“You heard me. I’ll tell on you. Yep, it’s tattling, and I don’t care. Everyone else’s fortunes have come true, so you arenotgoing swimming in the lake.”
“Until when? Forever? You’re being silly.”
“Am I? Really?”
“Jin didn’t ask you to the dance because of a fortune-teller. He was already going to ask you. Everyone knew it. And I bet his mom put that kitten in his garage to surprise him. She’s just not admitting it because his dad doesn’t like cats. Yeah, sure, Brad got twenty bucks in the mail, but it’s his birthday this week. His dad probably felt bad after he mailed the empty card and sent the money separately.”
“And Trevor? Getting a B on the math test when he barely knows his multiplication tables? Explainthat.”
“Maybe his parents got him a tutor, and he’s too embarrassed to admit it. It’s not the fortune-teller, Ellie. Now get out of my way. I’m going swimming.”
“You’renot going swimming,” Brad said, blocking the path to the swimming hole. “Ellie’s right, Mina. You can’t take a chance.”
Jin stepped up beside Brad. “I’m sorry, Mina. I know it sounds silly?—”
“Weren’t you the one who said it was all in fun?” Mina crossed her arms and glared at all of them before her gaze returned to Jin.
“I know,” Jin said. “But…” He shrugged. “What if it’s not? What if it was a warning? I didn’t believe in stuff like that, but so many of the fortunes came true that I just think… I think you shouldn’t take a chance. It’s not that hot out anyway. We don’t need to swim. Let’s find something else to do.”
Thatafternoon, they’d gone to a movie. But then the next weekend, Jin’s family had a BBQ with a pool party, and Ellie really did need to steal Mina’s bathing suit to keep her from going in. There was a summer full of pools and lakes and beaches ahead, and she’d despaired to Jin that she didn’t know how she’d ever keep Mina from going in the water.
Then a miracle happened. Well, a near tragedy that turned into a minor miracle, which proved that the Lorddidwork in mysterious ways.
Mina had choked on a glass of water at school. She’d been drinking and laughed, and it went down wrong, and normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Mina started choking for real. One of the teachers ran over and got Mina breathing again, and he said Mina just panicked. But it was scary. Scary enough that even Mina decided maybe there was something to the fortune-teller’s words. Better safe than sorry. No swimming this summer for her.
The weekend after the choking incident, Ellie was hanging out at Mina’s place. Mina’s parents were at a church meeting, and the girls were making brownies when Ellie forgot to lock the mixer into place, and batter went everywhere…mostly into Mina’s hair.
“Stop that,” Mina snapped as Ellie tried wiping the batter out with a kitchen towel. “I’m going to need a bath.”
“You mean a shower.”
“I mean a bath. Our shower’s broken, remember?”
“Y-you can’t?—”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. It’s a bath, Ellie. What do you think I’ve been doing for the last three weeks? Washing my hair in the bathroom sink?”
Mina stomped off, leaving Ellie standing there.
“Mina?”Ellie knocked tentatively at the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”
No answer.
“I know you’re mad at me about the beaters, but I finished the brownies. They’re all done and cooling, and you’re still having your bath, and I’m…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m kind of worried.”
Across the house, the front door whooshed open.
“Something smells good in here,” Mina’s dad called.
Ellie raced to the hall and told them what had happened with the batter.
“She’s been in the bathroom for almost a half hour now,” Ellie said. “And she’s not answering me.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’s fine. You know how she gets.”
Mina’s dad strode past. Ellie jogged behind him. He stopped in the rear hall and banged on the bathroom door.
Mina didn’t answer.
