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Hazel locked eyes with him Leo started to feel jittery, like he’d been injected with coffee If this flashback was so Frank had shared with Hazel…well, either Leo didn’t want any part of it, or he definitely wanted to try it He wasn’t sure which

"When you say flashback…" He sed "What exactly are we talking about? Is it safe?"

Hazel held out her hand "I wouldn’t ask you to do this, but I’m sure it’s important It can’t be a coincidence we met If this works, maybe we can finally understand hoe’re connected"

Leo glanced back at the hel, but Coach Hedge see fine The sky ahead was clear There was no sign of trouble

Besides, a flashback sounded like a pretty brief thing It couldn’t hurt to let the coach be in charge for a few more minutes, could it?

"Okay," he relented "Show me"

He took Hazel’s hand, and the world dissolved

Chapter 22

They stood in the courtyard of an old coroith vines Big nolia trees had cracked the pavement The sun beat down, and the humidity was about two hundred percent, even stickier than in Houston So Overhead, the cloud cover was low and gray, striped like a tiger’s pelt

The courtyard was about the size of a basketball court An old deflated football sat in one corner, at the base of a Virgin Mary statue

Along the sides of the buildings, ere open Leo could see flickers of n of air conditioning, which rees in there

"Where are we?" he asked

"My old school," Hazel said next to hines Academy for Colored Children and Indians"

"What kind of name--?"

He turned toward Hazel and yelped She was a ghost--just a vaporous silhouette in the steamy air Leo looked down and realized his own body had turned toaround hi been possessed by an eidolon three days ago, he didn’t appreciate the feeling

Before he could ask questions, a bell rang inside: not a modern electronic sound, but the old-fashioned buzz of a hammer on metal

"This is a memory," Hazel said, "so no one will see us Look, here we come"

"We?"

From every door, dozens of children spilled into the courtyard, yelling and jostling each other They werekids, as young as kindergartners and as old as high schoolers Leo could tell this was in the past, because all the girls wore dresses and buckled leather shoes The boys hite collared shirts and pants held up by suspenders Many wore caps like horse jockeys wear Some kids carried lunches Many didn’t Their clothes were clean, but worn and faded Some had holes in the knees of their trousers, or shoes with the heels co juuys tossed a ratty baseball back and forth Kids with lunches sat together and ate and chatted

No one paid Ghost Hazel or Leo any attention

Then Hazel--Hazel fronized her with no probleer than now Her hair was pinned back in a bun Her gold eyes darted around the courtyard uneasily She wore a dark dress, unlike the other girls in their white cotton or pastel flowery prints, so she stood out like a ripped a canvas lunch bag andhard not to be noticed

It didn’t work A boy called out, "Witch girl!" He lu her into a corner The boy could have been fourteen or nineteen It was hard to tell because he was so big and tall, easily the largest guy on the playground Leo figured he’d been held back a few tis, threadbare wool trousers (in this heat, they couldn’t have been comfortable), and no shoes at all Maybe the teachers were too terrified to insist that this kid wear shoes, or maybe he just didn’t have any

"That’s Rufus," said Ghost Hazel with distaste

"Seriously? No way his name is Rufus," Leo said

"Come on," said Ghost Hazel She drifted toward the confrontation Leo followed He wasn’t used to drifting, but he’d ridden a Segway once and it was kind of like that He si

The big kid Rufus had flat features, as if he spenton the sidewalk His hair was cut just as flat on top, sostrip

Rufus thrust out his hand "Lunch"

Hazel fro like this was an everyday occurrence

A few older girls drifted over to watch the fun One giggled at Rufus "You don’t want to eat that," she warned "It’s probably poison"

"You’re right," Rufus said "Did your witch mom make this, Levesque?"

"She’s not a witch," Hazeland stepped on it, s the contents under his bare heel "You can have it back I want a diah I hear your momma can make those out of thin air Gimme a diamond"

"I don’t have diamonds," Hazel said "Go away"

Rufus balled his fists Leo had been in enough rough schools and foster holy He wanted to step in and help Hazel, but he was a ghost Besides, all this had happened decades ago

Then another kid stuht

Leo sucked in his breath The boy looked exactly like him