Graceful Read online

  Leo bangs his mallet on the side of a tree. Since it’s rubber, it makes pretty much no sound. He waves his arms instead. “All right, all right,” he says. “I know it’s hilarious that Mrs. Kelly thinks I clogged up her toilet, but we have more important things to focus on.” He holds out his hand to me. “Do you have the code?”

  I pull a folded piece of notebook paper out of my pocket and hand it to him. “I traced it,” I explain as he kneels down and spreads it out on our patio. The others gather around him.

  One by one the members of Team Grace gasp and turn pale. “This outer circle is about me!” Amanda says. “Me and Leo.”

  Rory points to the middle ring. “And this is me!”

  Tara wordlessly points to the circle inside Rory’s.

  I peer closer at the outer ring. All I see is a string of pictures: an apple, a duck, a candle, a cake, a potted plant, a bee, a lollipop, a football, a lizard, a drum, and then something square with eyes. “What’s that one?” I ask.

  Amanda shudders. “That’s SpongeBob SquarePants.”

  I look up, confused. “I don’t get it. What does a cartoon character have to do with the two of you?”

  Leo picks up the paper. “All of the things in this circle have something to do with our eleventh birthday. The one where we met Angelina for the first time.”

  “Look, David,” Amanda says, pointing to the tiny picture of the bee. “That’s you!”

  They all laugh, and I don’t bother to ask why it’s funny. Willow Falls is full of stories, most of them known only to a few. I got to see glimpses of them when I first got my powers, but now I only see an occasional flash when I sense a connection between two people. The older members of Team Grace each have a glowing, white light around them, and when they are all together like this, the lights reach for one another until the air pulses with a golden glow. These are the kinds of things I keep to myself.

  “Do you think this means Angelina’s not done with us yet?” Tara asks, the paper in her hand shaking.

  I can see the fear in her eyes. From what I’ve learned of her story, out of everyone on Team Grace, she had it the hardest. She and her family had to move every few years because Angelina kept finding them. Finally Tara was forced to come to Willow Falls to stay with relatives she barely knew, and then the craziness really began. Now her family is moving here, and she’s looking forward to a fresh start. One that doesn’t include Angelina.

  I stare down at the circle. The pattern reminds me of something, but I can’t think what it is. I close my eyes and reach deep down inside me, feeling around for the tiny magical spark resting there. I take a few deep breaths and focus harder. I can feel the spark like a lightning bug buzzing and zigzagging inside, warming me up and connecting me with a power greater than myself.

  Suddenly I know two things for certain. First, Angelina is done with the others, but I’m not. They’re a part of something big that’s coming, but it’s not today. It’s not this month. But it’s coming.

  And second, I need to do whatever it takes to get my full powers back, because when that big thing comes, I have to be ready to protect Willow Falls and everyone in it. I focus on the light within me, willing it to tell me more. It only twinkles and fades out.

  When I open my eyes, Team Grace is happily munching on a steaming, fresh pizza that has suddenly appeared on the picnic table. I know there’s no chance a pizza delivery guy dropped it off while I had my eyes closed. Leo and David are holding two slices each and grinning.

  “That is one handy talent, Grace!” Leo says, his mouth full of gooey cheese.

  I join them at the table and rest my head in my hands. Willow Falls is in big trouble.

  Dear Diary,

  Well, the strangest summer of my life is now over. And that’s saying a lot considering a few years ago I was stuck in my eleventh birthday for eleven days!! Still, I think traveling back in time out-weirds being stuck in time. Or maybe it’s a tie!

  I’m sure I wasn’t the only one today who was relieved when Grace told us that she won’t need us for a while, even though I feel a little guilty. Getting to be a part of the turnover of power from Angelina to Grace was an awesome experience, and I’m totally honored and all that, but I need to catch up with my real life. Like, Kylie invited me to go running with her in the mornings, and since it’s the first time my sister has asked me to do ANYTHING with her since we were little kids, I said yes. So now I have to get running shoes. And last-minute school supplies. Also, Stephanie’s having her thirteenth birthday party tonight — a swimming party — and I’m nervous since it’s mostly her gymnastics friends. Being a drummer in the school marching band has not upped my coolness factor. Having a boyfriend might, but I’m definitely not telling any of Stephanie’s friends about me and Leo. I just don’t know if I’m ready to be an official “girlfriend.” It sounds so grown-up. Leo always wants to “talk about our relationship,” but I keep changing the subject. It’s like all he thinks about. I know that’s supposed to be what I should want. Ugh, SOOOO confused. I think I just need a break.

  School starts in two days!!! I can’t wait to see if I’m in any classes with anyone from Team Grace. Well, of course Grace and Bailey won’t be in my classes, but I’ll still see them at school. Bailey’s a good kid, or a “good egg” as my dad would say. Going through what Grace is going through without a best friend by her side would be awful. I wish I had told Stephanie what was happening on my eleventh birthday while I was still going through it, but I was afraid of how she’d react. Grace is much braver than me, in many ways. I guess she has to be. I don’t think I’d want to be in her shoes, but she seems to be taking it pretty well. If someone told me that a vortex of magic energy had selected me, the one person in a hundred years, to protect a whole town, I’m pretty sure I’d be hiding under my bed right now.

  Kylie was right when she said writing things down would help me sort out my feelings. I think it’s helping. She gave you to me on my eleventh birthday, and I shoved you and your shiny purple cover in a drawer, and kinda forgot about you. Sorry, Diary!!

  TTYL,

  Me / Amanda / Drummer Girl / Girlfriend of Leo’s (not sure) / Best friend of Leo’s (always. At least I hope.)

  Ode to Magic Pizza

  By Leo Fitzpatrick

  O magic pizza, you are so yummy,

  Now you are sitting in my tummy,

  I swear you taste better than the real stuff,

  Almost like you were made with Marshmallow Fluff!

  Mmmm, fluff!

  Fluffernutter sandwiches are the best,

  And I have tried all the rest! But this poem is about

  Magic Pizza, which I will miss a ton,

  Because Grace kicked us out

  Of all the fun.

  She must want to keep you all to herself,

  Nah, I’m just kidding, but it will be rough.

  I’ll miss Team Grace and especially “A,”

  But I know I’ll still see her every day,

  Because now she’s my girlfriend … Yay!

  Rory: OMG!!! You are my first real text with my first real keyboard!!!!

  Jake: Your parents finally gave in?

  It took all my babysitting $ from the whole summer but I got it! I can even get pictures! It’s all very exciting!! :D times infinity! Sorry, that came out sounding way girly.

  Well, you ARE a girl after all! That’s what I like about you, it doesn’t take much to make you happy! ;-)

  True. So where are you right now?

  Backstage at my LAST D&P!! Huzzahh!!

  D&P?

  Oh sorry! Stands for Dog and Pony show. It’s where the cast tries to impress the people interviewing us so they want to be our best friends and say nice things about our movie.

  Have fun!

  I’d rather be hanging out in your strange town with you and your strange family and strange friends. ;-)

  LOL, my town and my family are definitely strange, but my friends are pretty normal.

&n
bsp; Dunno, I’m pretty sure two of them disappeared into thin air at the beach last month.

  … erp … um …

  Just kidding, didn’t mean to freak you out! gtg, thing starting. oo, J

  Rory: SO you’ll never guess what Jake just said.

  Amanda: Um, that he loves you and he’s leaving life in the spotlight for a peaceful, quiet existence in Willow Falls?

  Haha. No. He joked about seeing you and Leo disappear at the beach last month.

  That’s weird. If he saw us, why did he pretend not to? I mean he’s a good actor but i don’t think he’s that good!

  I think his brain is trying to make sense of it.

  Hey, this is a long text for you. Did u FINALLY get a normal phone???

  Yup!! Love it!!!!!

  Did Jake sign his text with the two o’s again? Someday you’ll change one to an x! ;o)

  I’m sure he’ll come to his senses before then and some other girl will get those x’s. Someone much cooler and cuter.

  No one is cooler and cuter than Rory Swenson, the pirate with the elephant ear. ;o)

  Speaking of kisses … how’s that coming with Leo?

  Gtg! Bye!

  Um, Amanda?

  Hellooooo?

  I know you’re still seeing these!

  No i’m not.

  LOL. See you in school tomorrow.

  Dear Julie,

  I’m sorry it’s taken me six weeks to write back since you sent your (FIFTEEN-PAGE!!) letter, but hey, better than the four years it took me last time!! And now you only have to read one letter, instead of all sixty-seven, so, bonus for you! I loved reading about everything that’s been going on in your life in the last four years!! I thought about you all the time, even though you didn’t know it. Rapunzel = a great name for a dog! I remember how you used to beg for one when we were little! I’m glad your parents worked things out, too, and that your brother is getting better. I’m enclosing two comic books in this envelope for him that my uncle gave me from his collection. Remind me to tell you one day about all the things he collects.

  It’s taken me this long to reply to your letter because knowing that you actually read ALL THOSE LETTERS that I had written to you but never mailed kinda threw me for a loop. It was my cousin Emily who sent them. She found where I hid them and didn’t even ask. I know she was trying to be nice (I think!!) but it kind of feels like someone stole my diary and sent it across the country. You know all my secrets now. Thank you for still wanting to be my friend after reading all that! And thank you for saying that we’re real friends now, not just pen pals like before, and for forgiving the fact that I just disappeared on you. Even though I wasn’t mailing the letters, writing them still made me feel close to you. Sounds crazy, I know. Now you’re the only person who really knows me, or I should say knew me, because I’ve definitely changed since I’ve been here. I can tell as I’m writing this that it sounds different from my other letters, and not just the words, the way I feel while writing them.

  After I got your letter, I realized that if I want to be close with the new friends I’ve made since coming to Willow Falls, I had to tell them about my life before I got here. I mean, they knew I didn’t have a lot of friends (okay, any really), but I finally told them the kinds of things I told you in the letters, about being lonely and how riding my bike gave me freedom, and stuff about my parents and their relationship. Then I finally came clean about the goat and the pepper spray, and repeating the story out loud kind of made it seem funny and not so tragic, and the fact that they were laughing so hard they were crying helped a bit, too!

  So as you know from letter #67 that I wrote right after the “Goat / Pepper Spray Incident,” I was sent away to stay with my cousin Emily (two years younger than you and me) and her parents (Aunt Bethany and Uncle Roger, who is a kind of famous inventor). They already had a houseguest, a cute/tan/friendly/strange (but good strange) guy from Australia named Ray who wants to be an actor — he used to be Uncle Roger’s assistant, but now he’s busy starting up the community theatre program here. Ray and Emily looked out for me when I first got here, even when I tried to keep to myself. But then remember how I complained in my letters how my mom always made us move all the time? Well, after I was here a few weeks, I found out why! It has to do with something my mom did when she was a kid. It’s a LONG story, and there are parts of it that I can’t talk about yet, but basically, my family got a lot closer because of it, so it had a happy ending.

  To tell you a little about my friends, the first person I met was this girl Amanda, who is very friendly and kind of marches to the beat of her own drum. I mean literally, she plays drums in the school marching band! That takes guts, right? She’s also kind of wise beyond her years, like she’s seen some stuff! She is dating this boy named Leo who she was best friends with since the day they were born, so that’s a little weird for her, I think. Leo is super nice, and he and I hit it off really easily. The other kids tease him about writing poems, but if he really does write them, I’ve never seen any.

  Then I met Rory, who became friends with Amanda and Leo a year ago. She also babysits my cousin Emily, even though Emily can totally take care of herself. I’ve never met anyone like Rory. Sometimes it’s almost as if she’s not there, like she blends into the background, but not on purpose, like the way I used to do it. But then other times — most times — she’s like this bright light, like a flame that people are drawn to because she’s so, I don’t know, innocent or something? Trusting? Thoughtful? She’s also funny and clumsy, and here’s the most AMAZING part: she’s doing this almost-dating thing with … hold on … you’ll never believe it … Jake Harrison!! I think it’s a secret, though, so please, please don’t tell anyone. You know that new movie he’s in, Playing It Cool, that just came out a few weeks ago? He filmed it right here!! Rory and a whole bunch of other kids in town got to be extras. Jake is super, super cool and nice and not at all movie-starry, if you can get past all the screaming fans and camera flashes going off. I thought I would die of embarrassment when my dad told him I used to kiss his poster every night before bed. I’m hoping there was too much noise at the premiere of the movie and he didn’t hear that! Yes, I met Jake!!! A few times, actually. He sang in a play that I produced. Yes, I produce plays now!!!!! Told you I’ve changed!!!! It was a one-time thing, though, that’s for sure!! I’m sure I’ve used more exclamation points so far in this letter than in all sixty-seven combined!!!

  Next I met a boy named Connor who works for my uncle because he wants to be an inventor when he grows up. He calls me New Girl even though I’ve lived here in Willow Falls now almost two months, but I kind of like it. I’ve never had a nickname before. At least not one that people called me to my face! ;o) Connor has a younger sister named Grace, who has a lot of responsibility for someone her age, and we’ve all agreed to help her whenever she needs us. Yup, I help people now, too! LOL. And I say things like LOL. And sometimes even “like” and “OMG.” I know, embarrassing, right? I think I just want to sound like everyone else.

  So the only person I haven’t mentioned yet is Connor’s best friend, David, who lives across the street from my aunt and uncle. He’s tall like me, so I don’t feel like a giant next to him like I do next to most kids our age. He is really smart and kind of anxious sometimes, but also really easygoing, and has this amazing voice when he sings outside. He’s kind of deep, ya know? Like an onion. I mean, in the way that there are layers to him that I’m still finding. Much more about him to tell, but that will have to wait for the next letter because my mom is dragging me out for school supplies because we’re moving here! And STAYING!!! Mom swears it this time!! So tomorrow I start yet another new school, but this time I’ll have friends before I even start. Me = very excited and kind of embarrassed that I’m so excited!!

  w/b/s and I promise I will, too!!!

  XO

  Tara, your old pen pal / friend

  PS: Thank you for saying my letters were better than any book you’ve read. I doub
t that, but it made me feel good!

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Subject: New Patient Questionnaire

  Dear David,

  We at OFT (Online Family Therapy) are looking forward to working with you as you adjust to this new phase of your family’s life together. Please answer the following questions honestly and openly. It will help us help you! Your mother believes you could benefit from our help and you can rest assured that your responses will be kept completely confidential.

  Q: Tell us a little about yourself.

  A: My name is David. I’m thirteen. Just had my bar mitzvah. I wear glasses, which I don’t mind because they make me look smarter. I like to sing. I like hanging out with my best friend, Connor, and other friends like Rory, Amanda, and Leo. I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up. I have a brand-new girlfriend named Tara, which I never thought I’d have. I mean, I never thought I’d have a girlfriend, not that I never thought I’d have one named Tara. You know what I mean. She and her family just moved in down the street from me. I liked her from the first time I looked up at her from the bottom of an empty pool hole. She is almost as tall as me, and I think she is very pretty even though she doesn’t think about stuff like what she wears or makeup or hair like some other girls. She says what’s on her mind (usually). She’s also independent and a deep thinker. We “get” each other. We’ve both had really bizarre experiences, and things like that can bond you for life. I don’t get to see her as much now that my dad’s home, but she totally understands.

  Q: How do you feel about your father returning home after so many years in the hospital and special clinics?

  A: Are you kidding? I’m still jumping up and down like a kid seeing snow for the first time.

  Q: How is your father adjusting to life at home?

  A: Great! We’re doing all sorts of fun things together to make up for lost time. Swimming, playing ball, long walks, and a lot of eating! It’s awesome. Usually it’s awesome. I mean, well, some days I guess it’s a little hard for him to be this big “medical miracle.” The doctors from his old clinic keep calling and asking about his overnight recovery, and my dad can’t blame them because he knows they want to help their other patients, but he doesn’t know what to tell them. All he knows is that one day he was completely healed. Sometimes he doesn’t want to leave the house, like he feels guilty or something, but then he’s usually okay after a bit.