The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

Author:Brandon Mull [Mull, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Young Adult
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2007-07-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Mirror Mints

Summer and Pigeon crouched beside a white cake box on the jogging path about twenty paces from Greenway Avenue. Summer had purchased a mint-chocolate-chip ice cream cake from the Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe earlier that afternoon using money from the little yellow safe on her bedroom shelf. The cake now resided in her freezer, bundled in plastic wrap. The point had not been to get a cake. The point had been to acquire the box.

A round mirror rested on the bottom of the box, the reflective side facing down. The diameter of the mirror was almost too great to fit, even though the box had held quite a large cake.

Pigeon had furnished the mirror. In the bathroom that he shared with his younger sisters, a round medicine cabinet hung on the wall. Up until that afternoon, the mirror had served as the front of the cabinet. Now the cabinet had no front, exposing narrow shelves stocked with bandages, bottles, and dissolving tablets. Pigeon had no idea how long it would be before his parents noticed, but he was much less worried about it than he would have been a week ago.

Summer and Pigeon each uncapped a tube of super glue purchased at the Colson General Store. They squeezed the colorless, gelatinous glue all over the back of the mirror, closed the lid of the box, picked it up, and hastened down the path to Greenway.

It was Friday evening, and the line of customers at the Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe wrapped halfway around the outside of the building. Cars jammed the parking lot and lined the curbs of Greenway and Main.

Summer and Pigeon skipped the line and pushed their way through the front door with the cake box. All of the tables inside were occupied, with many patrons standing around nibbling at various sweets, but an older couple was just standing up from a square table not far from the door. Summer and Pigeon rushed over and claimed the table before the couple had cleared their napkins.

Summer positioned herself to at least partially impede a view of Pigeon from the counter. Setting the cake box on his lap, Pigeon opened the top, removed the mirror, and pressed it up against the underside of the table. He held the mirror firmly in place, fingers splayed against the glass, and slowly counted to thirty. The glue was supposed to work instantly, but he wanted to be safe. He kept an eye on the customers standing or sitting near him, but none seemed to be paying any attention to his actions. Carefully he reduced the pressure of his hands against the glass until he was no longer supporting the mirror.

Pigeon gave Summer a curt nod. He glanced beyond her at the counter, manned by the big round man, the guy with the birthmark, and the dwarf. They looked harried as they took requests, filled orders, and made change, and gave no sign of having noticed him or Summer.

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