The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball Read Online Free Page A

damage.
    I picture my aunt’s body being electrified. I wonder if she was afraid. I wonder if she even had time to think about being afraid.
    â€œWhat was she doing in a field?” I hear myself ask. Aside from a swimming pool, the dumbest place to be during a thunderstorm is in an open field. And the dumbest thing you can do while in an open field during a thunderstorm is carry a metal object. Everybody knows that.
    Mom just shakes her head. “I don’t know. Her friend didn’t tell me much. She just said that they found her about an hour ago, and that the EMT declared her dead when the ambulance arrived. She wanted to be cremated, and there’s going to be a memorial service on Wednesday.”
    Lindsay and Samantha clear their throats uncomfortably and I spin around. I had completely forgotten that they were there.
    â€œDr. Channing, I’m so sorry,” Samantha says.
    â€œUm, Erin, I think maybe we should go,” Lindsay adds.
    â€œNo,” I shout, not really meaning to raise my voice. “You can’t ride your bikes home in this. Especially not after what just happened. Please, my dad will be home any minute. He can drive you. Just wait for him.”
    Lindsay and Samantha look at each other, and Lindsay bites her lower lip, just like she always does when she’s about to agree to something she doesn’t want to do. My eyes are welling up with tears and I open my mouth to say something, but I don’t know what to say. All I can think is, How is this happening? How can Kiki be gone?
    The garage door opens with a low rumble.
    â€œThere,” I say, feeling relieved that I have something else to focus on for a minute. “See? He’s home. Come on, let’s go upstairs and get your stuff.”
    We trudge up the steps in silence, the three of us wincing as we hear my dad opening the door, and then my mom telling him what happened. She’s crying again.
    â€œThis is so crazy,” Samantha whispers, putting her arm around my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
    I nod, even though I’m not. It all feels surreal, like it’s happening to someone else. Someone in a movie that I’m watching. A bad movie.
    â€œI…it’s just, I haven’t even seen my aunt in almost a year,” I stammer. My throat is clogged. “It’s just weird, though. It doesn’t make any sense. I mean, Kiki was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. Why would she go out into an open field, with a metal umbrella, when there’s been thunder and lightning going on for days?”
    Lindsay starts to say something, but then hesitates.
    â€œWhat?” I ask.
    â€œNothing,” she says. “It’s totally inappropriate under the circumstances.”
    â€œWhat?” I ask again. “Just say it. It’s me.”
    â€œOkay, well, I was just thinking that it’s kind of a coincidence, how you were just saying how boring your life is and that nothing ever happens to you, and now, you know, just out of the blue, this happens.”
    I tilt my head, unclear as to where she’s going with this. I notice that Samantha does the same thing.
    â€œSo what’s your point?” I ask.
    â€œI don’t know. I’m just saying, like…maybe you conjured this,” Lindsay mumbles. “It’s all very strange and mysterious. Maybe you conjured the whole thing. Like…maybe this happened so that your life could become more interesting.”
    I glare at her. I know she meant for that to come out differently, but still. I try to swallow, but the golf-ball-sized lump in my throat makes it difficult.
    â€œSo, you’re saying that I’m responsible for my aunt’s death just because I happened to mention that I think my life is boring and that I can’t come up with a good reason for why I want to go to Italy this summer?”
    She opens her mouth and closes it.
    â€œYou’re right,” I snap,