I smiled, basking in the normalcy of today.
“And what about Logan’s parents just showing up, out of nowhere?” Veronica exclaimed. “Tell me more before they get here,” she spoke quietly.
I told Veronica what I could. “Well, Logan’s parents had been living a few towns over, and Logan found a letter saying just that.”
“And you guys went?” Veronica asked, scooping Pickle off the floor and rubbing her belly. “What was it like out there?” The whites of her eyes showed as she said the last word. I laughed inside at her naivety.
I shrugged. “Pretty much the same as Nova. Minus the whole weekday power thing.”
Veronica glanced at the door and then back at me. “And why would his parents just leave like that?”
I knew I couldn’t tell her the entire truth. I’d come to accept over the past few weeks that sometimes full truths weren’t revealed because of the damage they could do. I thought about my parents. They were only doing their jobs, and they were only trying to protect me from knowing too much. Same with Logan’s parents—they were only protecting their son. Maybe that saying is a little bit true. Perhaps ignorance is bliss in certain circumstances.
I shrugged. “Logan’s parents were sent away because of work.” That was all that needed to be said.
“Well, I’m glad they’re back. Logan seems happy,” she chirped.
The doorbell rang, and in walked Ellie and Sam hand-holding. Saved by the bell. Ellie and I had talked at length about the whole stealing of the top secret file thing from Logan’s parents. She decided, as much as she wanted to have a relationship with her mother, stealing proof wasn’t going to solve her problem.
“You have your friends,” I had assured her. She was content with her friends.
Next walked in Mark and then the entire Prince family.
“Smells amazing,” Mr. Prince said, handing me his jacket.
Logan winked at me as soon as he walked in the door. My cheeks burned. I always loved seeing him.
It had been three weeks since our trip to Morlantown, and two weeks since the Princes moved back to Nova. Mr. and Mrs. Prince got jobs working at Nova Power Corporation with my dad, and our parents have weekly dinner plans at each other’s houses. I’m not complaining—more time with Logan. And more time for our parents to reconnect.
Nova City authorities arranged for Mr. Salmon to discreetly be held under the strictest supervision at Nova Power Prison. That way, there was no way he could reveal the truth of our powers to the entire town. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of chaos that would ensue if everyone found out they weren’t actually born with weekday powers. And I especially couldn’t imagine the chaos if these powers were released everywhere else.
I looked around at everyone in our house and smiled. So what if we knew the true origin of our powers? That didn’t change the fact we lived in our magical town of weekday powers. It didn’t change the fact I had two parents (and an adorable puppy) who loved me. It didn’t change the fact I had four—I looked at Mark and changed my mind—no, make that five of the best friends a girl could ask for.
“Three minutes until dinner!” Mom yelled.
Everyone made their way to the dining room, except for Logan. He stood at the front door and pushed a hand through his hair. Something was off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out to the porch. I shut the door behind us as the cool November air cut through my hair.
“There’s just something I’ve been meaning to do,” he said, taking a step closer to me.
A low growl sounded from my stomach. I was not in the mood to teleport right now.
Another breeze tunneled through the porch, pushing with it a few strands of my spirally orange hair. My cheeks burned as Logan’s fingers brushed them away.
Logan cleared his throat and then reached for my hand. “I’ve been meaning to … do this.” He leaned in, and I leaned in until our lips were just millimeters from touching.
“Don’t we need to get inside for dinner?” Headmistress Larriby boomed, breaking up the awesomeness that could have been my first kiss. She shuffled past us with a huff. “Kids,” she muttered under her breath.
When I looked up at Logan, just like mine, the apples of his own cheeks burned red. And then we laughed together. He shrugged. “Maybe another time, I guess.”
I nudged him on the shoulder, put my hand in his, and we walked inside. After joining everyone at the dinner table, Pickle jumped on my lap and curled into a cute little furball.
My parents, Headmistress Larriby, and Logan’s parents chatted away about the mundane, everyday boring stuff adults talk about—weather, work, and Nova daily news. Using my first power, my Monday power, I scooped some lasagna on everyone’s plates while Ellie used hers to pass around the garlic bread.
There were still questions I had and answers that would be revealed in time, but for right now, I liked where I was. I looked around the table at all my friends and family and then down at cute little Pickle. I felt Logan’s hand wrap around mine, and I smiled. Sure, it would take a while for me to adjust to knowing the whole truth, but in this moment, only one word described the way I felt: fantabulous!
The End.
Acknowledgements
A HUGE thank you to the fans and readers of Poppy Mayberry. Your emails, letters, pictures, and overall excitement over POPPY is exactly why I wrote her story. Thank you for reading and loving Poppy, Pickle, and friends! And hugs to Poppy’s number 1 fan and beta reader—Atticus!
Thank you to my parents who always support and encourage me to do what I love. Thanks to my family, friends, colleagues, and students for so enthusiastically supporting me and my writing.
I am forever grateful to my editor, Tara Creel, and her amazing support and guidance while writing POPPY. Tara—you are a rock star editor. Thanks to my POPPY series agent, Bill Contardi, and all the agents at Brandt & Hochman. And a huge thank you to Georgia McBride for making my publishing dreams come true.
A huge shout out for the amazing group of YA and MG authors in the Sweet Sixteens debut group who continue to encourage one another. To my Sixteen to Read sisters—your support through this wonderful, yet roller coaster of a publishing experience is so important to me. I love you girls!
Finally, again, a special thank you to my husband. Even though you make fun of my “teeny-bopper” TV viewing habits and my ramblings about crazy middle-grade ideas, I could not successfully juggle a full-time teaching job and a writing career without the support of you and our amazing son, Bennett. So to both of you—thank you for holding down the fort while I have my “write time” during many evenings and weekends. I love you both to the moon!
Jennie K. Brown
Jennie K. Brown is an award-winning high school English teacher, freelance magazine writer, and author of children’s books. She currently serves as past-president of the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (PCTELA) and is an active member of SCBWI, NCTE, and ALAN. When she’s not teaching or writing, Jennie can be found reading, hanging out with her awesome family, or plotting her next book. Learn more about Jennie at jenniekbrown.com!
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Poppy Mayberry, a New Day Page 12