Page 85 of With a Little Luck

But there is one thing I can do.

I make my way over to the machine and scan the options. My attention latches on to a scratch ticket near the bottom with a green shamrock on it and a heading at the top:With a Little Luck. They’re five dollars apiece.

I glance at the cashier one more time before feeding in a twenty-dollar bill and selecting four of the shamrock tickets. They pop out of a slot in the bottom. I snatch them up and tuck them into my back pocket before heading back for our coffees.

The car’s hood is still up when we make our way outside, Ari holding a flashlight while Ezra does who knows what. We hand Ari her coffee and set Ezra’s by the front tire where it won’t get accidentally kicked over.

Maya and I sit down on the curb to wait, and a part of me is grateful when she pulls out her phone so there isn’t any pressure to make small talk, which sounds exhausting right now after the turmoil of today’s super inconvenient feelings.

I pull out my phone too and start scrolling through social media. Some people from school doing the newest dance craze. A gamer I follow showing off exclusive swag from Emerald City Comic Con. Some of our school’s drama kids posting photos of the backdrops for their upcoming production ofThe Wizard of Oz.

A post from Pru makes me pause. It’s a clip from a local news outlet, where a reporter is interviewing her and Quint. In the background, Quint’s mom, Rosa—the founder of the Fortuna Beach Sea Animal Rescue Center—stands beside employees from the zoo, while two sea lions play in a pool in a brand-new enclosure.

I play the video. Pru and Quint tell the reporter about how Luna and Lennon were rescued. My sister is in her element as she recounts how217Lennon was found, sick and malnourished, on the beach during the Freedom Festival.

“Once we got Lennon to the rescue center and he met Luna, they became best friends immediately,” Quint says. “We knew neither of them would be able to survive in the wild, so we wanted to start socializing them right away, in hopes that we could transfer them to a permanent home together. As you can see, now they’re inseparable.”

The camera pans to the sea lions. As if they’d rehearsed it, the sea lions both flop up onto the deck beside the pool, practically snuggling. The reporter makes a heartfeltawwsound.

“Speaking of becoming inseparable,” says Quint, drawing the camera back to him. His countenance has changed slightly, his expression newly hesitant. “I may have asked Lennon and Luna to help me out with a little surprise.”

Beside him, Pru frowns. Deeply. “What surprise?”

Quint flashes a mischievous smile. Then he turns and gives a thumbs-up to his mom. Rosa grabs two small wooden boards that had been lying at her feet and whistles. Both sea lions perk up as Rosa tosses the wood into the pool.

The sea lions dive in, their bodies skimming through the water. They catch the two boards in their mouths and, in one elegant movement, cross the pool to where Pru and Quint are standing with the reporter. Luna and Lennon pop their heads up, showing off the boards. The camera zooms in on the words that have been painted across the slick wooden surfaces.

Dear Prudence …

Will you go to prom with me?

The reporter gasps. The camera pans back to show Pru, her mouth open in surprise. She lets out a bewildered laugh.

Then she smacks Quint on the arm. “On TV? Seriously?”

He chuckles. “Is that a yes?”

“Of course that’s a yes!”

Grinning, Quint goes to kiss her, and the reporter steps away, drawing218the focus of the camera with her. “If that isn’t a memorable day at the zoo, I don’t know what is!”

The video cuts out. The little replay icon appears.

I shut my phone off. Happy for Pru, happy for Quint, happy for Rosa and the zoo and my sister’s favorite sea lions. But mostly, distracted by a plaguing thought.

Prom.

Well—junior prom. Despite the posters all over school, I’ve given it hardly any thought, but I know it’s coming up soon.

I’ve never once gone to a school dance, and I hadn’t planned to start now.

But … Maya might want to go. Probably.

I should ask her.

Probably?

Iwantto ask her. Because I want to be Maya’s boyfriend. It’s what I’ve always wanted, and one day of conflicted emotions isn’t going to change that. If I don’t get my head on straight, I’m going to risk losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

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