Page 94 of Amnesty

“You threw flour at me!” Joline exclaimed.

“No one said she was the brightest of the bunch,” Jeremy told me, sly.

Joline gasped. I pressed my lips together as she darted past me and another cloud of white erupted. Fine white dust flew everywhere, floating through the air and grabbing at everything it touched.

When it cleared a little, we were left with the view of Jeremy standing at the center, his hair completely coated. His eyebrows, too.

I burst out laughing.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?” he intoned, stepping forward. His hand went to the pocket of his apron.

I backed up, putting my hands out in surrender. “Oh no,” I said. “Not funny at all.”

He pulled his hand out, revealing a palm full of flour.

“You keep flour in your apron?” I asked, amused.

“You betcha,” he roared and flung it at me.

I shrieked and lunged back to avoid it, but of course I was too late. The powdery substance smacked me right below the chin. I felt it coat my neck and ends of my hair.

I gasped. Joline and I looked at each other, smiling wickedly.

“Oh shit,” Jeremy exclaimed.

We all lunged for the closest available flour and started flinging it at each other, everyone shrieking and exclaiming. The shrieks turned into laughter, and soon, the entire back room was filled with a white cloud.

The bell on the front door jangled, and the circus the three of us made halted almost instantly. Silence pressed in, and flour settled around us. The three of us looked from one to the other and then at the massive mess we’d made.

Pressing my lips together, I worried about how much extra work this would create.

But Joline and Jeremy started chuckling, which then turned into full-blown laughter. “You look like a snowman,” she told her husband, smacking him in the middle, creating more dust.

We dissolved into hysterics again.

“Hello?” a familiar voice called out.

“We have customers!” Joline hissed at Jeremy.

I rushed around the corner, knowing who was there. “Maggie?” I called out.

The second I appeared, Maggie’s mouth dropped open. “Amnesia!” she exclaimed. “What in the world happened to you?”

I glanced down at myself, then back up. “Joline was teaching me how to bake.”

“Well, honey, I hate to tell you, but it looks like you’re not very good.”

I burst out laughing, then noticed Maggie wasn’t alone. Slapping a hand over my mouth, all the joy I felt began dissolving into panic.

“Sadie,” I said, unable to keep the shock from my voice. “You’re here.”

Sadie stepped out from behind Maggie. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, yellow sneakers, and the hoodie Eddie gave her.

My stomach twisted uncomfortably.

This was the first time I’d seen her since the day she told me I was meant to be her replacement after our captor beat her so badly she almost died.

My throat suddenly felt very dry. As if I’d swallowed a pound of the flour.

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