The aisles between the booths were narrow, and with the crowd of people the flow of traffic was slow. As we passed a booth that sold candy apples, William and I crossed paths with a brown-skinned girl with curly black hair, and a tall, pale boy with brown hair that was falling in his eyes—my best friend, Charisse, and her boyfriend, Branden. The two of them were headed the opposite way, and though Charisse saw me and smiled, and Branden nodded at me, neither of them made any effort to stop and talk—nor did they acknowledge William.
Charisse turned her face resolutely forward, and Branden took his cue from her. The crowd eased, and they both moved on without saying a word.
I looked up at William. "They don't mean anything by it."
William appeared unruffled. "I know. They aren't to be blamed for the way they react any more than your grandmother is. They can't really help it."
I was glad that William understood, but at the same time, I wished he didn't have to. I wished we could be like any of the normal couples that had come to the carnival tonight. I wished we actually were what we appeared to be—two ordinary high school students out having a good time.
We continued on through the carnival, and I spotted Irina Neverov, who was out with her new boyfriend, Terrance. Terrance was new in more ways than one—he had just transferred to our school, and he was already a standout on the track team—even though it was the tail end of the season. There were rumors that he was a shoo-in for a starting position on the football team in the fall, too. He'd just arrived, and he was already a star.
Irina and Terrance didn't stop to talk to us, but that wasn't so unusual. Irina and I had been friends once long ago. But the passing years and her love for Simon Krstic—who had also had a crush on me—had driven a wedge between us. There was nothing between Simon and me, and Irina herself had clearly moved on, but even so some constraint still remained between us.
Irina's friends Bryony and Annamaria tagged along behind them. Bryony gave me a long look and seemed to be on the verge of speaking to me, but ultimately, she, too, decided not to stop to talk.
William and I continued on our way, and we were just passing through an area that was full of game booths, when I heard someone call out my name.
"Katie! Katie Wickliff! Katie, over here!"
I turned to see the familiar blond figure of Simon Krstic—he was manning one of the games. He smiled when he realized that I'd noticed him, and he waved me toward his booth.
I glanced up at William. "Do you want to go over?"
"Why not? At least someone wants to talk to us."
Simon broke into a grin as we reached his booth.
"Hey, Katie."
He gave William a brief nod.
I looked around the booth. There were several rows of multicolored balloons affixed to the far wall, and there was a row of stuffed animals and other trinkets sitting on a shelf above the balloons. Simon appeared to be running one of those games in which the player threw a dart at a balloon to win a prize.
"So how about it, Katie?" Simon asked. "Would you like to give it a try? It's for a good cause."
"What are the rules exactly?"
"You get three darts for a dollar. If you break a balloon, you get a prize."
"That doesn't sound too hard," I said. "Set me up."
But three dollars later, I still hadn't been able to successfully make contact with any of the balloons.
William seemed amused. "Would you like me to try?"
"Katie doesn't need your help," Simon said, his tone unexpectedly sharp. "She's doing just fine on her own."
"I know Katie doesn't need my help," William replied mildly. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Of course you didn't," I said. "And I'm not offended. Thanks, Simon, for letting me play. I think this game just isn't for me." I glanced up at William. "Maybe we should move on to the next game."
I began to walk away.
"You know, I think I'd like to give it a try."
I turned back. William was staring fixedly at something on the prize shelf.
"Katie said she's not interested in the game anymore, pal," Simon said. "So why don't you just move along?"
"If you want the truth," William said, "it's not for Katie. It's for