something he’d scrape off his shoe. At least Heather Paddington forces a smile. “She went to look for that…
head
she made,” she says.
“Thanks! Have a great night!” I say, though I really don’t care what kind of night they have. Madison is here and we have stuff to do! I jet off. But a few moments later, I stop fast, my sneakers squeaking.
At the front door, I see a flash of long red hair against the purpley-pink sky outside. It looks familiar, but I don’t know how it could be…
“Terri?” I shout. The hair moves and a face looks toward me. It
is
her! I run over, wanting to give her a hug, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to hug your dad’s girlfriend when she’s an ex. “What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to hide my excitement but failing, I’m sure.
She waits a second before she answers, like she’s thinking of what to say. “I got invited by…um…one of the parents,” she tells me. “They heard I work in graphic design and suggested I check out the artwork tonight. And of course I want to see yours.”
“That’d be great! I’d love that!” I stop myself. I shouldn’t be using words like
love,
especially with Dad and Terri in the same place and a love potion in my pocket!
“Hey, my dad’s here,” I tell Terri, though that’s probably obvious. “Want to say hi?”
“Sure,” she says, “but I’m going to look around a bit first.”
“That’s cool,” I say, trying to beat down my usual overenthusiasm. “We’ll see you around.”
Terri laughs. “You definitely will.”
She’s only a few steps away when I feel a tap on my shoulder. “Was that who I think it was?” Madison asks.
My hands are so moist and clammy I have to wipe them on my jeans. “Yes!” I say. “Terri is here and Dad is here, and here I am with…you-know-what.” I wrap my hand around the eyedropper to make sure nothing has happened to it in the last few minutes. Nope, it’s still there, ready for action.
“We may have more to do than we thought tonight,” Madison says. “And I’ve figured out where we can start.” She grabs my arm and pulls me to a corner of the gym, pointing me toward something that would be boring and normal on any other night in history. But tonight, it’s exciting beyond belief.
The refreshments table! There are plates of cookies and trays of cheese and crackers, but most important, there are two big bowls—one of lemonade and one of red-colored punch. Drinks! Perfect for dissolving and distributing STUFFS SWEET FOR YOUR HEART SWEET.
The refreshments table: where the adventure begins.
“S o, what do you think?” Madison asks. “A few drops in each bowl and let’s see what happens! The school would go crazy!”
While I agree that would be hilarious, I know what can go wrong when you’re not specific enough with magic, and I don’t want anything like
that
to happen again! We need to concentrate only on the people we’ve discussed. Madison is a little disappointed, but she understands. “One of us could probably get Sam or Larry to drink something,” I tell Madison. “But we have to make sure they’re close enough to each other that the next person one of them says ten words to is the other one.”
I have to take a breath. Boy, this is complicated! But I’m glad I figured it out on my own. “Maybe we should try Sam first,” I suggest.
“Good idea! I could push Larry into her.”
“Great!” I say. “Then she’d probably say something like,
‘What the heck are you doing?
’ ”
Madison does some silent counting on her fingers. “That’s six words.”
I try another option, pretending to be Sam again. “Maybe,
‘Watch where you’re going, dork-ball!
’ ” That seems like an insult Samantha might use.
“Five words,” Madison says. “Unless
dork-ball
is two.”
“Maybe you push Larry hard enough into her that she spills her drink,” I suggest. “Then she’d be more mad and say something like,
‘Argh, you spilled
head
she made,” she says.
“Thanks! Have a great night!” I say, though I really don’t care what kind of night they have. Madison is here and we have stuff to do! I jet off. But a few moments later, I stop fast, my sneakers squeaking.
At the front door, I see a flash of long red hair against the purpley-pink sky outside. It looks familiar, but I don’t know how it could be…
“Terri?” I shout. The hair moves and a face looks toward me. It
is
her! I run over, wanting to give her a hug, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to hug your dad’s girlfriend when she’s an ex. “What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to hide my excitement but failing, I’m sure.
She waits a second before she answers, like she’s thinking of what to say. “I got invited by…um…one of the parents,” she tells me. “They heard I work in graphic design and suggested I check out the artwork tonight. And of course I want to see yours.”
“That’d be great! I’d love that!” I stop myself. I shouldn’t be using words like
love,
especially with Dad and Terri in the same place and a love potion in my pocket!
“Hey, my dad’s here,” I tell Terri, though that’s probably obvious. “Want to say hi?”
“Sure,” she says, “but I’m going to look around a bit first.”
“That’s cool,” I say, trying to beat down my usual overenthusiasm. “We’ll see you around.”
Terri laughs. “You definitely will.”
She’s only a few steps away when I feel a tap on my shoulder. “Was that who I think it was?” Madison asks.
My hands are so moist and clammy I have to wipe them on my jeans. “Yes!” I say. “Terri is here and Dad is here, and here I am with…you-know-what.” I wrap my hand around the eyedropper to make sure nothing has happened to it in the last few minutes. Nope, it’s still there, ready for action.
“We may have more to do than we thought tonight,” Madison says. “And I’ve figured out where we can start.” She grabs my arm and pulls me to a corner of the gym, pointing me toward something that would be boring and normal on any other night in history. But tonight, it’s exciting beyond belief.
The refreshments table! There are plates of cookies and trays of cheese and crackers, but most important, there are two big bowls—one of lemonade and one of red-colored punch. Drinks! Perfect for dissolving and distributing STUFFS SWEET FOR YOUR HEART SWEET.
The refreshments table: where the adventure begins.
“S o, what do you think?” Madison asks. “A few drops in each bowl and let’s see what happens! The school would go crazy!”
While I agree that would be hilarious, I know what can go wrong when you’re not specific enough with magic, and I don’t want anything like
that
to happen again! We need to concentrate only on the people we’ve discussed. Madison is a little disappointed, but she understands. “One of us could probably get Sam or Larry to drink something,” I tell Madison. “But we have to make sure they’re close enough to each other that the next person one of them says ten words to is the other one.”
I have to take a breath. Boy, this is complicated! But I’m glad I figured it out on my own. “Maybe we should try Sam first,” I suggest.
“Good idea! I could push Larry into her.”
“Great!” I say. “Then she’d probably say something like,
‘What the heck are you doing?
’ ”
Madison does some silent counting on her fingers. “That’s six words.”
I try another option, pretending to be Sam again. “Maybe,
‘Watch where you’re going, dork-ball!
’ ” That seems like an insult Samantha might use.
“Five words,” Madison says. “Unless
dork-ball
is two.”
“Maybe you push Larry hard enough into her that she spills her drink,” I suggest. “Then she’d be more mad and say something like,
‘Argh, you spilled
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