The First Last Day by Dorian Cirrone Page B

us. And your backpack was here the whole time.”
    â€œSo what do we have?”
    Kevin followed the numbers with his index finger. “It could be Serena. Or Mr. Sidhu. Or someone on thebeach or at mini golf. Or . . . your parents?” He looked up at me for approval.
    I nodded. “Go on.”
    â€œStill . . . I bet it’s either that guy in the restaurant or Marty.”
    â€œOkay, how do we figure out who it is?”
    â€œWe have to ask them all,” Kevin said. “We don’t have any choice.”
    â€œYou said, ‘we.’ You still want to help?”
    Kevin nodded.
    â€œEven if it means something bad might happen to G-Mags?”
    Kevin’s eyes welled up. “I believe you’d do anything to save G-Mags, just like I would.”
    I looked away. “You understand that tomorrow morning you will have forgotten all of this?”
    â€œIt’s hard to believe, but . . .”
    â€œCan I ask you something?”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œWhat do you think I should say tomorrow morning to convince you I’m telling the truth?”
    Kevin kicked a rock off the porch. “Tell me aboutG-Mags again. After a while, just like today, I’ll realize you’d never joke about something like that.”
    â€œIs that it? That’ll make you want to help me?”
    â€œTell me about your mom being pregnant right away. I know how much you’ve always wanted a brother or sister. And tell me about how I’ll never see Michael again.”
    I put the paints in my backpack. “Are you sure that’ll be enough? I’ll need you to believe that we already filmed the day and figured out who the suspects are.”
    Kevin thought for a minute. “I’ve got it! I’ll tell you something that only Michael and I know, something we’ve kept a secret forever.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    Kevin leaned all the way across the table and whispered, “Once, when I was little, I took out one of Michael’s baseballs and started throwing it in the air and catching it. The ball hit a glass clown that my mother loved, and I ran crying to Michael. He found some Krazy Glue and glued the clown’s hat back on so I wouldn’t get in trouble. Then the next day, he used his allowance to buy another clown. But he made me promise to never play ball in the house again—and to pay him back one day.”
    â€œDid you?”
    Kevin nodded.
    â€œSo, if I tell you this secret, you’ll believe everything else?”
    â€œI think so.”
    â€œOkay. That’s what I’ll tell you.”

CHAPTER 32
    T he next morning, I rewrote the names and places, adding the stars and color-coding. And as soon as I got to Annie’s, I texted Kevin and ordered breakfast for both of us.
    Once he arrived, I waited until he finished his egg and sausage bagel before reciting the story of the time loop, saving his secret for last.
    He looked at me, wide-eyed, then put his face in his hands. Finally, he raised his head. “There’s no way you’d know that secret if I hadn’t told you.”
    â€œThat’s what you said yesterday.” I slid the paper I’d worked on across the table. “These are the suspects.”
    â€œThis doesn’t look familiar at all,” he said.
    â€œWe worked on it together.”
    â€œI know you wouldn’t lie to me. But this is so weird.” He studied the list. “So you said we’ve already ruled out Annie, right?” He glanced toward the counter where she was adjusting Joey’s hairnet.
    â€œIt’s definitely not Annie.”
    â€œOkay, then.” He got up from the booth. “On to Serena.”
    Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I followed Kevin out the door. I still thought he was wrong about Serena being a suspect, but it was a good idea to ask her about the paints. She’d been an artist since she was my age, so she might