Read Online The First Last Day by Dorian Cirrone - Free Book Online Page B

before the apple—with nothing terrible ever happening?”
    â€œI guess it would be nice for a while, but after too long it might be like eating dessert all the time.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with that?”
    Mom laughed and grabbed my hand. “Right now, absolutely nothing. In fact, how about we share that cannoli in the refrigerator?”
    â€œOops.” I let go of her hand.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œI’m sorry. I ate it already . . . but don’t worry. I’ll save it for you tomorrow night.”
    â€œTomorrow?”
    â€œUh, I mean, maybe tomorrow G-Mags can make more for us to take home.”
    Mom patted her stomach. “It’s okay. It probably wouldn’t have been good for me to eat it now anyway. I’ve been having a lot of indigestion these days.” She gave me a kiss on the head. “See you tomorrow morning.”
    â€œYup. See you tomor—uh . . . in the morning.”

CHAPTER 24
    T he next day when I was filling the bucket with water, I studied the two girls walking by. When they laughed at the stegosaurus, I kind of understood. Even though I wasn’t changing on the outside, I felt like I might be different on the inside—because I didn’t feel mad at them anymore. I kind of wanted to become like them: older, more confident.
    And then it hit me: I’d never become anything. Not an artist, not a professor like Mom and Dad, not anything. There at the shore, I’d always just be . I’d never become .
    I reminded myself it was a good thing. The futurecould be so much worse: G-Mags could die. Kevin and I could drift apart. And who knew what other bad things could happen to me or Mom or Dad or any of us?
    I watched Mateo and how excited he was, working side by side with Kevin. I figured he, more than anyone, would want a never-ending summer.
    Back at the stegosaurus, I grabbed a handful of sand. “Hey, guys, I have a question: What if you could live the same day over and over—without growing older or getting sick or anything bad happening, ever?”
    Mateo answered right away. “Depends on what day you’re talking about.”
    â€œWhat day?” I was surprised he hadn’t just answered yes .
    â€œYeah, like maybe if it was my birthday, and I was having a party, and I got some really cool presents. I wouldn’t mind living that day over and over again.”
    Kevin laughed and gave Mateo a fist bump. “Good answer.”
    I ignored them and continued, “What if it was this day?”
    Mateo shook his head. “No way. I mean it’s an okay day, but nothing special.”
    I gestured to Kevin. “What about you?”
    He shook his head. “Even though today’s been a pretty good day so far, there’s a lot of stuff I’d miss.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLike seeing my brother again.”
    â€œWhat else?”
    â€œWell, I’ve been hoping they’d make another Iron Man movie—I’d like to see that. And I’d really like to get some footage of a werewolf. And—”
    â€œBut what if living the same day over and over was preventing some kind of tragedy?”
    â€œThat could be cool,” Kevin said. “I saw this movie about a guy who keeps living the same train trip over and over so he can find the bomber on the train, but . . . I still think I’d probably want to keep time moving.” Kevin grabbed a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. “What about you? You wouldn’t want to live the same day over and over again, would you?”
    I shook my head, avoiding Kevin’s eyes. “No, I guess not.”
    And for the first time since I’d used the magic paints, I realized I might have made a huge mistake.

CHAPTER 25
    I couldn’t shake the feeling that even though I was spending every day with Kevin, I was growing away from him—and everyone else, including