Dreamscape: Saving Alex Read Free Page B

at Natalie’s feet, while old wooden beads and
scrapbooking stickers found their new home within the threads of the carpet. I
turned away, ignoring the impulse to scoop everything back up.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “I’m fine, but you’ll never guess what I found!”
    I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
    She peeked out from the doorway to the closet.
“First, do you think we’ve done enough to make your mom happy?”
    A quick spin around revealed seven full boxes
stacked against one wall, empty bookshelves, and a half-empty closet. How had
she done so much so quickly? I choked back the tears and forced a smile.
    “Um, yeah. She’s going to love you even more.
Why?”
    “Well…” She danced around. “I found something in
the back of your closet that I’m really happy you saved. Want to guess?”
    “From the back of my closet?” I chuckled. “No, I
definitely don’t want to guess what you found there.”
    “Come on, guess.” Her excitement was contagious.
Her ponytail swished, and I knew a cheer waited on the edge of her lips.
    “I don’t know, really.” I lunged for the hidden
item behind her back.
    “Not so fast,” she said, darting out of my reach
as I grabbed for it. “I’ll give you a hint. Do you remember all our sleepovers
when we were little?”
    “Yeah…” She dodged me again.
    “Staying up all night…”
    “Yeah…” The tips of my lips curved up.
    “Popcorn, jump rope, iced tea...”
    “You’re killing me. What did you find?”
    “Dun-dun doo-bee doo,” she sang.
    I stared at her until it hit me. “No way!” I
exclaimed. “Dreamscape? You found it?”
    “Yeah,” she said, a silly grin filling her face.
    That was all it took. With one word, Natalie made everything
better. All the bad feelings bubbling inside me popped. It was as if she had
offered me the greatest treasure. And maybe she had. I joined her squeal with my own.
    The knock at the
door surprised us both. Natalie burst into laughter as I ran to open it. We grew silent when I looked at my mom. I gripped the
doorknob until my hands turned white.
    “It sounds like you girls are having fun.” She took a cursory look around the room. “Natalie, I knew you could help.
You’re exactly what we both needed. Thank
you.”
    “No problem, Mrs.
Stone,” Natalie said, shrugging when I glared at her.
    “Anyway, you girls
have fun. I thought you might want some of this for later.” My mom handed me an overflowing
bowl of popcorn. I took it silently and closed the door.
    “Thanks
Mrs. Stone,” Natalie yelled through the closed door and turned back to me. “You
know it’s not entirely her fault,” she said, grabbing the popcorn and throwing
a handful at me. “Your dad’s the one with the new job.”
    I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Him, her—they’re
working together to ruin my life.”
    Natalie stared at me and shook her head.
    “What?” I demanded. “I’ll go easy on her at some
point. It’s just easier to be mad at her right now. She can handle it.”
    “Whatever you say.” Natalie shrugged and let it
go, settling back on the edge of the bed, hoarding the popcorn. “Here you go.
Pop it in,” she said, throwing the square game cartridge at me.
    I blew on the edge of the disk and stared at my
friend before pressing it into the old game station. That’s what I was going to
miss. She never made me feel irrational, even when I knew I was. I doubted I
would find that again.
    “Oh my god, she put cinnamon on top.” Natalie fell
back, disappearing under the pile of pillows. “This. Is. So. Good.”
    “She only does that for you.”
    “That’s because she likes me more.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised if she did.” I reached
over and threw a handful of popcorn at her.
    The game slid in easily, and after a quick tap on
the screen, bright yellow letters appeared. Dreamscape . I couldn’t
believe it. This was it, the game that defined our childhood. We played it
every weekend at every sleepover for