gesture over my heart. "Promise.
And there's something I want from you."
"Anything. "
"Tell me what happened yesterday when you
went to Manny's booth."
"Not much." She seemed more relaxed, leaning against the cart. "I only went because Manny is oh-so-fine, like a rebel with a brain. Everyone raves
about his predictions and I wanted to see what
he'd tell me."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing much. The reading was a total dud."
"Really?" I asked, relieved.
"Yeah. I know he's your friend, but the whole
Mystic Manny act is totally fake." She rolled her
eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I still think he's cute
and he was great to help out with our fundraiser.
But his prediction was so far off, it was pathetic."
I let out a relieved breath. "So he didn't say
anything ... weird?"
"Just the usual mumbo jumbo you'd expect
from a fake."
"What exactly?"
"Hmmm . . . let me think." She touched her
chin. "He pretended to go into a trance and his crystal ball let off this eerie glow. A way cool special
effect."
"You have no idea," I murmured.
"The glow got brighter and he kept staring at
the ball. Then he spoke my name in a raspy voice
and said, `The person you fear will pay you a surprise visit."' She chuckled. "You're my only surprise
visitor and I'm not afraid."
"Nothing scary about me," I managed to say
like I was joking.
"I was hoping for an interesting prediction. Like
I'd fall in love with a tall, dark stranger or my mom's
lottery numbers would finally win and we'd be rich.
But Mystic Manny was a big disappointment."
"How can you be sure the prediction is fake?"
"I'm not afraid of anyone."
"No one at all?" I persisted.
"No. Well, there used to be but-" She stopped,
gripping the handle of a broom. "But he doesn't
scare me anymore."
"If this guy suddenly showed up, would you
be afraid?"
"Can't happen. Impossible."
"How come?"
She met my gaze. "He's dead."
The aroma of cleaners and stale air added to the uncomfortable silence that followed Jill's words. I wasn't
sure what to say. On one hand it was reassuring to
know that one of Manny's predictions couldn't happen. But it was freaky to see Jill so shaken. I'd always
admired her calm confidence, yet now she seemed
vulnerable.
"I didn't mean to bring up awkward stuff," I
told her.
"It's okay." She pushed a stray honey-blond
curl from her forehead. "In fact, it feels like I could
be real with you and you'd understand my secrets."
"Well ... thanks. I'm good at keeping secrets."
"You are, aren't you?" She looked at me curiously. "I always thought you were quiet because you
were shy."
"It's hard to get a word in with Penny-Love
around," I joked.
"Or maybe you don't say much because you
have your own secrets."
"Me?" I feigned shock. "Not unless you count
the D on my science test that I hid from my
grandmother."
"Ooh, big crime. You deserve jail time."
"I confess, I'm guilty." I held out my wrists.
"Slap on the handcuffs."
She pushed my hands away, smiling. "You
know, it's nice talking to you like this, without
everyone else around. Usually I'm all focused on
running the squad."
"You're good at it and everyone respects you."
"I got them fooled. You may not know this,
but my attitude is one hundred percent bull."
"Nah. Only eighty percent." We both laughed,
then she announced that she was due a break. She left her cleaning supplies and led me to a small
room with a couch, kitchenette, and coffeemaker.
She poured herself coffee and offered me a
cup. I wasn't wild about coffee, so I accepted raspberry tea. We settled on the couch and she turned
to me with an embarrassed expression. "You must
be wondering why I took such a grubby job."
"Well ... a little," I admitted.
"I think I can trust you to keep this between
us. No one else at school knows."
Sipping my tea, I waited.
"I need this job so I can afford cheerleadering.
You have no idea how expensive it is-uniforms,
cheer camp, and traveling."
"Don't your mother and
And there's something I want from you."
"Anything. "
"Tell me what happened yesterday when you
went to Manny's booth."
"Not much." She seemed more relaxed, leaning against the cart. "I only went because Manny is oh-so-fine, like a rebel with a brain. Everyone raves
about his predictions and I wanted to see what
he'd tell me."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing much. The reading was a total dud."
"Really?" I asked, relieved.
"Yeah. I know he's your friend, but the whole
Mystic Manny act is totally fake." She rolled her
eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I still think he's cute
and he was great to help out with our fundraiser.
But his prediction was so far off, it was pathetic."
I let out a relieved breath. "So he didn't say
anything ... weird?"
"Just the usual mumbo jumbo you'd expect
from a fake."
"What exactly?"
"Hmmm . . . let me think." She touched her
chin. "He pretended to go into a trance and his crystal ball let off this eerie glow. A way cool special
effect."
"You have no idea," I murmured.
"The glow got brighter and he kept staring at
the ball. Then he spoke my name in a raspy voice
and said, `The person you fear will pay you a surprise visit."' She chuckled. "You're my only surprise
visitor and I'm not afraid."
"Nothing scary about me," I managed to say
like I was joking.
"I was hoping for an interesting prediction. Like
I'd fall in love with a tall, dark stranger or my mom's
lottery numbers would finally win and we'd be rich.
But Mystic Manny was a big disappointment."
"How can you be sure the prediction is fake?"
"I'm not afraid of anyone."
"No one at all?" I persisted.
"No. Well, there used to be but-" She stopped,
gripping the handle of a broom. "But he doesn't
scare me anymore."
"If this guy suddenly showed up, would you
be afraid?"
"Can't happen. Impossible."
"How come?"
She met my gaze. "He's dead."
The aroma of cleaners and stale air added to the uncomfortable silence that followed Jill's words. I wasn't
sure what to say. On one hand it was reassuring to
know that one of Manny's predictions couldn't happen. But it was freaky to see Jill so shaken. I'd always
admired her calm confidence, yet now she seemed
vulnerable.
"I didn't mean to bring up awkward stuff," I
told her.
"It's okay." She pushed a stray honey-blond
curl from her forehead. "In fact, it feels like I could
be real with you and you'd understand my secrets."
"Well ... thanks. I'm good at keeping secrets."
"You are, aren't you?" She looked at me curiously. "I always thought you were quiet because you
were shy."
"It's hard to get a word in with Penny-Love
around," I joked.
"Or maybe you don't say much because you
have your own secrets."
"Me?" I feigned shock. "Not unless you count
the D on my science test that I hid from my
grandmother."
"Ooh, big crime. You deserve jail time."
"I confess, I'm guilty." I held out my wrists.
"Slap on the handcuffs."
She pushed my hands away, smiling. "You
know, it's nice talking to you like this, without
everyone else around. Usually I'm all focused on
running the squad."
"You're good at it and everyone respects you."
"I got them fooled. You may not know this,
but my attitude is one hundred percent bull."
"Nah. Only eighty percent." We both laughed,
then she announced that she was due a break. She left her cleaning supplies and led me to a small
room with a couch, kitchenette, and coffeemaker.
She poured herself coffee and offered me a
cup. I wasn't wild about coffee, so I accepted raspberry tea. We settled on the couch and she turned
to me with an embarrassed expression. "You must
be wondering why I took such a grubby job."
"Well ... a little," I admitted.
"I think I can trust you to keep this between
us. No one else at school knows."
Sipping my tea, I waited.
"I need this job so I can afford cheerleadering.
You have no idea how expensive it is-uniforms,
cheer camp, and traveling."
"Don't your mother and
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