Free Fair Coin by E. C. Myers Page A

plate of leftover meat loaf and mashed potatoes—a meal he didn't remember his mother cooking in the first place—and brought it to his room. As soon as he logged into his computer, an instant message from Nathan flashed on his screen with an accompanying tone that sounded wrong, distorted from usual. The last thing he needed was a busted sound card in his computer.
    HEY. Where have you been? Nathan typed.
    The cursor blinked at Ephraim accusingly. So that had been Nathan at the window.
    Ephraim leaned back as far as his desk chair would go and passed the magic coin from hand to hand. Deep down he'd hoped that it had made it easier on him, changing things with his last wish so Nathan wouldn't know anything about the party, the same way it had affected his mother. His only choice was to come clean and apologize; if he lied about the party now, he would only seem like even more of a jerk.
    Come to think of it, Ephraim could just wish for Nathan to forget he'd ditched him for the party, couldn't he? Nathan wouldn't even notice. It would spare him hurt feelings, and Ephraim wouldn't have to deal with the problem more directly.
    Ephraim clenched the coin in his fist. He slapped the quarter down next to the keyboard.
    Sorry , Ephraim typed. I should have told you about the party earlier.
    Nathan loved it whenever Ephraim admitted a mistake, but his gloating response took a long time to appear.
    What party? Nathan finally typed.
    So he was going to make Ephraim work for this.
    Jena invited me at the last minute. I should have mentioned it .
    You went to a party without me? At Jena's house?
    I'm sorry , Ephraim typed again. It was a selfish thing to do. He would have to say all the things Nathan wanted to hear.
    I thought we were best friends.
    “Ouch,” Ephraim said. Of course we are. I just didn't want to push my luck when I got the invite. I wanted to ask if you could come…I will next time, I promise .
    Was Shelley there? Nathan typed.
    Ephraim didn't know why Nathan was playing dumb about the whole thing; he was fast losing his moral high ground. Nathan had seen Ephraim staring at him in the window just before he ran off, so he had to know he'd been spotted.
    Yeah. She was in a bad mood, too. He didn't feel like explaining why right then.
    Bastard.
    Ephraim was done playing this game—if he had come clean, then Nathan should too. He typed, Stop pretending. I saw you there.
    Where?
    At the party. I saw you in the window.
    Nathan didn't respond for a full minute. I didn't even know about your stupid party. You really think I'm lame enough to follow you? How pitiful do you think I am? Never mind, I already know. THANKS.
    Ephraim shook his head. I saw you.
    IT WASN'T ME.
    As much as Nathan liked to prove Ephraim wrong, he hated to be caught in his own lies. But why was he keeping up this pretense? Trying to save a little embarrassment? Was it really possible that Ephraim's guilty conscience had made him think he saw Nathan's face at the window? Or maybe the coin had changed the way the evening had gone after all.
    There was another option, one he'd considered before but still wasn't prepared to accept: there were two Nathans.
    Whatever the case, Ephraim hadn't had to tell Nathan about the party at all. Now it was too late. He'd screwed up big time, and he wasn't sure what would make Nathan forgive him—aside from using the coin to smooth things over like they'd never happened.
    Ephraim stared at the coin on his desk. Maybe it could help him out of this mess, after all.
    Look. Ephraim typed quickly before he could change his mind. I have something to show you. Something that can change our lives. He hesitated only a moment before hitting the enter key.
    Nathan's anger was matched only by his insatiable curiosity. He let Ephraim wait a while before responding. What? he typed.
    Meet me tomorrow morning. 11am at the park fountain .
    I'll think about it. Nathan's name went gray as he signed off. The usual closing door noise that