Forever by Chanda Hahn Read Free Book Online

but I blew off yesterday.”
    “Well, you did have a lot
going on, like being chased by a death omen and all.” Mina tried to tease him,
but it didn’t help. Brody’s face looked guilt stricken.
    “You don’t understand. This
was my idea—to raise scholarship funds for underprivileged kids to go to
summer camp. The team is going to kill me.”
    Mina understood. She had seen
the banners all over school promoting the fair. Most of the clubs and teams
manned a booth—it was the biggest fundraiser of the year. Luckily, Mina
had been able to avoid getting roped into volunteering.
    Nan pulled up beside them,
and Ever rolled down the passenger window. “What’s the hold up?”
    Brody rolled his window down.
“I’m supposed to be working today and yesterday.”
    “Uh oh! Somebody’s in
trouble,” Ever taunted.
    Charlie saw the balloons and
the Ferris wheel and fun house in the background, and he practically crawled up
between the console of the seat to point it out to Nan.
    “Yeah, I see it, buddy,” she
answered. “So what are we going to do, Mina?” She leaned forward to ask around
Ever.
    Brody turned to Mina and ran
his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry, but I really ought to go
in and work the rest of the day, or the guys will kill me. You can jump into
Nan’s car, and I’ll swing by tonight when I’m done.”
    Mina looked over to Nan’s car
and saw Charlie jumping up and down in excitement, pleading with those big,
brown eyes. It might be just what they needed.
    She sighed. “I’d hate for you
to get kicked off the team for shirking your duties. But I think we should all
go in. It should be fine. We’re surrounded by hundreds of people.”
    He leaned over and kissed her
forehead. “You’re the best.”
    She smiled slightly as Brody
pointed out an empty spot for Nan to park in up ahead. He did a U-turn and
pulled into a spot that had just been vacated.
    Thankfully, he was so worried
about his missed volunteer spot that he didn’t ask her again about his class
ring. But he did grab her hand as soon as they were out of the car and met up
with the others.
    With a squeeze of her
fingers, he said goodbye and then ran to the volunteer line to check in before
disappearing into the fair.
    The group walked out by the
football field and fell in line behind others waiting to pay to get into the
fair. When it was their turn to pay, Mina was pleasantly surprised to see
Melissa, Makaylee, and Julianne selling tickets.
    “How many?” Melissa asked,
opening the cash box.
    Mina eyed the list of ages
and ticket prices. “One student and one child,” She pulled out enough money to
cover hers and Charlie’s entry tickets.
    “How many ride tickets do you
want?” Julianne piped up and pulled out a roll of pink tickets. “Everything is
two tickets, and each ticket is a dollar.”
    “Okay then, twenty,” Mina
handed over the bill and paid for the tickets.
    “Be sure to check out the
dunk booth,” Makaylee whispered to Mina. “You won’t want to miss it.”
    “We won’t miss it,” she
answered, unsure of the hidden message.
    Ever and Nan met up with them
on the other side of the ticket tables.
    “Highway robbery,” Ever
scoffed.
    “It’s a fundraiser,” Nan
corrected. “We do this to raise funds.”
    “Well, the rides better be
good after what I paid to get in.” She held up her wad of pink tickets and made
a joke of emptying out her pocket.
    They started with the food
vendors. Ever stopped grumbling when she got a cotton candy as big as her head.
Charlie munched away happily on an elephant ear while Nan skipped joyfully and
waved to each of the students working the booths.
    They came upon the infamous
dunk tank that Makaylee had suggested they stop by, and Mina was surprised to
see how long a line it had. The cheer squad was running the dunk tank. Mina
couldn’t help but slow down and stare as the one and only Savannah crawled up
to the seat above the tank of water and perched on