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I call Mom just to make sure she doesn't get worried. Lucas leads me to a fair. He wheels me in.

"Come on," he grins, stopping at a booth called Knockout. Pyramids of cans line the other end of the booth. Lucas gets us some balls and stands behind the counter, taking aim. He throws, knocking eight out of ten cans down. The two cans left standing
spin and wobble precariously, but don't fall.

"Not bad, Ranger Rick." I say, impressed. He raises his eyebrows.

"I suppose you could do better?" he challenges, a smile playing on his lips. The corners of my mouth hitches up into a smile, and I grab a ball. I readjust my position in the wheelchair, and throw. Nine cans fly off the shelf, but one wicked can
spins tauntingly, and stubbornly stays standing on the shelf. "Wow, Maya. Good aim. And a good arm too. Someday you should come and play ball with me." Is he asking me out on a date? Wait a minute, is this a date?! "And
with the other guys of course." He adds quickly. Is Lucas Friar blushing? Now we're both red and awkward. To cover up, I grab a ball and toss it at him.

"You can make it ten?" I challenge. He smiles.

"Well, I just have to play it better than you."

"You think you can?"

"Three shots then. Loser buys dinner. I hear there's a new pizza place across the street." My brain faintly registers that I'm being asked to dinner. Instead, my brain zeroes in on the challenge.

"You're on." I grab a ball. "Just remember, I like extra cheese on my pizza."

"All right. I may have not known what I was getting into when I proposed this bet." Maya grins and takes another bite of her pizza. Beside her is a soft toy in the form of Mr. Googly, a character Auggie's favourite show. No doubt she wanted
it for him.

I lost. To Maya Hart! In a game of Knockout. Coach can never know about this.

"When you're up and running again, I'm going to challenge you to a game od basketball. We'll double the stakes. Dinner, and a movie." I say. Then I flush a little. Why do these things keep slipping out in a weird manner? Does she think I
am asking her out? Am I trying to ask her out? She points her slice of pizza at me.

"That's not a fair bet, Huckleberry. I'm smarter than to take that challenge." She chews on her pizza more, and sips her coke. I can't help but notice the small fidget of her hand when I said 'up and running again', and silently kick myself for
being insensitive.

"Come on, I want you to try archery. With that kind of aim, I bet you can shoot well." I say to cover up. I was right. She is good. I'm mesmerized by the way she pulls back the bow string with such determination, and how her sapphire eyes lock
onto the target. She points at the prize she wants, and gets it. She thrusts it at me. It's a horse with a cowboy hat.

"That's for you," she says, grinning, "and now it's my turn to pick the booth." She leads me to a ring-toss booth.

I tried, and tried, and tried, but the wretched ring refused to hook itself on a bottle.

"Something the great Mr. Perfect can't do?" Maya teases. I shoot her a look.

"Attention, people. The fair will end at seven-thirty." I glance at my watch. Seven-thirty! That's in ten minutes. I was with Maya for almost two hours. Maya has the same look on her face.

"We've got to go." she says. We manage to grab a cab. We pause outside Maya's house.

"We'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't forget, my parents and I are picking you up."

"No, no. I've got a wheelchair already. I'll reach school fine on my own." she says. I can't help but feel a twinge of disappointment, but it's quickly covered by amazement.

"You're going to roll yourself to school? The whole way?" I ask in disbelief. "I'll be on your doorstep at seven. I'll push you. It'll be quicker." The door suddenly opens.

"Maya. You'll never believe who-" Katy is breathless and excited, but she stops when she sees me with her daughter. "Oh, hi, Lucas." I smile.

"Hi, Miss Hart."

"Thanks for bringing her home safe." she whispers to me. "Topanga told me about the girls and what happened. Thank you for being there for my baby girl." I nod.

"It's my pleasure, Miss Hart. Maya's strong, but what happened with Riley affected her. I was worried about her." I reply. We speak quietly so Maya can't hear.

"Baby girl, why is your hair purple?" She asks suddenly. I stifle a smirk. Maya grins.

"Long story about paint in the school art room." she replies.

"Up to trouble again, kiddo?" A voice behind Katy asks. Katy starts and turns a little pink.

"That's the thing I was going to say. Maya, you won't believe who showed up." Shawn Hunter appears next to Katy Hart, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Hey, kiddo." Maya's face splits into a wide grin. Then Shawn's face falls. "Why are you in a wheelchair?" A shadow crosses Maya's face fleetingly, but it's quickly gone. But too late, Shawn sees it. He looks at me, realises I have something to
do with it, then looks at Maya, concerned.

"I'll tell you about it later." She promises. "What are you doing here?"

"Got a project. Two months in New York for under a thousand dollars. It's impossible. I'm crashing at Cory's." He explains. Then he turns to me. "And who is this?" I turn to Maya, interested in how she would introduce me.

"All part of the story. Do you want to talk inside?" What did that mean?

"Nah, let's go to Cor's. Got to unpack." Shawn suggests.

"Okay." An odd look crosses her face. Well, odd to Shawn, but I knew very well why.

"See you tomorrow, Maya." I say, turning away.

"Bye, Lucas." I didn't know what prompted me to find Maya and make sure she was okay. I didn't know what made me want to cheer her up. All I know is that when I got home, I put the little cowboy horse on the table beside my bed.