Ambassador Read Free Page B

with each other, but lately they couldn’t seem to help it.
    He asked for something that he knew he couldn’t have and didn’t actually want. “Can you drop me off at Minnehaha Park tomorrow morning? The one with the waterfall? I have to write about it for a summer reading project.”
    Lupe gave a snort of disgust. Now she would be annoyed with him for acting like such a perfect little student—which was strange, since she used to be a perfect student herself—but Gabe could live with that. She didn’t catch on fire when she was annoyed with Gabe.
    Mom shook her head. “No room for all of us in the car, not with both car seats.” She finally started to eat her curry, but she still made grunting, subvocalized noises.
    â€œI told you we should have traded the car in for that minivan,” Dad said.
    â€œThat van was embarrassed and embarrassing,” Lupe protested. “It was so rusted out that it would’ve fallen to pieces in shame just as soon as anybody said something mean to it.”
    â€œI could have fixed it,” said Dad.
    â€œYou can’t actually fix cars,” said Lupe. “I know you feel like you should be able to, but you can’t. It never works out.”
    â€œI fixed old Baghera so many times—”
    â€œA motorcycle is not a minivan!”
    Gabe sat back, relieved. This was something that Dad and Lupe enjoyed arguing about, and the topic wouldn’t wound either one of them. They fought without fire.
    â€œJust take the bus to the park,” Mom told Gabe, ignoring the minivan argument. “You can manage that by yourself. You’re the most sensible member of this whole family. You’re the only one who knows how to keep your head down.”
    â€œEven though he’s the only one who doesn’t need to,” Lupe muttered.
    Mom said nothing, loudly.
    Gabe wondered what Lupe meant. He decided not to care. Instead he tried to think of a way to distract themfrom another argument, but he didn’t have to, because the twins started blowing raspberries at each other and that was adorable. Everyone paid attention to the twins and seemed to forget about the ire that crackled between Lupe and Mom.
    The Fuentes family finished their meal.

4
    Gabe turned out his light, climbed into bed, and found the flashlight he had stashed behind the mattress. He read a bit of Hiawatha for his summer reading project, read of “days that are forgotten, in the unremembered ages,” but the THUMP thump THUMP thump beat made him immediately sleepy. He read the lines “Break the red stone from this quarry, Mould and make it into Peace-Pipes,” at least three times, his eyes sliding over them and finding no traction. He wanted to enjoy it, but the book would have to wait for daylight.
    He set Hiawatha aside, picked up an old favorite instead, opened the book at random, and reread one of the chapters in the middle. He liked to do this with books he’d read already, liked to leap into the middle of things and let himself remember the rest of the story in both directions—all the stuff that had already happenedand everything still to come, everything he knew that the characters didn’t yet.
    Sir Toby climbed out from under the bed and sniffed the air a few times, suspicious. Then he jumped into bed and curled up at Gabe’s feet.
    Garuda climbed down from the bookshelf and clawed his way up the blankets to settle next to the fox and enjoy mammalian warmth.
    Zora slept in her covered cage in the corner. The cage moved from room to room, and tonight Gabe had moved it in with him. He was still annoyed to be facing a Frankie-free summer, and felt better keeping all three pets close.
    The Envoy oozed through a heating grate in the floor. It shaped part of itself into a mouth and throat, and then cleared its new throat with a thick, phlegmy sound.
    Gabe and Sir Toby both sat up at the odd noise. The fox jumped to the floor.