Snap (22 page)

Violet took a deep breath and pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket.

“That's because I did,” she said, handing the paper to Danya. “I stole this from you. And I put it on my blog. I know I shouldn't have, but . . . Danya, it was just so beautiful.”

Danya took the piece of paper from Violet and unfolded it. It was a page torn from her writing notebook, the one she'd written on about stories and heroes the night she'd spent on the cruise ship. She thought Sancho had eaten it, but here it was. Violet must've snuck into her room and stolen it somehow.

Sancho nudged her leg with his nose, and Danya smiled down at him. “Yeah, okay,” she muttered. “I'm sorry I blamed
you
for this.”

He wiggled his bottom, tail swishing. His way of saying, “Told you so.”

Danya's parents and grandmother crowded behind her, and Danya could feel them reading her words over her shoulder. Her cheeks reddened, and she started to fold the story back up, but Pia snatched it out of her hands.

“This is really good, Danya,” she said, holding the page up so that Maritza, Luis, and Angie could see it, too.

“Oh, Danya,” Angie said, smiling. “You're a natural.”

“I'll say,” Violet added. “Danya, thousands and thousands of people read your story on my blog. Look—they even wrote to me to see if there was any way they could help.”

Violet showed Danya the screen. Alongside Danya's story were photographs Danya didn't know Violet had taken. There was one of Danya and Pia fighting alligators at Gatorville and one of them talking to the circus school performers in the parking lot. There was even a photo of Sancho and Danya standing on the balcony of the
Sailing Swan
, looking wistfully out over the ocean. Danya's family crowded closer to the screen to look at the photographs, too. Seeing the photograph with the alligators, Maritza gasped and raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

“You have some explaining to do when we get home,” she said.

“And look,” Violet continued, scrolling down. “Look at all the comments people left for you.”

Danya took the computer from Violet's hands and started scrolling. She couldn't believe her eyes. So many people had wished them luck and encouragement. There were even a few familiar names.

Stay free, girls!—
Karina and Simone

Never stop singing
—the King

If you need luck, try a moon jar. Found one in my truck and it changed my life.
—Turtle

Business has been booming since your appearance! Can we book you for next summer, too?
—Petey

 . . . and then,

Only those with true friends are truly rich.
—Circe

The comments went on and on and on. Danya read them until the words blurred before her eyes.

“Wow,” Luis said, reading over Danya's shoulder. “Danya, your words really inspired those people.”

“I can't believe there were so many people rooting for us,” Pia added.

“That's not even the best part,” Violet said. “Look, I put a donation button on the page so people could give a few bucks to help you save Sancho. Danya, you made over five thousand dollars!”

For a moment Danya wasn't sure she'd heard that correctly. “I
what
?”

“Your story made enough money to save Sancho,” Pia said with a squeal. “Danya, we did it!”

The words swirled through Danya's head, hardly making sense. She handed the laptop to her dad and dropped to her knees, holding Sancho's happy pony face up to her own.

“Did you hear that, buddy! We get to keep you.” Sancho licked her nose, and giggling, Danya looked back up her parents. “Mom, Dad, we can, right?” she asked. “That's enough money for us to keep him?”

Maritza took her husband's hand, beaming. “We're so proud of you, Danya,” she said. Then, glancing at Violet, she asked, “You're sure you don't mind parting with it?”

“It was never mine,” Violet insisted. “The people donated it because of Danya's story. She earned it.” Violet crouched next to Danya. “And that's not all,” she added. “Your story was so moving that I was wondering if you'd want to be a regular contributor.”

Danya blinked. “You mean like a
writer
?”

“Yup!” Violet said. “The readers love you. You can be a junior reporter. I'll teach you everything I know.”

Grandma Angie knelt next to her, taking her hand. “You'll make a fantastic writer, Snap!” she said. Behind her, Luis and Maritza smiled.

“I always thought we needed another writer in the family,” Luis said. “But no snorkeling with sharks or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, okay?”

Angie winked at her. “We'll see about that,” she whispered, too low for Luis to hear.

Danya turned to Violet and shook her hand. “You've got yourself a deal!” she said. Pia grabbed Danya's shoulders and squeezed, so excited she did a kind of leaping, tapping dance around her.

“Snap, you did it,” Pia said. “You finished the list from the book! You're a real hero now. You won the coveted treasure!”

Sancho snorted and whipped his tail against the sidewalk. Grinning, Danya leaned forward, planting a wet kiss on his forehead.

“I really did,” she said. And looking around her, at her
abuelita
, who was hugging Luis, and her mother, who was shaking hands with Violet, and Pia, who was standing between her parents, and then back at Sancho, who was grinning his horsey grin at her . . . Danya knew it was true, what the prophet had told her. That the treasure had been with her all along.

Acknowledgments

A
big ol'
heartfelt thanks to Rhoda, Lexa, Laura, and the whole team at Paper Lantern Lit for making me feel like a rock star every day. An equally big thanks to Gillian and everyone at Razorbill for making my book all shiny and perfect. I could NOT have done it without you!

This book is about friendship, so I have to say a special thanks to my friends Maree and Becca—for throwing a truly amazing book party—and, also, Wade, Julia, and Lucy, for asking how the writing was going (even when you were probably tired of hearing about it!), cheering me on, and basically just making me feel like a star. I love you guys!

My family has been there for me from the beginning, so thank you mom, Steve, Bill, and Alex for being so supportive all the time. Thanks, also, to Bill, Lorraine, Jon and Christine, and to Carrie (for reading the first book to your sons, even though it was about a little girl), and to everyone who bought and read
Zip
and showed up to the book reading in the middle of a BLIZZARD. I have the best family ever!

And, of course, biggest thanks to Ron, for helping me through the hard parts and never doubting I could do it.

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