The Magic Half by Annie Barrows Page B

thought it was pretty.” Miri tried to keep her face blank.
    “Pink roses?” Her mother stared at her. “That sounds kind of old-fashioned.”
    “Remember? I like old-fashioned stuff,” said Miri.
    “Well. Okay, honey. It might be kind of a stretch for Paxton Hardware, but we’ll see if they have any wallpaper with pink roses.” Miri could see that her mother was trying to be positive. She smiled a secret smile. This guilt thing was great.
    “Let’s go, then,” she said.

CHAPTER
10
    “T HESE ARE CUTE ,” said her mother, holding up a pair of emerald green frames.
    Miri didn’t think anyone wore emerald green glasses in 1935. She didn’t want to stand out too much. “No thanks. I think I want these.” She selected a pair of brown tortoiseshell glasses.
    “You’re sure?” her mother said. “They’re a little plain, aren’t they?”
    “They’re fine.” Miri turned to the red-faced man behind the counter. “When can they be ready?”
    “You name it,” he said and winked at her.
    “Today?”
    “Today? We’re fast, but we’re not that fast, little lady.” He chuckled, as though she was being childish.
    Miri decided she didn’t like him. “I thought Speedi-Spec meant you could do them in a day,” she said in her most adult voice.
    His face got redder. “A day means twenty-four hours. We’ll have them ready tomorrow.”
    “What time?” she persisted.
    He scowled at her. “Noon.”
    “That will be great,” her mother interrupted, shooting Miri a look that said Stop Being a Pest.
    I’m not being a pest, Miri thought back. I’m just standing up for myself. And Molly.
    Miri and her mother walked up the street to Paxton Hardware. Waves of heat jiggled off the sidewalk, and Miri wiped the back of her neck with her hand. It was a lot cooler at home than it was in town.
    “Where did those boys go?” her mother muttered, and her question was answered almost instantly, for Robbie and Ray appeared looking aggravated, with Nell and Nora trailing behind, happily eating long, sticky strands of red licorice.
    “Sorry, Mom, but they wouldn’t stop whining,” Ray answered his mother’s outraged face.
    “Boys! You know they’re not supposed to have candy!”
    “It’s good, Mama!” said Nora enthusiastically. “You want some?”
    “Yeah,” said Robbie, yanking the entire string of licorice out of her hands. “Here, Mom.” He handed it to his mother proudly, as though he had solved the problem.
    Nora began to cry, and Nell, sensing trouble, quickly balled up her licorice and jammed the whole thing in her mouth. While her mother soothed Nora and persuaded Nell to spit the giant wad out, Miri leaned against a hot fire hydrant. No telling how long it would take to stop the crying.
    She looked at the bright Astroturf in front of the fast-food place. Now that was totally weird. She imagined trying to explain Astroturf to Molly—it’s fake grass that doesn’t look like grass, and everybody knows it’s fake, but they put it on the ground and everyone pretends it’s real. Miri smiled, thinking of Molly’s face. Next to the fast-food place was Maydale’s Health and Nutrition One-Stop Shop, which smelled like pills. Next door to that was Bead-Quest. Miri liked that store; she liked the sound the beads made in their little boxes when she stirred them with her finger. She didn’t think they had bead shops in 1935. Molly would like BeadQuest.
    She glanced behind her. Now Nell was crying. A tiny, bent man was hobbling across the street, bringing the slow traffic of Paxton to a halt. He didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he was just so old he didn’t care. Now the curb was giving him trouble; Miri watched as he wiped his hands on his trousers and gripped his cane tightly. Slowly, slowly, he lifted one foot to the curb, and, bracing himself with the cane, hoisted the rest of his tiny body up. Miri was fascinated. He must be a hundred years old. He shuffled past her, across the sidewalk to a dingy