The Book of Dares for Lost Friends (24 page)

Read The Book of Dares for Lost Friends Online

Authors: Jane Kelley

“I think you'll be a fine
addition
to our club,” Gillian said.

“The missing
variable
,” Tina said.

Up ahead, Val was walking with Tasman. They were not holding hands. Their conversation was hushed until Val said, “But nothing bad really happened. Lanora saved me.”

“Yes.
Lanora
saved you.” Tasman ran down the sidewalk as best he could in his old snow boots.

“You save me, too,” Val called after him.

Finally they reached the southeast corner of the park. The end of the wilderness. They paused to admire the glitter of the tall buildings, the fountain with tiers like a wedding cake, a row of horses with carriages fit for royalty, and a brightly lit rococo building.

“Look! It's the Plaza Hotel!” Helena cried.

“Eloise!” Olivia said.

“Eloise?” Tasman said.

“The girl who lived in the Plaza. Who dined on room service. Who terrorized the grown-ups. Who had a turtle named Skipperdee. How could you not know Eloise?” Lanora was shocked.

“The Captain's library doesn't have much in the way of contemporary literature,” Tasman said.

“What kinds of books does it have?” Olivia said.

“Is that where you found
The Book of Dares
?” Helena said.

“No.” Tasman walked over to stand next to the fountain.

“I have misspoken,” Helena said.

“Misspoke,” Gillian said.

Lanora waited to see if Val would go talk to him. But Val was kicking a rock across the sidewalk. So Lanora went to put her foot on the rim of the fountain, next to Tasman's snow boot.

He brushed a leaf off of his snow boot. The leaf fell into the water. It floatedâfor now. But a tattered leaf wasn't meant to be a boat.

“Did you come to make a wish?” Lanora said.

“My pockets, alas, are empty. If I picked up someone else's penny, that crime would undo my desires. Just like it did tonight.”

“What crime did you commit?”

“The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That expression explains nothing, except gravity. But I think you know what I mean.”

“I'm not like
my
father.”

Tasman smiled. “I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the Star Tamer, but I suspect that, once you have recovered from this detour, you will return to getting what you want.”

“Not just what I want.”

“Don't tell me you've learned a lesson.” He placed his hands to his cheek in mock amazement.

“I saw you kiss her in the park.”

His hands fell helplessly to his sides.

“So you like her,” Lanora said.

“Past tense would be more accurate,” Tasman said.

“She likes you.”

“She feels sorry for me now. And don't contradict me. It doesn't matter whether you're right or not, it's what I think.”

Just at that moment, the leaf sank to the bottom. He smiled; his suspicions had been confirmed.

She pulled him around to face her. “Yes, I have learned a lesson. And this is it. That if you have a friend, you shouldn't take her for granted. You should keep that friend. No matter what. Because you've got problems and I've got problems and we've all got problems. So does Val, believe it or notâeven if hers aren't as exciting as ours are.”

He jerked away his arm. He needed his sleeve to wipe his nose. “This is not the era of handkerchiefs. And it isn't the era for the likes of me. I belong in the Captain's shop. With the other antiquities shipwrecked by time.”

“So what are you going to do? Just stay there?”

“I have no choice. You see, I thought I could be a Taz. Sadly, I was wrong.”

“You gave your father the bowl,” Lanora said.

“And I already regret its loss.” He leaned over and studied the money glittering at the bottom of the fountain. “So many wishes. None of them mine.”

Lanora shouted back to the others. “Who has a quarter?”

The poets came closer.

“Alas, robes have no pockets,” Helena said.

“Val? Do you have a quarter? A nickel? A dime?” Lanora said.

Val shook her head. “Why do you want one?”

“I need to wish,” Lanora said.

Val marched over to the fountain. She leaned over the edge and scooped up a handful of coins. She offered her treasure to Lanora.

Lanora carefully selected a thin dime. She clenched it in her fist. She whispered to it. Then she tossed it into the uppermost tier of the fountain.

The poets cheered. Then they each selected a coin.

“I don't know what to wish for,” Tina said.

“I always wish for three more wishes,” Olivia said.

“Why not ten?” Lanora said.

“That dilutes the potency,” Olivia said.

“And this is potent,” Helena said, twirling around with her arms outstretched. “This has been the most astonishing of nights.”

One after another, the poets flung their coins into the fountain.

Val offered the last coin to Tasman.

He shook his head. “I don't believe in wishes.”

“But you believe in believing,” Val said.

He looked at the coin in her outstretched hand. He touched it with his finger, to shift its position. But he didn't pick it up.

“Of course you do. How can you not?” Lanora said.

Val put her other arm around Lanora and hugged her.

“How can you not?” Lanora said again.

“You're right,” he said.

He grabbed hold of Val's hand. He closed her fist around the coin. He kissed that fist. Then he stepped up onto the rim of the fountain. He raised his arms straight up into the air, and flung himself into the water.

*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *

The splash was tremendous. A multitude of tiny drops cascaded up toward the sky. And then there were more and more drops, as each girl followed Tasman's example. The laughter resounded across the plaza. It bounced off the glittering buildings and disrupted the dark corners of the park.

The sound and the light traveled farther than they knew.

A man looked up. He smiled. He wasn't sure if he had heard what he heard. But the sound was a good sound. And so he continued smoothing the dirt on top of the bowl.

Mau sat on the top of what would have been a mountain of schist. As the vibrations washed over her, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly into what would, on any other animal, be considered a smile.

She was a cat. We will never know what she was thinking. But we do know that she was very pleased with herself, as well she should be.

Acknowledgments

I'm so grateful to the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence program for their generous support while I was writing this book. Staying at the Thurber House was especially inspirational because of the enthusiastic encouragement of Susanne Jaffe, Anne Touvell, Katie Poole, Erin Deel, and the intrepid Meg Brown.

I'm grateful to all readers, particularly those who took the time to write me about my earlier books. To teachers and librarians like Susan Westover, who do so much to encourage young readers. To my friends Tom and Julie Coash for their wise words and fascinating artifacts. To Rachel Berger and Kira Kelley, who read early versions and gave helpful advice. To my daughter, Sofia, who asks the best questions. To my mother, Virginia, who is a wonderful listener. To my husband, Lee, who sustains me in so many ways. To Linda Pratt, who is so much more than an agent. To everyone at Feiwel and Friends, especially my editor, Liz Szabla, whose insights and expertise made this book possible.

Finally, I'm grateful to Blackberry the cat, who graciously allowed me to stare into her green eyes.

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About the Author

JANE KELLEY
is the author of the middle-grade novels NATURE GIRL and THE GIRL BEHIND THE GLASS. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter. You can sign up for email updates
here
.

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Contents

A F
EIWEL AND
F
RIENDS
B
OOK

An Imprint of Macmillan

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kelley, Jane (Jane Alice),

The book of dares for lost friends / Jane Kelley.Â â First edition.

pages cm

Summary: “New York City middle-schooler Val teams up with a strange boy who lives in an even stranger bookshop to save her best friend who has lost her way in this story about universal friendship”Â â Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-250-05087-8 (hardback), 978-1-250-08014-1 (ebook)

[1. FriendshipâFiction. 2. MagicâFiction. 3. New York (N.Y.)â Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.K28168Bo 2015

[Fic]âdc23

2014049060

Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto

First Edition: 2015

mackids.com

eISBN: 9781250080141