Free Franny Parker by Hannah Roberts McKinnon Page A

house.”
    Suddenly this didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. Pearl tugged on my sleeve.
    â€œWell, well, well.” He laughed again, tossing his unfinished corn dog in the garbage can. “Thanks, kid. You just saved me a lot of trouble.”
    Pearl tugged harder. I turned to see Lucas heading our way through the crowd.
    â€œLucas!” I called, pointing frantically to the man behind me. But when I turned back around, the man was already gone.
    â€œSo people really eat those things?” Lucas asked, eyeing our corn dogs.
    Pearl piped up, “Franny sure does. She suddenly developed quite an appetite for them.”
    I elbowed her, searching the crowd. But the man had truly disappeared. Had he seen Lucas? Wasn’t that what he’d wanted?
    â€œWant to ride the Ferris wheel?” Lucas asked, interrupting my worries.
    I looked over my shoulder once more to where the man had been standing, then back at Lucas’s bright smile. I didn’t want anything to ruin this moment. What difference would it make if I told him about the man later?
    We were almost at the front of the Ferris wheel line when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
    â€œHow nice of you to hold our place!” It was Sidda, googlyeyed and grinning, with Marilee and their friend Beth giggling beside her. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine what they thought was so secret and so funny all the time. “I’m afraid I’m out of tickets,” she said, pouting dramatically. “Franny, you’ll give me yours, won’t you?”
    I stared at her in disbelief. “But I only have enough for this ride,” I objected.
    Sidda shrugged. Clearly, this did not concern her. She held out her hand and waited.
    â€œTake these,” Lucas offered, digging in his pocket. Heplaced a crumpled handful of tickets in her open palm. “I get extras for working at the fair.”
    â€œWow, thanks,” Sidda said, stuffing the tickets in her purse, offering none to the rest of us. We were at the front of the line now. A giant yellow seat swung slowly down, and the Ferris wheel operator steadied it. It was the last empty one.
    â€œWho’s next?” the operator called.
    â€œWe are!” Sidda shouted, pushing me aside to stand by Lucas. She hopped into the empty seat, and her friends piled in beside her.
    My heart sank.
    â€œOh, Lucas! There’s room next to me,” Sidda hollered, shoving Marilee over.
    There was a pause, and the ride operator looked impatient.
    â€œOh, no!” Pearl cried beside me. “It’s nine. I have to meet my mother.” She dashed off into the crowd, leaving me alone.
What now?
I wondered.
    â€œCome on, Lucas!” Sidda cried.
    â€œGo ahead,” Lucas answered. “I’ll catch the next one with Franny.”
    My heart pounded. The look on Sidda’s face was enough to freeze the Ferris wheel, to stop every ride and game in time, but it was too late. The ride operator clicked the safety bar closed, and Sidda swung into the night, her legs kicking and her mouth moving silently up, up, up, into the sky.
    â€œI think she wanted to ride with you,” I told Lucas.
    â€œBut I wanted to ride with you.” He smiled down at me, and my legs felt fuzzy. It didn’t matter that we had to wait tenminutes for a turn. Lucas sat right next to me, our knees pressing together, as the wheel turned and lifted us into the sky.
    â€œLook how tiny everyone looks,” I said. From the top of the Ferris wheel the town shimmered with the glow of games and lights and the purple shadows of kids moving through the park. Yet I felt safe and cozy, the thrill of the distance from the ground no match for the thrill of Lucas Dunn seated beside me.
    â€œMakes you want to stay up here awhile, doesn’t it?” he said. And then he reached over and put his hand on mine, right on the bar in front of us. My head swam. I thought of the animal patients nestled safely in my