Free Burning by Elana K. Arnold

on
you
, Ben Stanley.”
    “Dissed,” said Hog Boy. Sometimes I thought he’d look much better with a few missing teeth.
    “Next comes your Immediate Future,” said Lala, ignoring Hog Boy. She tapped a card on the other side of the first two crossed cards. “Ah, the Page of Cups. Remember, I said these face cards of each suit, along with the Major Arcana cards, could represent actual people in your life?”
    The figure on the card she was pointing to wasn’t anyone I knew. I shook my head.
    “Try not to be so purely literal,” Lala urged. “This card can represent a person … a child, perhaps, or someone with a childlike nature. Don’t you have a sibling?”
    How could she know that? “Yeah,” I said, “But he’s a
brother
. The Page of Cups”—I jabbed my finger at the image—“is a
girl
.”
    “The gender is not so important,” she said.
    I felt myself beginning to panic. I knew where this was going, and I didn’t like it.
    “The person represented by the Page of Cups may be an apprentice of sorts, someone who is just coming into his or her self-realization. Perhaps it is a child who enjoys the arts, someone who is in touch with his or her emotions and imagination. A creative person.”
    Next to me, Hog Boy was doing his best not to blurt out something stupid. I knew from experience that it was just a matter of time.
    Pete picked up the card and looked at it. “What’s that in the cup she’s holding?”
    “It is a bird,” said Lala. “It can represent freedom, or joyful self-discovery. Do you see the rays shooting out from the cup, the hopeful colors of the sky? This is a hopeful card. A very happy one, indeed.”
    Not much happiness that I could figure. Everyone in Gypsum knew that James was a little funny. So he wasn’t a cowboy—so what? He was still a
kid
—only twelve. It was too soon for everybody to be whispering about him, labeling him behind his back.
    And I’d spent the last five years making sure no one did,at least not when I was around. I’d been in fights with most of the guys in my high school, including those who graduated years ahead of me, all of them wanting to make smart remarks about James. Only a couple of them made those kinds of comments more than once.
    So what if that had earned me a standing appointment with Mrs. Howell, the history teacher who had doubled as our school counselor? She could tell me all she wanted to about the power of positive thought and the benefits of mindful meditation. I’d keep kicking asses as long as it took to keep James safe.
    But next fall, when James started up at Archie Clayton Middle School in Reno, I wouldn’t be there to protect him. I’d be on the beach in Southern California, working on my tan.
    I could feel Hog Boy itching with his comment. We’d better move on before he ran out of self-control, I knew. “So that’s me, right?” I asked, tapping on the card closest to Lala’s right hand. “The Fool?” This was the card Hog Boy had laughed about earlier; a rainbow of colored ribbons was attached to the backpack the figure carried.
    “Yes,” said Lala. “Our next card. The Fool. This space in the spread represents the Questioner—that’s you, Ben. Remember how I said the cards of the Major Arcana tell the story of a journey? You’ve chosen the card that corresponds with the beginning of an adventure. See how he steps out, full of hope? There are snowcapped mountains, but they are far in the distance. In this moment all is spring. See theflowers at his feet? And he has a pack on his back and a song on his lips—see the flute? He is off on a grand adventure.”
    Pete peered closely at the card. “Hey—isn’t that the edge of a cliff?”
    I looked closer too. It was easy to miss at first—the banner with the card’s name, THE FOOL , obscured it—but Pete was right. The guy was just about to dance off the edge of a cliff.
    “There is danger in every journey,” Lala said. “This card reminds us that even