Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison

armchairs all loose springs and stuffing popping out in a thousand directions. There’s a black cat named Big Edie who wanders back and forth, purring and rubbing up on your leg and expecting anchovies in exchange for affection. At Little Edie’s, Daisy gives us free food and lets us stay forever at the table by the window, just watching people and having bizarre conversations with strangers. During the summers I practically live there.
    That day, even though the hour was inching toward evening, the sun was only just beginning to turn pink on the edge of the window frame. I plopped myself onto a busted BarcaLounger, and Daisy and Charlie shared the antique divan.
    “I think today may have been the worst day of my life,” I told them.
    “Aren’t you overlooking the occasion when you peed your pants on the fourth-grade field trip to the zoo?” Daisy asked. Charlie laughed.
    “Ugh, don’t remind me.” I covered my face with my hands. “Maybe it’s a tie.”
    “Lulu, you’re always so dramatic,” Charlie said. “Think about how much worse it could be. Someone could have died. Your hair could have fallen out overnight. You could have broken a leg or worse. In the grand scheme of things, one jerky boy isn’t all that bad.”
    “Charlie, it wasn’t just a jerky boy. I made a complete fool out of myself.”
    Daisy stood and walked over to the counter, where she began wrapping up silverware in napkins for the evening crowd. “Actually, Lulu,” she called, “I’m not sure about that. If he thought you were hot a week ago, why shouldn’t he now? It’s not like you grew a second head or something. If anyone should feel disgraced, it’s him, not you.”
    “Yeah. And besides, you can do better,” Charlie added.
    I looked at him quizzically. “You think?” I asked.
    “You know, ” Daisy interjected, “something strange is going on. I mean, what’s up with that Sally Hansen girl? What was she doing, stalking you?”
    I sighed. “I don’t know.”
    Charlie drummed his fingers on the table and tapped his foot to the flamenco music that Daisy had put on the sound system. He has the shortest attention span, and he was getting bored with the conversation.
    “So what’s the plan for tonight, Lu?” he asked. “How are you going to find Berlin now?”
    “I’m taking the night off,” I told him. “This is totally not working, and I’m exhausted from thinking too hard. I feel like I’m missing something. Maybe if I chill on it, the solution will come to me.”
    “As long as you’re not giving up,” Daisy said.
    I looked at her incredulously. “Hello, this is Lulu Dark you’re talking to. Winners never quit and quitters never win. And at this point I’m mostly just in it to beat Berlin at her game. It’s not like I’m going to call Alfy now that he thinks I’m a freak—so the issue of his number is pretty moot.”
    “You could give it to Genevieve,” Charlie suggested. “She keeps talking about how jealous she is.”
    I set my coffee mug on the table with a loud thump. “Charlie,” I said slowly, “if you tell Genevi evil what happened with Alfy Romero today, I will kill you. I don’t need her and her little minions laughing at me all over town. If Genevieve is jealous, I would prefer it if she stayed that way.”
    “I won’t say a word. But if we’re not searching for Berlin tonight, what are we doing?”
    “Whatever it is, count me out,” Daisy said. “I’m working till two in the morning.”
    “I just want to take it easy,” I told Charlie. “I don’t think I have the spirit for anything too exciting. I’ve been hammered down by life.” I sighed loudly and sank into my seat, playing for sympathy.
    “I have just the place to go,” Charlie said. He smiled broadly and brushed his hair from his eyes.
     
    A couple of hours later we were sitting at one of the best tables at Medardo, which is maybe the trendiest restaurant in Halo City. Charlie’s dad, who is a pretty famous