“You’ll see,” Alex said confidently. Then she walked casually toward Harper. She could feel Riley staring at her, but she didn’t turn back around. This was all part of her get-Riley-to-ask-me-out plan. She was trying to play it cool.
Meanwhile, Mr. Russo headed out to the pitcher’s mound to talk to Justin. He tried to look upbeat. He didn’t want to pressure his son. He reminded himself that winning wasn’t everything. But it was nice—and he really wanted his team to win.
“Get this guy out and we win,” Mr. Russo said. “If you don’t, we lose.”
Justin inhaled deeply. He felt like he might be sick.
“No pressure,” his dad said.
Yeah, right, Justin thought. He watched his dad walk back to the sidelines. He watched the batter take a few practice swings. He stared at Riley and squatted down, his catcher’s mitt wide open. Suddenly, Riley’s mitt looked so far away. Justin knew he was in deep trouble.
“Come on, Justin! Good luck, Justin!” Kari jumped up and down in the stands. “Yay!”
Justin watched Kari cheer for him. His stomach was in knots.
“Come on, Justin!” Max called, sitting next to Kari. “Mow this guy down! He ain’t no hitter! He couldn’t hit it if you threw a basketball!”
The older guy sitting beside Max whirled around. “Hey, kid, do you mind? That’s my son.”
Max sneered. “Oh, I’m sorry . . . for you!” he taunted.
Back on the mound, Justin took a deep breath. Everyone was watching him. Waiting to see him strike out this guy. And that was never going to happen without using magic. I have no choice, he reasoned.
“Tomnoo Nankenesis,” he chanted quietly as he pointed to the ball in his mitt. The ball glowed magically. Then Justin exhaled and let it fly.
The baseball zipped by the stunned batter. The crowd cheered.
“Strike one!” called the umpire.
“That’s my brother! I’m his brother!” Max boasted. “Together we’ll send you losers home!” he yelled to the opposing team.
Mr. Russo clapped his hands together. “Nice work, son! Bringing the heat!”
Justin wound up, and the ball curved across the plate. The batter swung wildly, missing completely.
“Strike two!” announced the umpire.
Mr. Russo couldn’t believe his eyes. Justin was on fire! “Amazing, huh?” he said to the players on the bench. He chuckled.
Max jumped to his feet. He raised a huge megaphone to his mouth and bellowed, “You feel that heat, losers?”
Justin winced. Max was being way too loud—and obnoxious. He fired off another pitch, faster than the other two.
“Strike three!” the umpire called. “You’re out! Game over!”
The crowd whooped and stamped their feet. Mr. Russo pumped his fist in the air. Justin had pulled it off. “Nice!” he shouted.
Max was on a roll and continued to trash-talk the other team. “Way to go, loser!” he yelled to the other team. “You should change your first name to ‘Lou’ and your last name to ‘Ser’! Get it? Loser!”
Mr. Russo rubbed his hands together and stared at the scoreboard. “Oh, boy! You ever see a kid pitch like that?” he asked himself. Then he thought about it. Justin wasn’t throwing high-school pitches. Justin was throwing major-league all-star pitches. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a kid pitch like that. Something’s not right, he said to himself. He eyed Justin suspiciously.
After the game, Justin walked home with Kari. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was sure every guy in New York City was jealous. They walked together down Waverly Place, the street where his family lived and worked.
“You were awesome out there today,” Kari cooed. “Those batters had no clue what you were throwing at them. It’s like they had never seen pitches before.”
Justin acted as if it were no big deal. “Well, that’s just what I do.” He puffed out his chest. “Give them a little pop-goes-the-weasel.”
“Pop-goes-the-weasel?” Kari asked curiously. “Is that like a baseball term?”
“Yeah,” Justin fibbed. “In Taiwan. Where I learned the pitch.”
Kari nodded, impressed. “I’m glad we finally met.” She gently touched his arm. “See you around.” She smiled and walked away.
Justin stared, openmouthed. He couldn’t believe how this day had turned out! He smiled to himself.
“Justin, I need to talk to you.” His father suddenly appeared at his side.
Justin had a bad feeling about this. “As my dad, or as my coach?” he asked.
“As your magic teacher.” His dad looked disappointed. “You broke the rules. You never break the rules.”
Justin sighed. “Alex told me to use magic.”
“Here’s some advice,” his dad told him sternly. “Stop listening to your sister.”
Justin nodded, pulled out his phone, and pretended to type. “Got it. E-mail to self. Stop listening to evil sister.” He glanced at his dad. Was he in the mood for jokes? Not so much, Justin realized.
“Justin, I’m very disappointed in you. You’ve always been a stickler for the rules.”
“All right, fine. I’ll quit the team.” Justin figured he’d own up to his punishment before his dad could even give it.
“No, you’re not quitting the team,” his dad said. “You’re going to learn your lesson by pitching without magic.”
“I’ll get creamed!” Justin protested.
“Exactly. That’s the learning-your-lesson part,” Mr. Russo replied.
Justin buried his head in his hands. Parents sometimes had such cruel senses of humor. Without using magic, there was no way that he’d be able to pitch even one inning. I’m doomed, he thought. I’m totally doomed.
Chapter Four
Mr. Russo excitedly put on his Aztecs baseball cap and grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator in their apartment. The Russos were headed to another one of Justin’s baseball games, and Mr. Russo was pumped.
“I’m ready for Justin’s second game,” Max announced from the hall next to the kitchen.
Mr. Russo turned around and laughed. Max was waving a foam finger the size of his head. It said #1 FAN.
“Uh, Max, don’t you think that foam finger’s a little big?” Alex asked. She sat on the orange family room sofa, flipping through a textbook.
“No.” Max hurried back into his bedroom. He appeared a moment later with an even bigger foam finger. “But this one might be.”
His dad smiled. He had to give his son points for team spirit. “Hey, if it rains, you can mop up the infield for us.”
Max laughed. “That’s a good one, Dad.” He poked his dad in the stomach with his foam finger. Then he gathered both foam fingers, several pennants, a banner, and a megaphone, and followed his father out the door to head to the game. They both wanted to get there early—Mr. Russo to figure out the lineup now that the team was pitching without using magical powers, and Max to plan the best ways to psych out the other team.
Harper hurried through the front door as they were leaving. “Hey, Alex, are you ready to go to the game?” she asked. She looked at Alex’s outfit skeptically. She would have thought her friend would be more dressed up if she was planning on seeing Riley. “Come on.”
Alex casually paged through her book. “Nope. I’m not going today.”
“But you’re Riley’s good luck charm,” Harper pointed out.
Alex stood up and tossed the book onto the sofa. “Well, my dad’s making Justin pitch, even though he can’t use a spell.”
“Spell?” Harper repeated.
As soon as she said it, Alex knew she’d made a huge mistake. No one could know about their magical powers. Not even Harper.
Think fast, Alex told herself. She tossed her hair back and smiled. “Yeah, Justin had a spelling test and he couldn’t practice pitching.” She nodded. Good save! “Yeah, that works. Nice.” She turned back to Harper. “So he’s going to get clobbered, and the team’s going to lose.”
&nb
sp; Harper wasn’t really following what Alex was saying. Since when did Alex care about the baseball team winning or losing? “But don’t you want to see Riley?” she asked.
“Yes, but not if they’re going to lose,” Alex explained. “That’s just going to show Riley that I’m not his good luck charm.”
“But he might wish you were there,” Harper said.
“I know. That’s the good part.” Alex smiled. “I won’t be there, which will reinforce the idea that I am his good luck charm.”
“Okay,” Harper said in confusion. She still didn’t get it. “But I think it would be fun to see Riley.”
Alex took a deep breath and pulled Harper next to her on the sofa. “Let me explain this to you slowly. . . .”
Meanwhile, at the ballpark, Justin stood on the mound and threw horrible pitch after horrible pitch. The outfielders watched in disbelief as ball after ball meteored out of the park. The other team racked up home runs while the home crowd groaned, and soon many of the spectators left the ball field. The game was too painful to watch.
During the middle of the eighth inning, Riley called for a time-out. He jogged to the pitcher’s mound to talk with Justin. He looked upset.
“Let me ask you something,” Riley began.
“I know, I know. I’m getting creamed out here.” Justin wasn’t going to pretend it was any better than it was. But he hoped Riley had some great advice to turn the game around.
“Right, right.” Riley glanced toward the few remaining fans in the stands. “Hey, does your sister ever ask about me?”
Justin groaned. Riley had no baseball advice to share. He just liked Alex. Figures!
The game seemed to drag on forever, but finally, it was over. Justin was silent as he and his dad trudged home.
When they entered the Sub Station, Mr. Russo tried to be positive. “I know it was tough going today, Justin.”
“Tough going?” Justin cried. “I gave up twenty-six runs! Their guys kept running around and around and around and around—”
“Justin,” Mr. Russo interrupted. “Listen.” He sat his son down at a table. “Only one of my kids is going to be able to keep his powers. I don’t want you relying on magic, because you might not have it one day.”
Justin thought about this. In wizard families, all kids received special powers at age twelve. They spent the next six years learning how to do spells and control their magic. But the tricky part was that only one child in each family was allowed to keep his or her powers when he or she became an adult. And it was kind of a roll of the dice—there was no telling who would end up with their powers. Until now, Justin had always assumed it would be him. Alex and Max never seemed to be real competition. Was he wrong?
“All right, all right. I get it.” But just because Justin understood, it still didn’t make defeat any easier. “I never liked baseball anyway,” he admitted.
“Then why did you try out for the team?” his dad asked.
Justin figured he might as well tell the truth. The day couldn’t get any more embarrassing. “To impress Kari Langsdorf,” he said.
“Oh. I get it,” his dad said with a grin. “You know, when I was your age, I tried using magic to impress a girl. Turned into a total disaster.”
“What happened?” Justin asked.
“I married her!” Mr. Russo exclaimed, laughing at his joke. “Just kidding,” he said seriously. “The point is, using magic is cheating. And cheating to impress people ultimately fails. So I suggest you practice hard, because I’ve decided to pitch you again next game.”
“What?” Justin asked incredulously. How could his father be so cruel? he wondered. Wasn’t today humiliating enough? “Dad, without magic, I’ll get creamed again!” he protested.
“Not necessarily. You have some of my natural ability. We just have to find it.” Mr. Russo had always been a great baseball player as a kid. There is no way Justin hasn’t inherited a sliver of my talent, he thought to himself. Right?
Justin saw the gleam in his father’s eyes. He knew there was no turning back. “Do I have a choice?” he asked grumpily.
“No,” Mr. Russo answered. “Look, you made a commitment, and now you have to stick to it.”
“You think I can do better than today?” Justin asked hopefully.
“It’d be hard to do worse,” his dad pointed out.
Even if he pitched blindfolded, Justin agreed—it couldn’t be any worse than what happened at today’s game. Maybe I’ll go to the park and practice this week, he thought. “All right, all right, fine. I’ll give it a shot.”
“And no magic, right?” his dad reminded him.
“No magic,” Justin replied. “Got it.”
Chapter Five
“You see? They lost,” Alex explained to Harper a few minutes later. She leaned on the counter at the Waverly Sub Station. “So if I had gone to the game, I couldn’t possibly be Riley’s good luck charm. And then he wouldn’t be interested in me. Do you understand?”
Harper nodded. She took a bite of the slice of chocolate cake she was sharing with Alex. “Oh, I get it. Good plan.” She glanced at the door and watched the members of the baseball team file in. Everyone looked miserable. “Now, let’s talk about something that’s really important. Your brother’s baseball uniform.” She smiled at a defeated-looking Justin. “How cute is he in that?”
Ugh! Alex thought. Harper is so gross! This crush that her best friend had on her brother was getting really old. Alex decided to focus her attention on Riley. And he was heading right toward her!
“Alex, where were you today?” Riley asked. “We got smeared.”
Alex reached for her fork and pretended to be fascinated by the slice of cake in front of her. “Oh, I’ve been studying,” she said casually.
Harper grinned and nudged Riley. “She wasn’t there. And you lost. Sounds like she’s your good-luck charm.” She gave him a meaningful stare. Then Harper leaned across the counter and whispered, “You’re welcome,” to Alex.
Alex shot Harper a menacing look. She smiled sweetly at Riley “I’m sorry, Riley. I didn’t know you wanted me to come to every game.”
“Uh, yeah. You’re our good-luck charm. And we need good luck at every game,” he said.
“Every game?” Alex wrinkled her nose. She took a bite of cake and chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t know.” She could see Riley getting anxious. Her plan was working!
“I’ll tell you what,” Riley told her. “If you come to our next game and we win, I’ll take you to the Fall Dance.”
Alex felt her heart flutter, but she tried to remain calm. She knew she had to play it cool. “And what makes you think I want to go to the Fall Dance with you?”
“Every girl does, don’t they?” Riley asked, brushing his brown curls off his forehead.
He had a point, Alex thought. “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, you got a deal.”
“Great, because I’m very superstitious. But with you, I got a feeling we’ll go all the way to the state championship.”
“And all the way to the Fall Dance,” Alex reminded him. “See ya,” she called as he walked back to his table. She couldn’t wait to go to the dance with Riley! I can wear that awesome shimmery copper-colored skirt I just bought, she decided. It will match his eyes perfectly.
Harper smiled. She was so excited for Alex. But then she frowned. “Wait. What are you going to do if Justin pitches badly at the next game, they lose, and Riley realizes you’re not his good luck charm?”
“As long as I have something to do with it,” Alex said confidently, “I’m pretty sure Justin’s team will win the next game.”
Alex used her hand to shield her eyes from the bright Saturday afternoon sun and kept her eyes focused on Justin. She was waiting for just the right moment. If she acted too early people might get suspicious. Too late and she risked running out of time before racking up the necessary runs.
Justin’s pitch barely made it across the plate. Ball!
“Oh, come on,
Justin!” Max yelled from the stands. “I didn’t paint my face for a tied-up game!” The red paint on his face was starting to itch. He turned to the guy next to him. “This stuff is starting to burn.” He tried not to panic. “Is that bad?”
The guy just shrugged.
Harper sat next to Alex in the stands. “I sure hope Justin gets out of this jam, otherwise you’re not Riley’s good luck charm. And I was up half the night with my mom trying to figure this out. Because when you’re there, he wins, and when you’re not, he doesn’t.”
“Don’t worry,” Alex assured her. “I know Justin will get out of this.”
Justin pitched again. This time the ball flew so high it grazed the batter’s helmet. The guy walked, and the crowd groaned loudly. Things weren’t looking good.
The other team’s star hitter approached the plate. This guy had already hit three home runs against Justin.
Justin aimed the ball toward home plate. The batter connected easily and the ball rose high in the air, an obvious home run.
Now’s the time, Alex decided. She pointed to the baseball soaring over the center fielder’s head and quietly chanted, “Tomnoo Nankenisis.”
There was a quick flash of light, barely noticeable to anyone on the field. Then, suddenly, the baseball reversed direction and nose-dived directly into the center fielder’s mitt! He looked at the ball in amazement.
“Batter’s out of there!” the umpire called. The crowd jumped up excitedly, cheering for the unbelievable catch.
Mr. Russo definitely didn’t believe what he had just seen. He stared at the batter suspiciously. But maybe, just maybe, that kid caught the ball on his own, he thought.
The Aztecs jogged into the dugout to get their turn at bat.
“Good job! Good job!” Mr. Russo cheered, patting his team on their backs.
“Thanks, Coach,” Riley said.
Mr. Russo pulled Justin aside. “Uh, Justin? Is there something you want to tell me?”
“No.” Justin stared meaningfully at his father. “Is there something you want to tell me?” Justin knew he hadn’t used magic. Had his dad?
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