Page 88 of With a Little Luck

The hot water runs out when I’m in the middle of shampooing my hair. Someone drinks all the milk so there’s none left for my morning cereal. And when I’m helping Mom carry in the groceries, I stub my big toe on the porch steps, trip, and send the bag of groceries spilling into the front garden bed. The carton of milk we just bought explodes all over my legs, before seeping down into the dirt. Add to all that the fact that I still haven’t managed to ask Maya to prom. With the dance less than two weeks away, I know I’m running out of time. And I can’t explain it, but I also feel like I’m running out of chances to prove that we are meant for each other.

To prove to everyone—to Maya, to myself, to the world—that I didn’t royally screw up by using the magic of Lundyn Toune, a magic that has utterly deserted me … to ask out the wrong girl.

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“Mom, did you get more popcorn at the store?” I call, digging through the cupboard.

“No,” Mom yells back from upstairs. “Put it on the list!”

I groan. The grocery list isn’t going to help me much tonight. I add it to the notepad on the fridge anyway, then go back to digging. I manage to find a bag of tortilla chips that aren’ttoostale, some fancy salted nuts, and a half-eaten package of Oreos.

It will have to do, I decide, pouring the chips into a large bowl. Bonus—we have a jar of salsa in the fridge, and some queso dip in the pantry.

Mom comes in while I’m scooping the dip into a microwave-safe dish.224“Hey,” she says, sounding a little breathless. “What are you—oh. Saturday. Right.” She massages her brow.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah. There’s just been a lot to try and keep track of lately.” She sighs and pours herself a glass of wine from an open bottle in the fridge. “Between tax season and getting everything in order for Record Store Day … honestly, every day that goes by when all five of you kids end up at school and no one misses music lessons or sports practice or playdates, and dinner is on the table and the house didn’t burn down—I’m calling it a win.” She takes in a deep breath and leans against the counter.

“You set a high bar for parenting,” I tell her, putting the cheese dip in the microwave and setting it for a minute.

Mom smirks. “We can’t all be perfect all the time. Is there anything you need for tonight?”

I shake my head.

“All right, then. I told Penny I’d take her to the music store to pick up some rosin tonight, so if we’re not here, that’s probably where we’ve gone. I’ll take Ellie, too, so she doesn’t bother you.”

“She’s no bother,” I say. And it’s true. Ellie almost never comes down to the basement during D&D nights, but when she does, it’s pretty easy to set her up on the carpet with a few tiny pewter figurines and let her play make believe on her own.

“I really do appreciate you, Jude. Your dad and I lucked out, in more ways than one.” She puts a hand on my shoulder, and I bend down so she can kiss my head, just like she did when I was little.

The doorbell rings and Mom raises her glass to me. “Have fun storming the castle.”

Maya and Noah are on the front step, and Maya is laughing so hard she’s leaning against the porch rail and holding her stomach like it hurts.

Noah grins innocently. “I may have broken our fighter.”

I gape at them. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing.”

“Goren—Gruesome—” Maya stammers between breaths.225

“Aah,” I say, nodding. “Yeah, Noah is very good at impersonations.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Noah. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for our bloodthirsty friend. I would never impersonate him in a mocking manner.”

“That was—so—spot-on,” gasps Maya, wiping away literal tears.

I usher them inside, and Maya manages to gather herself by the time we carry all the food downstairs.

The doorbell rings again while we’re setting up, and I take the steps two at a time. Russell and Kyle are on the porch. As I let them in, César pulls up to the curb.

“Tonight is the night!” says Kyle. “You should know that I’m not leaving here until we have conquered this temple, killed some monsters, and broken this curse.”

I smile, but even I can tell that it’s weak. “We’ll see where the night takes us, I guess.”

We raid the kitchen for sodas before making our way downstairs again. Maya and Noah are deep in conversation, facing each other across the card table.

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