“‘We will all be changed!’” she cawed from her perch. “Changed! Changed!”

Chapter 20

Wunder put the letter in his pocket the next morning. Then he took his time getting ready. He wanted to be late because he was worried about the questions that would be waiting for him at school. Because by now Tomás would probably know about the town hall break-in.

And he did. When Wunder slipped into his seat in first period English right before the bell rang, Tomás swung around to face him.

“Wunder!” he whispered. “What’s going on?”

But then Mr. Groves—who was known for giving detentions for even the slightest infractions, like sneezing without covering your nose—started taking roll. Tomás frowned, flipped his hair, and turned back around.

At the end of class, Wunder rushed from the room while everyone was still packing up. He saw Davy watching him leave, front teeth chewing on his lip. He thought about asking what Davy had been doing in the woods, but then he didn’t. It would be easier to avoid him.

All day, he dodged his old friends. He ate lunch in the stairwell, then told Ms. Shunem he had a stomachache and needed to go see the school nurse, because her science class was small and informal and Tomás would have plenty of time to talk to him there. When the last bell rang, Wunder was relieved that he had made it through the day without having to explain himself to anyone—

But Tomás was waiting for him at his locker. And when Wunder tried to walk right past, Tomás stepped in front of him.

“So did you really do it?” he asked.

“Do what?” Wunder went to his locker and focused on spinning the combination dial.

“You know what,” Tomás said.

“Your dad isn’t supposed to talk about police stuff with you,” Wunder said. He pulled his earth sciences book out, put his English composition book back in. “It’s confidential. That’s the law.”

Tomás snorted. Wunder wasn’t looking at him, but he was almost sure he could hear the sound of hair being flipped.

“Come on, Wunder,” Tomás said. “If I robbed the town hall and your dad knew about it, you’d know about it too. My dad thought I might have been with you. I almost got in serious trouble!” Wunder didn’t say anything. He knelt to shove his books into his backpack. “Hello? Wunder? Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“I’m sorry you almost got in trouble,” Wunder said.

Tomás snorted again, but this time more forcefully. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

Davy came up then. “Wunder, I heard—” He stammered to a stop, blinking back and forth between Tomás, who had his arms raised in disbelief, and Wunder, who had stood and was glaring at his friend. “Snack Shack?” he finally squeaked.

“All I’m going to say?” Wunder said. “Me? I’m not the one who doesn’t want to talk about anything!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tomás demanded. “I’ve been at your locker every day, and I’m always asking you to hang out, even though you hardly talk now and you never smile and you don’t want to go anywhere. It’s not like I don’t have better things to do! It’s not like I don’t have other friends!”