Fair Coin by E. C. Myers Read Free Book Online Page B

the photo evidence of one of his least favorite moments.
    “Speaking of pictures, what are you looking at?” Ephraim asked, ready to move on.
    Nathan spun his seat to face the computer screen.
    “Let me show you,” Nathan said. He logged into his image hosting account, where he uploaded the dozens of pictures he took every day. Even though he had his own computer at home, his parents insisted on monitoring his online activity closely. His father was a corporate IT guy and compulsively ran gatekeeper programs on their household network. So Nathan did all his personal stuff from school and the library, which ironically had fewer restrictions.
    Nathan clicked on a folder, and a set of thumbnail images popped up. He expanded one of them, and Ephraim saw a picture of Jena, Mary, and Shelley at school yesterday. They were standing around with their backs to the camera.
    Ephraim snuck a glance at the circulation desk, but Jena wasn't there anymore, and the cart of book returns was gone. The librarian, Mrs. Reynolds, was hunched over the computer keyboard, typing away madly. All the kids knew she was writing a novel; they just didn't know what it was about. She never talked about it, which probably meant it was one of those Harlequin romances she read all the time.
    Which made him think of Jena again. He was disappointed he hadn't made the most of his brief encounter with her. He'd been planning to find another book just to swing by her desk again, but she'd probably be shelving for the rest of the morning. He didn't want to be too obvious by looking for her.
    “This is my masterpiece,” Nathan said. “I call it ‘three hot girls.’”
    “That's inspired,” Ephraim said. “What happened to the good stuff?”
    “I made a slideshow,” Nathan said. He clicked on the mouse again and the screen dissolved. A photo of Jena sitting in the assembly came up. Then a photo of Ephraim tripping down the stairs.
    “Did you have to keep that one?”
    “It is not for us to alter history. I merely observe and capture the moment for posterity.”
    “Whatever.” More pictures of the assembly passed, then the photo Ephraim had just seen of the girls, then pictures of Nathan's cat.
    “Hold on.” Ephraim grabbed the mouse and stopped the slideshow. “Where's the picture of their…” Ephraim lowered his voice. “Tits?”
    Nathan's jaw dropped. “Getting that kind of shot would be like finding the Holy Grail. Then photographing it.”
    “No fair holding out. You promised me copies.”
    “I'd share it with you if I could, buddy, but I don't have any pictures like that. Yet.”
    Ephraim clicked through the set of pictures, but several photos he clearly remembered were missing—most notably the ones Nathan had taken in the hall just before Ephraim made his first wish, while he was talking to Mary and Shelley about his mother.
    “Until then, we'll have to be satisfied with these.” Nathan clicked on another set of pictures. He shifted his seat to shield the screen from Mrs. Reynolds's view with his body. A picture flashed on the screen.
    It wasn't a nude, but it might as well have been. At first all Ephraim noticed were breasts in a tight white tank top, wet through to show the dark circles of the woman's nipples. Then he checked out her face. It was Jena.
    “What?” Ephraim said. He took a breath. “Where did you get this?”
    Nathan smiled and clicked forward to another picture. It was Mary—or Shelley—in a bright blue bikini, splashing in surf on a beach. This time Ephraim recognized the picture.
    “That's…you stuck her head on a model's body!”
    “Magicians never reveal their secrets. But yeah, I've been practicing with Photoshop.”
    “This is a new low for you. You can't let them see these,” Ephraim said. He peered closely at the next picture, with Jena's face grafted onto a lingerie model. “But you do have talent, my friend.”
    “What are you guys up to?” Jena said. She stood behind the computer terminals,