Autumn's Wish by Bella Thorne Page B

jump on the future,” J.J. says.
    “How did we start playing this game?” I ask. “I don’t like this game.”
    Jack shrugs. “You started it.”
    “I think it’s fun,” J.J. adds.
    “I hate you all,” I say.
    Sean and Reenzie come over, both smiling so hard their faces might break. “Guess what!” Reenzie cries. “Huge news!”
    “Huger than Autumn and Wayne Jarvitz?” Jack asks.
    Reenzie gets a condescending look on her face that makes me want to vomit. Of course she believes it’s true. “Awwww, are the two of you together? That’s so sweet!”
    I roll my eyes. “Yes, it’s very special. What’s your big news?”
    “A scout from FSU is coming to Sean’s game tomorrow!!!!” she squeals. “Can you believe it?”
    J.J., Carrie, Ames, Jack, and Taylor all smile and congratulate Sean. I try to paint on a smile, but all I can see is him lying in a hospital bed, unable to move.
    “My brother had to beg the guy. If David wasn’t an alum, it never would have happened. The coaches there don’t think I have the chops for Division One, but they agreed to check me out. I kind of can’t even believe it. If I got in there…it would be a serious dream come true.”
    “Would it, though?” I ask. “I mean, Division One…that’s a lot of pressure, right? Wouldn’t it be more fun to play Division Two…or Five or Six? I mean, that’s easier, and you could probably get a bigger scholarship because you’d be the best guy on the team, right?”
    All my friends are staring at me like I’ve sprouted a unicorn horn. Sean was elated a second ago, but now he’s looking down at me, hurt.
    “What are you trying to say, Autumn?” he asks. “You don’t think I can handle the pressure?”
    I give up. This isn’t the way to change his future. I smile bigger than anyone else did. “Are you kidding? Of course you can handle it! This is perfect and I’m totally excited for you!!!”
    Everyone seems to believe me, and soon we’re all congratulating him again and he’s telling us all about his plans to impress the scout, but I’m seriously distracted. At the end of the school day, I tell Carrie I’m sick so I can get out of Senior Social Committee, and I call Jenna while I walk home.
    “I need a plan,” I say after I fill her in. “I’ll give you some options, and you say yes or no. Get him on a flight to Canada.”
    “I like it,” she says, “but you’d have to knock him out first and he’s too big for you to carry.”
    “Ooh, knock him out is good!” I say. “What if I give him sleeping pills before the game? Or I could trip him somewhere that I know he’d fall and smash his head and lose consciousness for a few hours!”
    “I thought your purpose was to
avoid
getting him injured,” she says.
    “How do I stop him from getting injured without getting him injured?”
    “Get him arrested?” she suggests.
    “Yes! That’s a great idea! How do I do that?”
    “Autumn, stop, you can’t.”
    “Why not?” I ask. “Locking him up would be perfect! Okay, I need a wicked witch and a tower.”
    “I’m hanging up now,” Jenna says. “I love you. Good luck.”
    When I get inside, I’m surprised to see Mom’s home. I’m even more surprised to see her climbing down from the attic with an armload of old dog beds.
    “Mom, wait!” I run to her and take the beds out of her hands. The attic stairs aren’t built-ins. They fold down when you open the door in the back hallway ceiling, so they have no arm rail and they’re very rickety. The few times I went up there, I hated every second.
    “Thanks, Autumn,” she says, coming down much more easily now that her arms are empty. “The dogs have been going through our bedding and I knew we had some old Schmidt beds up there.” She folds up the attic stairs and uses the long wooden rod we keep by the washing machine to push the door shut. It creaks closed like the sound of a dungeon door…which makes me think of something.
    “Mom?” I ask. “What