A 1

The song didn’t seem to help Hazel’s nausea.
“Ugh…” She leaned over and hugged her sides. She had nice hair—frizzy and golden brown like
curls of cinnamon. Her hair reminded Leo of a place in Houston that made excellent churros. The
thought made him hungry.
sick?”
“Don’t lean over,” he advised. “Don’t close your eyes. It makes the queasiness worse.”
“It does? Do you get seasick too?”
“Not seasick. But cars make me nauseous, and…”
He stopped himself. He wanted to say talking to girls, but he decided to keep that to himself.
“Cars?” Hazel straightened with difficulty. “You can sail a ship or fly a dragon, but cars make you
“I know, right?” Leo shrugged. “I’m special that way. Look, keep your eyes on the horizon. That’s
a fixed point. It’ll help.”
Hazel took a deep breath and stared into the distance. Her eyes were lustrous gold, like the copper
and bronze disks inside Festus’s mechanical head.
“Any better?” he asked.
“Maybe a little.” She sounded like she was just being polite. She kept her eyes on the horizon, but
Leo got the feeling she was gauging his mood, considering what to say.
“Frank didn’t drop you on purpose,” she said. “He’s not like that. He’s just a little clumsy
sometimes.”
it!”
“Oops,” Leo said, in his best Frank Zhang voice. “Dropped Leo into a squad of enemy soldiers. Dang
Hazel tried to suppress a smile. Leo figured smiling was better than throwing up.