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"Do you think Mo the trees whoosh by "What about now?"

"Addie," Ian groaned, but a smile hovered just under the tension in his voice Soh Particularly when you were about to get caught for sneaking away on a European road trip and in the process lose the thing you cared about the led hair Well, maybe soccer didn’t un the trip with the express hope that our parents would never find out, and noere hoping to o to the concert

My, how the hty had fallen

It helped that Lina and Titletrack were already pinpoints of light on the road ahead My stooing to tell on you," Rowan offered He was driving a solid twenty kiloh turns, but now that ere on day three I didn’t even bat an eye He was actually a very alert driver, and the safe feelings I had around hi in his car Ian, on the other hand, was channeling his inner Kerestured to Ian "Better ease up This one isn’t looking good"

"I’m fine," Ian insisted, but then in a rare ht Not fine" He glanced over at Rowan "I still don’t get what this guidebook stop has to do with Titletrack"

Rowan beamed "You’ll see" Whatever the connection, he was very proud of hih our s, and every time it hit his face, a constellation of freckles lit up on the bridge of his nose It was oddlywas not a terribly straightforward process Instead of regular directions, Guidebook Lady’s map used landmarks like "rock that looks like David Bowie in 1998" and "barn the color of sin" to guide us We had to circle around the road a few ti distance

Finally, we pulled over, crossing the road to a clu By this point, Ian was a bundle of nerves Pukey nerves Hopefully, all the U-turns would be worth it

"What is a fairy ring anyway?" Ian asked, stepping off the road and into theforts," Rowan said "They’re the re moats and then use the earth to make circular barriers Their re tiical explanations"

I didn’t need any o" II hesitated for ainto the mud It had the consistency of extra-sloppy peanut butter My Converse were not going to survive this trip Ian groaned, sludging his way forward

Rowan slogged up next to ht? It’s a raised circular wall, either made of stone or--"

"Like that?" I pointed to a rounded bank draped with patches of grass andand getting into the fairy ring were two very different situations The bank was about five feet tall and reminded me of a vertical Slip ’N Slide

"How should we?" Rowan started, but Ian charged up behind us, suuess like that"

"Whoa What is this place?" Ian shouted once he’dmy own rule "You’ll make the fairies mad"

"You think I’m scared of fairies when Mo reverently "Seriously, though What is this place?"

Rowan and I exchanged a look, then hauled ourselves up as quickly as possible But as usual, Ian had made it look easier than it actually was I fell backward twice, both ti into the lanced up to see Rowan biting his cheeks