On the Back Burner (2 page)

“Very nice,” Sonia said as she sat down and reached into her large, upholstered carpet-bag. She pulled out a smoky crystal ball and carefully placed it on the table.

“Do real psychics actually use those?”

Peichi whispered to Shawn. Shawn just shrugged and watched as Natasha cautiously sat across from Sonia.

Sonia studied Natasha seriously for nearly a minute before speaking. “You were born on January thirteenth, which makes you a Capricorn. People born under this sign are usually cautious and aware of what others think of them,” she began. “They are hardworking, able to get things done quickly, and gifted with good memories.”

“This is all so true!” Natasha cried.

“Let me see your palm, please,” Sonia requested. Natasha placed her palm in Sonia’s outstretched hand. Usually Natasha didn’t believe in astrology and palm reading, but today she
wanted
to believe. Believing made it more fun—and spookier, too.

“Ahhh.
”Sonia said as she traced her nail up a crease in Natasha’s palm. It tickled a little. “Interesting,” Sonia murmured.

“What?” Amanda asked eagerly, unable to control her curiosity another minute. “What’s in her future?”

“See how the lines of your hand converge here at this point?” Sonia said to Natasha. “This indicates fame.” Sonia pulled the crystal ball toward her and gently laid her hand on it. She exhaled slowly.

Natasha’s free hand flew to her chest. “Me? Famous?” Her eyes widened happily. “I bet I’ll write something that will win awards. I’ll be an award-winning journalist!” Natasha wrote for the school newspaper.
The Post.

“No,” Sonia said. “I see something more active here. It is something you are doing—something millions of people will watch.”

“Uh-oh,” Natasha said, starting to worry. “I hope I don’t get famous for having an accident or something, and end up on the six o’clock news!”

“No, no, no,” Sonia assured her. “No accident. Don’t worry so much. This is good fame. Is it for being in the movies? It could be...No, I see something similar, but smaller...There are lights...Yes! TV! You will be a TV star. Millions will watch you...You will shine.”

Amanda’s eyes popped open.
No way!
she thought to herself. Amanda was the one who was interested in acting. If anyone in their group of friends would turn out to be the TV star, Amanda was sure that
she
would be the one. She opened her mouth to say something, but caught Molly giving her “the look.”
Uh-oh,
Amanda thought. She didn’t want to offend Natasha, but...

“But you’re not interested in acting, are you, Natasha?” Amanda asked impulsively, ignoring Molly’s look. “I mean, I never heard you say you were and you don’t try out for the plays or anything like that.”

“No, Amanda, you’re totally right!” Natasha exclaimed. “I’ve never been in a play and I’ve never wanted to be! I would be
so
nervous!”

Sonia stared at Natasha’s palm. Then she squeezed Natasha’s hand lightly and shut her eyes, obviously concentrating. “Yes, it is definitely TV I see you there very clearly.” She opened her eyes and nodded, satisfied with her prediction.

“Okay, if you say so,” Natasha said. She stood up slowly. Natasha was relieved that her turn was over and that her fortune hasn’t been a negative one, but she had a funny feeling...like she wanted to know more.

“Who wants to go next?” Sonia asked, looking up at the girls.

“I do!” Peichi said. “My birthday is November twenty-third.”

“Ah, Sagittarius, such bright, funny people,” Sonia said. “Sagittarians are very honest. Sometimes that causes a problem when they are so honest that they don’t take the feelings of others into consideration. Be careful not to be so blunt that you offend those around you.”

“Well, if people can’t handle the truth, that’s not
my
problem,” Peichi said with a laugh.

Sonia smiled. “See what I mean? You are a true Sagittarian. Let me see your palm, please.” Peichi presented her hand, palm up, and Sonia inspected it. “Change is coming.
Big
change. It’s here very clearly,” she predicted.

“What kind of change?” Peichi asked eagerly.

“I don’t know exactly,” Sonia admitted. “Possibly there will be a new addition to your house.”

“We just got a new pool last summer,” Peichi joked. “What’s next, a tennis court?”

“Awesome!” Molly cheered. “A tennis court would be great.”

“Or maybe a whirlpool,” Amanda suggested. “I’d like you to get one of those.”

“I’ll let my parents know,” Peichi replied, laughing. She stood up from the chair.

“Me next,” Shawn said, slipping into the chair as soon as Peichi had gotten up. Her brown eyes shone with excitement behind her purple cat glasses. “I’m April sixteenth.”

“Aries!” Sonia said. “You are very active, aren’t you?”

“That’s true. I’m a cheerleader!” Shawn told her.

“You are also brave, confident, and determined,” Sonia added.

“That’s
definitely
true! I was scared to try out for cheerleading, but I did it anyway, which I guess was pretty brave. Once I tried out I felt pretty confident I’d make the team, and I
did
make it! I practice really hard because I’m determined to be really good. Angie always says that if I keep practicing this hard, I could be one of the best on the team next year.” Amanda rolled her eyes as Shawn rambled on and on about cheerleading.

“Well, Aries loves a compliment,” Sonia said, laughing lightly. When she looked at Shawn’s palm, her expression grew serious again. ”There are changes coming for you, too. You will worry about losing someone’s love. But no matter who does the cooking, you will always be the apple of your father’s eye.

Shawn stared at her with a bewildered expression. What did
that
mean? It was eerie that Sonia had mentioned her father. A few years ago, Shawn’s mother had died after a long illness. Shawn’s grandmother and cousins lived in South Carolina and she loved them very much, but since Shawn was an only child, she sometimes felt like her father was all she had. And it was almost creepy that Sonia had mentioned cooking—how could she have possibly known that the girls had a cooking business? “What’s that about the cooking? Shawn asked. “Why did you say that?”

“I mentioned cooking because food has something to do with what will happen in your future,” Sonia replied. “Cooking food is important somehow.”

“Thats strange. It sounds like it must be true, but I can’t imagine what it could mean,” Shawn said, thinking hard. “I mean, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Can Amanda and I go next?” Molly asked.

Sonia’s brow furrowed as she thought. “Its unusual to do a reading for more than one person at a time, but seeing as you’re twins...” she began.

Amanda didn’t give her a chance to finish, but sat down next to Molly. “We were born on May twenty-seventh,” the twins said at the same time. They giggled. “The twin thing!” That’s what the twins called it whenever they said or thought the same thing at the same time, which happened pretty often.

“That makes you Geminis.” Sonia said, smiling. “How perfect—twins born in the sign of the twins. Geminis can be moody, unpredictable, athletic, independent, and they usually don’t make up their minds easily.”

“That’s weird,” Shawn said. “Amanda can be moody and has a hard time making up her mind, and Molly is the one who’s athletic and independent. They’ve split the Gemini traits between them.”

“Hey, how come you gave me all the bad traits?” Amanda complained to Shawn.

“Those traits aren’t really good or bad,” Sonia said. “They’re just tendencies. Moodiness can indicate deep sensitivity or strong creativity.”

“I
am
very sensitive,” Amanda said thoughtfully. “And being an actress really requires creativity. This is so cool! What will my future hold?” She presented her palm for Sonia to inspect. Sonia bit her lip as she looked at Amanda’s palm. It almost looked like she was frowning, but Amanda couldn’t quite tell because her face was down. It made Amanda nervous. What was Sonia seeing in her future? “hat?” Amanda finally demanded. “What do you see?”

Sonia sighed. “I am seeing that in the not-to-distant future you will be faced with a difficult event. It will be a very hard time for you. You will feel like you are losing your best friend,” she said softly.

Amanda sat back, stunned. She was sure she knew
exactly
what Sonia was talking about. Shawn had been best friends with Molly and Amanda ever since the three of them were small. But, since last summer, their friendship had changed. No matter what the twins did to stay close to Shawn, Shawn seemed more distant—especially since she’d made the cheerleading squad. Actually, Amanda had tried out for cheerleading, too—mostly to be close to Shawn. But only Shawn had made the team.

Now Amanda was glad she hadn’t made cheerleading. Angie Martinez was on the team, and she was Amanda’s least favorite person in the world. Angie was really nasty to Shawn’s other friends, particularly Amanda, and it made Amanda furious. Shawn wished that
all
of her friends would get along, but it was starting to seem like that would never happen.

“I already feel like I’m losing a best friend,” Amanda said quietly—so quietly that no one heard her. She got up and moved away from the table.

“You are also a Gemini,” Sonia said as she turned to Molly, “so you’ve already heard all about that. Let’s see what your future holds.” Molly presented her palm.
“Hmmmm,”
Sonia murmured. Once again, her face darkened. “I see heartbreak here. Not your heart, though. You will cause someone’s heart to break. Your sister?”

“No way!” Molly cried. She would never hurt Amanda.

“Yes, it is your sister,” Sonia insisted.

“That will never happen,” Natasha told Sonia. “Molly and Amanda are too tight for that.”

Sonia shrugged. “This is what I see. It is your choice whether or not you believe it.”

The room fell silent.

Oh, great,
thought Amanda.
First I lose my best friend, now my sister’s going to break my heart? This fortune-telling thing was
such
a bad idea.
She turned to the rest of the group. “Well, this is all make-believe, anyway,” she said with a bright smile. “I’m gonna put our pizzas in the oven.” She quickly turned and went to the kitchen. The rest of the girls looked at Sonia, a little embarrassed. But Sonia just smiled.

“She really is a Gemini—a moody one!” Sonia said lightly. The girls laughed. Then Sonia’s voice turned serious. “None of you should be upset by what I’ve said tonight. Please, tell your sister that,” Sonia said, turning to Molly. “Psychics and prophecies can give you insights to the future, but each individual controls his or her ultimate destiny. Where your future takes you depends on the choices you make. It’s up to you.”

Well, I’ll just have to make sure that I don’t do anything to break Amanda’s heart, that’s all,” Molly said, getting up from the chair. “No big.” She would never intentionally hurt her twin sister.

Now she’d have to be extra careful that she didn’t do it
un
intentionally.

A
fter Sonia left, the girls joined Amanda in the kitchen. She was removing two steaming pizzas from the oven, one with mushrooms, the other smothered in bright green broccoli and spicy pepperoni.

Wow, I can’t believe I made these,
Amanda thought to herself, feeling happier.
They look so—professional.

“That looks so good!” Peichi cried. “I can’t wait to eat that pizza!”

“Thanks for making these, Amanda,” Shawn said kindly. The girls felt a little bad that Amanda had gotten two bad fortunes, and they wanted to be extra nice to her to make her feel better. “I’ll run downstairs and get the soda!” The girls had borrowed some money from Shawn’s Grandma Ruthie to buy a small fridge, which they kept in the Moores’ basement. They used it to keep their supplies separate from the Moores’ household food—especially from the twins’ seven-year-old brother, Matthew, who
always
seemed to be eating!

“This is the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Natasha told them. “Thanks, you guys. No one’s ever done this for me before.”

“Is it safe to come back down?” Mrs. Moore called from the top of the stairs.

“I think so,” Amanda shouted in reply. “That crazy fortune-teller left.”

Mrs. Moore came down, along with Matthew and the family’s tiger cat, Kitty. “What’s for dinner? Matthew asked. “I’m
starving.”
He grabbed his stomach and pretended to faint from hunger.

“Hmmm, let’s see...” Molly said playfully. “There are chips and pretzels, caramel popcorn, birthday cake, and these delicious pizzas, fresh out of the oven.
Mmmm.
Don’t they smell
good?
Oh, wait!” she exclaimed, acting surprised. “This food is for the birthday girl
only!
Guess you’ll have to eat that leftover meatloaf, Matthew!”