at the park entrance, her cousins Angel and Donnie on either side of her. Leo leaned against the hood of a stretch limo pulled up at the curb.
"Abby!" Deirdre yelled again. "Get over here."
"I'm busy," Abby bellowed back.
Rafe, the youngest of the brothers, got out of the passenger side of the limo. While the rest of the Gaglianos were dressed in everyday clothes, Rafe was wearing a three-piece suit that made him look like a mini-mobster from a bad TV series. Mrs. Gagliano said it was some kind of phase he was going through. He stood on tiptoe to whisper in Deirdre's ear. She nodded.
"Ab-i-gail Gagliano!" Deirdre screeched. "Your mother's in this car. She says to get your butt over here! You're late for Uncle Vito's party, and we're not going without you!"
"Your butt is being paged," Finn said.
"I swear I'm moving out the day I turn eighteen," Abby said. "Tea ... are you going to be all right?"
"I'm fine," Teagan said. "Really."
"Why wouldn't she be all right?" Finn asked.
"She's having a bad day." Abby glared at him. "You and me are going to finish our conversation later."
"We were having a conversation?" Finn said. "I thought you were washing me down with holy water."
"ABIGAIL GAGLIANO!"
"I'M COMING!" Abby screamed back. "Then you should have been listening a little closer. We're going to talk." She stalked off toward the limousine.
"She's your best friend?" Finn asked.
"We're like sisters," Teagan said.
"They always drive around in a limo?"
"One of her uncles owns the company. Abby's cousin Leo drives for him, and sometimes he takes the limo home."
There was no cake left when they reached the table. Mrs. Wylltson had finished signing books and was packing her extra copies, fliers, and props into Aiden's red wagon.
"I forgot to feed my Tamagotchi," Aiden said.
"You can feed it when we get home," Mrs. Wylltson told him.
"No, I can't wait. If I don't feed it now and clean up its poop, it will
die.
"
"I'll walk him home, Mom," Teagan said. She couldn't take any more death, not even pixel death, today.
"You might as well take the wagon, then. One less thing I have to keep an eye on. Dad and I will be home as soon as we have this cleaned up."
"I'll bring it along." Finn took the handle.
Great. She was going to have to walk home with him. It had been fine with Abby in between them, but she didn't want to have to deal with the sizzle. Not today.
Teagan tried to walk quickly enough that she'd stay ahead of him, but it didn't work. His legs were longer, and he wanted to walk beside her. That didn't mean she had to be talkative, though. He kept glancing sideways at her, and Teagan pretended she didn't notice.
"Go this way," Aiden said when they were halfway home. He made a bee-boop-boop video-game noise and pointed at an alley. "It's faster."
"Are you sure?" Finn asked.
"Yes, I told Dad once, and now that's the way I go with Dad and Lennie. It's our shortcut. We've got to hurry."
"Doesn't seem to head the right direction," Finn said.
"It will if Aiden says so," Teagan said. Getting home faster would be good. If Finn didn't go to his room, she could go to hers. And stay there until she figured out how to deal with this chemistry thing. "We call him the human homing pigeon."
"I'm not a pigeon!"
"Human GPS, then. He never gets lost."
"Yeah," Aiden said. "I never get lost." He led the way, his wolf tail wagging behind him.
The alley ran behind the trendy shops on Clark Street, but the buildings looked different from back here. A few windows were broken, and others boarded up. There were big Dumpsters, some gaping open like mouths too full to chew, showing boxes and scraps, some with their lids down, lips tight. All of them smelled bad. Aiden marched ahead as if he knew exactly where he was going.
The alley crossed a back street and another alley, where a stray cat growled over a pile of chicken bones.
Teagan glanced sideways at Finn. "Will you tell me more about the
cat-sÃdhe?
"
"Does this have
"Abby!" Deirdre yelled again. "Get over here."
"I'm busy," Abby bellowed back.
Rafe, the youngest of the brothers, got out of the passenger side of the limo. While the rest of the Gaglianos were dressed in everyday clothes, Rafe was wearing a three-piece suit that made him look like a mini-mobster from a bad TV series. Mrs. Gagliano said it was some kind of phase he was going through. He stood on tiptoe to whisper in Deirdre's ear. She nodded.
"Ab-i-gail Gagliano!" Deirdre screeched. "Your mother's in this car. She says to get your butt over here! You're late for Uncle Vito's party, and we're not going without you!"
"Your butt is being paged," Finn said.
"I swear I'm moving out the day I turn eighteen," Abby said. "Tea ... are you going to be all right?"
"I'm fine," Teagan said. "Really."
"Why wouldn't she be all right?" Finn asked.
"She's having a bad day." Abby glared at him. "You and me are going to finish our conversation later."
"We were having a conversation?" Finn said. "I thought you were washing me down with holy water."
"ABIGAIL GAGLIANO!"
"I'M COMING!" Abby screamed back. "Then you should have been listening a little closer. We're going to talk." She stalked off toward the limousine.
"She's your best friend?" Finn asked.
"We're like sisters," Teagan said.
"They always drive around in a limo?"
"One of her uncles owns the company. Abby's cousin Leo drives for him, and sometimes he takes the limo home."
There was no cake left when they reached the table. Mrs. Wylltson had finished signing books and was packing her extra copies, fliers, and props into Aiden's red wagon.
"I forgot to feed my Tamagotchi," Aiden said.
"You can feed it when we get home," Mrs. Wylltson told him.
"No, I can't wait. If I don't feed it now and clean up its poop, it will
die.
"
"I'll walk him home, Mom," Teagan said. She couldn't take any more death, not even pixel death, today.
"You might as well take the wagon, then. One less thing I have to keep an eye on. Dad and I will be home as soon as we have this cleaned up."
"I'll bring it along." Finn took the handle.
Great. She was going to have to walk home with him. It had been fine with Abby in between them, but she didn't want to have to deal with the sizzle. Not today.
Teagan tried to walk quickly enough that she'd stay ahead of him, but it didn't work. His legs were longer, and he wanted to walk beside her. That didn't mean she had to be talkative, though. He kept glancing sideways at her, and Teagan pretended she didn't notice.
"Go this way," Aiden said when they were halfway home. He made a bee-boop-boop video-game noise and pointed at an alley. "It's faster."
"Are you sure?" Finn asked.
"Yes, I told Dad once, and now that's the way I go with Dad and Lennie. It's our shortcut. We've got to hurry."
"Doesn't seem to head the right direction," Finn said.
"It will if Aiden says so," Teagan said. Getting home faster would be good. If Finn didn't go to his room, she could go to hers. And stay there until she figured out how to deal with this chemistry thing. "We call him the human homing pigeon."
"I'm not a pigeon!"
"Human GPS, then. He never gets lost."
"Yeah," Aiden said. "I never get lost." He led the way, his wolf tail wagging behind him.
The alley ran behind the trendy shops on Clark Street, but the buildings looked different from back here. A few windows were broken, and others boarded up. There were big Dumpsters, some gaping open like mouths too full to chew, showing boxes and scraps, some with their lids down, lips tight. All of them smelled bad. Aiden marched ahead as if he knew exactly where he was going.
The alley crossed a back street and another alley, where a stray cat growled over a pile of chicken bones.
Teagan glanced sideways at Finn. "Will you tell me more about the
cat-sÃdhe?
"
"Does this have