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Back The Year the Maps Changed Save as PDF
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Map
  6. Prologue
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. About the Author
  75. About the Publisher

As we sailed past Portsea, Luca looked over at me and then back to the road. “You lied to me.”

I felt my cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry.”

“Your lie nearly got me into a lot of trouble,” he said. “Serious trouble, Winifred!”

“I knew too,” Sam said from the back seat, and I turned around so quickly that my seat belt locked and nearly choked me.

“Shut up!” I hissed.

Sam ignored me and kept going. “We all knew. Aidan wanted to play because he knows his dad is wrong about the people being here. He wanted to play to prove that he wasn’t like him, and—”

“Enough!”

Sam and I both shut up.

Luca rubbed a hand over his face and then squeezed the steering wheel so tight we could hear it squeak.

“Do you know what a moral compass is?” he asked.

Sam and I were quiet.

“It’s when a person knows deep down the difference between right and wrong. Even when other people tell them otherwise. Your moral compass kind of points the way that you know you need to go and what you need to do in order to head in the right direction.”

Luca pulled into the driveway, cut the engine, and turned to look between Sam and me.

“Does that sound like what happened here?” he asked, and we both nodded.

Luca seemed to hold me in a stare I couldn’t break away from. “Then I understand, but what you did was still reckless and foolish. You should think very carefully about how far off course you’d be willing to tread, just because you think you know what’s best.”

Sam and I didn’t say anything. It was like we didn’t need to. I can’t say how exactly, but part of me thought Luca wasn’t just talking about what we’d done that day, in covering for Aidan to go against his dad.

Or maybe it just seems so to me now, because I’m further away—looking down at this memory from the map of my story, I’m so much further away from the time when this happened, but I can still see how all the little paths fit together to lead the way. . . .

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40

Born From Dust

We asked Mr. Khouri once why the Earth spins at all, because it’s amazing that it does.

“What keeps us moving?” Jed asked.

Everyone else thought Mr. Khouri’s answer seemed kind of silly, but not me.

“Because there’s no restrictive force trying to slow the Earth down, it never does. In a way, the Earth rotates now because it rotated before—back when it was just a ball of interstellar dust that was spinning around in the galaxy, gradually adding more layers and becoming more solid.”