The Graham Cracker Plot by Shelley Tougas Page B

to escape from Club Fed, how could I? They were smart enough to hack computers and steal tax money. I was just a stupid kid. Queen Stupid.
    The Idea Coin had something . I felt it. Graham felt it. Addison Kramer, who used to live by us, showed me her rock collection this one time. She said rocks and minerals hold energy and memories and history. Maybe the Idea Coin was like that. It’s been on Earth since 1919. That’s a lot of energy.
    When did the Titanic sink? Maybe the Idea Coin was on the Titanic and it sunk in the ocean and was eaten by a fish and the fish was caught by a fishing fleet and when the fish cutter split the fish, he found the coin and kept it. The Idea Coin might have traveled all over the world. Maybe it went from Spain to Utah to China. Maybe Grandma found it on the sidewalk and used it for cigarettes. Maybe it was in Mom’s change jar, in my very own trailer , and she spent it, and it traveled to Graham’s uncle, who brought it back. So many possibilities. So many memories. So much energy.
    Without the Idea Coin, we were screwed. And the Chemist? I shivered and thought about terrible things happening to the Chemist.
    *   *   *
    It felt like an hour had passed when Graham opened the door. He turned on a dim light.
    â€œHey,” he said.
    â€œHey yourself.”
    Graham frowned when he saw the Fred corner. “These church people don’t love their dog! Leaving him alone for five days with slime water—look, there are bugs floating in it.”
    Graham picked bugs out of Fred’s dish and flicked them across the floor. I was afraid he’d come to say he and Ashley were going home. Then what? No Idea Coin, no Graham, no Ashley, no car.
    No escape for the Chemist.
    Something snorted. Graham scrambled up and peeked over the stalls. “Oh, my God, Daisy! Check it out!”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œHorses!” His voice squeaked from excitement.
    I jumped up and peeked with Graham. A brown pony looked up at us and swished its tail. In the next stall was a white pony, and the one next to it had black spots. “Ponies!” I said. “Soooo cute!”
    Graham inspected them. “Not ponies. Miniature horses. They might be exactly what we need, and they’re small. Way easier to handle than big horses.”
    â€œCuter than puppies!”
    I patted the pony’s nose, and Graham rubbed its ear. “Who leaves animals for five days? That’s abuse,” he said. “If I were those people, I’d rent a trailer and bring my animals and stay on a farm instead of a hotel.”
    â€œA Jesus picture doesn’t make you a real church person. Just another fake.”
    He didn’t call me a fake friend, and he didn’t seem so mad. We scratched and stroked the ponies. They nibbled on our hands, looking for a treat. The wind howled through the trees. Thankfully we had a house for sleeping. But then what? When night turned into morning and morning turned into the Club Fed smoke break, and it was me—just me—then what?
    Graham said, “I got two things to tell you. The first is we both got Mom messages on my cell.”
    â€œI don’t want to hear it.” I shivered.
    â€œYou have to listen before I tell you the second thing.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause.”
    â€œJust tell me.”
    He got his phone from his back pocket. “There are two from your mom. Listen.”
    â€œNo!” I sat on Fred’s pillow and plugged my ears.
    â€œYou gotta listen. That’s the only way I’ll know if you’re gonna stick around. Because we got decisions to make.”
    Graham was wondering whether I was going to stick around? I felt lighter, but only for a second, because he pushed that cell phone against my ear. It was Mom’s you’re-in-deep-trouble voice. “Daisy, call Kari. Now. Leaving without a note or phone call? That is NOT cool. I know you’re mad about my