Page 2 of Endurance

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “You see, Mom. There’s this little app you can put on your phone that makes cars just magically appear to take you wherever you want to go.”

“Okay, smarty pants. I might not be up on all the—”

“Cadence, don’t get yourself all wound up,” my father interjected. “We can leave if you want to. If these two want to stay and have their brains rattled around in that Zipper contraption, so be it. Besides, we haven’t had the house to ourselves in quite some time.” He flashed her a crooked smile and waggled his eyebrows.

“Ewww, gross!” Austin and I yelled in unison.

My mother laughed and slipped her arm around my father’s waist.

“Kallie, don’t stay too late. You have to start packing in the morning.”

I groaned, not needing the reminder. As excited as I was to start my freshman year at the University of San Diego in a few weeks, I was dreading all the work that went into packing for a cross-country move.

After my parents walked away, I turned to Austin.

“Alright, let’s go get zipped!

“Not yet,” he said and took hold of my arm. “Let’s go see the gypsy first.”

My eyes widened as he began to pull me toward the tent.

“I’m not going in there,” I said with a vehement shake of my head.

“Chicken,” he taunted.

“So what if I am?”

“Come on, Kallie. We’re both leaving for college in a few weeks. Who knows when we’ll be able to go to the county fair together again?”

“Um…next year, when we’re home for summer break,” I pointed out sardonically.

“Maybe—assuming neither of us gets a job and decides to stay on campus. Come on. Stop being a baby and do something memorable this year.”

“Do you honestly think a chat with a crazy fortuneteller is going to make today more memorable somehow?”

“I do,” he said with a curt, all-knowing nod before pulling harder on my sleeve.

“Austin, I said no!”

“You’re acting like a scaredy-cat. It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

Before I could protest further, Austin shoved me through the opening of the purple tent. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

When my gaze landed on Madame Lavinia, I froze. She stood next to a round table covered in an intricately embroidered tablecloth. Incense and candles burned in every corner of the tent, causing a smokey haze to billow around her. Her clothing was exactly as I remembered it from the year before. Her puffed-sleeve blouse with a low neckline flowed over the waistline of a long, colorfully pleated skirt of bright chiffon. Gold hoop earrings, bangle bracelets, and jewels weaved through her long black hair to complete her appearance, but it was her eyes—one ice blue and one brown—that stood out the most to me. They stared unblinkingly, and when her unwavering gaze darkened, I felt a shiver race down my spine.

It was like she could see straight into my soul.

Austin nudged me forward again, and I staggered as if I had two left feet. I was about to protest, but the gypsy spoke.

“Tarot cards or the crystal ball, my dear?” she asked in a deep, raspy voice that made her sound much older than she appeared.

“Oh, um…ne-neither,” I stuttered. “We were just headed over to the Zipper. Sorry to have—”

“Tarot cards or the crystal ball?” she repeated.

“She wants the crystal ball. Right, sis?”

Austin bumped me again. I looked in his direction and noticed his mocking smirk. I scowled, wanting to do nothing more than smack him. My brother didn’t believe in superstitions and had slept through the lesson in history class when Mrs. Beecher talked about Nostradamus. Predictions and prophecies were real and could be dangerous. I didn’t know if this fortuneteller was the real deal or not, but after what happened with Gabby last year, I wasn’t going to take any chances.

---