friends.

                            • Emily.K

                              Like, if its 5-0-0-2-7, maybe her locker combination is 5-00-27
                              Or, another idea…
                              7-20-05, July 20th, 2005? Like a date, maybe something important happened to her on that date… What do you guys think??

                              • themidnighter

                                Actually when you searched it on google the results says that ARR 75020 is “20 Arr., 75020 Paris, France”.

                                • SarahSchafer

                                  I think Cheeky Monkey and themidnighter are on to something with the zip codes! I spent a week last summer in Paris with my family, and I know that the “20 Arr” means 20th arrondissement which is like a neighborhood. My dad made us go out there (it was kind of far from our hotel which was by the Eiffel Tower) because he wanted to go see Marcel Proust’s grave in Pere Lachaise that famous cemetery. He’s weird like that. Maybe Amanda like cemeteries? There are lots of famous people buried there.

                                  • AwesomeAnna93

                                    Good job! the midnighter.


                                    Too badd we don’t have any Project allies in France that could help us out.


                                    here’s a link w/ a few places of interest in 20th.

                                    http://www.bparis.com/destinations/france/ile-de-france/paris/20th-arr/


                                    One place on 20th Arr that caught my attention Pavillon Carré de Baudouin. It was a home for orphans that later became a medical center. Well for all I know, Amanda is probably an orphan and she wassss reading a medical mag.

                                    Pere Lachaise is also another place i could think Amanda would visit..

                                    What if Amanda used to live in Paris? I can see that as possibility.

                                    • Kenzi

                                      Yah…and maybe she wanted to go back and see her friends…because she missed them.

                                      • theresaax2

                                        I think the zip code makes sense. I would never have guessed Paris, that’s really good!

                                        I googled July 20th, 2005, and not much came up for the dates, here’s a few, although I don’t see a connection, maybe someone else will?
                                        Canada legalizes same-sec marriage.
                                        Typhoon Haitang causes many millions of people to evacuate mainland China, and the death toll reached 7.
                                        In Indonesia, first Bird Flu deaths are confirmed.
                                        Shaanxi coal mine explosion in China kills 25 people.

                                        I got these from wikipedia, and actually the death numbers, 2,5, (25) and 7 all are circled. It probably doesn’t mean anything, because theres nothing it could mean. I just found it interesting.

                                        • AwesomeAnna93

                                          Well Mackenzie, i’m not to sure that Amanda’s gone back because she missed her friends. There has to be more to it.


                                          BTW; Did you know that Heidi Bragg is part of the Big Sister, Little Sister program?
                                          Well friday night, my younger cousin Cecy and I went to a meeting thing to do some research for an article Cecy’s writing for the school paper…

                                          Apparently, her little minion is Jacqueline Marzzoni (daughter of Alejandro Marzzoni, owner of Marzzoni Motors.)

                                          Yeap. Well Jacki (with an I) told all of her little 7th grader friends about how her “big sis” was in Paris a few summers ago taking acting classes @ NYFA Paris and that this year Heidi was planning to go back to Paris for another summer of acting classes but this time Jacki’s going with her.

                                          • whoaitsjor

                                            I think that the midnighter really caught onto something.
                                            It fits perfectly with the “arr” and the 75020.
                                            Honestly, I think Amanda must be there.
                                            And AwesomeAnna93,
                                            I think Amanda will be/is/has been to the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin,
                                            it sounds exactly right.
                                            I found a list of hotels on line at: http://manstouch.com/travel/hotels-europe.php?country=France&city=Paris&cityZone=20e+arrondissement&type=Hotel
                                            If she was staying at a hotel,
                                            it could possibly be the Ermitage, which is near lots of art studios and galleries.
                                            I don’t really think she would stay in a hotel,
                                            but just in case,
                                            I thought that list might come in handy.
                                            But if she is there, and she isn’t in a hotel,
                                            where would she be staying?
                                            And would she be staying alone or with someone?

                                            • themidnighter

                                              While I was having a thorough research about anything that is connected to Paris & Amanda I thought about researching the background of the Wizard Of Oz. Because it was Amanda’s wallpaper,but I think there is no connection between Paris so I tried looking back at her collages in the gallery. Then it hit me, what about the oracle cards? When I _googled_ it, I learned that “Marie Anne Lenormand”,a professional fortune-teller, was famous in Europe. _Where is Paris? In Europe of course!_ I also learned that she died in Paris. I know that it doesn’t still answer most of our questions,but I thought that we should know this information.

                                              • SarahSchafer

                                                OMG! Marie Anne Lenormand is buried in Pere Lachaise as well!
                                                http://www.tarot-decks.com/lenormand.html
                                                “Mlle Lenormand used several methods of divination, including cartomancy.  She did not use tarot cards, but preferred a deck of either 32 or 36 cards…”
                                                Amanda’s deck has 33 cards, right? Totally true that it doesn’t answer all of our questions, but kind of cool.

                                                • Krystal2295

                                                  If it helps i can speak french:)

                                                  • Avery.

                                                    maybe she was going home.

                                                    • Avery.

                                                      or you could say coming home:)

                                                      • stef_stone

                                                        Cool discovery, SarahSchafer! I don’t know if Amanda would want us to go all the way to France though. I was thinking about the address thing….. there is an old abandoned house at #7 Holder Street a few miles away from my house…maybe she left a clue there? Because #7 for the seventh ticket window and holder street for the ticket holder? Its worth investigating….

                                                        • crummyblaire

                                                          I will go investigate the house.  Any one else wants to come???

                                                          • Avery.

                                                            i think the scribbling on the paper was a doctor’s and since it’s about gene’s i’m guessing she’s trying to find our parents. I’m her older sister, and we’ve been living with our grandparents for well…forever. Whenever we ask our grandparents about our parents they brush it off with something like “Oh, they were wonderful.” Me and Amanda could never figure out who our parents are, or where they are. I’m just a little frustrated that she never told me about this. I’m guessing that’s she’s headed somewhere that she thinks our parents are.

                                                            • theresaax2

                                                              I’d be willing to go with you guys. Do you know if anybody lives there? That might cause an obstacle in not attracting attention.

                                                              • AwesomeAnna93

                                                                Hey i’ll go too!

                                                                Is this the abandoned house like down the road from that Old-Fashioned ice cream shop? I love that ice cream shop!... that was random but yeah! I’ll go check it out too.

                                                                • theresaax2

                                                                  Can we get ice cream before we check the house out? :)

                                                                  • dem_94

                                                                    Wow. I go on vacatoin for five days and I miss all this?! I’m definantly staying put for awhile now. (:

                                                                    I live in house #5 on Holder Street. #7 is the creepy house up the hill, right? It looks like something right out of a horror movie. It makes me feel like putting a “Do Not Enter” sign on the front gate everytime I look at it. *shudders*

                                                                    Maybe we should get together a team of investigators (seriously a team. No one should go in there alone) to go in the house and leave a few people to act as headquarters. Maybe use walkie talkies or speaker phone? I would totally volunteer to go in! Well, as long Hal went with us(:

                                                                    • stef_stone

                                                                      Hey does everyone want to go tomorrow after school? I have a math make-up test (blahhh) but maybe we could meet at the house after that at like 4:00 P.M.? Just want to make sure everyone knows that #7 holder street is an abbreviation for #75020 Holder Street (who wants to write the whole thing out?) For example, Dem’s house is actually #52234.

                                                                      • crummyblaire

                                                                        maybe we can do two times once in the morning and once in the evening.

                                                                        • Kenzi

                                                                          I wanna come. I’ve tried to tell you time after time but I live in #8 and when I was ten we used #7 as a hideout because no one else would come in. I think I still remember the floorplan. Let me come!

                                                                          • Yori

                                                                            I’d like to go too! I live at #9 and had been wanting to to go inside. That house looks so creepy it might as well be haunted. It’d be so much fun.

                                                                            • BellaTru

                                                                              I theresaax2 has something on the 25 and 7 death toll thats too close to be a coincidence. Also in France on that date there was a bunch of arrests made. I don’t know if that means anything, but it is something.

                                                                              • Kenzi

                                                                                Well I think that Amanda lived in Paris maybe she was arrested for something small or something that sounds like Amanda right?

                                                                                • thaifoodtubby

                                                                                  She didn’t circle gates in particular, but numbers, they could be some kind of code, she was really good at math, I don’t know how you could figure out which code though, there are a lot of choices, you need some kind of connection, something she has talked to one of you three about before. We know she wants you to follow her, we know she wants you to figure out these clues, what we don’t know is why. So we have to jsut keep playing her game.

                                                                                  • EmoCourtneyG

                                                                                    There are a lot of things this could mean, but we need to look at something first…  Her Passport.  Passports normally take around 6 months to get, so she might have been planning this trip for a while, and didnt she tell Callie that she’s only ever lived in the US…??  Maybe coming to town was part of some big master plan of hers.  Is it possible that in a town she used to live in she left clues like this too?  Maybe someone should look into that.  Also passports arent cheap, and neither is a ticket to France, let alone Paris, France.  We need to find out how she got the money for these things, then interview the person or persons she got it from to see if she mentioned anything…  I think someone mentioned they knew where she was working for a but, we could start there…  Is it possible that Amanda never left though…???

                                                                                    • soccachik666

                                                                                      Maybe Amanda is trying to make it seem like she’s running away from orion. She might still be in Orion and those circled numbers might be some kind of math code since she was brilliant at math.

                                                                                      • solrosa

                                                                                        The numbers are the key to the coded handwriting. Sorry if someone already responded saying the same thing, I didn’t read all the posts.

                                                                                        • Milana

                                                                                          The numbers?  Phone number with area code.

                                                                                          GemmaStone
                                                                                          The numbers can be read in at least two different ways, if not many more. If you’ll notice, There are never two numbers in the same row OR column. So that leaves us with top-to-bottom (5-0-0-2-7) or side-to-side (7-5-0-2-0)

                                                                                          • just2kool

                                                                                            EmoCourtney and Soccachik bellatru and theidnighter all seem to be correct in one way or another

                                                                                            • Amandee

                                                                                              bunch of bull

                                                                                              • runnerkaci

                                                                                                the numbers i think that maybe she is trying to make us think that she is GOING to Paris but maybe one of her friends are going to paris and maybe it could be a hotel number for her friend or it could be her trying to fool us and tell us that is her locker combo and she might have a clue in there but some people dont open their locker and it could be that she doesnt open it I got on a link and its on that date in Paris and it says that its a job interview and it could have been for the FASTER & FASTER CARS
                                                                                                she could have been running away from home and that was the date that she planned to run away or arrive in the place she was going to.and i just now looked at another link and in paris at the date of 7-20-05 the was a broadway movie castings going on and she could have needed money for who knows what. But thats what i think please reply

                                                                                                • whoalee06

                                                                                                  Amanda’s not running away! I knew its her dream to go to paris but she loves this town too much. We used to have english class together and told me that her step father gave her that paris ticket but she declined it and only kept the ticket for remembrance

                                                                                                  • fun-lovingisi

                                                                                                    I saw her on the west coast! Was Paris a mislead? Or maybe she was there at somepoint and wants you guys to follow her there

                                                                                                    • fun-lovingisi

                                                                                                      Sorry, thats not worded right, I saw a coyote girl sticker on the west coast, if that helps

                                                                                                      • FashionAddict

                                                                                                        this is a response to a post wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy up, but if she went to paris to a genetics clinic then maybe she was looking for someone. and maybe that someone was me, because i have a genetic skin disease and that clinic in paris took some tests on me when im went there on my way to germany when i was moving there with my parents. the week before, the day before amanda went missing, i told her about this and she had that sparkle in her eye. she was always really good at science so maybe she went to the clinic to ask around.
                                                                                                        I dont know, this probably doesnt help at all…

                                                                                                        • Sarah1214

                                                                                                          I personally don’t think that Amanda has really gone all the way to Paris.  She’s a smart girl.  She knows that it’s impossible for us to go running after her to Europe.  However, I think it’s fairly reasonable to say that all these clues that have led us to Paris indicate that she _has_ been there at some point in her life.  It’s obviously an important place for her.  It’s a city of artists, and Amanda is nothing if not an artist.  So, I would continue to follow up on these clues, because they’ll probably lead us closer to Amanda by giving us clues about who she is, but not necessarily where she is now.

                                                                                                          • izzap2

                                                                                                            I have a hunch shes running from orion

                                                                                                            • ChicGeek

                                                                                                              okay, take your last names: leary, rivera, and bennett. get a pencil and paper and see how many words you can make out of them. if one of them is her last name… ding ding ding! you’re right…. but what about the missing O at the end!? where would that come from… thornhill? once you use those letters to get her last name, see which letters are left over: r y r i e r a b e n e t t h r h l l

                                                                                                              see what words you can make out of that… maybe that will be a clue?

                                                                                                              • ChicGeek

                                                                                                                Wait, the man behind the ticket counter “absolutely claimed to remember Amanda”? sounds kinda supspicious to me, since NO ONE you told about Amanda could remember her! could he have helped with the dissapearance, and is trying to lead you away from the right track?

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