Cassidy peeled each corner away from the wall and then rehung it upside down Perfect I said Let’s clear off the desk Toss everything onto the bunk for now After it was emptied we flipped the desk over so the legs faced the ceiling Then we put everything back on the bottom side of it I grabbed a blue mug that had a picture of Avery and Sapphire on it It was stuffed with gel pens and colored pencils Up and over I said The pens and pencils spilled out and some of them rolled under the bunk Ryleigh took care of the picture frames Before she turned each one over she waved at the people and the horses in the photos Say cheese She giggled Or neigh Khadija gathered the books and magazines Black Beauty Misty of Chincoteague Horse Rider She faced the covers down on the desk and then grabbed the drawing books 10
These must be Jaelyn’s Khadija said Just make sure nothing gets ruined I reminded her I glanced around the room and spied Esha’s nail polish I stood each one up on its lid They look like a capsized multicolored rainbow Khadija fiddled with the lamp She unscrewed the bulb and took off the shade Once she turned the lamp over she put the shade on its base Then we attacked the bulletin board As soon as we spun it around papers and pictures fluttered to the floor We picked them up and tacked each one upside down Ryleigh held up Bree’s black satchel and hesitated What should I do with this Dr Samuels gave it to Bree I peeked inside I’m not sure what’s inside but it gets the flip-flop treatment too Khadija and Cassidy took care of the bathroom They turned the smiley face shower 11
curtain upside down and overturned the soaps and lotions and placed them in a line smallest to largest To finish off the bathroom I reached into the shower and pushed the nozzle up so it faced the ceiling Ta-da The cherry on top of the sundae Then we looked under the beds There were suitcases and plastic bins with socks and sweatshirts stuffed inside We slid everything out and turned them over too Don’t forget to flip any dust bunnies you find I said Ryleigh smiled as she scooched farther under the bed I see Jaelyn’s art case She pulled it out and held it up Don’t just hold it up I said Flip it Ryleigh slid it back under the wrong way After another twenty minutes we were done We forgot one thing I said I grabbed the chair and put it next to the door I stood on it 12
and reached for the horseshoe hanging above the door frame I wouldn’t do that if I were you warned Khadija It’ll bring them bad luck I don’t believe in that stuff I said Or it could bring you bad luck said Ryleigh Are you sure you want to do that Ainsley I hesitated for a few seconds before turning it around Bad luck shmad luck I don’t believe in bad luck at all Just then a boom of thunder erupted We looked toward the window and saw a black cat sitting on the ledge of the windowsill A chill ran up my spine I I don’t believe in bad luck at all I repeated Suddenly the poster of Anna Wainwright peeled off the wall and fell to the ground I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers Okay maybe I believed in a little bad luck after all 13
