Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Magic Shop Books) by Bruce Coville Page A

it?"
    "She passed it on to you," said Jennifer, who didn't like where this conversation was going.
    "Passed it on?" asked Skippy.
    "You're it," said Sharra, who was still patting her arms to check that she was really herself again.
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    "It's like playing tag. I got it from that crazy talking toad of Jennifer's."
    "What talking toad?" asked Skippy.
    "I believe she's referring to me," said Bufo, who was now crouched on the edge of Jennifer's desk.
    "Did you used to be a person, too?" asked Skippy.
    "Good heavens, no!" cried Bufo. "Perish the thought. A person, indeed. Yetch. I would think you would be glad of the transformation, Master Skippy. I mean, think how much less destructive toads are than humans. We don't pollute. We don't have wars. We don't cause forest fires. About all we do is eat nasty bugs."
    "Don't remind me," cried Sharra, which caused Jennifer to snort in spite of herself.
    "I'm a t-o-o-o-ad!" moaned Skippy, his voice still filled with disbelief. Suddenly he scrambled under the bed.
    "It's the shock stage," said Sharra, when Jennifer began to move toward the pillows. "He needs some time to himself."
    Jennifer figured that if anyone should know what Skippy was feeling, it was Sharra, so she decided to leave him alone. Besides, she was in no hurry to get him thinking about everything that had just been said.
    "While your brother is contemplating his lack of a navel," said Bufo, "I think it's about time you gave me some information. I've been trying to get you to tell me what happened to make you start running this afternoon."
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    Jennifer hesitated. Now that the incident was over, she wondered if maybe it had simply been her imagination getting out of hand.
    Ellen had no such reservations. "I think that woman was a witch," she said.
    Bufo's eyes bulged out even more than normal. "Tell me more," he insisted. "Everything you can remember." Then he listened with uncharacteristic silence as Jennifer and Ellen described the events in the beauty parlor.
    No one spoke for a moment after they were finished. Outside a cold wind blew at the window. Colored leaves swirled along the sidewalk, flashing bright in the puddles of light from the streetlamps, then looking almost like bats when they plunged back into the darkness.
    "You were probably right," said Bufo at last.
    "That she was a witch?"
    "Yes."
    "Bufo, is there something that you ought to tell us?" asked Jennifer, who was starting to feel more frightened than ever.
    Bufo glanced around nervously.
    "Bufo!"
    "She may be after me," said Bufo, his throat expanding and contracting rapidly. "Why?"
    "You can't live as long as I have without making a few enemies," said Bufo.
    "You probably can't go three days without making enemies," replied Sharra.
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    Jennifer was torn between telling Sharra to shut up and agreeing with her.
    An hour or so later Jennifer returned from putting Brandon to bed to find Skippy sitting in the middle of her floor, his warty face creased with a big smile.
    "I've got it!" he cried triumphantly.

"Got what?" asked Jennifer nervously.
    "The solution to my problem. I just remembered that you owe me a favor, sister dear. And not just a little favor. A big favor, from a genuine, unbreakable pledge. And as I was squatting there in the dust kitties under your bed, I suddenly realized just what I wanted."
    "Really?" asked Jennifer. She felt her knees begin to wobble.
    Skippy nodded. "It's nothing much. Just a kiss from my favorite sister."
    Jennifer swallowed, but said nothing.
    "You owe me," said Skippy ominously. "You said it, and you can't break it."
    Jennifer closed her eyes. She felt a lump forming in her throat. A toad. She was going to have to become a toad. But what choice did she have? Skippy had the goods on her. She could refuse, but that would make her a double-down-dirty rotten-go-backer.
    Was it worth becoming a toad just to keep her promise?
    What was a promise worth?
    What was she worth?
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    "I'm waiting, sister dear," said