Page 63 of Library or Lattes?

He ignored my one-word answer and kept on trying to spark a conversation with questions.

“Did you sleep well?” “Did you hear about the Kissing Tree?” “Usual party at Krista’s for Halloween?”

No, no, and maybe …

“Nope … Wait. What about the Kissing Tree?” I was suddenly shocked out of my stubbornness.

“It’s safe, for now.” Pop folded a pancake and took a bite.

“The photo booth worked?” I asked, and forgot that I wasn’t supposed to be smiling because I was mad.

Pop shook his head. “Well, yes, but no. Some rich folks put up the money to keep it. The Blakes, that’s right. Something to do with one of their daughters. But great news!”

Carter’s family? So all that James and I had worked on, the photo booth, the stall, the whole night, didn’t even matter. The Blakes just wrote a check and saved the tree while I was running around thinking I was making a difference. Even the Kissing Tree didn’t need me here.

I left my pancakes sitting on the counter and picked up my schoolbag. “Yeah … great news …” I said quietly. Scared that if I spoke any louder Pop would hear the shake in my voice.

Just as I was about to walk out the door, Pop said, “Willa? I’ve got a big job today, up the road in Sandy Peak. I might not be here when you get home from school.”

What else was new? “Yeah, fine,” I said.

“Have a nice day, sweetheart. See you tonight.” He was trying hard, but I wasn’t ready to make up.

I said “Bye” as I slammed the door behind me, making the giant spider I’d put on it shake terrifyingly.

Halloween decorations lined the streets now, along with the regular fall ones. There were ghosts and witches, black cats and vampires among all the pumpkins. I thought of Lennie when I walked past the serious decorators. The ones who set up full cemeteries on their front lawns, with mechanical monsters and smoke machines. Lennie loved all this. Her house always looked amazing, although one year she went too far and had a cardboard cutout of Michael Myers in her bedroom window, and her mom made her throw it out because of all the complaints. God, I missed her. My stomach twisted every time she came into my head. Now she and James were intertwined—if one of them was out of my brain, the other was in it.

School was just as awkward as home had been. No, scratch that. It was worse. In all the classes I had with Lennie, I’d find myself looking over to her seat. We’d make eye contact for a few seconds before she looked away and got on with her work. I even tried to smile at her once. But she didn’t return it, and she spent the rest of the day, and week, ignoring me.

She didn’t reply to any of my messages. Most of them were apologies, but when I couldn’t think of any other ways to say sorry, I just started sending her funny memes and gifs. She ignored them all, and as if this wasn’t bad enough, kids I barely knew started asking why Lennie and I had had a friendship breakup. Like it was any of their business.

This was all super awkward for everyone in our friend group. Krista and Avery didn’t know what to do with themselves, so at lunchtimes Krista would sit with me and Avery would sit with Lennie, and the next day they’d swap.

Today I had Avery.

“Like can you please just make up? I hate it that you two are fighting, it’s upsetting my aura …” Avery looked at Krista and Lennie longingly. I glanced at them too, and it looked like they were having the exact same conversation we were.

“I’ve tried. I literally don’t know what else I can do. I’ve said sorry a million times.” I ate my lunch so angrily that Avery looked kind of scared and we ended up sitting in silence.

Finally, it was Friday, and I was so sick of this new routine that I sat alone on a bench to eat my lunch.

I took a notebook out of my bag. It was the one from the coffee shop, the one filled with recipe ideas and plans for the Little Acorn. I flipped to one of the few empty pages at the back and made a new list. It quickly became as chaotic as my brain.

STAYING IN OAK FALLS:

Pros:

• Pop (but he has Jo now so …)

• The coffee shop

• Friends (Lennie won’t even talk to me)

• James (Maybe. I don’t understand him, though. One second I’m the best thing in his week. Next, he’s cold and distant. Plus fiancée baggage. And I just told him I want to leave …)

• It’s home (Mom loved it here)

Cons: