Chapter 1
Poof
S adie didnât want to hear one more word about Moose Butt Lake.
Really it was Moose Head Lake, but Jess said âMoose Head Lake Moose Head Lake Moose Head Lakeâ so many times that Sadie couldnât stand it.
Moose Butt Lake, where Jess and Mayawould make sâmores after dinner or maybe walk to the little store near Jessâs grandparentsâ cabin for super-special Moose Butt ice cream.
Moose Butt Lake, where Jess and Maya would lie on the dock at sunset and watch the bats come out of Moose Butt Cave.
âYou know,â said Sadie, âbats have rabies.â
âNot at Moose Head Lake,â Jess assured her.
Of course, thought Sadie. Special Moose Butt Lake bats.
Moose Butt Lake, where there were two kayaks, one for Jess and one for Maya. They didnât need a third for Sadie because Sadie wasnât coming.
âThis is the first year theyâve let me bring a friend to Moose Head Lake,â Jess remindedher for the billionth time that morning as the three girls huddled in the window seat in Sadieâs den. âMaybe next summer I can bring you, too.â
Maya stopped scratching Sadieâs cat, Wilson, under the chin and patted Sadieâs knee. âWeâll only be gone four days, which in geologic time is like a nanosecond. Like a fraction of a nanosecond. Weâre practically already back!â
âTrust me, you wonât want to come back,â Jess said. âWhen I was five, I hid in the boathouse when it was time to go home. BeMaw and BePaw had to drag me out of there kicking and screaming.â
Sadie felt like kicking and screaming at that very moment. But, of course, she didnât.
âWhat Jess intended but neglected to say,â said Maya, âis that we wonât have nearly as much fun without you.â
âWell, duh, Ms. Dictionary,â said Jess. âBut, Sadie, I swear I begged themââ
Sadie cut Jess off mid-excuse. âDonât worry about it. Iâll be okay.â
âI know you will.â Jess reached for Sadieâs ponytail, divided it into three sections, and started to braid.
âAt least I wonât get rabies,â Sadie mumbled.
âWhat?â asked Jess, tugging the hair perhaps a little harder than absolutely necessary.
âI said, just donât forget to write me. A postcard or something.â
âAnd one for Wilson, too,â Maya promised.
âHey, down there!â Sadieâs motherâs voice boomed from the top of the stairs. âI just talked to Jessâs mom. Time for you girls to get a move on.â
Which is how Sadie found herself standing at the front door watching her two best friends, arms slung around each otherâs shoulders, start down the sidewalk. She waved. Maya waved back. Jess blew theatrical kisses. Then they rounded the corner onto Oxley Street and disappeared.
Poof.
Sadie contemplated the rest of the day. And the day after that. And after that. All the lonely hours ahead closing around her like a collapsed tent.
She drifted back to the window seat and curled next to Wilson, who was watching a single brown bird peck at the dirt. âGood thing one of us is easily entertained,â she said, petting him.
She tried to read, but it wasnât easy, what with Jess and Maya probably already in the minivan, speeding toward adventure. Though, really, what was so special about their plans? Burned marshmallows? Nasty flying rodents pooping in their hair? Not that she wanted that to happen, but . . .
Beside her, Wilson startled. He jumped to his feet, skittered across her lap, and pawed at the glass.
âWhat?â Sadie said, setting down More Tales from Grimm . âItâs only the backyard.â Only the grass her mother mowed, only the flowers her father watered. Only the green patio chairs. Only her old playhouse over by the garage.
Wilsonâs tail twitched. He mewed.
âOkay, Iâll let you
Christine Zolendz, Frankie Sutton, Okaycreations