As the day wore on, the sun started to set, and the graduation party was in full swing. The school had reserved a whole city park, along with the pool next door. Half a dozen food trucks had lined up on the street, and a big screen had been put up to show movies. So far it hadn't shown anything but a slideshow of photos from the student newspaper, but rumor said there'd be Disney movies up later. Sarah suspected that maybe they'd just finally finish Gettysburg.

Alexa had been all over the place, but Sarah mostly hung out under the same tree. She dozed a bit in the warmth and chatted with other people who came for the shade. She'd gotten her spot back against the trunk, and the grassy shade was a fairly popular spot to rest. It almost looked like everyone was sitting in a circle around her like they were waiting for her to say something profound. Sarah had been surprised how many people seemed to know her and further surprised when they seemed actually interested in what she was doing for the summer, or even whether she was going to stay for the whole party. She'd even put a few dozen names into her phone, snapping a picture of the person because there was no way she'd remember any faces to go with their names later.

"Ready to go?" asked Alexa. She'd unzipped her graduation gown too, showing off a pair of loose slacks and a frilly purple blouse.

"I'm not sure. Although my faithful followers are going to miss me," Sarah said, grinning. The effect was spoiled by a wet raspberry from someone as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"Ready for some magic talk?" Alexa asked with a playful smirk.

"Nope." Sarah scowled, and asked, "Are you really looking forward to a ten-year-old Finn with pigtails?"

"Oh," said Alexa, her face dropping. "Do you really think..."

"She stared at me through the speech, started a conversation out of the blue, and tried to use her stuff before even asking how I did it. Yeah, I kinda think so."

"Yikes. Maybe we shouldn't have waited."

"It'll be ok, besides I actually do want to do one more thing before we actually go," said Sarah, taking a sharp turn and pulling Alexa with her.

Sarah had been smelling sugar and grease for a while now, and she'd decided there wasn't much point in resisting. By the time she got into Alexa's jeep, she was happily picking at a funnel cake loaded with powdered sugar and strawberries. Alexa had a churro and was driving one-handed as she ate her own treat.

"So, Bri's house, yeah?" said Sarah with a full mouth.

"You haven't been there yet, have you?" asked Alexa.

"Nope. She's always met us somewhere or we all just left from someone else's house so far," said Sarah. Bri lived far enough away that they both had time to finish their snacks before they arrived. Bri's family lived in a little grey brick home set right up by the road. The driveway next to the house was full of cars, as was the street in front. The nearest space for Alexa to park in was several houses down the block.

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"How do you want to do this?" asked Alexa as they walked together down the sidewalk.

"Not sure, you?" answered Sarah, licking the last bits of sugar off her fingers.

"I think we can play it by ear," said Alexa.

As they approached Bri's house, Sarah and Alexa could hear the faint sounds of laughter and music coming from the backyard. The warm glow of string lights illuminated the back area, and Sarah caught glimpses of people mingling and talking through the gaps in the fence. They let themselves in through a gate at the side of the house, walking through slightly soggy grass.

Bri spotted them right away and came running over. "You're here to rescue me! Thank you!" she cried out.

"Hi Alexa." a woman said, following in Bri's wake. "Bri, who's your friend?"

"This is Sarah, I told you about her, right?" said Bri. "She's the one who Kayla was talking to when she fainted."

"Right!" said the woman. "Thank you for that, she was asking about you in the tent. Something about blue jewelry. Would you mind saying hi before you leave? She's been such a handful lately, she's been running Jane ragged this summer. I told her they ought to put her on a leash."

"Mom, no. She's ten, she just needs more exercise or something," said Bri with an eye roll.

"It's ok," said Sarah. "I'd be happy to talk to her. It was a bit scary, anyways. I'll sleep better if I talk to her a bit, I think."

"She was in the kitchen a few minutes ago, just inside," said Bri. "She's been there since we got home."

The kitchen felt delightfully cool and clean after the hot summer day outside. Sarah suppressed a little shiver as the cool air raised goosebumps on her arms, and she could feel the last bits of sweat drying out. The cupboards were the kind without doors over their open shelves, and they were stuffed with mugs and little decorative containers. The counter space was filled with food trays from the barbeque outside. Sarah snagged a skewer of roasted vegetables as she looked around. There was a tiny TV hung under the counter, and Kayla was watching something animated on it from her seat at the kitchen table.

"Hi Kayla," said Sarah, getting the girl's attention.

"Sarah!" said Kayla, hopping up and gripping Sarah in a tight hug. "Bri said you'd come, but I didn't believe her!"

Sarah froze up for a second, she'd forgotten how tall Kayla was and had to process for a moment to remember she was just a kid and not another high schooler. "Of course I came, we had to check on you."

"I'm fine though," said Kayla, finally letting go of Sarah and sitting back down. "They just won't let me go outside, I'm supposed to stay here where it's cool. Like I've never played outside on a hot day."

"I mean, it has been extra hot this week, they probably think you just aren't used to it," said Sarah, speaking slowly.

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Not compared to Tucson. It was a hundred-seven on the day we left."

"Well, still, makes sense, they think you had heat stroke," said Sarah. She pulled a chair out and sat down at the table, taking the seat next to Kayla. "Only it wasn't heat stroke, was it? It was the fog, and you used it wrong."

"I should be making things blue, right? Not red?"

Sarah looked around, the kitchen was empty and no one was hanging around the sliding glass door outside. "No, red is fine. It's just we're different, you and I. I can take blue fog from the air, which leaves the fog yellow. I can't pull red, or green. I think you use red fog, and if you're like my friend, that means you just use red fog. And I hope you're a bit more careful than he is."

Sarah sat down next to Kayla and said, "You noticed the yellow fog yesterday, didn't you? And I'm guessing you can see the white fog everywhere? How long have you been seeing it?"