Twelfth by Janet Key

Author:Janet Key [KEY, JANET]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2022-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Maren

June 2015

Stonecourt, Massachusetts

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Theo said, holding up a hand at breakfast the next morning. “What do you mean, the coffee shop lady just gave you a hot chocolate?” They looked at Graham aghast. “Did you know the coffee shop lady just gave out hot chocolates?”

“Kind of missing the point, Theo,” Maren said. She had just told them everything about Renee Wallace, the phone call in French, and, most important, finding the third clue in the orchid greenhouse. But naturally, Theo was fixated on something else.

“I’m just saying,” they said, “we spent ages in the chocolate shop, and all we got were three teensy-tiny chocolate-covered raisins! Raisins, Graham, raisins!”

“It’s not like we bought anything,” Graham reminded them. “And we only stayed in there so long because we were waiting for someone.” He purposefully avoided Maren’s gaze.

“I am really sorry for ditching you two,” Maren repeated for probably the tenth time. “I just needed to think, and then Sal and I were talking about the ghost and found ourselves at the greenhouse, but I didn’t mean to find the next clue without you.”

Graham shrugged, still not looking at her, but Theo flapped a friendly, dismissive hand. “Clue, schmoo, I’d rather just skip to the finding-the-ring part.”

“Well, we’re not there yet.” Maren looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then pulled the newest quote out of her binder. “Any idea what this one means?”

She held it out to Graham, but he didn’t take it.

Theo leaned over and snagged the card. “Fangs of malice, huh?” they mused. “Sounds like a horror movie. What do you think, Graham?”

Graham just kept poking at his English muffin, a half-melted pat of butter sitting on the sharp points like snow on mountain peaks. Maren frowned. How many times was she going to have to apologize?

“Or not!” Theo said, their voice a little too chipper. They slid the clue back across the table at Maren. “What did Sal think?”

“Well—”

“So you told him everything?” Graham broke in again, his voice sharp with very un-Graham-like bluntness. “You told Sal everything?”

Maren looked at him, surprised. “I mean, I kind of had to—he was there when I found the clue.” She looked from Graham to Theo, who was starting to look uncomfortable. “Why? Is that not okay?”

“Sal’s a good addition,” Theo said. “Just, from now on, the four of us should vote before we let anyone else in on the Twelfth Team.”

“Then maybe we should also vote on the name the Twelfth Team,” Maren joked. “It sounds like we’re the twelfth team, like the team after the eleventh team.”

“Given my lack of athletic talent, I would be honored to be on the twelfth team of anything,” Theo said in a mock-haughty voice.

Maren laughed. “Anyway, maybe Sal will have some ideas at lunch. He said he’d sit with us today, and he’s good at that sort of—”

All of a sudden, Graham stood up. “I should get going,” he said.

Maren and Theo looked at him, then at each other.

“But we all have Tech class first,” Maren said.

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