Chapters (45)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Pulse
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY–ONE
- TWENTY–TWO
- TWENTY–THREE
- TWENTY–FOUR
- TWENTY–FIVE
- TWENTY–SIX
- TWENTY–SEVEN
- TWENTY–EIGHT
- TWENTY–NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY–ONE
- THIRTY–TWO
- THIRTY–THREE
- THIRTY–FOUR
- THIRTY–FIVE
- THIRTY–SIX
- THIRTY–SEVEN
- THIRTY–EIGHT
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- RESOURCES
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- What’s next onyour reading list?
“Delia,” Maddie interrupted, shooting Lucy a look. “You were saying . . .”
Delia hesitated—she’d never told anyone, not even Cassie. “I worked the Ferris wheel. I took tickets and made sure the safety bar was latched. And, yes, Lucy, it was as boring as it sounds.” She sighed. “It had this rickety old computer board running the mechanics, and one day, the ride just stopped with a full load of people on it. My manager tried to fix it himself, but the longer he took, the more everyone in the cars started to panic. I’d let Cassie’s little sister ride alone—I shouldn’t have, but I did. She was at the top, and I could pick her cries out of all the rest. I was as scared as she was. I thought I knew how to fix it, so I went to my manager, and he—”
“Wouldn’t listen?” Maddie said.
“Wouldn’t even let me speak. I was so nervous, I just went back to where I was supposed to be, taking tickets I couldn’t take because the ride was stuck. All the while Cassie’s sister was screaming for me. I couldn’t let her stay up there. So I tried again, and again he waved me away.” Delia started rubbing her hands together, the feeling of helplessness rising to the surface just like it had that day. “Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and pushed everyone aside and fixed it. Cassie’s sister was safe. She was latched on to me when my manager walked over like I’d been the one to break the ride to begin with. He acted like this was a training exercise—like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and he was just about to step in.”
“Wild guess?” Maddie said. “Never covered in training?”
“Not once. The next day I was frying cornholes. Dogs.”
“Ass,” Maddie hissed.
“Him or me? Because what if it happened again? I should have told someone. Instead I pretended like I loved the smell of deep fry in my hair every night.” Delia picked up a Hot Pocket. “But, hey, it qualified me for this, so good for my own résumé building, I guess.”
Silence enveloped the room, and they all stared at the Lit logo on the screen. They’d built something out of nothing. Something amazing. And they’d done it together.
Which was how they’d do this too.
“I’m in.” Delia looked down. “Right after I put on some pants.”
TWENTY–TWO
GETTING SWALLOWED BY A WHALE • When a smaller company or startup is put out of business by a larger one that gets to market first with a similar idea
ON THE WALK ACROSS the quad, Lucy had the unexpected urge to call her mom.