AS WE turned the corner to my house, I heard a distinctive whooshing noise above me. Freedom Boy landed gently on his feet in front of my house and flashed his million-dollar smile.

“This putz?” Alice muttered. “Put me down for team spinster if that’s the ideal man.”

“Bye, Sarah,” she said. “Bye, Freedork Boy” She waved. She got in her car and drove off, yelling, “See you at the diner later! Love ya!”

Freedom Boy looked at me. His green eyes twinkled. “Hi,” he said. “It’s been a while.”

“Sorry about my friend,” I said.

“She’s protective. I get that. I would be too.”

“Why? Do I need protecting? I thought that was your job,” I replied.

“It is,” he replied. “There’s nothing to fear when Freedom Boy is here.”

“New catch phrase?” I asked.

“Just trying it out,” he said.

He seemed at a loss for words. I think Alice must have knocked him off his game and my less than warm repartee had him confused. He usually came prepared with snappier dialogue. Though it was refreshing to hear him using contractions. Perhaps his acting coach had finally rid him of that nasty tic.

He put his arms around my waist and kissed me. It almost felt like we were dating, like I should be the girl in the magazine, as I felt his strong hands on my back. When he pulled back and looked me in the eyes, I didn’t feel anything, though. I remembered how he looked on the Maximus poster.

I wriggled away and put my hands on my hips. “So, how’s the movie going?”“Great. Just getting started. They are still writing some of it.”

“And Dangerous Girl?”

With that question, his smile dropped.

“I meant to talk to you about that.”

“When?” I asked. “Before you went on your walkabout? Or before you sent postcards from Europe? I try to be cool but it’s really hard to come home to posters of you and some chick.”

“Look, Sarah, this only happened in the past few weeks. I had nothing to do with it. One minute my dad sends me away, and the next he drags me back and the movie people take over.”

Whatever. I just wanted it to be over. “Where does the danger gal fit in here?”“Only for the film. They always do these things for publicity and promotion. She’s actually a cool person.”

“Well I know she has ventilation if that’s what you mean.” It was mean, I knew it, and I felt like a jerk the minute the words came out of my mouth.

“Don’t be like that, Sarah. You know how the gossip rags can be. When you meet her you’ll see she is actually not some stupid trollop like the magazines make her out to be.” Fantastic Boy defended Dangerous Girl lamely. It sounded like a relationship that would last for the length of the contract.

“I’ll meet her? What do you mean?” I said. I squinted. I didn’t really want to play paddy cake with the new couple. And I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to fall into some old weird tortured dynamic with Freedom Boy. There were so many boys in the world.“That’s what I came here to tell you. I heard you were back and I had to see you.” He seemed a bit robotic. He had dark rings around his eyes. Maybe he was being run around by his family and the movie shoot. “I have news,” he said, standing on my lawn.“Good news?”

“Well, Sarah Robertson, I can’t see you so much with this film filming. But I thought of an alternative. Would you like to work on the new Freedom Man feature?”“Sure. Need a caterer? I’ve done that before.”

Freedom Boy smiled and it was like one thousand spotlights just trained on his face, highlighting his cheekbones. He had the look on his face when he made big announcements or just saved the world. “Apprentice to the head Weather Designer, Steve Kirby. Also known as the Black Zephyr.”

“What? That’s amazing,” I yelled. I couldn’t hide my excitement. The Black Zephyr was my hero.

The Weather Designer was one of the most important crew jobs for big-budget documentaries. Most films couldn’t even afford one. It was a job for people with powers like me, people who could control the weather for the duration of the film’s shoot. They made things look good; they made all the hectic set-up worth it. I never thought I could do it and now I can see the best in the world do it.

“Should I take that as a yes?”

I wanted to blurt out yes immediately, but then I remembered the Dangerous Girl pictures and the lying about the movie. Well, not lying, but pretty damn big omission. I crossed my arms on my chest and gave a resolute “Maybe. I’ll have to see if I’m free.”

“Well let me know. It won’t be for some time, unfortunately. Probably not more than a day on set,” Freedom Boy said. “I know that Doolittle Falls is excited, but most of the filming will be in Malta.” So he was leaving again. And for Malta, an island off the coast of Italy. What would tiny little Doolittle Falls have in comparison? Or me, even after everything? How could I ever measure up to Dangerous Girl?

His wrist beeped, and he looked down at a tiny digital watch. He pressed it once and before I could ask when he was going, he said, “Got to take this,” and just like that, Freedom Boy flew into the sky, on another do-gooder mission. Or, more likely, a meeting with his producers.