A Fall for Friendship

by Megan Atwood

  The first happy screams from the customers reached their ears, and they saw the customers jump off the hay wagon and run toward the barn. Tabitha Garrison stood outside, yelling, “This way to escape the zombies! This way!” And then she made the signal for the next wave of zombies to chase the customers into the barn. Olive was already giggling, but in seconds they were running and limping and dragging their feet toward the customers. Peter made a long moaning sound, and Sarah groaned too. Lizzie limped and giggled, and Olive put on her best spacey look and shuffled toward the customers running into the barn.

  The customers ran inside, screaming the whole way, and the four zombie friends followed. They ran partway down the first aisle in the barn and then ducked under some long curtains that separated the rooms. They ended up in the area around the hayloft—exactly where they were supposed to be.

  Gloria and her friends mingled up above in the loft, and some of them muttered to themselves, clearly practicing lines. Olive heard the screams of the first wave of customers going through the barn, hitting all the rooms. She smiled to herself—this really was the coolest thing to be a part of. She could hear Hakeem roaring and knew he was operating the chainsaw (without the chain) and scaring the customers. She could hear Stella cackling over the dentist chair. She heard Aaron and Faiyaz, and even Dani, doing their parts to scare everyone. The town had come together to help out the Garrison Orchard. Just like they’d done for Verity Wentworth. Well, not exactly the same, but close.

  Suddenly, it was time for the play. Customers spilled out of the last room and huddled together, looking excited and scared, almost below the hayloft, staring up at the lights. Lizzie, Sarah, Peter, and Olive tiptoed around so that they were under the hayloft but could still see up. It was so dark in the barn, except where the actors were, that Olive wasn’t worried that they would distract the customers.

  Gloria appeared as Verity Wentworth and spoke. “I am but a simple farmer who loves the land. My family wishes to stay here and prosper. But then Papa had his accident—we are in serious trouble. I try and try to work this land, but it is too much without Papa. I am running out of options.” Then Gloria broke into tears.

  An actor spoke next, his voice filled with malice. “Verity Wentworth, I have heard about your plight. My name is Baron von Steuben and I have seen you in town. I want you as my wife. I will think about saving your paltry farm . . . but we must marry first. These are my terms to save your land and your family.”

  Gloria said, “But I shall not marry you, sir! And to demand that I do in such a way shows that you are no gentleman!” The emotion in Gloria’s voice gave Olive goose bumps, and she heard Lizzie gasp.

  Other actors came in, carrying props. “Miss Wentworth, don’t you worry,” said one of the actors. “This town will help you. We wouldn’t let you suffer. We take care of each other here.” They handed her baskets of food, and many of the other actors at the side of the hayloft took hoes and rakes and pretended to work the land.

  “How dare you!” the actor playing Baron von Steuben yelled.

  Verity said, “I think you should get off my land, sir.”

  Baron von Steuben let out an infuriated howl and stomped off. The lights in the hayloft went off once but then came back on.

  Verity sat in the middle, a spotlight just on her. “I fear the evil man has sabotaged the farm. We awoke to fire and chaos, and our hard work has been undone. I will appeal to him and ask him to stop his rampage.”

  People in the audience below the loft murmured “No!” and Olive smiled. She’d felt the same way during the story.

  Baron von Steuben joined Verity in the spotlight. “I see you’ve changed your mind,” he said, laughing evilly.

  Olive looked at the rest of her friends. It was almost time for them to do what they needed to do. Aunt Willow had given them specific instructions. When Gloria took her fall out of the hayloft, they would throw the powder in the air. Then they’d grab each other’s hands and say some words together that they’d practiced almost all day long. They all seemed ready. Olive put her hand in her pocket and felt the powder, clenching her fist around it and getting ready to throw.

  “I will NEVER marry you,” Verity said. “I’ve asked you here to appeal to your humanity!”

  “Never, eh? You’ll never marry me? Well then, what good are you to me?” Baron von Steuben screamed. He took Verity by the shoulders and threw her.

  Time seemed to stand still. Then three things happened at the same moment. A small glowing light appeared right where Gloria began to fall. The temperature in the barn dropped so that Olive could see her breath again. And a wind came out of nowhere, whipping people’s hair around and making a low, keening sound through the whole place.

  Then time sped up. Gloria dropped through the air and landed on the hay. Olive yelled “NOW!” and stepped in front of the people gathered in the middle of the room, now holding on to each other and looking genuinely scared. She threw the powder in the air over the glowing ball. For a moment, the powder seemed to settle around what appeared to be the shape of a woman. Olive’s brother and their two best friends rushed to her side. They grabbed her hands, and together the four of them yelled, “Justice is served; your story’s been told; the curse is over; peace be with you!”

  The glowing ball grew brighter and brighter, as it had before, and then flashed and disappeared. But in that one flash, Olive swore she could see Verity Wentworth smiling at them.

  And then the cold, the wind, the moaning, and the light disappeared completely.

  CHAPTER 20

  The Curse Is Lifted

  Olive finished taking her makeup off in the bathroom and looked at the black-, red-, green-, and white-stained towel. She laughed—being a zombie sure was messy.

  She walked back into the Garrisons’ dining room, where her dads, the Garrisons, Ms. Shirvani, and the sheriff all sat, not to mention her twin brother and her two favorite friends in the world. Many of New Amity’s citizens milled around the house, some of them still in costume from the haunted barn, all laughing and drinking hot apple cider. The house was cozy and bright, and Olive felt content. Their first night running the zombie hayride and the haunted barn had been an overwhelming success. And more than a few people had congratulated the Garrisons on the frightful performance.

  Olive was on her way to sit down next to her brother when she saw Gloria in the hallway. Gloria beckoned to Olive and gestured for her to gather Lizzie, Sarah, and Peter, too. So Olive said, “Hey, Gloria wants to talk to us.”

  The four of them followed Gloria out the back door and to the gazebo, which was covered in orange and purple lights. The moon was bright, even though it wasn’t full anymore, and though the air was chilly, it was a not-unpleasant change from the warm house. Gloria sat down on a bench in the gazebo and threw her scarf over her shoulder. Olive, Lizzie, Sarah, and Peter took seats too.

  “Babies,” Gloria started. “It seems we have been tricking each other. But now I ask for a truce. I will tell you my part if you tell me yours, regarding the events of the haunted barn.”

  Olive crossed her arms over her chest. “Why should we believe you? You lied before, clearly.”

  Gloria dropped the tone she normally used to speak to them. She spoke to them like she would to her friends. “Yes, that’s true. All I can do is promise I’ll tell the truth.”

  “Okay, you first,” Sarah said, and Lizzie squeaked in agreement.

  Gloria said, “We tricked you with that ball of light. It was something we were workshopping for the show. And I did have flashlight remotes—Lyra found this cool new tool that you can put in flashlights to make them seem haunted. It’s amazing what you can find at Halloween superstores.”

  Peter said, “Yeah, we knew that.”

  Gloria raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Methinks you’ve been somewhere you shouldn’t have been, perhaps.”

  “What about the cold?” Olive asked.

  Gloria got serious again. “I don’t know. I didn’t do that.�
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  “The barn doors being shut?” Lizzie asked.

  “Yes, that was us. But we didn’t do any wind.”

  Olive asked, “How about the ball of light tonight? How’d you do it again with all those people there?”

  Gloria breathed out. “Well, that’s the thing . . . I cut the light from the show. Too distracting, I thought. And my friends swear they didn’t do it. I mean, maybe they were mad ’cause I also cut some parts. But they’re loyal to the craft! I don’t think they would interrupt a performance.”

  Olive thought Gloria was telling the truth. Gloria went on, “So where did it come from?”

  They all shifted uneasily. Lizzie said, “Did you all . . . did you all see the outline of someone? And then a flash of . . .”

  Everyone in the gazebo answered, “Verity Wentworth,” at the same time. Olive shivered.

  “You said your aunt Willow had a dream about the Verity story?” Olive asked.

  Gloria nodded.

  “Well . . . Aunt Willow is the one who gave us the recipe for the justice powder. Do you think, maybe . . .” Olive trailed off, not wanting to be the one to say it.

  Peter looked at her. “So, do you believe we just saw a ghost?” he asked.

  Olive took a deep breath. “Well, I know I don’t know everything. And I believe that no matter what, we did something good tonight. I mean, we put on a spectacular hayride and haunted barn, right?” She grinned.

  “You’re okay with not knowing for sure?” Sarah asked.

  “Yep. I know what I need to know right now—and that’s that I have the best brother and the best friends in the world. And I live in the best town in the world. And, if I do say so myself, I make the best zombie in the world.”

  “Whatever!” said Sarah. “My zombie face was WAY better!”

  Peter said, “Come on, my moan worked the best.”

  And even Lizzie said, “Sorry, guys, but I’m pretty sure my walk made me the scariest zombie.”

  Pretty soon they were all talking over each other and laughing, knocking into each other in mock indignation.

  Gloria huffed out. “Such babies,” she said, and stood up. She walked away, but then she turned around and winked at them.

  Lizzie, Sarah, Peter, and Olive all winked back at her. And then continued arguing over who had made the best zombie ever.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First and foremost, I have to thank my delightful, brilliant, and kind editor, Emma Sector, for her thorough reads, her enthusiasm, and her tactful and amazing edits! Honestly, everyone should get the chance to work with someone like Emma. She makes the whole editing process fun while still being a genius editor.

  As always, a huge thank-you to my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, for her support and for sending me on the path for this series. Joan is simply awesome, and I’m always grateful and humbled to be represented by such a fantastic human being!

  Forever and always, I thank my friend-family: Anne, Jordan, Megan, Brett, Pete, Jenny, Natalie, and Patrick. And my other friend-family, which includes Sharon, Ella, Sophie, Shaun, and Sarah.

  And, of course, a huge thank-you to my family-family: my parents, Scott, Brianna, Colette, and Melanie.

  Finally, a BIG, BIG thank-you to you, dear reader. You make this all so much fun! Keep reading—it changes the world.

  Don’t miss Book 4:

  A SPRING TO REMEMBER

  The Orchard crew is trying their hand at matchmaking, but Lizzie isn’t so sure the couple actually wants their help. Find out what happens in the fourth Orchard Novel!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  MEGAN ATWOOD is an author and an assistant professor at Rowan University whose most recent books include the Dear Molly, Dear Olive series. When she’s not writing books for kids of all ages, she’s making new friends, going on zombie hayrides, and visiting haunted houses. And, always, petting her two adorable cats, who “help” her write every book.

  ALADDIN

  Simon & Schuster New York

  VISIT US AT SIMONANDSCHUSTER.COM

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Megan-Atwood

  Don’t miss the place where the adventures began!

  ICE CREAM SUMMER

  ONCE UPON A WINTER

  Or the adventures to come!

  A SPRING TO REMEMBER

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

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  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin hardcover edition September 2018

  Text copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Natalie Andrewson

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Book designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.

  Cover designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Cover illustration copyright © 2018 by Natalie Andrewson

  The text of this book was set in Baskerville.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Atwood, Megan, author. | Andrewson, Natalie, illustrator.

  Title: A fall for friendship / by Megan Atwood ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, [2018] | Series: An Orchard novel ; 3 | Summary: “Olive doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she does admit something weird is going on at the orchard”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017057975 |

  ISBN 9781481490511 (hc) | ISBN 9781481490528 (eBook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Friendship—Fiction. | Ghosts—Fiction. |

  Halloween—Fiction. | Apples—Fiction. | Orchards—Fiction. |

  New England—Fiction. | Humorous stories.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.A8952 Fal 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017057975