Like right now.
Instead of rolling her eyes, which was what I was doing, Heather said, “You know, if those boots are special, you might want to wait and wear them in the spring. Otherwise the water from the snow could wreck them.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened, and she lifted one foot off the ground, balancing precariously on the other like a fashionable flamingo.
“Oh for crying out loud,” I said, leaping off the porch and running over to her. Unlike my glamorous friend, I was wearing appropriate winter clothes: real snow boots, jeans, and a thermal jacket. I turned my back to Vanessa and crouched to give her a piggyback ride. “Come on, V. The future awaits!”
She laughed and climbed on. “Don’t drop me!” she warned.
I trudged up the steps with her, Heather hesitantly followed, and Katie ran ahead to push the door open the rest of the way.
Instead of the usual chimes to announce visitors, a harp strummed, giving our entrance a mystical feel. Goose bumps covered my arms, despite the fact that I was wearing a coat and a Vanessa. She slid off my back, boots thumping on the wooden floor, and said, “Whoa, check this place out!”
It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the darkened room. At one point it’d probably been several rooms, but the dividing walls had been knocked out and just a few support columns remained. The windows were covered with heavy velvet curtains, and the only light came from flickering oil lamps attached to the walls.
“This place is straight out of a movie,” I murmured. “I love it.”
“Can we please get this over with?” asked Heather, standing as close to the front door as she could without physically being a part of it.
“My mom says Madame usually has people wait in either the sitting area or gift shop,” said Katie. “So I think she’ll come get us when she’s ready.”
“Ooh.” I rubbed my hands together excitedly. “How will she know we’re here? Will a spirit from the beyond tell her?”
“More like a security camera from the ceiling,” said V, pointing at an orb mounted above us.
“Aww.” I lowered my hands.
Katie grinned at me. “Just pretend it’s an all-seeing eye,” she said in a spooky voice.
I snickered and glanced around. The sitting area to our left was decorated with a dumpy couch and chairs that had cracked seat cushions. The gift shop area was to the right and crowded with tables and bookshelves and spinning racks, all filled with various mystical items sporting orange price stickers.
Needless to say, my friends and I were drawn to the right.
“What is all this stuff?” asked V, pulling a book titled Blessings and Curses from a shelf. She flipped to a random page. “‘Give your enemy bad breath.’”
“How?” asked Heather, reading over her shoulder.
“Easy. Garlic.” I ran my finger over the spines of the other books. “I wonder if Tim’s read any of these.”
He was obsessed with books, particularly the classics. Although something told me Crockpot Love Potions probably wasn’t on his list.
I moved on to a table covered with boxes of candles, packets of herbs, and little knickknacks. “Hey, anybody wanna play poker?” I asked, plucking a deck of cards from the pile.
Katie laughed. “Good luck with that. Those are tarot cards.”
“Tarot cards?” I slid a couple out of the box. One of them had a guy in a jester’s costume and was labeled “The Fool.” The other, “The Tower,” was just that: an image of a tower. “What is it, a matching game?”
She shook her head. “They’re for telling fortunes.”
I put the cards back and picked up a pocket-size horseshoe. “I’d like to see the horse who can wear this.”
Somewhere behind us hinges creaked, and we all turned toward the sound. A tall, blond woman in a flowing purple dress shuffled in our direction from an open door between the oil lamps.
“Good afternoon. I am Madame Delphi,” she said with a slight bow and a breathy voice. “I understand you wish to see the future.”
“I actually wish to see a mirror,” said V, wrapping a silky scarf around her neck. “Also, do you have this in blue?”
Heather elbowed her in the side, and Madame Delphi raised an eyebrow.
“Everything in the shop is as-is,” she said. “Including my predictions.” She pressed her fingertips together. “I must warn you that people can be disappointed by what I see. They beg for a different future.” She shook her head, eyes locked on mine. “But your future will be what it will be.”
Again, goose bumps.
“Now,” she said in a soft voice, “who will go first?”
Katie hurried to the front as if Madame Delphi was handing out designer dresses. “Hi! I’m Katie Kestler and you did a reading for my mom, Bobbi Kestler, and you told her to skip the salmon at a wedding and she did and everyone who ate it got food poisoning, but not her because she didn’t eat it.” Katie paused for oxygen. “So she said to tell you that you were right, and I am more than ready to have my fortune read!” She turned to the rest of us. “I mean . . . if that’s okay.”
V and I nodded.
“You can go for me, too,” said Heather.
Madame Delphi arched a brow. “You fear the future?”
“No.” Heather shrank back. “I fear this moment right now.”
“Aww.” I put an arm around her. “Heather, you don’t have to go in if you don’t want.”
“Yeah.” V bumped her. “We just thought this would be fun to do together.”
“Well . . . I want to have fun,” Heather said, nodding toward the door Madame Delphi had come through. “Is it even darker in there?”
Madame Delphi approached Heather and took her hands. “Let me make this easy. It won’t be as accurate but . . .” She flipped Heather’s hands to face palms up. “Are you left- or right-handed?”
“Left,” said Heather, glancing curiously from her hands to Madame Delphi.
Madame Delphi studied Heather’s palms for a moment and smiled. “My, you are a talent, aren’t you?”
“She’s an amazing singer,” I chimed in.
Heather smiled and blushed. “I’m okay.”
“Your talent will take you far,” said Madame Delphi, tracing a finger along Heather’s palm. “And you will live a long, happy life.” She rested a hand on each of Heather’s and stepped away. “There now. Was that so terrible?”
“Not at all,” said Heather, beaming.
Katie scooted closer. “Is it my turn?”
Madame Delphi nodded. “Would you like—”
“The works!” exclaimed Katie, already bounding toward the open door.
Five minutes later Katie bounded back out to the sitting area where Heather, V, and I were waiting.
“Next!” she chirped.
“I’m guessing you got a good fortune?” I asked, looking up from the pack of tarot cards I was building into a house.
“Oh, not just me,” said Katie. She flopped onto a couch next to Vanessa and raised a cloud of dust in the process. “Vanny too!”
Vanessa lowered the copy of Natural Beauty she was reading. “Your fortune included me?”
“Well . . . KV Fashions,” Katie explained. She rubbed the thumb and fingertips of one hand together. “Madame Delphi said money’s gonna flow like a river!” She nudged V. “Ask Madame Delphi about money, but don’t tell her we work together. I guarantee she’ll say we make more this year.”
“Of course we will,” said V with a smirk. “We can’t possibly make less than last year’s nothing.”
We all laughed.
So far KV Fashions’ only big business project had been makeovers for the Fall Into Winter dance, and the price had been a clothing item for charity. It was a sweet gesture, but afterward, V told me they’d given up about twenty-five bucks each in the process.
“Go on.” Katie prodded V. “And try to get details, like what specifically makes us richety-rich.” Her eyes sparkled.
V glanced down a
t where I was sitting on the floor. “Would it be okay if I went next? The future of KV Fashions may or may not be riding on this.” She leaned closer. “I’m betting on ‘not.’”
“I can hear you!” said Katie from over her shoulder.
“Sure,” I said with a nod. “I’ve got the second story of my card house to work on anyway.”
While V walked off to meet Madame Delphi, Heather moved from one of the cracked chairs to sit next to Katie on the couch.
“What else did she tell you?” asked Heather.
“Yeah, did you ask when you were going to die?” I chimed in.
Heather turned to me with wide eyes. “Brooke!”
“What? I’m going to ask when it’s my turn. This woman can see the future! Why stop at ‘Will I win the Women’s World Cup?’”
Katie laughed. “It’s fine. And no, I didn’t ask because I already know I’m going to live to be super old. Everyone in my family does . . . except my great-grandpa Pete, who fell in a volcano.”
Heather and I both raised our eyebrows.
“Okay, there’s way more to that story,” I said, putting down my cards.
When V emerged from the back room, it was to find me, Heather, and Katie laughing so hard we were crying. Even though she had no idea why, Vanessa joined in.
“Poor Pete,” said Heather between giggles. “That banana sandwich just wasn’t worth it.”
We all calmed down, and I poked Vanessa in the side. “How was your time with the teller?”
“Fun!” she said. “We talked about fashion and Disney World.”
Katie, Heather, and I looked at one another.
“What about your reading?” asked Katie.
“Well, I’m going to get less clumsy,” she said, making a thumbs-up. “But she didn’t mention anything about getting rich.” She held up a finger. “Although there are about to be major changes in my love life.”
“Ooh!” Heather rubbed her hands together. “Between you and Gil?”
Gil Pendleton was Vanessa’s boyfriend, who also happened to work at the Lincoln Log with us doing horoscopes and photography.
I narrowed my eyes in mock dismay. “V, I don’t want to be on your reality show, Middle School Marriage.”
Everyone started laughing again, including Vanessa, who placed her hands on her blushing cheeks.
“I could melt snow with my face right now!” she exclaimed.
Madame Delphi appeared in the doorway, and we quieted.
“We’re so sorry!” said Katie. “We didn’t mean to disturb the spirit world.”
“It’s all right. There was one more of you waiting to see me?” asked Madame Delphi.
“That’s me!” I got to my feet and stepped over my tarot-card house.
Madame Delphi nodded and gestured for me to follow. I waved at my friends before stepping through the doorway into a smaller, even darker room.
“Please sit,” said Madame Delphi, pointing to a small table with two chairs across from each other. There wasn’t a crystal ball like I’d been expecting. Just another pack of tarot cards and a tea set.
I scooted my chair as close to the table as possible and placed both hands in the center, palms up. Now for the real excitement!
“I won’t be reading your palms today,” said Madame Delphi. “It is a very inexact practice.”
“Oh.” I withdrew my hands.
Madame Delphi reached for the teapot and poured hot water into a cup, placing it in front of me. I peered inside and saw leaves skittering along the bottom.
“Let that sit for a few minutes while we turn the cards,” she said.
She passed them to me and asked me to shuffle. “I need the cards to pick up your energy and presence.”
I looked down at the cards. “Um . . . okay.”
When I was done, she had me spread the cards facedown across the table.
“Choose three,” she said. “To represent your past, present, and future.”
I selected three and handed them to her. As she turned them over, she explained what they meant.
“The Strength card reveals you have accomplished much.”
I sat a little straighter in my chair and puffed out my chest. “Yep!”
“The Three of Pentacles means you are currently in a position where you must collaborate and work well with others.”
“I’m the team leader for my advice column and captain of my soccer team,” I said.
She nodded. “Your cards represent you well.”
Madame Delphi flipped the last card and gasped.
“What?” I asked.
“Your future,” she said, “is represented by the Nine of Swords!” In a softer voice she added, “The lord of cruelty.”
That didn’t sound promising.
“What . . . what does that mean?” I managed to squeak out.
“Great sorrow and grief,” said Madame Delphi. . . .
Back Ad
About the Author
Photo by Sonya Sones
JO WHITTEMORE is the author of the tween novels Front Page Face-Off, Odd Girl In, D Is for Drama, Colonial Madness, and the Confidentially Yours series. Jo is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is one of the founding members of the Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels. When she isn’t writing, Jo spends her time with family and friends in Austin, dreaming of the day she can afford a chocolate house.
www.jowhittemore.com
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Jo Whittemore
Confidentially Yours #1: Brooke’s Not-So-Perfect Plan
Confidentially Yours #2: Vanessa’s Fashion Face-Off
Confidentially Yours #3: Heather’s Crush Catastrophe
Credits
Cover art © 2016 by Evelyne Duverne
Cover design by Kate Engbring
Copyright
CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS: THE SECRET TALENT. Copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938981
ISBN 978-0-06-235899-8
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062359001
* * *
16 17 18 19 20 OPM 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
ooks on Archive.
The Secret Talent Page 14