Free The Center of Everything by Linda Urban Page A

what she is supposed to do. But, she tells the Universe, if a sign just happened to come her way, she wouldn’t mind a bit.
    That is when her phone rings.
    â€œRuby?”
    It is Lucy. Thank you, Universe! Clearly, she is supposed to tell her wish to Lucy.
    â€œCan I come over early today?” Ruby says.
    â€œ
Exactly
what I was going to ask,” says Lucy.
    A sign for sure
, Ruby thinks. But later, when Aunt Rachel drops her off at Okeda Martial Arts, Lucy drags Ruby into her dad’s office, pushes her into a desk chair, and drops the
Hansel and Gretel
script into her lap.
    â€œI am
so
glad you’re here. I need to go through the second act,” she says. She looks pajama-party tired, but she is talking quickly, like people do on game shows and 911 calls. “Hansel starts.” Lucy points to a line at the top of the page. “Say, ‘Oh, Gretel, I wish we were back home.’”
    Clearly, the Universe thinks Ruby needs to wait a bit before engaging in wish talk. Fine, she can wait. A little while, anyway.
    â€œOh, Gretel. I wish we were back home.”
    Lucy bites her bottom lip. “What’s my line?”
    â€œâ€˜Do not fret’ . . .” Ruby reads.
    â€œStop. I got it.” Lucy puts on her Inner Gretel voice. “Do not fret, brother. I am
working
on a plan. Working on a
plan
. . . Which is better?”
    Ruby is not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Lucy has moved on. Inner Gretel is telling Hansel that he must keep his chin up, that he must trust her, that all will be well.
    Of course all will be well
, Ruby thinks. This is a play. There’s a whole script here. As long as everyone says the right lines, the play will move on, page by page, scene by scene, straight through to the happy ending. Just like it is supposed to.
    â€œRuby. It’s your turn.”
    â€œSorry.” Ruby turns a page and finds Hansel’s next line. “No, sister. Run away. Save yourself.”
    â€œShhh, Hansel—she’s coming!”
She’s
coming.
    For more than an hour, Ruby sits at Mr. Fisch’s desk, reading through the second act, being Hansel. Being the witch. Singing gingerbread songs.
    â€œI feel better now,” Lucy says, flopping onto the couch Mr. Fisch keeps for karate people who get kicked too hard and need to lie down for a minute. “I mean, I’m still forgetting some things, but I know I’m improving. Maybe you could take some notes at rehearsal and we can go over them afterward?” An alarm sounds on Lucy’s phone. “Yikes!” she says, leaping from the couch. “We’d better hurry up! This director is a total stickler about being late.”
    Ruby swings her backpack over her shoulder and follows her friend out to the sidewalk. It is a five-minute walk to the theater. Plenty of time to explain about her wish and Gigi and everything.
Now
, Ruby thinks.
I will tell Lucy about my wish now.
But Lucy keeps talking.
    â€œSo when the witch is coming after me, do you think I ought to be more scared or more angry?” Lucy asks. “I think maybe I should start out all panicky and then . . .”
    Ruby only half listens as she follows Lucy down the street, past the hardware store, past the stationery shop, past Delish, which is so full of customers that Ruby cannot see if Nero is inside.
    â€œ. . . except every time Fiona cackles, she, like, totally covers up my lines, you know? Maybe we could practice that part while we’re walking?”
    At the corner they cut across Cornelius Circle to Memorial Park. Lucy flips through the script pages, looking for the “Chasing Gretel” scene. She finds it just as they reach the statue of Captain Bunning. He stands tall at the edge of the park, looking up through the hole in his famous donut. The sun gleams on his coat buttons.
    This is it
, Ruby thinks.
I’m going to tell her now.
    â€œI wanted to—” Ruby says,