A Clatter of Jars Read Online Free PDF

He’d assumed it was a wallet. But it wasn’t. It was an envelope.
    â€œWant some peanut butter?” asked the counselor behind the storefront, whose thick ringlets were dyed neon pink. The name on her T-shirt said
Teagan
. “Best in the world.” She showed them the large jar she’d been snacking from—
Darlington Peanut Butter
, the label read.
    In the time it took Renny to glance at the jar and back, Teagan’s pink ringlets had morphed into a sunshine-yellow bob.
    â€œI want a Caramel Crème bar,” Miles told her.
    Renny weighed the envelope in his hand. Squeezed it. It didn’t feel like any regular paper in there.
    â€œYou sure you don’t want some peanut butter instead?” Teagan asked Miles, smearing some on a cracker. With every bite she took, her hair shifted again.
Crunch.
Short white spikes with purple tips.
Munch.
Long, straight, sleek, black.
Smack.
A polka-dot beehive. Teagan stuck her knife in the jar again, preparing a new cracker and handing it over.
    His hands well below the height of the counter, Renny ripped the envelope open and peeked inside.
    â€œ
Whoa,
” he breathed.
    Cash. Loads and loads of cash.
    â€œRight?” Teagan said, as Miles chewed his cracker. “Isn’t that the best peanut butter you ever ate?”
    â€œYes,” Miles replied, still chewing. “I want a Caramel Crème bar.”
    Teagan laughed. “One dollar,” she said.
    Miles turned to Renny, who plucked a single bill from the envelope and handed it to his brother. Then he plopped the envelope, with the rest of the cash still inside, on the counter. “I found this in the dirt,” he lied. “I think it might belong to the camp director.”
    Teagan took the envelope, and when she saw its contents, her hair flushed cardinal red. “That was very honest of you,” she told him.
    â€œI’m a very honest kid.”
    â€œI want a Caramel Crème bar,” Miles reminded them.
    â€œThere’s a case in the back,” Teagan told him.
Crunch.
Her hair morphed again, chocolate-frosting brown. She lifted up the counter to let Miles inside. “You go grab one. I can’t leave my post.”
    Miles made a beeline for the candy bars.
    â€œYou know they’re going to stop making those candy bars, right?” Teagan told Renny, as Miles searched. “I heard it on the news last week. Shutting down production sometime this year.” As Renny was contemplating the epic fit Miles would have if he heard
that
news, Teagan’s hair morphed into pointy peach peaks. “You’re that Fennelbridge kid, aren’t you?” she said.
Munch.
Springy dolphin gray curls. “The kid who reads minds.”
Smack.
Tangerine waves, down to her waist. Teagan pulled a pack of playing cards from the display on the wall, and ripped off the plastic, plucking out a card at random. “What card am I holding?”
    Renny tugged at the top of his right sock. “Miles?” he called.
    â€œHe’s fine,” Teagan said, waving a hand toward the back of the shop. “Come on, read my mind.”
    If you made enough Fennelbridges, one of them was bound to be Fair. That’s what their father liked to say.
    â€œJust one card,” Teagan urged.
    â€œFound it!” Miles announced, heading to the counter with his candy bar. He stood just behind Teagan, at her elbow. “I need to pay now.”
    Teagan was still holding up that playing card. “Here, I’ll concentrate on it,” she told Renny.
Smack.
Her hair wove itself into a blue French braid. “Really focus. Does that help?”
    â€œMiles is going to freak out if you don’t let him pay,” Renny told her. And then, when he was certain Teagan was focused on her card, Renny mouthed two words to Miles.
    â€œ
Brother bond.
”
    Flick-flick-flick-flick-flick!
Miles began to flick his fingers like there was something sticky on the