Page 32 of Harnessed in Gold

Jeannie Westgoes into my notes.

The emcee booms into the microphone, “Next game begins in two minutes, folks. Twooo minutes.” When he instructs us to prepare our red sheets, I tear our blue ones off the table and use the scraps of tape to secure the new ones in place.

Meanwhile, Rime slides the brochure close enough to read my scribblings. “Impressive, little psychic,” he whispers. “You’re very good at this.”

Am I? I’m just responding naturally to Linda and Barbara’s energy. Every wave of eagerness and gratification, every ripple of sincerity. And while the old Betts would’ve ignorantly dismissed their stories as nonsense, the new Betts doesn’t have that luxury. The only thing the new Betts knows for sure is that anything could be true.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I’m halfheartedly daubingred dots on my sheet, two marks away from a postage stamp, when a familiar voice yells out, “Bingo!”

It appears Aaron just won a hundred and thirty dollars.

At the next break, when I notice he’s at the snack table, I declare a need for chocolate and walk up to chat with him. “Drinks on you tonight?”

“Haha, yeah, sure.” Chuckling, he glances over his shoulder at Leo, then leans in to mutter, “But between you and me, I need to give them all to Leo.”

“What? Why?”

“So he doesn’t kill Rime.”

“Oh. Yeah.” I roll my eyes and inspect a plastic-wrapped brownie.

“They act like my brother and I did when we were kids.”

I laugh. “Immature?”

Aaron grins sheepishly. “More like always trying to piss each other off.”

Is that what Rime was doing when he kissed me? Trying to piss Leo off?

Refusing to go there, I change the subject. “So, uh, have you found out anything about Browne’s Hill?”

“Nothing about the hill.” Aaron sifts through a basket of cookies in ziplock bags. “But apparently people have seen some pretty weird shit.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Three-eyed fish and furry snakes and trees growing sideways.”

Abnormalities in nature. “Do you think?—?”

He shrugs. “It’s possible.”

I sigh, my eyes on a pile of Rice Krispies Treats with mini M&M’s. Unfortunately, I left my wallet back at the table.

Before I realize what he’s doing, Aaron buys one and hands it to me. “You were drooling.”

“You didn’t have to. I have money back at my seat.”

“Betts,” he laughs. “I just won a hundred and thirty dollars. I can buy you a Rice Krispies Treat.”

I smile and thank him.

“How about you and Rime? Find out anything?”

I try to talk around a chewy bite of puffed rice and marshmallow. “So much I had to take notes.”

“Awesome. Wonder how Avery and Topaz are doing.”