I nodded. “So, you don’t know anything about it?”

“I don’t. That’s pretty cool, though. Can I see the picture?”

“I didn’t print it. I will next time I go to the library,” I said.

“Thanks. What are you up to today? It’s gorgeous out, finally. I thought that rain would never end. You should see if Sophie and Lex want to go out on the paddleboards.”

I shrugged.

“Everything okay there, Abigail? You girls in a fight or something?”

“No,” I said annoyed. “They’re just busy.” Busy having the best summer ever, from the look of their Instagrams.

“Okay. Sure,” Mom said hesitantly. “I saw Vanessa at Coontail’s on Wednesday, and she said Sophie was missing you.” Sophie’s mom. Oh, she was, huh? Did she break her fingers taking too many selfies with Lex and lose her ability to send a text message? Did she fall and get amnesia?

“Whatever,” I grumbled. “I’m gonna go swim or something.”

I got up to leave, but she stopped me.

“Abby? We’re going back to see Blair tomorrow. I know you don’t want to go, but we’re doing a family therapy session. Jade is coming, too. I want us to all be on the same page when she comes home. She’s doing so much better, sweets. It would mean a lot to me if you would come.”

My parents would be out of town? Sounded like a great time to get metal detectors.

And it sounded like a great time to not see Blair. What would we even talk about? What was there to say?

“Just think about it,” Mom said, her voice pleading. “She misses you, Abby. She asks about you every time I talk to her. I think she feels bad that you saw . . . the cupcake thing.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said. But Mom just looked away sadly. Remember what I said: sometimes, I’m a liar.

9

AUGUST, PRESENT DAY

Twelve years old

We had a game plan.

I’d always thought I wanted to be an astronomer when I grew up. MIT, NASA, spending my nights looking up at the sky. But I thought the strategy I had formulated for Operation Star-Gazer Twelve Retrieval was pretty good. Maybe I should consider a career as a spy.

Here’s how it would go down:

Day: August 25.

Time: 2:12 p.m.

The eclipse, the eclipse, the eclipse: the entire town consumed, waiting for those few magical minutes. Dr. Leo Lacamoire had responsibilities. He was going to be interviewed by CNN on what an eclipse was and why the day was going dark. I would ditch my dad and hightail it to the library on my bike just before the moon hid the sun. I’d dig up the time capsule with a shovel I’d hide the night before, retrieve the telescope, and leave it in the kitchen of Eagle’s Nest. Then I’d race back to Main Street, nobody the wiser.