The woman blinked. “Little Lena Perris, is that you? You’re all grown up! How’s your aunt doing? I haven’t seen her in ages!”
“She’s good,” Lena said. “Um, are you okay?”
Viv dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “When I heard the news about Watts, I didn’t know where else to go.” She let out a sound between a sob and a laugh. “My jokes are such a mess, and I have a gig this weekend. Normally I’d come here to run them by Watts, but…”
“I’m sorry,” Lena said. “If it helps, I, um, heard he went peacefully in his sleep.” This was technically true, even though his soul wasn’t anywhere near at peace yet.
Viv staggered over to a chair and sank down into it, only to instantly jump up when a loud farting sound echoed through the store. Sure enough, there was a whoopee cushion on the seat.
“Typical Watts,” Viv said with a sad chuckle.
Lena’s ears perked up. She thought she’d heard a faint laugh coming from behind her. Was it possible Mr. Watts was still here? If she could get him to laugh again, she might be able to figure out where he was.
He obviously enjoyed it when people looked ridiculous, so Lena grabbed a pile of fake dog poop from a nearby table and stuck it on her head. Viv looked at her like she was insane, but Lena heard the laugh again. It was coming from near a stack of boxes marked “Fart Powder.”
“How did you know Mr. Watts?” Lena asked, inching toward the boxes.
“I am—was—in his stand-up classes. He taught me how to be funny when everyone else said I was hopeless.”
“I thought that wasn’t the kind of thing you could teach,” Lena said, remembering what Mr. Jackson had once said about Abigail’s “natural comedic timing.”
Viv began wandering around the stacks of boxes until she was practically hidden among them. “Watts said you couldn’t teach a piece of wood to be funny because it had no emotions, but if a person feels things, that person can do comedy. And he was right. I used to be—”
Lena didn’t hear the rest. At that moment, she saw the ball of light hovering near a set of shelves. She lunged, trying to call up her energy, but her fingers only flared once and went out. She felt the warmth of the soul zip past her fingers before it disappeared out the window.
“Gah!” Lena cried. She’d almost had it! Whatever Marcus was feeling at that moment must have messed up her powers again.
“Are you okay?” Viv asked, peering around a box of fake mustaches.
Just then, Lena’s hand flared up purple again, all on its own. She quickly hid it behind her back. Had Viv seen? If Lena’s powers were working properly, other people shouldn’t notice anything strange, but the normal rules didn’t seem to apply anymore.
“Lena? Is everything all right?” Viv asked. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like she’d noticed the glowing fingers.
“I have to go,” Lena said. Then she stopped. “Actually, do you know where Mr. Watts lived?” Maybe his soul bounced around between there and here.
Viv nodded and gave her an address. “It’s right next to the Laundromat.” She sniffed. “Watts always said that thanks to that place, he hated the smell of clean clothes. He’d joke about throwing dirt on his shirts the minute he took them out of the dryer.” She started to cry softly.
“Is there anything I can do?” Lena felt bad leaving her like this.
Viv shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Tell your aunt I say hi.”
Lena hovered for another minute, still unsure. Finally, Viv waved her away, insisting she was fine.
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay,” Lena said lamely. Then she rushed out the door and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She called Marcus, but it went straight to voice mail. Maybe he was still at the hockey game. Whatever he was doing, it was clearly making him feel all sorts of things.
She’d always liked how Marcus was so much more sensitive than other guys their age, but for once, she wished he could feel things a little less deeply. Then maybe there wouldn’t be a lost soul wandering around, getting more and more out of control.
Chapter 13
“Marcus!” his mom called. “You have a guest.”
Marcus jumped up from his worktable, the familiar panic washing over him. He never had people over to his house. Even though it wasn’t a total shrine to Ann-Marie’s track accomplishments anymore and his mom had been making slightly less smelly art projects in the basement recently, it was still an embarrassing mess.
When he saw Lena standing in the doorway, he relaxed for a second. She was the only person he’d ever trusted to see the inside of his house. But the look on her face told him that something was wrong.
“Remember that it’s a school night,” his mom said. But then she gave him a little wink and headed back to her studio.
“Marcus, did something happen at the hockey game tonight?” Lena asked, dragging him outside onto the porch. “Is that why my powers were going nuts again?”
“Whoa, slow down.” He shut the door to the house and waved her over to the swing, even though it was a cold night. He didn’t want his family to overhear. “What’s going on?”
As Lena told him about losing the soul at the joke shop, she furiously paced around the porch. “So?” she asked when she was done. “Were your emotions off or anything?”
Marcus thought it over, trying to put what he’d been feeling into words. “When I first got to the game, I was confused about Peter and Claire. And then it seemed like fixing my sister up with someone else was hopeless. But then it turned out Peter and Ann-Marie might be a good match after all, if I can figure out how to get Claire out of the picture.”
“So your emotions were all over the place, just like my powers,” Lena said, plopping down beside him. “I hate this! Everything feels so out of control!”
“Lena, it’s okay,” he said, putting his arm around her. “We’ll make some rules, that’s all. Next time one of us has an assignment or is doing anything with our powers, we’ll text each other and make sure we’re calm and relaxed.”
“But what if we can’t do that? What if—”
“I’ll ask my sister for some stretches,” he said. “Stuff to calm us down. She was really into yoga last year. Maybe that would help.”
Lena let out a long sigh. “I bet my dad could recommend some scientifically proven relaxation techniques.”
“And Eddie’s working to fix this, so it won’t be forever.”
“You’re right,” Lena said, giving him a weak smile. “I’ve just never messed up this badly before.”
Marcus smiled back. He could relate. “I was actually wishing one of my matches would break up today, even though that would end my perfect matchmaking streak,” he said. “I guess we’re both a little off. But we’ll get back on track, okay?”
“You always know what to say to make me feel better.” She bumped his elbow with hers. “Have I mentioned how awesome you are?”
Marcus felt his ears get hot. “You might have, but it’s always nice to hear it.” He didn’t know what Eddie had been talking about when he’d said the two of them weren’t in tune with each other.
“Okay, so the plan is that we don’t let things rattle us.” Lena laughed. “I used to be great at that. This should be easy!”
He wasn’t sure “easy” was the right word, but as long as their lives stayed calm from now on, everything should be okay.
Chapter 14
Marcus was on his way to lunch when Caspar Brown cornered him in the hallway. Marcus’s instinct was to run, but he told his feet to stay put. He wasn’t afraid of Caspar anymore, he reminded himself.
“Hey, I liked what you did with that space station,” Caspar said. Since he barely opened his mouth when he talked, all his words came out sounding more like grunts. “Someone said you have an old space robot too, the kind with the long metal arms?”
Mar
cus swallowed. He hadn’t wanted to believe that the guy who’d spent months torturing him was now willing to pay him for his models, but Marcus also hadn’t been able to turn down the offer, not when he had Lena’s Christmas present to save up for. But the robot was different.
“That one’s not for sale.” He couldn’t get rid of it, no matter how much he wanted to impress Lena.
“Fine,” Caspar said, puffing air through his nose like a bull. “Let me know if you change your mind.” Then he ambled away, probably off to give some unsuspecting sixth grader a wedgie.
Marcus slipped into the cafeteria and headed toward Lena’s table. He couldn’t wait until he had enough money to buy tickets to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Blue Hills Theater. When Lena had brought up the idea of going together, he hadn’t known what to say. “I don’t want to get tickets with you, because I’m planning to get them for you for Christmas?” He could tell she’d been disappointed by his reaction, but he hoped she’d forget about all of that once he gave her the present.
As Marcus sat down at Lena’s lunch table, he wasn’t surprised to hear Hayleigh talking about Emery Higgins yet again.
“You’re sure he didn’t say anything about liking someone in the play?” Hayleigh was grilling Abigail. “That’s what Connie Reynolds said.”
Abigail groaned. “I told you, Emery barely ever talks! For all I know, he has crushes on everyone.”
“Maybe we should go ask Connie,” Hayleigh said, already getting to her feet. “Come on.” Then, despite Abigail’s objections, Hayleigh dragged her off to the far end of the cafeteria where Connie Reynolds was holding court at the popular kids’ table.
“Emery is kind of cute,” Natalie chimed in, looking up from the green notebook that she had tucked in her lap. “Even with the braces.”
Marcus squinted across the cafeteria to where Emery and Justin Alvarez were tossing French fries across the table at each other. For a second, Marcus thought he saw a hint of a gray aura around Emery’s head, almost like he was meant to get a love boost soon. But when Marcus looked again, it was gone. He must have imagined it.
Lena laughed. “I’m pretty sure the braces are how Emery got cast as the Cheshire Cat. He totally looks the part.”
“I was the Cheshire Cat a couple years ago!” Natalie said. “They painted my whole face so it looked like I had nothing but teeth!” She let out a chirping laugh that sounded oddly fake. Marcus couldn’t help wondering if she was always this cheerful.
“I didn’t know you liked acting,” Lena said.
“I’m not that good, but I love doing plays! It’s so much fun!” Natalie turned to Marcus. “Don’t you think so? Lena said you’re helping out with the sets for Alice.”
Marcus coughed. Honestly, he was dreading having to go back to the theater and paint more trees. How much shrubbery could possibly fit on a single stage? But painting sets was way better than watching videos of old plays. Lena had already forced him to sit through a recording of last year’s school play. He didn’t remember much of it, mostly because his eyes had kept closing by themselves throughout the whole thing. But if that was the kind of stuff she liked to do, then he would have to suffer through it.
“So I saw you at the hockey game last night,” he said, trying to change the subject.
Natalie gave him a blank look. “Hockey game?”
“Yeah, I was on the opposite side of the rink. I could tell it was you because you had that notebook with you.”
Natalie let out a soft laugh. “Sorry, it must have been someone else.” Then she quickly tucked the notebook in her bag as if she didn’t want him to see it.
Um. Okay. Why would she lie about something like that? But he didn’t press. Instead, he asked, “So where did you move from?”
“A few states over,” Natalie said. Marcus waited for her to go on, but she was busy taking a bite of her sandwich.
“And Lena said you live in my neighborhood on Maple Street? Which house?”
Natalie let out the chirping laugh again. “I know this sounds silly, but I don’t know my new address yet! It’s the white one though.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. About half the houses on Maple Street were white. Was he imagining things, or was Natalie purposely dodging his questions? Then again, she barely knew him. Maybe his questions were too personal or something.
“Have you done any soul-collecting assignments on your own yet?” he asked, figuring their jobs were a safe topic. “Eddie couldn’t wait to start sending me out every chance he got.”
“Nope, not yet!” She jammed another bite of sandwich into her mouth and then gulped down some water, almost like she was avoiding having to say anything else.
Marcus glanced at Lena, wondering if she was noticing this too, but she seemed distracted by someone who had come into the cafeteria with the vice principal. It was a woman Marcus was pretty sure he’d never seen before, but there was something familiar about her.
“Lena, are you okay?” Marcus asked as Lena slowly got to her feet.
“I…I’ll be right back.”
“What’s going on? Who is that?”
Lena gave him a dazed look. “It’s my mom.”
• • •
Lena felt like she was floating across the cafeteria. What was her mom doing here? When she’d first seen her come in with the vice principal, Lena had hardly recognized her. Her hair was much shorter and sleeker than it had been a year ago, and her face didn’t have that too-angular look to it anymore. In fact, she barely seemed like the person she’d been last Christmas.
“Ah, Lena, there you are,” the vice principal said. “Your mother and I were trying to find you.”
“What…what’s going on?” Lena’s arms dangled awkwardly at her sides. She never knew if she should hug her mom when she saw her. “Is Grandma okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” her mom said. “I wanted to come surprise you, that’s all. My flight got in early.”
“Three weeks early?” The last she’d heard, her mom wasn’t going to be in town until Christmas Eve.
Her mom gently put her hand on Lena’s shoulder. “I couldn’t wait to see you.” She gave the vice principal a bright smile. “Do you mind if my daughter and I have some time to chat? I’ll make sure she gets to her next class on time.”
“Of course,” he said. “You can go out into that hallway. It should be quiet this time of day.”
Lena’s mom grabbed her hand and led her out of the cafeteria. Her warm fingers suddenly transported Lena back to when she was little, back to when she thought her mom could do no wrong. Well, she knew better now. Lena snatched her hand away and shoved it into her pocket.
As the cafeteria door shut behind them, the booming sounds of eighth-grade lunch faded, and Lena could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears. This didn’t make sense. Her mom never came into town unannounced, and she knew how much Lena hated surprises.
“Mom, really, what are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it enough that I missed you?” her mom asked, wrinkles popping up around her dark eyes.
Lena didn’t know how to answer that. If her mom missed her so much, why did she stay away for ninety-nine percent of the year?
“Come sit with me,” her mom said, leading her over to a bench next to a display case full of old town maps. “We have so much catching up to do. Your father told me you have a boyfriend now!”
“You called Dad?” Her parents almost never talked on the phone. Mostly they sent messages to each other through Lena’s grandmother.
“I spoke to him this morning to let him know I was coming to see you. He also said you got into the school play. Congratulations! Ever since we went to that Shakespeare festival, you’ve had the acting bug. I knew you’d eventually catch it from me.”
“From you?” Lena asked. “I don’t remember you doing any acting.”
Her mom looked at her in surprise. “I used to do plays all the time! Of course, it was only community theater, but I loved it. I’d bring you to rehearsals sometimes, and you’d sit on the edge of the stage and watch us.” She smiled at the memory. “I’m sure you remember that!”
Lena shook her head. It felt like her mom was talking about a total stranger.
Her mom’s smile faded. “Well, I suppose the last time I was in a play, you were about three years old. It makes sense that you wouldn’t remember. After that, I was too busy to try out for things anymore.”
A thick silence fell between them. Lena didn’t know what to say. How could you catch up on an entire year in a few minutes?
“Listen, honey.” Her mom’s face grew serious, and suddenly her cheeks looked a little too hollow again. “I came back because I have something to ask you, and I didn’t want to wait any longer.”
Lena held her breath. Here it was, whatever bad news her mom had come all this way to tell her.
Her mom turned to her, her eyes suddenly shining with excitement. “I want you to come out to Arizona and live with me!”
Chapter 15
As Marcus waited for Lena to come back to the cafeteria, his phone rang.
It was Eddie. That was weird. Eddie never called during school. One of the things they’d agreed on when Marcus had become a matchmaker was that his supernatural life wouldn’t interfere with his school life.
“Um, hello?” he said softly, hiding the phone with his hand since using it during school hours was technically not allowed. He was glad Abigail and Hayleigh still hadn’t come back from cross-examining Connie Reynolds, so at least he didn’t have to hide his conversation from them.
“Marcus, I have an assignment for you,” Eddie said.
“Now?”
Eddie chuckled. “I know this is a little unusual, kid, but you’ll understand in a minute.” Then he hung up.
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