The Challenge Box by Isobel Bird

Author:Isobel Bird
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780061756436
Publisher: HarperCollins

CHAPTER 10

A sea of faces. That’s what Annie saw. There were people everywhere. They were crowding the streets. They were standing on balconies. They were pouring out of the bars and restaurants. She’d never seen so many people in one place in her life. And they were all having a great time. They were dancing and laughing and cheering. Most of them had several strands of brightly colored beads around their necks, and they were calling out for more.

A man whose face was painted in purple and gold swirls waved at her. His bare chest was adorned with numerous strands of beads already, but he clearly wanted even more. Annie tossed him some silver beads and he caught them, cheering and swinging them over his head before putting them around his neck. He blew Annie a kiss, and she laughed.

Mardi Gras was unbelievable. The air was practically crackling with the energy being raised by all the partying people. From her vantage point on top of the float, Annie could see over their heads, and to her it seemed like the very air was shimmering with joy. She had been thrilled when Andre and Juliet told her that she and Cooper could ride on the float if they wanted to. “It’s really the best way to see the parade without being overwhelmed by all the people,” Andre had told them.

The two girls had readily agreed. All that was required of them was that they dress up in costumes made of shiny blue, silver, and black material. Their faces had been painted as well, so that they resembled some weird kind of clowns. Voodoo clowns, Cooper had dubbed them, and she wasn’t far off.

The float itself was gorgeous. The krewe had done an amazing job over the final few days, transforming the bare-bones float into something spectacular. The papier-mâché Marie Laveau looked very real indeed now that she was painted and costumed. She loomed behind Annie and the others, her arms held up to the moon, which was almost full, so that it looked as if Marie were playing catch with it. A costumed dancer stood on each upraised hand, both dancers dressed in simple white dresses and head coverings.

The rest of the float looked like a Louisiana bayou, with giant, dreamlike flowers and lots of blue material arranged to look like water. Both the flowers and the water rustled in the wind, and the whole float looked alive. Annie, Cooper, and the others were supposed to represent the spirits of the bayou, called forth by Marie’s magic. They each had baskets of silver bead necklaces at their feet, and they tossed these necklaces out to the crowd as the float moved down the street.

“This is insane,” Cooper said to Annie. “It’s like being at a rock concert or something.”

“I know,” Annie said. “I just hope we don’t run out of beads. How much farther do you think we have to go?”

Cooper looked down the street ahead of them. There were a lot of floats in the parade, and they were about seventh in line.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.