Wall of Wishes: The Fountain, #3

Praise for The Fountain

Book 1 in The Fountain Series

The Fountain is not your ordinary YA boarding school novel. With magic, mystery and romance woven together in just the right measure, it is sure to be a 'must read' with teens everywhere.

- Jacqueline Guest, author of Ghost Messages

and The Comic Book War

Suzy Vadori does wonders with taking a simple theme - making a wish - and turning it into a wonderful novel of rich dialogue, memorable characters, and a few twists and turns, that will have the reader immersed in this mystery-laced read, bringing together both past and present, right and wrong, and of course, how one wish creates a ripple effect that may never be undone.

- Avery Olive, author of A Stiff Kiss

and Won’t Let Go

The Fountain is a very enjoyable book that can be read by readers from 10 to 100!

- Kristina Anderson, The Avid Reader

Wall of Wishes

Suzy Vadori

Old Vines Press

Old Vines Press

Published by Old Vines Press, 24 Wentworth Manor SW, Calgary, AB T3H 5K5, Canada

Wall of Wishes, Copyright © 2020 by Suzy Vadori.

Edited by Simon Rose.

Cover by Jeff Minkevics, copyright © 2020 by Jeff Minkevics.

Interior design and layout by Michell Plested.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.

Publisher’s note: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Print version set in Cambria; titles in Cambria, byline in Cambria.

Published in Canada

Printed in Canada

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Vadori, Suzy, 1975-, author

Wall of Wishes / Suzy Vadori.

Electronic monograph issued in EPUB, MOBI, PDF and print format.

ISBN  (pbk.) 978-1-7772009-0-9.

ISBN  (Mobi) 978-1-7772009-3-0.

ISBN  (ePub) 978-1-7772009-2-3.

ISBN  (pdf) 978-1-7772009-1-6.

CHAPTER ONE

Ava

I dragged my hand along the cold stone of the St. Augustus hallway. The walls held secrets. Secrets I’d unleashed with my own selfishness. I’d made a careless wish that I’d carry with me forever. My hand shook as it trailed behind me.

I wish that St. Augustus had never heard of Courtney or her family.

The wish I’d made in the fall was never far from my thoughts. It colored every day I was here and I wanted to be free of it. My stomach churned. The feeling had followed me home at Christmas break. Or, at least to the home in my new reality.

The main building’s hallways creeped in circles. I’d taken the long way to meet up with Ethan, who’d told me all about his great New Year’s ski trip over text. I sighed. One day soon my guilt would stop gnawing at me from the inside out. Wouldn’t it?

Who would I be if I’d never found the fountain? The question haunted me.

I wouldn’t be the captain of the swim team. I might not even be dating Ethan and that I really couldn’t imagine. He’d been my rock through all of this. It had been four months since my wish and although every day I wondered what alternate reality might have played out, I’d stopped hoping I could undo it. It had been too long. I was stuck.

The din of the foyer buzzed in my ears. Kids were laughing and hugging their New Year’s greetings in slow motion around me. Dull winter light spilled in through the tall lead-lined windows, casting shadows on the ornate ceiling frescos. I’d rehearsed this moment on the plane ride, although I couldn’t keep the inevitable from happening. I closed my eyes.

As much as I wanted to see Ethan, Courtney might be here, in the foyer. I knew she’d been accepted to St. Augustus this semester. She was coming back. An agreeable Courtney. One whose dad hadn’t come here for school and hadn’t helped my dad graduate. A Courtney I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. One I might be friends with, if circumstances were different.

Despite the fountain’s power, I hadn’t kept Courtney away forever. She’d come anyway, a year and a half later than she should have, yet she’d come.

I shuddered to think what this place might do to her. What it had done to her before. Would she become the Courtney I’d once known, in another life, whose green eyes were flecked with ice? My gut writhed as I searched for Ethan’s dark shock of hair in the foyer. He’d said I’d erased history, which he didn’t think was a big deal. But it was. My fists clenched at my sides. I was trapped in a loop I couldn’t break out of.

Ava!

And then Courtney was there, weaving her way through the crowd of students. The sight of her red waves of hair pushed the breath from my lungs. I wasn’t ready. I might never be ready. Every nightmare I’d had over the break bundled themselves into a smiling, unassuming Courtney. I stifled the urge to turn and run. It wouldn’t help anyway. Besides, this Courtney didn’t deserve that. Her curls bounced on her shoulders as she closed the distance between us. My lungs were on fire. I might never take another normal breath again.

We can get out of here, if you want? Ethan’s voice was at my shoulder. His hand on the small of my back was a lifeline. I wanted to take it.

Alarms went off in my head, clanging their imaginary bells against my eardrums. My feet stayed rooted to the slate floor. I couldn’t speak. Ethan slipped his arm around my waist, giving me strength. Courtney smiled so wide her back teeth were visible, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

A montage of time-travel movies flashed through my mind, almost overwhelming my neural networks. My path was about to collide with Courtney’s. There might be fireworks. Explosions. That was the first rule of mixing alternate timelines, wasn’t it? It was all wrong and she had no idea. Telling her was out of the question. She’d never understand. My knees wobbled. Ethan’s grip around my waist tightened.

You met her before, at the swim meet, remember? Ethan reminded me, in a low voice, as he spun me toward him. The fountain’s granted dozens of wishes going back almost a hundred years and the world hasn’t imploded yet. Nothing bad is going to happen.

I studied his gleaming white running shoes. I didn’t need to look at his face to know his mouth turned up in a half-laugh. He found the humor in every situation. I loved that about him.

I’m Courtney. We met at the swim meet last fall.

I turned to face a bright-faced Courtney, who had her hand out to shake mine. She was introducing herself. I wanted to scream. When I didn’t move to take her hand, she dropped hers. Her smile fell with it.

Say something, Ethan whispered in my ear. He gave me a gentle nudge in the back, prodding me forward.

Gooseflesh crawled up my spine. Etiquette dictated that I should shake her hand, but my arms were pinned to my sides.

Courtney’s forehead creased in a frown. I shrugged away from Ethan’s protective shadow, steeling my legs. What was the worst that could happen if I ran out of here right now, effectively ending our interaction?

Have I interrupted something? asked Courtney, looking between Ethan and me.

Not at all, Ethan said.

He took Courtney’s hand and shook it, using an exaggerated pumping motion.

"You look very familiar," he said in an affected accent, featuring some sort of southern twang.

I nudged him in the ribs. What was he doing? He’d met her in her own yard. He’d gone looking for her in Boston after I’d wished her away. Was he going to pretend that was a coincidence? An accent was a thinner disguise than Superman’s Clark Kent glasses.

Oh? Courtney blinked at him without recognition.

I narrowed my eyes. Ethan was a tough guy to forget, but maybe my lens was colored.

Coach Laurel told me to find Ava. That’s you, right? Courtney smiled at me less brightly than she had before. I just transferred from Boston. I swim. I mean, I swam there and I’d like to swim here.

I was frozen to the spot, watching her sputter.

I get that the team was chosen in the fall, so I’d be happy as an alternate for the rest of the season. Coach said it would be up to the captain if I got to swim in meets. You’re the captain, right? Her upper lip twitched as she spoke.

Everything about this interaction was weird. A shiver ran through me. This was a chance to start again, with the slate wiped clean. I should jump at the chance.

I stared at her face, her skin pale and flawless, with an orderly splash of ginger freckles dotting her nose. Even her strawberry colored eyelashes were unassuming. She waited for my answer, her nose crinkled. She was going to think there was something wrong with me if I kept staring at her. Maybe there was something wrong with me. I reached for the heat of Ethan’s hand, steadying myself. What was I supposed to say? Of course, you can have your spot back, Courtney. It’s actually rightfully yours. You were supposed to be team captain too, before I wished you away. So, you can have that back too. No harm done. Can you ever forgive me?

Instead of saying any of those things, I let out an odd squeaking grunt, which sent Courtney’s eyebrows up into her hairline.

If you let me swim, I’ll earn it, I promise. I don’t expect special treatment. Her green eyes shifted from me to Ethan, then back again. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. How was I going to see her every day? Shame roiled in my stomach. Shame for what I’d done. She could never find out.

I hear your dad’s a state senator, Ethan piped up.

My eyes widened at his left field comment. Was he as thrown as I was, for once? Courtney said she didn’t want special treatment. Did she think I cared about who her dad was? What I had on my mind was much bigger than that. Ethan’s flippant tone did nothing to calm the storm that swirled inside me, threatening to blow. Was he buying me time? I dropped his hand.

He is. I’m sorry, have we met? Courtney folded her arms.

I think you and I spoke once, when I was visiting Boston, Ethan said, grinning like he’d just delivered the punchline to a joke. I swatted him in the leg. I wanted to get out of the foyer, but if I left who knew what he would say, how much he’d give away.

Did we meet on the street, in front of my house? Her face brightened. You didn’t say you went to St. Augustus. I would remember that.

Yes, well - you never asked.

Ethan’s smile washed over me without easing me the way it usually did.

And you never called me, she chided.

Bile spiraled up the back of my throat. I imagined puking all over her crisp St. Augustus hoodie. She’d probably bought it at the school store that day. I hadn’t asked what Ethan and Courtney had talked about when he’d met her in Boston. But she’d given Ethan her number and had waited for him to call. She flashed a warm smile his way. A hot flush flared into my cheeks. My hand shot out to take his, more firmly this time.

I’ll talk to Coach Laurel, I said, my voice tight. We have to go.

Bye! Ethan waved to her as I tugged him away. I didn’t wait to see Courtney’s face.

What was that about? Ethan asked once we were safely out of the foyer.

I continued to pull at his hand, leading him to the breakfast bar in the cafeteria. Temper ran through my blood. Food might help me think. I let go of him to slice a multi-grain bagel, running a jagged knife back and forth as the bread ripped apart in my hands. Ethan stood behind me with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Spilled cereal crunched under my feet as I moved to the toaster and dropped my quarry in.

I was only having a little fun, Ethan said. I wasn’t really going to call her, you know that, right?

It’s not like we were dating then. I singed the tips of my fingers pulling the bagel from the toaster before the halves had popped. I stuck the wounded fingers in my mouth to cool them.

Are we dating now?

Ethan’s question stopped me in my tracks. I pulled my fingers clear of my lips, wiping them on a napkin. Ethan and I had spent every minute we could together after we’d found the wall of wishes. After we’d shared a kiss, under the trees. My core tingled at the memory. I’d had a boyfriend back home and I’d put the brakes on things with Ethan until I could sort things out. It only seemed fair. We’d hung out as friends. But I’d looked after things at home over Christmas break. Things with Lucas hadn’t been right for a while. Ethan was the one I wanted to be with. I thought it was what he wanted too.

Around us, there were shouts of reunion everywhere, scraping across my eardrums. The first time Ethan and I had seen each other since we’d been back at St. Augustus was in the foyer, with Courtney.

I ended things with Lucas. My hands hadn’t stopped shaking since leaving the foyer. I told Ethan I was going to do it. I thought it was obvious that I had, even though I hadn’t told him it was done.

The conversation I’d had with Lucas was still raw, grating against something inside me. He’d tried to convince me to give our relationship more time, to work on it with him. I’d almost caved. But he couldn’t know what my time at St. Augustus had been like. What I’d been through with Ethan at my side. There was no going back. I wasn’t the same person I’d been before.

My shared history with Lucas hadn’t been enough to carry me through the darkest moments I’d ever experienced. The trust we’d built through our years as friends had crumbled like a house of cards once we’d been apart. Once I’d encountered the fountain.

I’m sorry. I’m sure it was hard, Ethan said. And I don’t want to rush anything.

My heart raced. Had Ethan changed his mind? Don’t you want us to date? I asked.

Yes, of course, he said in a rush, taking my shaking plate from me.

Okay, then. Was it as simple as that? I wasn’t in a hurry to ramp things up between us. They were good the way they were. Really good. I didn’t have much more to give. There was a lot on my mind. I followed Ethan down the aisle between the long tables in the cafeteria to our regular spot. He pulled out a chair for me and I eased myself into it.

"Look Ava, Courtney’s supposed to be here. She’s going to swim, just like before your wish. We can’t reverse it all, although at least some of it will return to normal. We can return to normal."

We could go on with our lives. It’s what he wanted. What I wanted too.

But it wasn’t that simple. Everything. That’s what the wish had changed. Absolutely everything. My dad had been an engineer before my wish. Now he ran a construction crew and lived with my Aunt Mia and Uncle Chuck instead of the home I’d grown up in. I sighed. We were stuck in a loop that replayed itself. It stretched all the way back to our parents.

Do you ever think about my dad’s wish? I asked. If he hadn’t made my mom fall in love with him, maybe she would have married your dad.

Then the two of us wouldn’t exist. Ethan’s words were uneven. We wouldn’t be here right now, having this conversation. But we do exist and we’re here, starting the New Year together. Everything is as it should be. Frustration bubbled through his words. His lips were pulled into a serious line that was out of character for him.

I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I was just sharing the bleakness running through my mind.

Save the West Woods! A screeching voice rattled through the cafeteria, turning heads.

What’s the old bat want now? Ethan muttered.

A wild-eyed Ms. Krick loomed over our table, waving a handful of pale blue sheets of paper. Her gray bun was pulled so tight her cheeks were taut. She pushed a bundle of them into my hands. SAVE THE WEST WOODS was printed in black across the top of first page. I flipped through the stack. They were all the same.

We need every voice, Ms. Krick said. She wore a drab tweed skirt suit, her wrinkled white blouse tucked in at the waist. She was like a student, dressed up as Ms. Krick for Halloween with her every quirk exaggerated.

Happy New Year, Ms. Krick. Ethan slipped into conversation with our least favorite teacher, who had been at St. Augustus so long our parents had her as a teacher. Why do we need to save the West Woods?

Krick was known for her maniacal focus on the school’s history. Specifically, she was obsessed with the woods, though we were fairly certain she’d never found the fountain.

They’re putting in a highway and destroying it all. Ms. Krick’s voice rose, as she whistled through her nose.

A road? My voice was quiet. A road was going through the woods? The blood drained from my face. The fountain was there.

Don’t the woods belong to the school? Ethan asked, reaching for one of the flyers in my hands.

Headmistress Valentine has overstepped her bounds this time. A ravine full of wrinkles appeared on Ms. Krick’s forehead. She’s gone and sold the land. It’s not her right to allow the interstate extension on the school’s property. Her cheeks trembled with agitation.

They can’t, I whispered, letting the flyers I held drop. They fluttered across the table in a fan.

I shouldn’t need to tell the two of you how important the woods are to the school. Ms. Krick leaned over us so closely that I could see threads of white cat hair on