Addison Addley and the Trick of the Eye by Melody McMillian

rolled, probably because her feet are so big. Good thing it was hard-boiled instead of soft. Her heel was covered in a crumbly yolk, and that was the end of that trick. And the end of her new shoes, by the sound of her complaints.
    I was the last act before intermission, right after Chris and his magic-hat trick. Since my trick took so little time, I was in charge of getting the props out of the classroom for the second part of the show. Everybody else got to stay in the library and eat cookies. Everyone except for Trent, that is. I’d seen him sneak out. I guess having to watch Tiffany do her genie dance during the intermission was too much even for him.
    Chris started doing his trick. I yawned. It was so boring. He was really slow. All he had to do was say a few words and pull a fake rabbit out of a hat that had a secret compartment in it. Now if it had been a real rabbit, it would have been more exciting. Or maybe a real fish. That would have been even better. He messed up the trick and had to start over. I guess the rabbit was stuck in the secret compartment. If he had used a real fish, it would have just jumped right out of that hat.
    I started daydreaming after he started the trick over again for the third time. My eyes drifted over to the bulletin boards beside me. Since it was the library, there were book reports and projects about authors plastered all over the wall. There was one bulletin board that featured authors from different countries.
    Chris started the trick again, this time shaking the hat to make sure everything was working properly.
    I looked back again at that last bulletin board. There was something there that caught my eye. I closed my eyes so that I could concentrate better. There was definitely something jumping around in my head, wanting to get out. Something big. I closed my eyes even tighter so that whatever it was could make its way to the front of my brain. I thought about the baseball game and the secret signals. I thought about magazines and streets. I thought about the disappearing-egg act. Suddenly the things that were simmering in my brain started to boil over.
    Bit by bit, things bubbled up and became clear. So clear they almost popped right out of my head. I kicked myself. Why hadn’t I seen them before?
    Chris was still saying his magic words. I looked around quickly for Becky. I saw her at the back of the library, biting her nails and tapping her feet. She must have been super-nervous about her ventriloquist act. The last time she did it, it was a disaster.
    I crept back to her.
    â€œBecky, quick, over here,” I whispered. We didn’t have much time. I needed to see if I was right. We hid behind the magazine stacks.
    â€œWhere did you say you got your dummy from?” I asked.
    â€œMy uncle picked it up at a yard sale. It was really cheap because it’s so old.”
    â€œYeah, well, that’s one way of looking at it,” I said. “Where did you keep it before it got cleaned up?”
    â€œIn the garage. Why?”
    I nodded. “I thought so. One last question. Tiffany’s cousin, Trent. He just moved here last month. Do you know where he came from?”
    Becky thought for a minute. “It was from a different province. Quebec, I think.”
    I knew it. I thanked Becky and then ran for the door.
    â€œWait! You’re up next!” she cried.
    â€œI can’t!” I yelled. They’d have to do without me. I had more important things to do. Things like solving the break-ins and keeping my house.
    I got out of the library in time to see him running to the exit at the end of the hallway. It looked like he had something hidden under his bright orange jacket.
    I was glad that I’d had all of that running practice in baseball. I was fast. I’d catch up to him in no time.
    Trent didn’t stand a chance.

Chapter Eleven
    â€œTrent!” I yelled as I raced down the hallway. “Wait!”
    Trent looked back once and then