by K. L. Denman
She blinks back. “Yeah. I guess I do mean that.”
Shahid’s mouth hangs slightly open. We’re in our lab, and he’s looking over the sketches Ella drew of Gordon. Not Gordon as he is, but the Gordon we always dreamed he could be.
“Amazing,” Shahid says. “Who’d have thought a frivolous thing like art could be so useful?”
“Not me,” I reply. “But, Shahid? Don’t say that in front of Ella, okay?”
Shahid squints at me. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember what happened the time I said art was a great hobby?”
His eyes widen. “Oh yeah. Didn’t that set off her speech about art being essential for the soul?”
“I think so,” I say. “Or was that when she told us life imitates art?”
“Maybe. Did you understand that Ella-ism?” Shahid asks.
I shake my head. “Ella-isms are challenging. Some of them remind me of the mentalists.”
“In what way?” he asks.
“You know,” I shrug. “All that stuff about reality being what we think it is.”
We’re silent for a moment, considering this. Finally, Shahid sighs and says, “Thinking about that makes me dizzy.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Luckily, talking about mentalists has reminded me of a more entertaining time from the past. “Hey, do you remember when you muscled in between me and Rolf? When we were fighting?”
The stories of our spy days have been retold between us many times. Shahid no longer corrects me when I describe my activity with Rolf as fighting. Already the details are shifting. Some part of my brain knows this, but it doesn’t seem to mind.
“I remember,” Shahid says. He flexes one of his skinny arms, and sure enough, there’s a hint of the bicep he’s been building. Then he places the drawing of Gordon in front of me. “And I’m glad you haven’t forgotten Gordon.”
Maybe Shahid is one person I can read. I know he was worried about me ignoring more than Gordon. Life isn’t quite the same with Ella around. My friendship with Shahid was put through another strainer. But once again, it survived.
“Gordon will never be forgotten,” I say. I pick up Ella’s sketch of the imaginary Gordon. Making this a reality is going to be very cool. I look at Shahid. “What do you think we should use to attach the sunglasses? Duct tape or elastic?”
Shahid’s eyes gleam, and he pulls something out of his backpack. “Neither.” With a flourish worthy of Gaga Girl, he brandishes a package. “I think we should advance to Velcro.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to authors Diane Tullson and Shelley Hrdlitschka for continuing to share all the imaginations we make real on the page. To Galen and Bela Tweedale, for reading and commenting on an early draft, many thanks, guys. The notion expressed in the story by Ella, that “Life imitates art,” must be attributed to Oscar Wilde. Finally, my gratitude to Melanie Jeffs, Orca editor, and all the team at Orca Book Publishers for their excellent work in bringing stories to readers.
Kim Denman is the author of numerous books for youth, including Rebel’s Tag, Mirror Image, The Shade and Perfect Revenge in the Orca Currents series, and the Governor General’s Literary Award nominee, Me, Myself and Ike.