She was going to have to wait and see, just like everyone else.
“As many of you know,” I said into the microphone, “Gabi is my best friend. So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite stories about her with you. Like the time she peed her pants in school while she was sitting at her desk. The teacher sent everyone to the library as a cover up. But it was really so no one would point at Gabi and make fun of her.”
“That was in kindergarten,” Gabi screamed.
“But don’t you wish it was now?” Okay, I didn’t think that would work—that she’d actually go to the bathroom in front of everyone. But the story annoyed her, and that’s what I was going for. At least for the moment.
“No!” she screamed.
If I wanted to make her accidentally wish for something, it was going to have to be something she actually wanted. It was up to me to paint the scene.
“Another thing about Gabi is . . .”
“Enough, Angel,” she said. “I wish you’d stop.”
But her wishes didn’t work on me.
I continued, “She loves junk food. If she could, she’d dive into a giant bowl of ice cream, with fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, the works. Who wouldn’t want a huge tub of ice cream to feast on? All that chocolatey goodness. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Don’t you wish you had that right now, Gabi?”
“No,” she said, but I knew she was thinking about it.
“Are you sure? All the ice cream you could eat right there in front of you. Heaps of whipped cream. All the fudge you could want, and the pick of any flavor of ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. Chubby Hubby. Triple chocolate chunk with Oreo bits? Don’t you just want to take a huge bite?”
A second later Gabi was standing over a massive bowl of ice cream, scooping a handful of fudge into her mouth. The bowl was about the size of one of the spinning teacups in Disney World. I knew it would work! Make her visualize it and there it was.
It was almost like someone had hypnotized her. When she realized what she was doing, she dropped her hands from her mouth. But chocolate was already dribbling down her chin.
People in the audience laughed.
It wasn’t every day you saw a girl eating a giant ice cream sundae with her hands.
My plan was working; if I could make Gabi think about something she liked, she’d wish for it—even if it wasn’t the right time or place.
“Embarrassing, huh, Gabi? You have to be careful what you wish for. I know you like ice cream, but a vat of it?”
“Whatever,” Gabi said. “It doesn’t matter.”
But her eyes told another story. She was definitely embarrassed.
Angel-1.
Gabi-0.
Then I went for phase two of the plan. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” I said, pretending to actually care. “I shouldn’t have put that image in your head. But you can always just wish you were in your warm, nice bed, under the covers. It would have to beat this.”
Just like I knew she would, Gabi wished to be in her bed. And lo and behold, there she was in her bed, in the middle of the stage, in front of the entire school. The same bed where she kept her huge stuffed animal collection.
“Oh,” I said, walking over and picking up an alligator in a pink frilly dress, “did I mention that Gabi plays with stuffed animals? This one she named Alli and she gives it this squeaky little voice. Do it for us, Gabi.”
She glared at me. Ha! It was only a matter of time before she would cave. If she didn’t, I’d never let up on her. And she knew it. I totally won this war.
“No? How about this one?” I picked up a lion. “She named it Rori after her sister. Real cool, huh?” I shook the lion in front of her face. “Hi, Gabi, did you miss me?” I asked in my best Rori the lion voice. There was more laughter.
Gabi’s hands clenched into fists. “You’re not getting away with this,” she said. “I wish everyone thought playing with stuffed animals was incredibly cool.”
“Awww,” someone yelled out from the audience. “Can I play with them?”
“Me too,” another said.
“Well, look at that.” Gabi gave me a smile. A big phony one. “I beat you at your own game. Want to give up now? Or do you want me to show you how I’m going to keep winning?”
Boy, was she asking for it. She was so going to regret messing with—
Oh my gosh.
What was I saying? Was I turning into my father?
Revenge? Humiliation? Wasn’t that something the devil would do?
I didn’t want to be Lou. Yet my actions seemed to be coming straight from some underworld handbook.
This whole mess started because I wanted to do something good. And yet now I was trying to strike out against a girl who I referred to as my best friend this morning. Yes, Gabi majorly hurt me. But did I need to hurt her back? Not if I didn’t want to follow in my dad’s footsteps.
There had to be another way to fix the messes I caused. Another way to convince Gabi to give up the wishes.
And I was pretty sure I’d figured out how.
chapter 41
I was taking a big gamble with our friendship. It was either the most brilliant idea I’ve ever had or the most stupid one. It was hard to tell. I wouldn’t know for sure until after the fact—and then it would be too late. But first I had to trick Gabi into making one more wish.
“Not letting up,” I told her through gritted teeth as I waved to the audience. “I’m going to keep bugging and bugging and bugging you.”
“Just try it,” she said.
“Fine. How about I share another story. Maybe the time someone farted in French class,” I said, my voice once again getting louder so the whole auditorium could hear, “and it smelled so bad but no one knew—”
“Shut up, Angel.”
“What? Do you wish I’d stop? You know your wishes about me don’t work.” I could tell how frustrated Gabi was feeling by the way her jaw throbbed. “But maybe,” I started with a taunting tone, “you wish that as far as the rest of the world was concerned I didn’t exist?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I do.”
Gabi got her wish.
Just like that, I no longer existed. Not to anyone but Gabi. And I guess to Lou, too. To the rest of the world it was like Angel Garrett was never born. And the only two people who knew better, who I could actually communicate with, were the two I wasn’t exactly on great speaking terms with.
“Well, I guess you’re happy now,” I told her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Everyone thinks I don’t exist. Thanks to your wish,” I informed her.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
To prove my point I yelled out to the crowd that Lance Gold was here and to give a round of applause. Not one person acknowledged me.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Gabi said. “They just don’t believe you.”
“Watch this.” I belted out Somewhere Over the Rainbow. And my a cappella singing is not to be ignored. Not unless you’re under a spell. It’s plug your ears, tell me to be quiet, stuff an apple in my mouth bad. American Idol reject-worthy. And no one so much as covered their ears.
Gabi’s eyes got wide. “I just wanted you to stop bothering me.”
“You got a lot more than that.” I sat down on the stage.
“Well,” she said, giving me a weak smile. “This will give you the perfect reason to transfer to a new school. Maybe you’ll even be popular there.”
Transfer! That was her solution? Not “let me fix this, I’d never let you stay this way?” “How will I do that?” I shrieked. “No one knows I exist!”
“Only people here are affected by the wish. Like what happened with Max.”
“It’s not the same.” My voice was getting even louder. “The wording wasn’t in school. It was to the rest of the world. My life is over.”
Gabi paced back and forth. “This is ridiculous. It can’t be everyone. Call your mom.”
“There’s no point
.”
“Just do it,” she ordered.
I dialed my mother and put her on speaker. “Mom?” I said.
But my mother acted like there wasn’t anyone on the other end of the phone. “Who is this, please? Is anyone there? Please speak up.”
“Mom, it’s me. Angel.”
“Hello?” Mom said.
I knew the wish included her. I knew she’d act like I didn’t exist, yet actually experiencing it was eerie. This was my mother! The woman who claimed to see auras! How could she not sense her very own daughter?
My skin started to prickle. What if I bet wrong? What if Gabi wouldn’t give up her wishes? Then what? Would I have to go the rest of my life without speaking to the world? To my mom? Sure, I sometimes wished for that—that she’d leave me alone—forever. But I didn’t really mean it.
Now the closest I’d ever get to communicating with her was moving the wand on her Ouija board, pretending to be some spirit.
“Mrs. Garrett,” Gabi said.
“Oh, Gabi, it’s you,” my mom said. “Aren’t you the talk of the town!”
“I guess,” she said. “But Mrs. Garrett, I actually have Angel here. Don’t you want to talk to her?”
“To who?”
“Your daughter.”
My mom laughed. LAUGHED. “I don’t have a daughter.”
The words grabbed hold of my spinal cord and squeezed. I don’t have a daughter.
I clicked the phone off. I couldn’t listen to another word. This was getting too real. “See!” Before it was a game, a plan to get Gabi to give up the wishes. But it didn’t feel like a game anymore. I looked up at Gabi, but she wouldn’t look back at me. I knew what that meant—I bet wrong. Gabi was picking the wishes. Not me.
“I wish people wouldn’t ignore you,” she said.
But that wasn’t enough to fix it. “That doesn’t help. You know you can’t just undo one wish. It’s all or nothing.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Who are you talking to?” Max called out.
“No one,” Gabi shot back.
And she was right. Because from here on out, I really was no one.
I’d gambled and lost.
chapter 42
Everyone in the auditorium was talking to one another. Laughing. Waiting for Lance. Not me. Tears welled up in my eyes. My very own best friend—former best friend—was going to let me walk the earth like a zombie. Only I wouldn’t eat people. I would just wander around unable to communicate with anyone. I’d be the living dead. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me like this.”
“You idiot,” she said.
Now she was calling me names. But it was accurate. Thinking that she’d put our friendship first was idiotic. She stole Cole. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do. Even sacrifice me for the sake of her wishes.
“Of course I wouldn’t leave you like this.”
What did she say? “Can you repeat that?”
She crossed her arms in front of her and looked down at me. “Do you really think I’d let you go through the rest of your life like a freaky mutant?” She smiled a little. “More than you already are?”
I shrugged my shoulder. The truth was, yes, I did.
She sat down next to me. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“You took Cole.”
Gabi bit her lip. “That was an accident.”
“It wasn’t an accident when you made him announce his feelings about you or dance in the middle of science class . . . or when you kissed him!”
“I didn’t kiss him,” she protested.
“Only because I walked in on you.”
“No. Because I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then why’d do you do all that other stuff with him?” I focused on my fingernails, which were gnawed down to practically nothing.
“I was mad at you.”
“Mad at me?” I moved my focus to Gabi. “You’re the one who wished for my boyfriend to like you.”
“I told you that wasn’t on purpose. I just wished someone like him would like me. I didn’t mean for it to really happen. But when I tried to explain it to you, you started saying all these things that made it sound like I wasn’t good enough for Cole.” She looked up. It seemed like she was fighting to sniff back tears. “I’m used to insults from Courtney and everyone. But hearing you say you didn’t think I was any good, either, and that no one would ever like me . . . it . . . I don’t know. It made me . . . upset.” She turned away.
I grabbed her arm. “I never said that. I never would.”
“You did,” she protested. “You said Cole would never be interested in someone like me.”
“Gabi, I didn’t mean it like that. Honest. All I meant was if he was interested in someone like klutzy, sloppy old me, then he probably wouldn’t go for someone perfect like you. We’re completely different. Honestly, I don’t even know why he’d be interested in me with you around.”
“Oh, please.” She smacked my arm. But it was in a playful way, not an I-want-to-cause-you-bodily-harm way. “You’re full of it. But thank you.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” I said. And I really meant it.
“And I’m sorry about the whole Cole mess. Will you forgive me?”
“It’s not like I have much choice.” I looked out at the crowd. “You’re the only person who seems to realize I exist. And you’re better than nothing!”
That last part made Gabi laugh.
“I’m going to fix everything,” Gabi said. “People don’t think you exist. So what if I give you a new identity? It’d be like starting fresh!”
My stare gave her the answer to that one.
“Well, what if I made the new you the most popular girl in school?”
“Wishing for popularity is what got us in this mess to begin with!” I said, throwing my hands in the air.
“I know. I guess I was just wanted to keep you and my wishes.”
“Unfortunately, you really can’t. It’s all got to go back, the automatic As, the TV, the dessert bar in your room . . .”
“I’ve had more than enough ice cream, thank you very much.” She glanced back at the giant bowl still sitting onstage.
“Sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have tried to embarrass you.”
“And I shouldn’t have danced with Cole.”
I looked down at my hands. The Cole thing still hurt. “You know this reversal won’t work unless you truly want to give up the wishes. Are you sure you’re ready to give up being a star?”
Gabi pointed to the cameraman filming her. “In their world you don’t exist. So I’m going to be the star talking to an imaginary friend. Not exactly the kind of fame I was going for.”
I shrugged my shoulder. “You could always wish for imaginary friends to become a trend.”
She shook her head. “No. That still wouldn’t give you your life back. Let’s do it. Let’s reverse this mess.”
How could I ever have doubted her?
chapter 43
When Gabi really puts her mind to something, she does it. In a mere second the wishes were gone. She just had to concentrate on how much she really wanted them to disappear and snap—everything reversed itself.
Right away there was a lot of confusion. A lot of “What’s going on?” and “Did you notice all the freaky stuff happening today?” and “Would they really put Gabi on TV?” buzzing throughout the audience.
One person was louder than all the rest. “Why is the nerd herd onstage?” Courtney shouted. “I thought Lance Gold was going to be here. I didn’t come here to look at those two freaks.”
Courtney Lourde was back! Her snotty comments never sounded so good.
Elena made her way to the stage. “There’s been a mistake. I just checked with my office. Lance was never scheduled to be here today. But he does have an appearance at the mall in Killingsworth next week, which we hope you’ll attend. Now, I do have some bad news to share.” She glanced down at her BlackBerry. “The network has
informed me that they’ve decided to kill the reality show, so unfortunately none of you are going to be stars today.” She nodded her head toward the door, and she and the camera crew made their exit. With Gabi’s wish reversed, they had no reason to stay.
The auditorium erupted with chatter again. “This is so weird,” Tracy Fine said. “First we’re in a reality show starring Gabi and now it’s canceled? All in the same day?”
Dana Ellers shrugged. “I guess Hollywood is like that. Chews you up, spits you out, that type of thing. Stinks for Gabi.”
“Like she ever stood a chance at stardom,” Courtney said. “I can’t believe they even considered her. How much do you want to bet it was one of those extreme makeover shows, but it got canceled when Elena realized there was no helping that lost cause?”
Jaydin and Lana burst out laughing.
“Can it, Courtney,” I yelled back. “You don’t know anything. Gabi will be a star someday. She’s incredible.”
“So incredible that Cole picked her over you,” Jaydin threw in.
I had hoped no one remembered that.
“He didn’t mean it,” Gabi said. “But he did choose Angel over you at the dance.”
That got Jaydin to shut up.
Cole was sitting right in the front row. His face looked like a strawberry lollipop. We made eye contact for a second, but I looked away. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not there, not in front of everyone.
I jumped off the stage and moved toward the back. I didn’t even want to see him.
Everyone was talking about what had happened today. Saying stuff like they couldn’t believe they actually followed Max around. And trying to figure out how science class became an outdoor garden.
Then a rumor began circulating that the reality show was responsible for everything. That Elena had transformed the science room, painted the walls and lockers, all at super speed to help the show along. And now that it was canceled, they were undoing everything right away, so they could go back to Hollywood.
According to the gossip, the show’s crew was even the reason why everyone was nice to Max. Apparently, one of the cameramen was friends with Max’s dad. So he told a few people to treat Max like Mr. Popular—and if they did he’d make them look good on TV. And once a couple of kids started treating Max like royalty, it kind of caught on.
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