I knew he was watching me go.
28.
now
Okay. Think.
“I’m going to be smart about this,” I tell Yolo.
Everyone knows what happens when people in stories get wishes. They end up wasting them. It happens literally every time.
And I’m no different. If I do only have three, I’ve already kind of wasted one, wishing on Yolo.
Yolo full-outmeowsat me, and he sounds pissed, like he read my mind.
“No offense,” I say. “You’re the first animal I’d wish back. For sure. And you’d be ahead of most people.”
That thought thuds my heart.But notallpeople.There are some I want back so badly I feel like I’m clawing my way through every hour every minute every second without them.
Be careful. Think. Don’t get emotional. Yet.
Plus, what if I get greedy? What if I wish for the whole town back, and it’s too much for, like, the wishing system? What if there are limits? What if there aren’t?
Okay.To start, I should wish for something bigger than Yolo. A single person. See if that works.
If it does, then I’ll wish for the town. And ifthatworks, thenI’ll see if I have another wish. Maybe it’s not limited to three. Maybe the possibilities are endless.
I mean, if an entire town can disappear, anything can happen.
Right?
29.
once
“Listen up,” Syd said. “Here are the rules.”
Someone in the group huddled under the marquee was still talking. “I’m sorry,” Syd said, shining her phone’s flashlight on a startled-looking freshman boy. “Didyouneed to say something to the rest of us?”
Even in the weak beam, I could see him blushing. He looked both terrified and thrilled by her attention. “No, no,” he said, and another boy started laughing and muttered something. Syd moved her light to him, and he froze, too.
She waited. Until everything was perfectly quiet. Until you could hear a pin drop.
“We’re playing hide and seek,” Syd said. “Our way.”
Fall Creek Fridays weren’t the only informal tradition that team captains were responsible for carrying on. Sometimes we’d send out texts telling the team members to meet for random activities. All-you-can-eat night at the Pasta House. A movie at the ancient drive-in. And, at least once every summer: night games.
Syd and Alex had sent the text to both teams:MEET AT MARQUEE. 9 P.M.
“As I was saying,” she said. “Hide and seek. The rules. You can hide anywhere on the school grounds.Outside. With anyone you want to, from either team. Bonus points for making out.”
Syd always made everything a bit extra. That had never been part of the rules before.
“Syd,” I said, but she pretended not to hear me.
“How is whoever’s It going to find everyone else?” someone asked. “The grounds are huge.”
“Once you get found, you’ll start looking, too,” Alex said. “So pretty soon there’s a lot more than one person looking.”
