Haze Flutterfox's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Haze bounced back toward her cardboard triangle, clutching three juice boxes she'd borrowed from the cafeteria lady. The new kids would be thirsty after waiting in their painted spots. She rounded the corner by the basketball court and stopped. The tall girl's desert wall—empty. The boy's mountain wall—empty. The small one's beach wall—empty. Her welcome cards lay scattered on the ground, torn into pieces. The orange checkmarks she'd painted on each wall to mark the exact waiting spots were smudged, like someone had rubbed them with their hands. Haze picked up a piece of card with half a heart still visible. Her chest felt tight. She'd never had kids leave before meeting their animal buddies. Something colorful peeked out from under the mountain wall. She tugged it free—a fancy map with golden buildings and tiny trees, showing a path from the playground to somewhere that said Royal Ball at the top. Someone had drawn arrows all over it in purple marker. Haze traced the route with her finger. The new kids hadn't just wandered off. They'd gone somewhere specific. She folded the map and tucked it in her pocket next to Princess Patches, who squeaked softly. The three juice boxes felt heavy in her hands. Tomorrow she'd find them. But tonight she needed to figure out why kids would run away from getting animal friends. She walked to the big oak tree and sat down, pulling out her green notebook. On a fresh page, she wrote: Sometimes kids leave before you can help them. Find out why.