from. They bought hot dogs, soda, popcorn, andâbest of allâcotton candy, whipped and spun onto paper cones like fancy pink hairdos. Joselle loved how cotton candy melted when it touched her tongue. She ate hers and nearly half of Blazeâs. Her teeth ached from all the sugar.
âThis is fun,â Blaze said.
âYeah,â said Joselle. âBut I think I ate too much.â
They were seated at a picnic table, among many, under a large yellow tent. The sunlight shone through the tent, casting a jaundiced look onto everything.
âWant to walk around?â Blaze asked.
âLetâs just sit a while longer,â Joselle said. âWe can watch people.â
âOkay.â
Joselle played with the soggy paper cone from her cotton candy. âDid you ever wish you were someone else?â she asked.
Blaze shrugged. âNot really.â
âI do, sometimes.â Joselle waited for Blaze to ask: who? But when he didnât, she continued. âIs there anything about yourself youâd change if you could? Is there anything you donât like?â
Blaze shrugged again.
âIâd get rid of these awful teeth, if I could.â Joselle said, pointing to her mouth. âAnd Iâd like to be smaller. Like you.â
âI wish I was bigger ,â Blaze said. âAnd I donât like my scars. From the fire.â
Joselle played dumb. âWhat scars?â
Blaze got off the bench and walked over to Joselleâs side of the picnic table. âThese,â he said, turning his ankles and nodding. âI was in a fire one Fourth of July. I got burnedâso did three other kids. It wasnât that bad. They did some skin grafting. I think they could do more if I really wanted them to. . . .â
Joselle leaned over and touched Blazeâs right ankle. âTheyâre tiny,â she said. âIâd take your scars over my teeth any day. I always wanted a scar. They make you look brave.â
âReally?â
Joselle nodded. âYeah.â
âYou wouldnât lie to me?â said Blaze.
âNever,â Joselle replied, feeling her cheeks turn pink as polished apples. âLetâs go,â she said, rising abruptly from the bench and running toward the crowd.
âWait up,â Blaze called.
They wove in and out of the artistsâ booths. Sometimes Joselle ran ahead and hid behind a tree or a group of people, then rushed out in front of Blaze. Small red flags flapped in the breeze.
âLook!â Joselle said suddenly, bending over. âA lucky penny.â
âLetâs see,â said Blaze.
Joselle handed the penny to Blaze. âItâs yours,â she said, âon one condition. You have to tell me your wish.â
Blazeâs little fingers curled and uncurled around the penny. âRight now?â
âThink about it and let me know. But if you donât tell me, it wonât come true. True, true, true,â Joselle called, running ahead again, dodging in and out of the crowd.
Throughout the afternoon, Joselle was content to sit and observe. She watched Claire interact with the shoppers and browsers. And she watched Glenn holding Claireâs money box, making change when he needed to. But when she and Blaze went back to the refreshment stand to get something for Glenn and Claire to eat, Joselle did more than observe. When a boisterous man cut ahead of Blaze in line, Joselle elbowed him. âExcuse me!â she said crisply. âMy friend was here first.â She felt very protective.
It wasnât until they were driving home at sunset that Joselle remembered that she had taken the fox from Blazeâs room. And it dawned on her why she had done it. With the fox in her possession, she might have a kind of power over Blaze. It might add strength to her wishes concerning him. Unlike the key collection he had given her, the foxâs whereabouts were unknown to him;
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