Double Fake by Rich Wallace Read Free Book Online

After a couple of circuits, Calvin noticed Zero and Danielle waiting to get on the Ferris wheel.
    Calvin caught up to Jessie and tapped her on the shoulder.
    “Oh ... hey, Calvin.” She said it nicely, but acted like she’d been taken by surprise, as if he’d just arrived.
    “You getting hungry?”
    “Yeah. A little.” She turned to Sherry. “What are you guys gonna do?”
    Sherry shrugged. “Go on some rides, maybe.”
    “We’ll see you later,” Jessie said. She stopped walking and looked at Calvin. “What do you feel like?”
    “I don’t know. Calzone or something?”
    “Yeah. Something spicy.”
    They walked across the grounds. “Where’s my sister?” Jessie asked.
    “She and Zero took off a while ago. They hit some rides, I think.”
    They got calzones and onion rings and a wad of paper napkins and took a seat at a green plastic table under a big red tent.
    “Thanks for buying the food,” Jessie said. “I can pay for the rides.”
    “Cool. If you want.”
    Jessie still had her drink cup. She held it out to Calvin.
    “No, thanks,” he said. “I’ll get something later.”
    “Okay.”
    “How was it, by the way?”
    Jessie looked a little embarrassed as she smiled. “Just right.” She took a sip, and the straw made a squishy sound as she reached the bottom of the cup. “Perfectly mixed.”
    Without an audience to show off for, Jessie had suddenly became a lot nicer. She asked Calvin how he liked soccer—“better than baseball, about even with football”—and reminded him of the day their math teacher had a big rip in the butt of his pants and didn’t know it. He’d spent most of the class writing on the blackboard while the kids tried to hold back their laughter.
    They found Zero and Danielle and went on the Tilt-A-Whirl and into the haunted house, then got ice-cream sandwiches and tried to win some CDs. They ended the night on the merry-go-round.
    “That was great,” Jessie said as they strolled through the crowd toward the Ferris wheel to wait for their father. “I’m definitely going back in the haunted house tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow?” Calvin asked.
    “Yeah.” She took a seat on a bench. Zero and Danielle were lagging behind, having stopped to listen to a jazz trio that was playing near the center of the grounds. “Spencer asked me to come with him.”
    “Spencer did?”
    “Yeah.” Jessie looked around, a little embarrassed and a little bold. “When you were getting the soda earlier.” She shrugged. “What the heck, right? The carnival’s only once a year.”
    Calvin was quiet for a moment. “Did he know you were here with me?”
    Jessie shrugged. “It wasn’t very obvious, I guess. There were a lot of us hanging out by then.”
    Calvin stared at the ground. “Man,” he said under his breath.
    Jessie touched his arm, then drew her hand away. “It’s not like this is a boyfriend thing,” she said. Calvin wasn’t sure if she meant him and Jessie, or Jessie and Spencer. Either way, there wasn’t much to cheer about.
    Jessie’s tone brightened. “Anyway, I had a great time. Thanks for the food and everything.”
    “No problem.”
    Zero and Danielle had arrived, and Calvin could see Dr. Rosado walking toward them. “There’s your dad,” he said flatly.
    “Yeah.” Jessie stood up from the bench. “Thanks, guys,” she said sweetly. “It was a blast.”
    “Thanks,” said Danielle, giving them that little finger wave. “See you on the soccer field.”
    Calvin stood with his mouth hanging open as the girls walked away. Zero stared at him. “You okay?” he said.
    Calvin shook his head slowly. “I guess,” he said. “Man, that is one confusing girl.”
    “Confusing or confounding?”
    “Both.” Calvin started walking. “Never did get a drink tonight. I’m thirsty.” He looked around the grounds. Spencer, Sherry, and the others were hanging with a large group over by one of the food tents. They were laughing and looking animated. “Let’s get