Page 94 of With a Little Luck

“This came for you in the mail, Jude,” says Mom. She wipes her buttery fingers on her paper towel before grabbing an envelope and passing it to me over Ellie’s growing pile of discarded crusts.

At first I’m sure it will be more bad news, so I don’t even care if I leave grease spots on the paper as I tear it open and pull out … a check. Fifty dollars, with my name typed neatly onto the recipient line. TheDungeon’s logo—a stylizedDwith medieval iron bars across it—is in the corner.242

“Nice,” says Pru, punching me lightly in the shoulder. “I guess you’re officially anartistenow.”

I smile half-heartedly.

The envelope also contains a notecard from the art director who emailed me before.

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

—Ralph Tigmont

I stuff the note back into the envelope. “Can I be excused? I’ve got some homework to get to.”

I don’t wait for their response, just abandon my sandwich as I slide out from the table.

I’m halfway down the stairs when Pru stops me. “Jude, wait. Is everything okay?”

I turn back to her. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been really quiet lately.” She rolls her eyes. “I mean, quieter than usual. Actually … you’ve been acting kind of strange all week.”

I tap my fingers against the stair rail. “I kind of fell behind on some classes. Been trying to get caught back up. And things are ramping up at the store, trying to get ready for Record Store Day.”

She’s silent for a while. There are times when I swear Pru and I can read each other’s thoughts, so I force myself to think about anything other than Ari. My brain circulates through homework. (Jay Gatsby is as much a hopeless sap as I am.) Then to the store. (Ari sitting on the counter, tuning her guitar.) Then to the campaign. (I might need Ari’s help to write that epic ballad, now that the adventurers broke the curse.) Then to my comic. (Wizard Jude couldn’t see what was right in front of him, either.)

Why is not thinking of Ari so hard all of a sudden?

“Did you finish your campaign last weekend?” says Pru.

See? Mind reading. It’s a twin thing, and possibly the closest thing to a superpower I’ll ever have.

“Yeah, it went well. Everyone had a good time.”243

“And Maya is … a permanent part of the group now, or what?”

“I guess so. I still hope Matt will come back for the next campaign, but it was fun having Maya there. She actually fits in pretty well.”

Pru nods slowly. “That’s nice.”

I sigh. I can see where this is going, so might as well save us some time. “Andwe’ve decided to just be friends.”

Pru squeezes her fist in an excited I-knew-it gesture. “I could tell you were hiding something. When did that happen?”

“I wasn’thidingit,” I mutter. “We talked last weekend. We both felt this makes more sense.”

“And you’re … okay?”

“Yeah, actually. I like Maya, but I’m not in love with her. Not anymore.”If I ever really was, I think, but don’t add.

I can see Pru mulling this over, maybe trying to decide if she believes me or not. But I must be convincing, because she slowly nods. “Who would have thought? Maya turns out to be a natural for role-playing games, and you falloutof love with her?”

“Yeah,” I say, dragging a hand through my hair. “I didn’t see it coming, either.”

Pru bids me good night and I retreat to my bedroom as soon as possible, feeling awful in more ways than one. My colossal mistake with the album is bad enough, but for it to have happened right on the cusp of my incredibly inconvenient realization that I might have feelings for Ari?

Realfeelings?

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