Page 5

The boy looked over her shoulder at the beach carnival, then back at her skeptically, "That's a birthday party? It’s a whole carnival."

“My family likes birthday parties," Raelyn said smiling. She took in the boy's appearance again and could have sworn she heard his stomach growl once or twice. "Do you want to join us? I'm the birthday girl so I can get you free food or whatever you want."

"I don't need your food," the boy said, not looking her in the eye this time.

Raelyn considered for a moment, "Well, here's the thing," she took another step closer, "there are three dunk tanks with clowns just waiting to be dropped into the water, but no one has dunked them yet.

I really don't like clowns and I can tell you can throw.

" She tossed him the baseball that was curled in her hand. He dropped the rock he’d been holding and caught the baseball, looking down at it as though it were some valued treasure.

Raelyn smiled and held her hand out for him to take. "Come on, let's go dunk some clowns."

The boy stared at her hand for a few beats before the corners of his mouth turned up in what was almost a smile. He said, "I'm Quinn...Quinn Casey," and took Raelyn's hand, letting her lead him back to her birthday party.

Quinn wasn't sure what to think of this girl who had dragged him away from his solitude; he'd gotten so used to being alone, but she seemed friendly enough, if a little spoiled to have a whole carnival set up for her birthday.

He hoped she wouldn't ask too many questions about where his parents were.

He didn't like to share about his mom's issues, or the large, dangerous looking men who came into the house wreaking of stale cigarette smoke, beer, and something more bitter.

He would always slip out his bedroom window when he heard the low, scratchy male voices coming through the front door.

His mom wouldn't notice his absence, and even if she did, by the time he got home she would be too far gone to care .

Raelyn stopped in front of the dunk tanks and spoke to the man who seemed to be in charge, "I told you I'd be back!" Still holding Quinn's hand, she pulled him to the front of the line. "This is Quinn. I'm giving him my unlimited throws."

Raelyn smiled brightly at him and then pointed to the line that marked where to stand when throwing.

Quinn glanced up at the clown waiting to be dropped, the target that he needed to hit, and back at the girl who was smiling encouragingly at him.

He felt himself smile back at her. He knew this would be easy enough.

Turning back to the target, he rolled the ball in his hand a few times before he wound up and took his shot.

Ping! Splash!

There was a brief look of surprise on the clown’s face before she was dropped into the water tank.

Raelyn cheered and jumped up and down next to him, and there were claps and sounds of encouragement and interest among the small crowd of party guests who had gathered behind him.

A warm feeling filled Quinn's chest as he heard this crowd of strangers cheering for him, making him feel a sense of pride and a rush of adrenaline he was sure he'd never felt before.

The dark-haired man standing next to the bucket of baseballs smiled and clapped his hands before tossing him another ball and gesturing toward the next tank.

"If you can dunk all three like that, we'll let you choose any prize you want," he said as they moved over.

This clown had bright blue pig tails and a black and white polka-dotted suit with bright blue clown shoes.

Quinn tossed the baseball up in the air and caught it, and with a glance and a small smirk in Raelyn's direction, he wound up and threw the ball for the second time.

Ping! Splash!

An even more enthusiastic roar of applause and cheering erupted behind him.

He turned and smiled uncertainly at all the unfamiliar faces, and then moved down the line to the next and final dunk tank.

Catching the ball again, he glanced up at this last clown who, if Quinn wasn't mistaken, looked like he was bracing himself.

This made him smile even more, a surge of an unfamiliar emotion- confidence?

- filling him up. He gave the ball a few tosses into the air, looked over at Raelyn who gave him an encouraging nod, and this time he really smiled.

He wound up and sent the ball flying into the very center of the target once more.

The outburst of applause and cheers he received had him smiling wider than he was sure he ever had before, a few people had given him a pat on the back. He heard a few wow s and good job s. Raelyn cheered and pumped her arm in the air before giving him a high five.

"That was so cool," Raelyn said, watching as the clowns all got out of their tanks and began to dry off. "But I think the running face paint might make them even scarier."

Quinn looked over his shoulder at the drenched clowns, wigs askew, face paint and make-up running.

She wasn't wrong. When he looked back at Raelyn, there was a tall man with sandy blonde hair, a perfectly manicured mustache, and bright blue eyes that matched the girl's, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

Quinn didn't know much about having money, but he could tell this man was drenched in wealth, from his haircut to his easy white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and beach-patterned swim shorts that had likely never been in the water.

This man's look said that he was pretending to be casual, but why yes, this outfit cost more than your mom's monthly rent .

"Who is this young man?" The tall man asked. He was clearly Raelyn's father, with a smile that crinkled his eyes.

"This is Quinn Casey," Raelyn said, smiling her friendly, bright smile again. Quinn wondered if she ever looked anything but perfectly happy. "He dunked all those clowns on his first throw! I think he's my new best friend."

Quinn paused, looking at the girl's face for a few moments.

He'd never really had a best friend before.

He wasn't sure why someone like her would want to be friends with someone like him, but he'd only known her for a half hour and already he'd experienced feelings of pride and confidence that he never had before.

He returned her smile and for the first time was filled with hope that his life just might brighten up with a friend like Raelyn DeRose.