Free Franny Parker by Hannah Roberts McKinnon

you coming to my party?” Marilee asked him.
    My stomach fell.
    â€œWhat party?” he asked.
    â€œMy birthday, tomorrow. Didn’t you get the invitation?” She looked at Sidda, who glared at me.
    â€œWe sent you an invitation,” Sidda said, her eyes still on me. “I can’t understand what could have happened to it.”
    I covered my pocket with my hand and looked away. It was too late to offer it now.
    â€œWhat time do you finish, Lucas?” Sidda asked, turning her attention back to him.
    â€œEight o’clock,” he said, glancing at the ring still in my hand. “Go on, Franny, give it a shot.”
    I aimed and tossed, holding my breath as the ring hurtled through the air like a Frisbee, skimming the top of a blue bottle before it hit the curtain behind it.
    â€œMissed!” yelled Marilee.
    I felt my face flush.
    â€œTry again,” Lucas said, handing me two more. The second one bounced off the top of a pink bottle, looped around it twice, then spun off.
    â€œAlmost,” Pearl whispered beside me.
    I felt braver as I held the last ring.
    Sidda hauled her pink purse onto the table next to me. “Here, Lucas, I think I have an extra invite somewhere.” She fished around in her bag and retrieved a purple envelope. “I hope you can make the party, on
such short notice
.”
    I could feel her hard stare.
    â€œThanks,” he said, opening it eagerly. “Sounds like fun.”
    My face burned.
    â€œBy the way,” Sidda added, “we’re all meeting at the Ferris wheel at nine. You should come.”
    I felt the baby wolf flick its tail inside me. I think it may have even growled. This time I tossed the ring hard. It hit the back curtain and dropped, right onto a green bottle.
    â€œFifty points!” yelled Pearl, jumping up and down. I spun around to see Lucas’s reaction.
    But he wasn’t watching. He was reading the invitation, a wide smile on his face.

Ferris Wheel
    I don’t even like corn dogs,” Pearl whined.
    It was almost nine o’clock and Pearl and I were in the corn dog line, which just happened to be next to the Ferris wheel. I tossed Sidda’s invitation in the trash. What would Lucas think if he knew I’d kept it from him?
    â€œAnd Mother says they’re full of preservatives,” Pearl added with a cringe. “I don’t want to stunt my growth.”
    â€œJust eat it,” I said, handing the vendor my money and passing Pearl a dog. Sometimes Pearl was so clueless.
    â€œI know why we’re here,” she said, eyeing me over her untouched corn dog. Okay, maybe not clueless, but definitely annoying.
    â€œPass the ketchup,” a gravelly voice said. Standing besideme at the condiment table was the pale-faced man from the driveway. I stared as he took the bottle from my hand, emptying all that remained onto his corn dog.
    I nudged Pearl, and we moved aside. “I know that man,” I whispered. “He was at Lucas’s the other day.”
    The man tore off a large bite, staring into the crowd. I shivered. I remembered all the questions Lucas had asked about this man, and how upset he’d been when I couldn’t answer them.
    â€œLet’s move,” Pearl suggested. “He’s creepy.”
    She was right, but I couldn’t leave. Now was my chance to make it up to Lucas. I turned back to him.
    â€œExcuse me, sir. Do you remember me?” The pale-faced man scowled down at us, saying nothing. I concentrated on his ketchup-smeared lips. “I saw you a few days ago. Outside my neighbor’s house.”
    He stopped chewing, wiped the arm of his jacket hastily across his mouth. His stare grew colder, not kinder, and I stiffened.
    â€œYou were in the Dunns’ driveway, in your car,” I reminded him.
    His eyes flashed, a quick, crooked smile passing over his face. “The Dunns,” he said and chuckled. “So I did have the right