Page 89 of Even After Sunset

“Oh my God! Youguys!” one of them squeals, “Check out all the Fruit Loops on the grass!”

A guy’s laugh follows. “It musta rained Fruit Loops last night.”

More group laughter.

And then: “Oh my God, I would totally devour a bowl of Fruit Loops right now.”

“Man, me too. Or Lucky Charms.”

“I love Lucky Charms!”

And a second later, they appear at the order window: a group of about eight of them, asking if I sell sugar cereal. And I tell them that no, sadly, I don’t.

But next festival, I will.

It’s a brilliant idea: I’ll buy a few wholesale-size boxes of a bunch of sugar cereals, and sell them in paper bowls. I feel like Silas will be all over the idea.

He wanders back about half an hour later, a lot more somber and a little less enthusiastic. He lifts a hand to me in greeting, then goes back to manning the cotton candy machine. I decide to tell him my idea later.

He seems to perk up a little as he gets back into the groove of spinning. And a little while later, when there’s a brief pause in customers, I feel something flick the side of my cheek.

Silas is flinging the stray Fruit Loops at me. When I lean further out the window, I find him crouched down, picking another one up off the grass near theBurgers Burgers Burgersfood truck, and he whips it before I can duck. It hits my earlobe this time.

Why is it he suddenly has perfect aim when it’s me he’s throwing stuff at?

“Close the window for fifteen minutes!” He calls over. “Let’s go watch the fireworks from the roof.”

My eyes crinkle. “There are fireworks?”

This is news to me.

“Yup.” he tosses a yellow fruit loop at me. “And we’re watching them!”

I duck and the fruit loop flies right through the order window and onto his bed. I decide to leave it there for him to roll over onto in the night.

“We can’t just—”

“Sure we can,” he cuts me off. “Screw responsibility and your schedule for fifteen minutes.”

His eyes scour the grass for more fruit loops and when he doesn’t find any, he pushes his hands into his pockets. “I’ll pay you the sixteen bucks you’ll miss out on in sales.”

I glance around outside the window, not sure what I’m looking for exactly. Maybe the courage to play hookie with Silas for fifteen minutes without feeling guilty.

“Come on…” he pleads, rocking back on his heels.

I break off a piece of one of the cookies on the rack beside me, then launch it at Silas through the window. It hits him square in the chest before he even has time to react.

His eyes widen in surprise.

“Okay, let’s do it!” I call, laughing at his expression.

“Yeah?” An impish grin spreads across his face. I don’t think he was expecting me to agree. “Awesome!”

He doesn’t even bother brushing the crumbs off his T-shirt.

I grab the bag of penny candy I bought earlier at the store, so this time I can be the provider of rooftop snacks. Then I close the order window and meet him outside.

“By the way, I’m not going to let you pay me sixteen bucks for fifteen stupid minutes of lost sales,” I tell him as we climb the ladder onto the roof.

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