Ali thought he was funny.
“Hey, Dad! Give it a rest! I'm on the phone!” Mary yelled. “Can you believe school starts next week?” she asked Ali.
Monday was the start of a new school year at Montgomery Elementary School. “I know! I'm so glad we're in the same class again.” Ali sighed. “I hope we like Mrs. Jasmine.”
“Have you got your notebooks and stuff?” Mary asked.
“Not yet,” Ali said. Getting new supplies was the best part of going back to school. “Gran bought me this really old Lava lamp today.” She squinted at the glass. “It doesn't work, but my mom's going to fix it for me.”
“Cool,” Mary said. “Maybe I can come over tomorrow and see it.”
There was the muffled sound of Daniel, Mary's thirteen-year-old brother, shouting in the background. “You're not the only person who needs to use the phone, you know!”
Mary and Daniel were always arguing. Daniel was tall, noisy, and dorky Ali's mom said it was because he was thirteen. Luckily, by the time Jake turned thirteen, Ali would be doing something very grown-up and sophisticated.
“Sorry Ali,” Mary said, sounding exasperated. “I'd better go before Daniel explodes. See you tomorrow!”
Ali clicked off and ran upstairs. She put the lamp carefully on her desk She tucked her light brown hair behind her ears and studied the lamp for a moment.Then she sprayed some cleaner on the dust cloth and started to wipe away the dirt.
“Ick!” Ali said as little flecks of grime rained down on her floor The dust on the lamp was so thick it left grubby smears at first, so Ali rubbed harder
Suddenly she stopped. The glass felt warm underneath the dust cloth, and a faint pink glow was coming from the lamp. It grew stronger and stronger Small pink blobs of wax began to float dreamily around in the pale turquoise liquid.
Wow!
Ali thought.
It does work!
The man at the flea market had been wrong. “I bet he'd be mad we only paid three dollars,” she said to herself.
Fascinated, she stood back andwatched as more pink bubbles of wax floated upward. Then she frowned. “Wait a minute,” she said out loud. “I didn't plug it in. Did I?”
Ali grabbed the lamp. When she held it up, the plug dangled in midair She froze, clutching the lamp tightly. If she hadn't plugged it in, how was it working?
One of the pink wax bubbles caughtAli's eye. As she watched, the bubble stretched and twisted, and twisted and stretched, until it didn't look like a bubble at all. And the liquid became bluer and brighter Ali peered through the glass, straining to see. She blinked. Then she blinked again.
The bubble had grown arms and legs. And now it was growing a little head, topped with a bobbing ponytail.
There was a tiny girl in the lamp!
She swam gracefully among all the pink bubbles, swooping and diving inside the glass tube. She was wearing wide brightly colored pants, a tight-fitting top, and golden slippers with curled-up toes.
Ali's heart thumped crazily She was seeing things. She
had
to be seeing things.
Then the tiny girl waved to her
Ali gasped and quickly put the lamp back on the desk. A puff of pink smoke swirled around the lamp, hiding it from view. The smoke made Ali cough, and her eyes watered.
“Hi, Ali,” called a high-pitched voice. “We meet at last!”
Rubbing her eyes, Ali spun around.
Who was that? There was no one else in the room!
“Down here!” the voice called.
It was coming from Ali's desk. As she looked down, the smoke began to clear
Waving and smiling up at her was the girl from the lamp!
“Groovy!” The tiny girl danced up and down on the edge of the desk. “I can't believe I finally got out of that lamp after all these years. What a drag!”
Ali stared. Was this really happening?
The tiny girl smiled. “Hey don't flip your wig. Just snap your fingers.”
Ali stared some more.
“If you snap your fingers, I'll be full size,just like you!” Then the tiny girl frowned. “You do know how to snap your fingers,
“Hey, Dad! Give it a rest! I'm on the phone!” Mary yelled. “Can you believe school starts next week?” she asked Ali.
Monday was the start of a new school year at Montgomery Elementary School. “I know! I'm so glad we're in the same class again.” Ali sighed. “I hope we like Mrs. Jasmine.”
“Have you got your notebooks and stuff?” Mary asked.
“Not yet,” Ali said. Getting new supplies was the best part of going back to school. “Gran bought me this really old Lava lamp today.” She squinted at the glass. “It doesn't work, but my mom's going to fix it for me.”
“Cool,” Mary said. “Maybe I can come over tomorrow and see it.”
There was the muffled sound of Daniel, Mary's thirteen-year-old brother, shouting in the background. “You're not the only person who needs to use the phone, you know!”
Mary and Daniel were always arguing. Daniel was tall, noisy, and dorky Ali's mom said it was because he was thirteen. Luckily, by the time Jake turned thirteen, Ali would be doing something very grown-up and sophisticated.
“Sorry Ali,” Mary said, sounding exasperated. “I'd better go before Daniel explodes. See you tomorrow!”
Ali clicked off and ran upstairs. She put the lamp carefully on her desk She tucked her light brown hair behind her ears and studied the lamp for a moment.Then she sprayed some cleaner on the dust cloth and started to wipe away the dirt.
“Ick!” Ali said as little flecks of grime rained down on her floor The dust on the lamp was so thick it left grubby smears at first, so Ali rubbed harder
Suddenly she stopped. The glass felt warm underneath the dust cloth, and a faint pink glow was coming from the lamp. It grew stronger and stronger Small pink blobs of wax began to float dreamily around in the pale turquoise liquid.
Wow!
Ali thought.
It does work!
The man at the flea market had been wrong. “I bet he'd be mad we only paid three dollars,” she said to herself.
Fascinated, she stood back andwatched as more pink bubbles of wax floated upward. Then she frowned. “Wait a minute,” she said out loud. “I didn't plug it in. Did I?”
Ali grabbed the lamp. When she held it up, the plug dangled in midair She froze, clutching the lamp tightly. If she hadn't plugged it in, how was it working?
One of the pink wax bubbles caughtAli's eye. As she watched, the bubble stretched and twisted, and twisted and stretched, until it didn't look like a bubble at all. And the liquid became bluer and brighter Ali peered through the glass, straining to see. She blinked. Then she blinked again.
The bubble had grown arms and legs. And now it was growing a little head, topped with a bobbing ponytail.
There was a tiny girl in the lamp!
She swam gracefully among all the pink bubbles, swooping and diving inside the glass tube. She was wearing wide brightly colored pants, a tight-fitting top, and golden slippers with curled-up toes.
Ali's heart thumped crazily She was seeing things. She
had
to be seeing things.
Then the tiny girl waved to her
Ali gasped and quickly put the lamp back on the desk. A puff of pink smoke swirled around the lamp, hiding it from view. The smoke made Ali cough, and her eyes watered.
“Hi, Ali,” called a high-pitched voice. “We meet at last!”
Rubbing her eyes, Ali spun around.
Who was that? There was no one else in the room!
“Down here!” the voice called.
It was coming from Ali's desk. As she looked down, the smoke began to clear
Waving and smiling up at her was the girl from the lamp!
“Groovy!” The tiny girl danced up and down on the edge of the desk. “I can't believe I finally got out of that lamp after all these years. What a drag!”
Ali stared. Was this really happening?
The tiny girl smiled. “Hey don't flip your wig. Just snap your fingers.”
Ali stared some more.
“If you snap your fingers, I'll be full size,just like you!” Then the tiny girl frowned. “You do know how to snap your fingers,
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