06 - Eye of the Fortuneteller Read Free Page B

shouted. “Look where we are!”
    Kelsey inched alongside Drew and peered out of the dark alleyway—into bright
sunlight.
    She knew immediately where she was. But she glanced up at the street sign for
proof.
    Thirteenth Street.
    Less than a block away from their house.
    “I thought we were totally lost,” Drew said as he started toward their
street. He let out a long sigh. “And all the time we were less than a block away
from home. That’s the last time I follow you ,” he added.
    Kelsey was about to shoot back a smart remark of her own when she remembered
something strange. Really strange.
    “Drew, do you remember what the fortuneteller told you? You know, about
getting into trouble if you follow me all the time? You don’t think…”
    A shiver of fear crept down Kelsey’s spine. She stopped to glance back at the
alleyway.
    But it was gone!
    You will believe. You will know fear. The fortuneteller’s words echoed in
Kelsey’s mind.
    I’m going crazy, Kelsey thought. The alley is there. It must be there. I
probably can’t see it from this angle—that’s all.
    “Come on, Kelsey,” Drew called. “We’re really late!”
    Kelsey broke into a run. The two raced the rest of the way home. As they
neared their house, they spotted their parents sitting outside on the front
porch.
    “Where have you been?” Kelsey’s mother asked.
    “Do you know how late it is?” Drew’s mother added.
    “Sorry,” Kelsey apologized. “We got…” She was about to say lost, but she
stopped herself. If she told them they were lost, she knew what would happen.
Their parents would never allow them to go out by themselves anymore. “We were
having so much fun on the boardwalk, we lost track of the time.”
    “We won’t do it again,” Drew added. “We promise.”
    “All right.” Her mother forgave her more quickly than she ever did at home.
    That was one of the best things about being on vacation. Parents were so much
easier to get along with.
    “Come inside and wash your hands for dinner,” Drew’s mother instructed. Then
their parents led the way inside.
    As Kelsey climbed the porch steps, she thought about the old fortuneteller
again. Now that she was safe at home, the whole thing seemed pretty dumb.
    “Fool!” Kelsey heard the echo of the old gypsy woman’s voice. Only this time
she started to laugh at herself—for acting like one.
    Kelsey was about to step through the front door when something caught her
eye. Something falling from the sky. Fluttering. Fluttering. Down. Down. Down.
    Drew spotted it, too. “What is that?” he asked, squinting as he gazed up.
    “I can’t tell,” Kelsey replied, watching the object float down on a breeze.
    And then it landed right at Kelsey’s feet.
    She gasped.
    It was the card.
    The card that the old gypsy woman had tossed into the air.
    Kelsey trembled as she stared at it. As she stared down into the face of the
Fool.

 
 
5
     
     
    That night Kelsey sat on her bed, alone in her room, staring at the Fool
card.
    “ You are the Fool, Madame Whatever-your-name-is,” Kelsey muttered. “And
you are not going to scare me. No way.”
    Kelsey turned the card over and over in her hand. Then she ripped it in half.
Then ripped it in half again. And again. “So there!” she declared when she was
through.
    She scooped up every last bit of paper and dumped it all into the wastepaper
basket near her dresser.
    “Tomorrow will be a much better day,” she promised herself as she slipped
between the sheets. Then she closed her eyes.
    She pictured herself at the beach with Drew. They would spend the whole day
there, she decided. Swimming in the ocean. Collecting shells. Playing
volleyball. Lying in the sun.
    Kelsey could imagine the warmth of the sun on her skin as she snuggled into
her pillow. It felt good—even in her imagination.
    Then she started to drift off to sleep—pretending that she was already on the
beach.
    But something tickled her left foot. She rubbed