Claire woke me up super early. She was excited about the scavenger hunt and couldn’t wait to get started. I was glad that I’d done the clues the night before—thinking of clue riddles at six in the morning would have been impossible. I made her go back to her room and wait, so I could get the clothes out of the laundry and hide them. I’d set my alarm to get down to the basement early, but that had been to do something completely different. Now there wasn’t going to be time for wishes until after the scavenger hunt.
At the last minute I decided to not give Claire the red shoes. I was bent down hiding them under the sofa when all of a sudden a new plan flashed in my head. Were the red shoes like my adventure hat? Could they do the same thing? For the right people some ordinary things had special powers—time travel powers; they could take you back in time. Maybe the red shoes could do that for Miss Sato and Mr. Gripes. Could seeing them remind them of how they used to be in love? They looked like the same kind of shoes from the wishes; maybe they would work.
It was crazy, but I wanted to keep my promise to Claire. Suddenly I could see how important that was. I ran upstairs and put the shoes away for later.
Claire screamed when I gave her the paper with the list of clues. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so excited before. It felt good. Like her excitement was giving me a boost of energy and happiness. I was glad Mom was up; waking up to that scream would have been shocking. After about five minutes it was obvious—the scavenger hunt was too easy. Claire had no trouble figuring out the clues and finding all the clothes I’d hidden. At first I was disappointed, but then I decided too easy was probably better than too hard. At least she could do it by herself. Every time Claire found a new piece of clothing, she put it on. I had done a pretty good job with the sizes, and everything seemed to fit. The last thing she found was the second scarf, and she tied her hair up with it, just like Wendy, the girl at the VS Depot, had done. Mom got her camera and took a picture, which was good, because two seconds later it all came undone. I guess tying your hair up was harder than it looked.
When you get up early, you can get a lot done. By nine o’clock we were already on the bike and ready to ride down to the VS Depot. I couldn’t find my backpack, so I used one of Dad’s belts to attach the big plastic owl I’d bought for Lucy to my back. It was a strange way to transport it, but it worked, and Claire said she liked how it was looking at her while we were riding. I had to take the red shoes too, but that wasn’t as tricky—they were small and not hard to carry in a normal plastic bag. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get the shoes down there without Claire noticing them. As usual, she was full of questions.
“Why are you taking those? Are they yours? They look like the shoes I had in the thrift store. Can I try them on?”
I ignored her. There was no way to explain any of it so that she would understand. I just hoped she’d forget about them and get distracted by something else when we got to the store.
As soon as we got to the VS Depot, she jumped off the bike and disappeared inside. I followed behind. Peter smiled when I walked in. I dropped the owl onto the counter, and he picked it up and put it on the scale. I guess nothing surprised him anymore.
“So has the countdown started? How many days until camp?”
I counted them off in my head. I couldn’t believe it. I held up three fingers.
Peter nodded. “Wow, that’s soon.”
We both looked at Claire. Were we thinking the same thing? Was she going to be sad when I left? She was staying an extra three days after I was gone. I had a feeling she was probably going to be lonely with only Mom and Dad to hang out with. Luckily, she was looking at something near the back of the room and wasn’t paying attention to us. I changed the subject. “I finished the book.”
Peter smiled but was quiet. He stuck a stamp on the back of the owl’s head.
Peter looked up. “What did you think of the ending?” He put the owl headfirst into the bin behind him. It looked funny with its feet sticking up in the air.
I took a deep breath. “I loved it!” It was the truth. I did. Even though I’d had trouble with it, in the end it had all been worth it. “I really like how everything came together.” I thought for a second. “I don’t usually like endings, but this was different—it was satisfying.”
Peter grinned. “You mean it’s all wrapped up, finished, no loose or uncomfortable ends sticking out.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way, but he was right—that’s what I liked. It was all done—there was nothing left to worry about. I nodded. Plus it wasn’t really the end—Viola Starr would be back in the next book.
I fiddled with a sign on the counter. “It’s too bad that can’t happen in real life.” I was thinking about Lucy, and how different everything was going to be without her. That wasn’t like the book: it wasn’t wrapped up—there was still a lot to worry about.
Peter arranged the papers on the counter into a neat pile. “Sometimes it happens in real life, but it’s rare—so when it does, it’s pretty special.”
I pulled the red shoes out of the plastic bag.
Suddenly Peter was surprised. “Two things today?”
I shook my head. “These aren’t for Lucy. They go somewhere else, and I think I need a box.”
While Peter walked to the back of the store to get one, I wrote down Miss Sato’s name and the address of the hospital. When he came back, I was all ready. I slid the paper across the counter.
“Can I send it without my name and address on it?” I didn’t want Miss Sato to know they were from me. That would raise lots of questions. It had to be anonymous. Peter looked at the paper and thought for a minute. “We could put the name of the store on it. Would that work?”
I nodded and put the shoes inside the box, and Peter taped it up.
I didn’t have a lot of time. The box needed to get to Miss Sato as soon as possible. Mr. Gripes and Miss Sato had to fall in love in the next couple of days—it had to happen before Claire left. I knew that Miss Sato was sick, but if she could blink her eyes to answer questions, then maybe she could still fall in love. Love was an inside thing; she didn’t need her body to be working for that.
“Can it get there tomorrow?” I tried not to sound desperate, but I was nervous.
Peter punched in some numbers on the computer and said, “Twenty-six dollars.” I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t have anywhere near that amount of money.
“But it’s not even out of town,” I complained. “How come it’s so expensive?”
Peter shook his head and held up the box. “Next day is always expensive. How much money do you have?”
I pulled out my money and put it on the counter. I had a five-dollar bill, and thirty-six cents in change. Suddenly I had the feeling that nothing was going to come together for me.
Peter picked up the money and said, “Let me see what I can do.”
Claire had come up beside me. She held up the drawings she’d made and waved them in front of me. I tried to smile, but I was still thinking about the shoes. What would happen if they didn’t get there on time? The answer to that was easy: nothing! I tried not to think about it. I nodded at Claire and smiled again but didn’t do a very good job of it. I could tell she was disappointed.
Peter put his hands together and said, “Why don’t you go out and unlock your bike. Claire and I are going to have a little talk. I’ll bring her outside in a minute.”
Claire was suddenly interested. “Is it a secret?”
Peter nodded. I was confused, but I left the store. I couldn’t see what they were doing, and by the time I was done unlocking the bike, they were at the door waiting for me.
“Well?” I asked.
Claire shook her head. “I’m only allowed to tell you when we’re one block away.” She got on the back of the bike and clamped her lips shut, so the secret couldn’t come out before she wanted it to.
“Bye, girls.” Peter waved and we pedaled off, but as soon as we were a block away, I stopped the bike and turned around to look at Claire.
Claire waved a five-dollar bill in the air. “Peter said we should have a snack with this money. It used to be yours, but now it was his, so you have to listen to how he wants us to spend it.”
I smiled. Peter was full of surprises. “What kind of snack should we get?”
Claire decided in two seconds. “Cupcakes!”
When we got home, Mom was in a battle with the garage. She had stuff all over the driveway. She said she was enjoying herself, but she didn’t look very happy. Maybe she was finally realizing it was all junk. Claire was excited about a pair of old stilts that were sitting by the door, so Mom said she’d watch her if I wanted to go inside and do some writing. I felt bad tricking her again, but the pull of the jar was too much. I couldn’t stop myself. Guilt is a funny thing: you can feel it but still decide to do something that makes it worse. I left them, walked inside, and went straight down to the basement.
I pulled out the wish jar and sat in the chair. I was nervous, but excited too. I wanted to see Miss Sato and Mr. Gripes again. Now that I knew it was them, would it feel different? Would something special happen? I moved my hand through the wishes and picked one out. I was hoping for an Anderson’s wish, and before anything could stop me, I opened the wish and read it.
Please Don’t Let Ashley Be Dead
WHAT? I couldn’t watch this! But it was too late to stop it. Suddenly I was back on the sidewalk where I’d first met Ashley and Shue.
I almost couldn’t think of a test word, but then it popped out: “Fuchsia rat.”
I said it quickly and quietly. Nothing had happened, but I was already worried and feeling sick. I wanted to know and not know what was going to happen, both at the same time. Knowing won. I kept my eyes open. Ashley was with her two friends—the ones from before, the ones I didn’t like—and they were walking away from Shue. It looked like they had just passed each other. Ashley’s group was crossing the street, and Shue was walking toward me on the sidewalk. Something shiny in the road caught my eye. Ashley had dropped it. It sparkled in the sunlight. She didn’t notice and her group continued walking, but suddenly she turned, looked at the road, and ran back into the street. A second later there was a screeching of brakes, a thud, and then silence. And after that, yelling and screaming. I couldn’t breathe—I felt dizzy. Everything swirled around me in slow motion: I was going to faint. I doubled over and covered my ears. I hummed loudly, blocking out everything. There was chaos all around me, but I couldn’t hear it. I didn’t want to see anything, but somehow after a minute or two I straightened up and followed my feet forward.
A car stopped in the middle of the road, and everyone was crowded around the far side of it. I looked down, and there next to the car, partially under the front wheel, was a silver necklace with a half-circle pendant on it. Ashley had been going back to get it. It was proof that she still cared. I heard someone next to me; it was Shue. She reached for the necklace and then stopped—if she pulled it, it would break.
We stood there, not moving, surrounded by chaos, staring at the necklace. Paralyzed. I heard sirens in the distance. I didn’t look up. I didn’t want to see anything. I was scared, shaking, and beside me I could hear Shue crying. Suddenly she screamed, and I was gone.
The pain coming back was the worst yet. My blood felt like it was on fire, streaming through my body, burning me from the inside out. When I finally had the strength to look at my hands, I was surprised that they weren’t red and raw. They looked perfectly normal. I forced myself to breathe in and out. The pain was over, but I was not okay. I closed my eyes, but suddenly I was afraid of the dark. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. Instead I focused on my hands, slowly relaxing my fingers one at a time until I was no longer gripping the chair. I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling and noticed for the first time the dark wood beams and spiderwebs above my head.
What I did next I can’t explain. And if I can’t, no one can, because I alone was responsible. I leaned forward, pulled out a wish, and read it. Just like that. After all the pain, and in the midst of sadness, that’s what I wanted.
I Wish I Hadn’t Gone to Ashley’s House
I was still shaking from the last wish, but somehow seeing both Ashley and Shue standing together again helped. Shue was on Ashley’s doorstep, and Ashley was in the doorway. The door was half closed like she was keeping Shue out, or maybe she was trying to hide behind it. This was before the accident. I wasn’t sure how I could tell, but I could. I sighed and stepped forward. I hated these doorstep visits; they always ended badly. I said my test words, but without enthusiasm.
“Turquoise rabbit.” I had a feeling it was going to be the only bright spot of the whole wish.
Ashley shook her head. “I can’t come out.”
Shue smiled and nodded. She took a step forward. I could see that she thought that she was going to be invited in. Ashley moved behind the door and closed it farther. This was unexpected. Shue stopped. Suddenly there was the sound of laughter from inside the house—girl laughter.
Ashley looked nervous. “Pam and Cathy are here. They’re my high school friends.”
For a few seconds neither girl moved or said anything. I was tired of this. I wanted to go up to Ashley and shake her. Tell her she was being stupid, and petty, and cowardly. Why couldn’t she be friends with everybody? I noticed that Ashley was still wearing the necklace. Did Shue see it? It made me mad. She didn’t deserve it—and then I remembered the accident. Maybe she was dead, and if so, it was because of the necklace. What did that mean? It was too much to understand. I closed my eyes for a minute. When I opened them, Shue was walking away, and the door was closed. Something had happened, and I’d missed it. I knew what was coming next. I closed my eyes and held my breath. It was like standing inside a furnace: it probably only lasted seconds, but it seemed longer, and then it was over. Painful and shocking, but not as bad as the last time. I sat back in the chair and rested my head on the cushion; a second later Claire was shouting.
“HE’S HERE! HE CAME BACK! YOUR DAD! HE’S HERE!” It was a proclamation—like something miraculous had just happened, and she couldn’t believe it. It made me happy. It made me sad. But mostly, it made me feel lucky.