The Someday Suitcase

Clover and Danny have been friends forever. They are a "perfect match." When their fifth grade science teacher tells them about symbiosis--"[e]ach being has what the other one needs"--Clover realizes that's exactly what she and Danny have: "It's Danny's job to have big, crazy dreams, and it's my job to figure out the real world," says Clover. So when Danny suddenly develops a scary, mysterious illness, Clover has no idea what to do. "I don't know how to be me without Danny," she tells another friend. "I'm not as me-ish without Danny."

Because Clover loves the possibilities of science--her teacher says science is "hope plus facts"--she decides to do her big science fair project on Danny and his illness. She begins taking notes, marking all his "weird little symptoms" and relevant details. Ever the scientist, she looks for both correlation and causation, and when she notices that her presence is the one constant in Danny's good days, she takes on the responsibility of finding a cure, or at least leading him to someone who will find one--even if that means traveling a great distance. As Danny's illness progresses, and Clover's physical closeness to him grows more and more necessary, it looks like the pair of snow-starved Floridians might find a use sooner rather than later for the "someday suitcase" they bought together, dreaming of travels to snowy places.

In this moving, exquisitely written story, Corey Ann Haydu (Rules for Stealing Stars; OCD Love Story) explores the thin line between science and magic within an intense bond of friendship. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor

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