Page 76 of Library or Lattes?

“Well, I hope no matter how big you get, and wherever you go, you’ll never stop needing your old pop.” He ruffled my hair, like I was a toddler all over again.

“Of course I won’t. Actually, the fire is looking a bit sad again, would you mind?” He was happy to reignite the flames.

As darkness fell, Pop headed off to the library with his huge sack of candy. Lennie had always told me how nice Jo was, way before this thing with Pop. And I’d never seen him this excited about Halloween before—it was sweet.

I needed a distraction, or else I was just going to sit around crying about James all night. Lennie would tell me to watch a Halloween movie. Something terrifying. But as much as I wanted a distraction, I didn’t really want it to be blood and guts. I put on A Haunting in Venice; then I could have sworn I heard someone walking across the floorboards behind me, so I had to turn it off. So much for a distraction.

I went into my room and opened my wardrobe. My party outfit was waiting there. A stripy baby tee and tiny denim hot pants, just like what Max had worn in season three. Except sexier.

I changed into the outfit, pulling my red hair around my face to hide the pink crying blotches. It fitted me perfectly, even though it was absolutely nothing like I would ever wear in real life. Everything was skintight, and the shorts were so short. For once, I had really liked my reflection when I’d first tried it on—somehow it had made me feel brave. Too bad the outfit was going to go to waste.

I sat down on my bed, still in the costume, hoping for some of that courage back—courage I’d had only this morning. Then I took out my notebook and started a new page.

LONDON

• Big Ben

• Tower Bridge

• British Museum

• Notting Hill (the colorful houses!)

• Camden Market

• Coffee with a view of the Thames

• Buckingham Palace

• Take the Tube

PARIS

• Eiffel Tower (obviously)

• Louvre

• Notre-Dame

• Montmartre

• Luxembourg Gardens

• Find a tiny coffee shop with outdoor seating—order a croissant and café au lait

• walk along the seine at sunset

TOKYO

• Shibuya Crossing

• senso-ji Temple

• Harajuku

• Cherry blossoms (if right season?)

• Akihabara