Free Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave by Jen White Page A

here?”
    â€œThat train ride sure is nice. You can see for miles. Where you from?”
    â€œWe’re from, um, Wichita.” I had always liked how that sounded—Wichita. Who wouldn’t want to be from a place called Wichita?
    â€œIs that so? Well, welcome to the Wild West,” he said, his caterpillar eyebrows wiggling. “You know, I have a granddaughter about your age. She just loves coming here for a visit. You will certainly love the canyon, except you need to watch out for the diamondback rattlesnakes this season. It’s a little cool this year. They’re coming out of their hiding places in droves, so watch where you step.”
    I nodded.
    â€œThat will be thirty-six twenty-one. Do you want to charge that to your room?”
    My room? Should I charge it to the Lavender Lady’s room? I didn’t even know how to do that. Didn’t she say 202? I couldn’t. But … No, definitely not.
    Instead, I pulled out her money and peeled off two twenty-dollar bills and set them on the counter. The spiders in my stomach quieted. Survival was survival.
    He handed me my change. “Do you want a bag for that?”
    â€œYes.” The clock sitting behind the cash register said 10:34. I had to get back to Billie. I grabbed the bag and headed for the front door.
    â€œThe rooms are down that way,” he said, gesturing toward the hallway. The caterpillars narrowed a titch.
    â€œOh sorry, I just got turned around,” I said.
    He relaxed. “I hope your mother feels better.”
    â€œShe will,” I called over my shoulder.
    He seemed nice. I bet he was a good grandpa. For a minute, since I was pretending, I imagined he was mine. And Billie and me could live right here at the hotel and go to the Grand Canyon anytime we wanted. For a second, it felt really nice to have a grandpa who was alive instead of dead. But really, I didn’t even know if I had one alive grandpa. When I asked Dad about his father, he said he never knew him, so I guess he could still be out there somewhere. He could be anyone, even Caterpillar Eyebrows!
    But then my thoughts were interrupted by something amazing. I saw it right out of the corner of my eye. A phone in the hallway! A pay phone sat innocently to my left, like it didn’t even know how beautiful it was. Like it didn’t even know how it was the answer to all my problems. We could call Julie. I could call her right now and she could come pick us up. No Cowboy. No Dad. No separation. Just me and Billie in our old condo and Julie to take us back to our old life. Except Mom wouldn’t be there. But still, it was better than this.
    I lifted the black receiver and put it to my ear. Even the dial tone sounded hopeful. Then I remembered Billie, damp, in the shadows, and definitely all alone at the pool. The spiders in my stomach threatened to revolt. I had to get back to her. First, I’d get Billie and then we could call. I ran down the hall, the plastic bag bouncing against my thigh. Nothing mattered, not even rescue, unless I had her.

 
    Survival Strategy #18:
    DON’T GET COMFORTABLE
    â€œThese are my favorite,” said Billie as she shoved peanut butter crackers into her mouth. Cracker crumbs fell onto her lap. She licked her finger and dabbed them up. If it was possible, the pool felt even quieter than before. We sat on the lounge chair, the one near the broken pool light.
    â€œI-mow,” I mumbled, trying not to choke on the three stale-ish mini doughnuts I had shoved into my mouth. I scraped the waxy chocolate off my front teeth with my tongue; probably Caterpillar Eyebrows didn’t sell many doughnuts off his shelf. Still, they were good. We hadn’t eaten much today. For breakfast, we’d had strawberry Pop-Tarts. But I shoved the memory away.
    Only good things now.
    Only good things would come to Billie and me. I used my mind powers to make it come true.
    Billie held up another package of