This Is Fine. Really
Aru did not have a crush. That was for certain. What she had was a desire not to look like someone who combed their hair with a fork and thought eggs grew on trees or something equally ridiculous. That was all. She especially didn’t want to look like that to someone who smelled nice and had dark eyes and who had only been in school for, like, a second and was already morepopular than Aru could ever dream of becoming, even if she brought an actual elephant to class and cookie cake to homeroom for the rest of the year.
“Called it!” shrieked Brynne happily, punching Aiden in the arm. “Knew you’d come through.”
He winced before grinning back. “Always.” He held up a picture on his phone. “Managed to get a shot of you and the thief who shape-shifted into Aru, andthen the real Aru in the background.”
In the picture, Brynne and Fake Aru looked like they were in the middle of an epic battle. In the background, Real Aru looked like she was in the middle of an epic sneeze. Great.
“I thought this would be enough to prove it, but the Councildidn’tbelieve me,” he said unhappily. “Do I still get lasagna as a reward?”
Brynne laughed. “Depends on whether Gunkyhas any left over.”
Aru and Mini glanced at each other and shrugged. It seemed Brynne and Aiden were friends. Good enough friends, apparently, to share lasagna and know someone named Gunky.What?
Brynne paused, looking between Aru and Aiden. “But … how’d you know her name?”
Aiden looked over at her. His expression got a little strange. “She, um, goes to school with me and lives across frommy house.”
“Wait,”said Brynne. A slow smile spread across her face as she spun one of the dozens of gold bracelets on her wrist. “The girlacrossfrom you?” She turned to Aru, her eyes sparkling. “Areyouthe one who said ‘I know where you live’? The creepy stalker girl?” Then she started to laugh.
Aru really wished her cloud slippers would fail so she could fall through the sky. Bright redspots appeared on Aiden’s cheeks. But he didn’t deny talking about her with Brynne. In that second, whatever scrap ofsomethingshe might have almost felt for him died on the spot.
Aiden Acharya was officially cancelled. Along with today.
“I was tired,” said Aru. “I said something weird. Get over it.”
“Yeah!” added Mini. “That’s nothing! Aru sayslotsof weird things. You get used to it.”
“Awesome. Thanks, Mini.”
Mini beamed.
Boo looked between Aru, Aiden, Brynne, and Mini and mumbled something that sounded likeWhy is this my lot?
“It is time,” said Urvashi, appearing at Boo’s side.
Hanuman popped up, too. “Say your good-byes.”
“Now that we have survived introductions,” Boo said to them, “I must go.”
Aru’s heart lurched. Shehadto get back that bow and arrow. She couldn’tlose her Pandava life, and she wouldn’t let Boo pay for a crime he didn’t commit. Boo might have done bad things in his past, but that was then…. Now he was like family. When he was in a good mood, he sometimes told her bedtime stories—except he called themevening lecturesand flat-out refused to sayonce upon a time.
Urvashi waved her hand and a dainty golden bar appeared in the air.
“Whatis that?” asked Mini warily.
Urvashi gently lifted Boo from Aru’s shoulder. The golden bar floated over to him and settled across the back of his neck. He hung his head. Then each end of the bar folded down and clamped his wings.
“You can’t do that to him!” said Aru and Mini at the same time.
Urvashi looked away. “We do not have a choice. It is the law that all possible accomplices are heldin custody until they are proven innocent.”
“What about ‘innocent until proven guilty’?” asked Aru. “You didn’t even read him his Miranda rights!”
Boo whispered to Mini, “Who’s Miranda?”
Aru felt proud that herLaw & Ordermarathons had finally come to good use, but Hanuman and Urvashi did not seem impressed.
