by Sarah Rubin
I tried to spot Sammy in the crowd, but he wasn’t there. Later, Dad found out that he’d been sent to stay with an aunt in Arizona. Dad said she sounded nice and that Sammy seemed happy there. I hoped he was right. I wrote him a letter to say sorry, but I never heard back from him. Not that I blame the kid, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either.
‘It’s not your fault, you know,’ Kevin said. He’d showed up the morning after Mr Delgado’s arrest demanding that I help him finish the rest of his workbooks. Summer detention had started days ago, but I guessed he’d sweet-talked Principal Chase into giving him an extension. Maybe she saw the story Dad wrote about us and felt bad she hadn’t believed him before.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You. You’re moping around like it’s your fault Mr Delgado got in trouble. It isn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong. They did. It wasn’t your job to protect everyone.’ Kevin was on a roll now, his blond curls bouncing. I could just picture him holding a sword – an avenging angel indeed.
‘Hey, don’t laugh. I’m serious,’ he said. ‘You gave him a chance. He should have come clean on his own.’
‘That would have been nice.’
It would have been even nicer if Mr Delgado had come clean about Dr Learner’s condition from the start. If he hadn’t planned the magic trick of the disappearing scientist and led us all on such a wild goose chase, none of this mess would have happened.
‘I’m sorry you didn’t get the reward money,’ I added.
Kevin shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal. It’s not like I can ride a bike right now anyway.’ He wiggled his cast at me. ‘I just wish we’d found the suit.’
‘There was no suit.’ I rolled my eyes.
Kevin leant back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. ‘I don’t know. I mean, Sammy’s a little strange, but what he said could be true. Maybe it was in Dr Learner’s apartment the whole time and we just couldn’t see it.’
I shuddered at the memory of Dr Learner’s filthy apartment. It was hard enough to find things that weren’t invisible in all that mess, let alone something that was. The image of that one clean square of space next to Dr Learner’s bed flashed into my brain. I’d assumed that it was empty because someone had taken something away, but what if I was wrong? What if it hadn’t been empty at all? Could the suit have been right there in front of me the whole time? For a moment I considered the possibility, and then logic kicked back in.
‘No,’ I said. ‘It can’t be true.’
‘Ah.’ Kevin grinned like the devil. He’d been waiting for that. ‘But you can’t prove it isn’t true, can you?’
I stared at him, mouth open. He was right. No matter what I believed, I couldn’t prove he was wrong. Kevin tapped his pencil on the counter like he was playing the drums. I think he was enjoying himself.
‘Don’t you have a workbook to finish?’ I asked. I was also pretty sure he was trying to annoy me so I’d stop moping about Sammy.
‘Three more questions, ma’am.’ He gave me a quick salute and got back to work.
Despite what Kevin said, sometimes I still wondered if I’d done the right thing. Maybe if I’d kept my mouth shut, or asked Dad to write the story in a different way, I could have made everyone happy. I spent hours lying on the couch trying to figure out where I’d gone wrong. Trying to find the perfect solution.
Maybe that was why I liked maths so much. An equation might be tough, but that nice, clean correct answer on the page when you finally worked it out? That was beautiful.
I guess life just wasn’t so easy. Telling the truth was as close to perfect as I could get.
Kevin finished the last problem and stretched back in satisfaction.
I reached across and took the worksheet so I could check his answers. I could feel him watching me while I worked.
‘So your sister’s opening night is coming up?’
‘She told you too?’ I didn’t look up.
‘Are you going with anyone?’
‘I’m going with my dad.’
Kevin went quiet. I put down the workbook and stared at him.
‘Wait, you want to come see Annie at the Walnut Street Theatre? You’re joking.’
Kevin’s cherub-cheeks turned bright pink. ‘I helped your sister rehearse. I think I should go see her perform.’
I laughed. ‘OK, fine. I’ll take you to see Annie if you promise to come to the Franklin Institute to see the M. C. Escher exhibit with me.’
Kevin looked appalled. ‘Wait, I have to go see Annie and go to a museum?’
‘Hey, you’re the one who wants to go to the play.’ I folded my arms. Take it or leave it, pal.
‘Fine, but you have to push my wheelchair.’
We stared at each other so hard, I could almost feel sparks.
‘All right, it’s a deal.’
I went back to checking the workbook. He’d actually done a pretty good job. I wondered what Kevin would think if I asked him to help me prove Goldbach’s Conjecture? The thought of him juggling all of those prime numbers was so funny it was almost worth a try.
What can I say? I like a challenge.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to the Kids from the Dark Side (Dave, Vila/Celeste, Geoff and Deven) for pointing out the good, the bad and the ugly and helping me fill in those pesky plot-holes. Thanks also to Lawrence and David for their feedback as early beta readers.
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Lindsey Fraser, for her encouragement and support as well as her editorial advice. A critique from Lindsey always makes me excited to write another draft!
I’d also like to thank the team at Chicken House. I was thrilled to work with them again, and though some of the faces may have changed, the spirit of joy and imagination and their love of great stories certainly hasn’t! Thank you to Barry Cunningham, Rachel Leyshon and Kesia Lupo for helping me keep sight of the fantastical.
Finally, I’d like to thank my whole family for their love and support: to my dad for taking me to the Franklin Institute and teaching me that learning is fun; to my mom for always having a bookshelf full of mysteries; and to my husband Chris for being a real maths expert and keeping me (and Alice) on the straight and narrow.
TRY ANOTHER GREAT BOOK FROM CHICKEN HOUSE
DREAMER BALLERINA by SARAH RUBIN
All you need is a dream and two feet!
Casey Quinn has got to dance. It’s in her bones.
She’s got more grace in her pinkie toe than all those prissy ballet-school girls put together, though you’d never guess it from her skinny white chicken-legs and her hand-me-down ballet shoes.
When Casey shuts her eyes, she sees the bright lights of the New York City stage.
She’s going to get there. Somehow.
‘Deftly balancing themes of good fortune and passion, hope and heartache, Rubin’s fine debut will appeal widely to artists and dreamers alike.’
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Paperback, ISBN 978-1-906427-61-0, £6.99
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CIRCUS MIRANDUS by CASSIE BEASLEY
Micah’s beloved grandfather is sick, but all is not lost. Years ago, he visited a mysterious circus where he was promised a miracle by a man who could bend light.
But who is this stranger, and will he keep his word? Micah sets out to find the magical Circus Mirandus, but does it really exist?
‘Heart-warming and charming . . . if you love Roald Dahl it’s definitely worth a read . . .’
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THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY
by TRENTON LEE STEWART
When a peculiar advertisement appears in the newspaper for children to take part in a secret mission, children everywhere sit a series of mysterious tests. In the end, just Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance succeed. They have three thing
s in common: they are honest, remarkably talented and orphans.
They must go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. There they must work as a team to save not only themselves, but also the world outside the walls.
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THE GLASS BIRD GIRL by ESME KERR
Edie is sent to Knight’s Haddon to keep an eye on Anastasia, the daughter of a wealthy Russian prince. But what she discovers at the castle-like boarding school is that nobody is quite as they seem. And when a precious glass bird goes missing, only Edie sees the bigger mystery unfolding . . .
‘. . . perfect for Blyton fans – and girls dreaming of adventure.’
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‘. . . it really hits the spot.’
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HOOK’S DAUGHTER by HEIDI SCHULZ
Jocelyn dreams of following in her father’s footsteps, but her grandfather sends her to finishing school instead.
When Captain Hook meets his end, Jocelyn sails to Neverland to avenge him. But she hadn’t bargained on ticking crocodiles, lazy pirates and a trouble-making Peter Pan . . .
‘. . . a captivating mixture of fearsome pirates, a courageous and adventurous female lead character, and a sarcastic yet charming narrator. In other words, this book is absolutely fantastic!’
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Text © Sarah Rubin 2016
First paperback edition published in Great Britain in 2016
This electronic edition published in 2016
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Sarah Rubin has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
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Produced in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY
Cover and interior design and illustration by Helen Crawford-White
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data available.
PB ISBN 978-1-910002-86-5
eISBN 978-1-910655-50-4
