Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 THREE NIGHTS LATER FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018 HOLLY'S HOUSE AROUND 6:30 P.M. Josh reached across the picnic table for another taco. "Josh!" Mom laughed. "That's your third one!"

"Fourth," Josh said, smiling at Aunt Nicole. "These are the best tacos I've ever had." A pink tongue shot up—ffffffft!—and snatched a piece of lettuce from the air as it tumbled from Josh's taco. "Looks like Bubbles likes tacos, too," Mom said. More laughter rose up, and a warm feeling spread from Josh's head to his toes. Mom had the right idea, to come out here. Josh missed Dad a ton. And it was weird not to be able to text Greg twenty times a day. But Mom was already back to her old self, and Josh felt calmer than he had in over a week. He looked at Holly, who smiled at him over her taco. She was definitely different. Holly had never played a video game in her life. She could name every bird that flew by but not one basketball player. "Who's that?" she'd asked the other day, pointing at the picture of LeBron James on Josh's

T-shirt. "You've never heard of LeBron James, the greatest player in the NBA?" "I don't really care about basketball." Holly shrugged. Josh just shook his head. Because what could he even say? But somehow he and Holly got along. And surprisingly, it wasn't boring here, even without TV or video games or YouTube. He and Holly hung out with Bubbles and watched King Kong. They stuffed their faces with Aunt Nicole's brownies and cookies. And they spent the rest of the time roaming around the forest behind the house. Hiking wasn't so bad, it turned out. Josh actually felt a little scared at first, being in the middle of a massive forest. He kept thinking of a movie he and Greg had watched, where two kids get lost for weeks. They stay alive by eating grasshoppers and moss.

But Holly knew her way around. They brought plenty of cookies and thermoses of lemonade. And sometimes they saw cool stuff, like a huge spider covered with fur, and a hawk flying overhead with a mouse gripped in its feet. It was a bummer they weren't allowed to swim in the river; Holly said it was too dangerous to swim without a grown-up watching them. That really stank because there was an old zip line stretching across the river. It was attached to this big tree right on the riverbank. If Josh had a zip line in his backyard, he and Greg would be on it 24-7. Too bad Holly wasn't the zip-line type. She'd never even been on it! Josh was finishing up his rice and beans when a dusty red pickup truck came zooming down the driveway. "It's Lucas and Eleanor!" Holly exclaimed, rushing off the porch to greet the man and woman who got out.

"You'll love these two," Aunt Nicole said to Mom. "They're great friends of ours. They help us with the reptile shelter. Eleanor actually grew up with Hector." Hector was Holly's dad, Josh knew. He'd died from cancer about three years ago, Mom had said. Holly had mentioned him a few times, her voice proud and sad at the same time. He seemed like a great guy. Eleanor greeted Josh with a booming hello and a crushing hug. Lucas was quieter, but still super friendly. "Join us for dinner!" Aunt Nicole said, clearing away space for two more plates. But Eleanor shook her head. "We'd love to, but we're zonked. And we need a shower; we must stink of smoke." "We just finished a shift at the fire station," Lucas added. "Four days on duty without a break." Wow! Josh thought. Firefighters!

"And we have to go back for another shift tomorrow," Eleanor said. "We just stopped by to drop off a special supper for King Kong." She held up a shoebox, wrapped in tape, with holes punched through the top. Josh could hear noises coming from inside the box. Squeak squeak. Squeak. "Nice big rat for his dinner," Lucas said. "Someone trapped it at the station, in our pantry." Holly looked at Josh. "Pythons only eat live prey." Josh winced. He wanted King Kong to have a good dinner. But it was too bad for the rat that snakes didn't like tacos. "King Kong will love it," Holly said to Lucas. "He's having a tough time with his shedding." "Well, hopefully this cheers him up," Lucas said. "I'll be right back." He took the box and headed to the garage. Eleanor sat down with them at the table, and Josh grabbed another taco. But he'd barely taken a