He couldn’t wait to get to Frightville and get some answers. He hurried through breakfast, wolfing down his eggs and bacon so quickly that his parents were barely done with their coffee before he was pulling on his jacket, ready to go. He waited impatiently for them to finish, then practically dragged them to the car.
“This must be some toy,” his father joked as they drove.
“There’s only one of them,” Max said. “I don’t want anyone else to get it.”
When they reached the store, he was out of the car and inside in a flash. He went to the cupboard where he’d found the Wish Eater. It wasn’t there. He ran back to the front desk, where the same peculiar man from the day before was standing, polishing a snow globe that contained a miniature village.
“Hi,” Max said. “Do you remember me?”
The man paused and looked at Max. He squinted. “You do bear a resemblance to the viscount of Lower Dogsbreath,” he said. “But he died in seventeen sixty-two, so I suspect you’re not him. Are you a descendant?”
“Not that I know of,” Max said. “I was in here the other day. I bought … I mean, I was looking at a toy. A set of teeth with a key that opens them. It was called the Wish Eater.”
The man nodded. “Of course,” he said. “A most unusual object. Only one like it I’ve ever come across.”
“Right,” Max said. “So, it’s not here now.”
“Alas, no,” the man said. “Someone bought it.”
Yes, Max wanted to say. Me.
“Do you remember who bought it?” he asked instead.
“I do,” the man replied. “A young lady. About your age, I would think. I believe her mother called her Tamyra.”
“Tamyra Hinkle?” Max asked, naming a girl in his school. He and Tamyra had been in the same English class the previous year and had worked on a project together.
“I didn’t get her last name,” the man said. “She had lovely curly black hair and eyes the color of chestnuts, if that helps.”
“Actually, it does,” Max said, as the description matched Tamyra Hinkle exactly. “Thanks.”
“If you’re looking for something unique, I have many more things here,” the man said. He held up the snow globe and shook it. “This, for instance, commemorates the blizzard of eighteen fifty-seven, which surrounded the village of Haven by the Lake. It lasted all night, and when it was over the entire town had vanished and the only thing remaining was a rock with this globe standing on it.”
“I’m good,” Max said, eyeing the snow globe warily. “But thank you.”
He found his parents, who were examining the items on the store shelves. “Okay,” he said. “We can go.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” his father asked.
“Someone else bought it,” Max said.
“Why don’t you get something else?” his mother suggested. She picked up a small portrait of a woman whose eyes seemed to stare right at Max, even when he moved away. “I was thinking this might look nice in the downstairs powder room.”
“I think a painting of flowers would be nicer,” Max suggested.
His mother put the painting down, and Max hurried her and his father out of the store. He had an uneasy feeling about the items in Frightville and didn’t want to risk his parents buying something that would cause even more trouble than the Wish Eater had.
Also, he very much wanted to talk to Tamyra Hinkle.
He had to wait until lunchtime at school the next day to talk to Tamyra.
Normally, Tamyra sat at one of the corner tables where the quieter kids congregated, reading books or doing homework while they ate. Max had often seen her there, absorbed in a Harry Potter novel or working on a school project with one of her friends. Today, though, Tamyra was seated at one of the center tables where the popular kids sat. She was surrounded by a group of boisterous girls, all of them talking loudly and laughing.
“I just love your sweater,” one of the girls said. “Where did you get it? I want one just like it.”
“Um, at the Wallard’s superstore,” Tamyra said, pulling at the sleeve of her perfectly unremarkable blue cardigan.
The girls oohed and aahed as if it was expensive cashmere and not ordinary cotton. “We should all go there after school and get matching ones,” one of them suggested, the others nodding their heads in agreement.
Max waved, trying to get Tamyra’s attention. “Hey.”
The girls all turned and looked at him, frowning.
“What do you want?” one of them asked.
“I need to talk to Tamyra,” Max said. “About a, um, science assignment.”
“Can’t you see she’s busy talking to us?” another girl said.
“It will just take a minute,” Max assured her.
“She doesn’t have a minute,” said yet another girl. “We’re planning Kayla’s birthday party, and we need her to pick the theme. She has the best ideas.”
Tamyra looked at Max and shrugged as her friends all started talking at once, making it impossible for him to be heard over their voices. “Maybe later,” he muttered and went to sit down a few tables away.
Max watched Tamyra as he chewed on the peanut butter and banana sandwich his father had packed for him. The other girls were treating her like she was the star of the show, laughing at everything she said. Tamyra seemed to be enjoying the attention too.
But there was something strange about it. Tamyra wasn’t an unpopular person, but she was definitely not the kind of girl that this group usually paid attention to. Her clothes weren’t stylish. She didn’t go to their parties or hang out with them after school. Now, though, it was as if something had changed overnight.
For the rest of the day, every time he saw Tamyra, she was surrounded by a group of girls. At first, she always seemed happy about this. But Max noticed that as the day went on, her expression began to grow less enthusiastic. By the time the last bell rang and everyone started to leave school for home, she was walking with her head down, an annoyed look on her face. Half a dozen girls followed her as she made her way down the sidewalk, and although Tamyra was obviously walking quickly to get away from them, they trotted behind her.
Max caught up with them, elbowing his way through the gaggle of girls and keeping pace with Tamyra.
“I need to talk to you,” he said. “It’s important.”
“Tay!” one of the girls behind them called out. “Should we go to Kimber’s house to listen to the new Kandi Pop album, or go to Skylar’s house and try on outfits for the dance?”
“I have homework to do,” Tamyra shouted back.
“Okay,” the girl said. “We’ll go to your house and do homework.”
Tamyra stopped and turned around. “You guys go to Kimber’s house,” she said. “Or to Skylar’s house. I don’t care. But I have to do my homework alone.”
The girls looked disappointed. One of them started to sniffle.
“Okay, fine. I’ll come over to Kimber’s house when I’m done,” Tamyra said.
“Promise?” the girls asked in unison.