Revenge of the Invisible Boy

by R. L. Stine

  “He’s amazing. It’s like he’s not human.”

  “Did he really hold his breath for half an hour?”

  Everyone seemed to be talking at once. People shrugged and shook their heads. No one had a clue how Mystical Marvin had done any of the stunts he performed.

  My heart was still racing from my close call onstage. Mystical Marvin had played a joke on me, but I didn’t care. I knew I’d never forget being on the same stage he was.

  Ari and Eduardo walked up the aisle ahead of Melody and me. I knew that Ari’s father was coming to pick them up.

  I grabbed Melody’s arm and held her back. “Don’t go,” I said. “We’re going backstage.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “We’re what?”

  “Going backstage,” I said. “I have to know how he disappears like that.”

  “He won’t tell us,” Melody said. “What makes you think he’ll talk to us? We’ll only get in trouble.”

  “Come on. We’ve got to try,” I said. “What could happen?”

  I spotted a narrow hallway at the side of the stage. It led to the back of the theater. I pulled Melody toward it.

  A tall, dark-suited usher stood blocking the way. I waited until he moved up the aisle to help a woman with a cane. “Hurry. Let’s go,” I whispered.

  Melody and I darted into the narrow passageway.

  Behind us, the theater was emptying quickly. The house lights on the ceiling dimmed. A few voices lingered, but it was getting quiet.

  We made our way quickly along the hall, past the stage. At the end, the hall opened to a wide backstage area.

  I stopped and gazed around. I expected it to be busy back here, bustling with people who worked on the show. But it was nearly silent.

  An old man in a gray work uniform was down on his knees at the far wall. He was lifting stage props into a large chest. His head was down. He didn’t see us.

  Folding chairs were stacked against one wall. A tall stuffed penguin tilted beside them. A long rack of costumes stood against another wall. A spotlight lay on its back, dark, tilted toward the high ceiling. A stack of coiled black cords rose up beside it.

  I listened for voices. The only sound was a loud, buzzing hum, probably the air conditioner.

  “This is weird,” I muttered.

  Melody nodded. “Yeah. Where is everyone?” She tugged at her single braid with both hands. She does that when she’s tense.

  I was nervous, too. I knew we shouldn’t be back here. And I knew Mystical Marvin probably would just tell us to go away.

  But I had to try to talk to him.

  I watched the worker in the gray uniform climb to his feet. He closed the lid to the chest and clicked it shut. Then he turned and disappeared into another back hall.

  “Are we really all alone here?” I said to Melody. “Maybe we should go.”

  She gave me a little push. “We’re here. We should try to find him.”

  Typical Melody. She doesn’t scare easily, and she doesn’t like to retreat.

  I spotted a row of doors along the back wall. One of the doors was open and a light was on behind it.

  “Those must be dressing rooms,” Melody said. “Maybe that’s Mystical Marvin’s dressing room.

  She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted: “Mystical Marvin? Are you here?”

  Silence.

  I took a few steps, leading the way toward the open door. “Is anyone here?” I called. “Mystical Marvin? Anyone here?”

  Silence.

  I suddenly realized my hands were ice cold. I jammed them into my jeans pockets. Then I spun away from the dressing rooms and gazed all around the big backstage area.

  No one around. Not even the guy in the gray uniform.

  I turned and saw that Melody had crept up to the open dressing room door. She poked her head inside. Then she spun back to me. “No one here,” she called. Her voice rang off the high concrete walls.

  “Where did he go?” I asked.

  “Maybe he runs out of the theater right after he disappears,” she replied. “He didn’t come back and take a bow or anything.”

  “You’re probably right,” I murmured. I couldn’t hide my disappointment. I really wanted to meet Mystical Marvin and ask him about that disappearing trick.

  Here we were … So close …

  “Guess we should go,” I said sadly.

  Melody nodded. “Okay.” She forced a smile. “We tried.”

  We both started toward the hall at the side. But we stopped when something pulsed in front of us. I blinked. What had I just seen?

  Something strange. It seemed like the air had moved.

  I stood close to Melody and we both stared straight ahead.

  And it happened again. Some kind of shift in the air, as if the whole room had moved just a tiny bit. Just a shimmer. So quick.

  It happened again. A fast, silent pop of air.

  Then I jumped back as I saw a puff of smoke form in front of us. “Whoa. Check it out!” I cried.

  The puff of white smoke lengthened until it resembled a fat snake, floating at eye level, so close in front of us. So close, I could touch it—if I wasn’t terrified of what I was seeing.

  The smoke coiled around itself as it floated. Twisted and bent. And grew larger. First, an oval-shaped cloud. Then spreading … spreading out until it rose in front of Melody and me as a curtain of white haze.

  Melody and I both squinted into the bright white curtain.

  And then … then it parted. The curtain opened from both sides.

  And a scream escaped my throat: “I don’t believe it!”

  Mystical Marvin stepped forward, his red cape billowing behind him in the wall of mist. His blue eyes moved from Melody to me.

  “You can believe it,” he said. “It wasn’t a trick. I really can go invisible.”

  I stood there blinking in amazement, my mouth hanging open.

  Melody tugged at both sides of her hair. “You … You …” She was as speechless as I was.

  “How long have you been here?” Mystical Marvin asked. “Why are you here? Everyone has gone.”

  He pulled off his cape, folded it in his hands, and set it down on top of the props chest. Then he shook his head hard, like a dog after a bath.

  The wall of clouds had disappeared, but the air backstage still felt cold and damp.

  “Melody and I … we wanted to meet you,” I finally choked out.

  He squinted at me. “You were onstage with me. Your name is Frankie?”

  I nodded. “Frankie Miller.” I stuck my hand out and he shook it.

  I felt an electric charge go up my arm. I’m shaking hands with Mystical Marvin.

  “This is my friend Melody Richmond,” I said.

  He shook hands with Melody, too.

  Then he turned and strode toward the open dressing room. Melody and I hesitated for a moment. Then we followed him.

  The room was small. A long mirror with lights all around it hung above a long counter. The counter had jars and bottles jammed over it. Probably stage makeup, I figured. A folding chair faced the mirror.

  Mystical Marvin pulled off his white tuxedo bow tie and tossed it onto the dressing table. He unfastened the top button of his white shirt.

  “Disappearing always makes me hungry,” he said. “I’m going to run out and have an early dinner.” He ran a comb through his blond ringlets.

  Melody and I watched from the doorway. I didn’t know if we were allowed into the room or not.

  “We … have a magic club,” I stammered.

  Mystical Marvin set down the brush and turned to us. “Yes. You said onstage you were a magician.”

  I could feel my cheeks go red. “Well … I’m just learning. We’re all really into magic.”

  “We try out new tricks,” Melody said. “And we do research on all the great magicians.”

  “Nice,” he said. He tugged off his tuxedo jacket and hung it on a hook on the wall. “Of course, you realize I’m not a magi
cian. I don’t do tricks.”

  I took a deep breath. I needed courage to ask my next question. “I was wondering …” I started. “I mean, we’re such huge fans. And … we’re studying magic, and …”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “What are you trying to say, Frankie? Just go ahead and ask me.”

  “Can you tell us how you do the disappearing thing?” I blurted out breathlessly. “I mean … you could just give us a hint.”

  “We won’t tell anyone,” Melody added. “We swear.”

  He laughed. “Know what? You’re both so serious, I’m going to show you. I’m going to show you the whole thing. But I have to remind you—it isn’t a trick. No one else can do it, because I’m the only one who knows the formula.”

  Formula?

  Melody and I exchanged glances. I don’t think either one of us believed we were really standing in Mystical Marvin’s dressing room. And he was really going to show us how he did one of his most incredible illusions.

  He reached into the pocket of his tuxedo pants and pulled out a small bottle. He raised it so we could both see it clearly. It was full nearly to the top with a yellow liquid.

  “That’s the bottle you showed everyone onstage,” I said.

  He nodded. “Yes. This bottle contains the formula. The formula for disappearing. I was taught how to mix the formula by one of the last sorcerers in Europe.”

  “S-sorcerer?” I stammered.

  “He was dying,” Mystical Marvin said, holding the bottle in front of us. “And he didn’t want the secret to die with him. I did many favors for him. I was his best student. And so he revealed the secret to me. He showed me how to mix the golden disappearing liquid.”

  Melody and I stared at the bottle as if hypnotized. Melody broke the silence: “What is it made of?”

  “I can’t reveal the details,” Mystical Marvin said. “All I can tell you is, it’s made from animal saliva. Amazing, huh? A truly amazing formula. One sip is all it takes. One sip and I go completely invisible.”

  My mind was whirring with questions. Is he making this up? Is he playing a joke on us? Can he possibly be telling the truth?

  “Now you must excuse me,” Mystical Marvin said. “I need to get changed and meet a friend at a restaurant.” He shook hands with us again. “It was a pleasure—”

  A shouted voice interrupted him. It must have been the man we saw stuffing props into the trunk. “Marvin? Are you there? Phone call. Come pick it up.”

  Mystical Marvin brushed past us. “Excuse me. I have to take this,” he said.

  He hurried out the dressing room door. I listened to his running footsteps as he made his way toward the front of the theater.

  “That was awesome!” Melody exclaimed. “It was like being in a dream or something. He actually explained how he does the disappearing thing.”

  She tapped my shoulder. “Frankie, are you in shock?”

  I didn’t answer her. I was looking for something.

  I bent down and picked up an empty plastic water bottle from the floor.

  “Frankie? Are we going?” Melody asked.

  Again, I didn’t answer. I set the empty plastic bottle down on the counter. Then I carefully … carefully … picked up Mystical Marvin’s little bottle of yellow liquid.

  Melody gasped. “What are you doing?”

  My hand trembled as I removed the cap from the little formula bottle. Then I raised it and poured some into the empty water bottle. I didn’t take a lot. Maybe two or three teaspoons.

  I carefully closed both bottles. Then I hid the water bottle under my jacket. I gave Melody a little push toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “But—but—but—” she sputtered. “What did you just do?”

  I glanced all around to make sure no one was around. Then I whispered, “I think I just figured out a way to pay Ari back.”

  I hid the bottle with the disappearing potion in my room at the bottom of my underwear drawer. It stressed me out to have it there. I checked to make sure it was okay several times a day.

  Normally, I looked forward to our weekly Magic Club meetings. But now, every time I thought about our next meeting, my heart started to thump in my chest. I couldn’t stop daydreaming about how awesome it would be when I put my revenge plan into action.

  Ari … Poor Ari … You don’t believe in magic? You have a big surprise in store for you.

  Of course, Mom and Dad wanted to hear all about Mystical Marvin’s performance. They both clapped their hands and cheered when I told them he had called me up onstage.

  I didn’t tell them that Melody and I had met him after the show. I was afraid I might blurt out something about taking the disappearing formula. Or what I planned to do with it.

  I’m not the best secret-keeper in the world. I like to share. I guess that’s why I enjoy performing magic tricks for people. But sometimes, I share too much.

  Of course, I told Melody and Eduardo my plan. Melody had already guessed it. She thought it was the perfect revenge.

  Eduardo had a million questions. Mainly, he wanted to know what would happen if Ari disappeared and didn’t come back.

  I laughed. “I guess we’d throw a party!” I said.

  “No. Really,” he insisted. “Aren’t you afraid the whole idea may be dangerous?”

  “Mystical Marvin disappeared and then came back ten minutes later,” I reminded him. “He drank the same formula. So I don’t think we need to worry.”

  “I think we do need to worry,” Eduardo insisted. “What if Ari disappears and—”

  “It didn’t harm Mystical Marvin at all,” I said. “One sip and he was invisible. A few minutes later, he was back and he was fine.”

  “But he’s a pro,” Eduardo said. “He’s done it before. Lots of times. Maybe Ari won’t know how to get back to normal.”

  “You’re not going to talk me out of it,” I said. “Ari has been asking for it ever since he joined our club. He even tried to ruin Mystical Marvin’s show for me.”

  I was sorry I told Eduardo my plan. He’s too nice a guy. He worries about everyone, even Ari.

  “If you want to stay home and skip the club meeting on Wednesday …” I started.

  “Oh, no. No way,” Eduardo replied. “Think I’d miss it? No way!”

  So …

  Wednesday after school, there we were. The four of us sat around the table in Ari’s basement. Ari’s mother brought down a big plate of banana cupcakes. Then she hurried upstairs to mix her famous lemonade.

  Buster was licking the crumbs off my hands. Eduardo seemed a lot more quiet than usual. Melody kept glancing tensely at me and fiddling with her braid.

  Of course, Ari decided to pick a fight about Mystical Marvin.

  “He’s a fake,” Ari said. He had a smear of icing on his chin, but no one told him about it. “Other magicians have done his tricks. He stole his whole act.”

  I knew Ari was just trying to make me angry. But I couldn’t hold back. I had to get into it with him.

  “Have you done any research?” I demanded. “Have you read about other magicians who could levitate like that? Or stay underwater for half an hour?”

  “Well …” Ari took a big bite of cupcake.

  “Can you name another magician who does his disappearing trick?” I asked.

  He chewed noisily. “I could just see his tricks were fake,” he said. “You don’t need to do research to see that. He had something behind him pulling him up off the floor. He didn’t levitate.”

  “How come I couldn’t see it?” I demanded.

  Ari grinned. “I told you. Maybe you need glasses, Frankie.”

  “Let’s stop arguing and try to have a meeting,” Eduardo chimed in.

  Before anyone else could say anything, Ari’s mom came down the basement stairs carrying a tray in front of her. She had a pitcher of lemonade on the tray and four tall glasses already filled.

  “Are you magicians having a nice discussion?” she asked.

 
“Yeah. Good,” Ari answered. “But they’re weird. They think magic is real. I just think it’s a bunch of tricks.”

  “Maybe it’s both,” Mrs. Goodwyn said.

  She placed a glass of lemonade in front of each of us. Then she tucked the tray under her arm and started up the stairs.

  “Awesome cupcake, Mrs. Goodwyn,” Eduardo called after her.

  She turned around halfway up the stairs. “Thank you, Eduardo.” She squinted at Buster, who was hunched by my chair, eyeing the rest of my cupcake. “Ari, do me a favor,” she said. “Give Buster a quick walk, okay? He hasn’t been walked since noon.”

  Ari stuffed the rest of his cupcake into his mouth. He jumped up, his chair scraping the linoleum floor. “Okay.”

  He scooted around the table and grabbed Buster. He gave the big dog a shove toward the basement stairs. “Be right back,” Ari said.

  Buster trotted up the stairs. Ari followed close behind. The three of us waited to give them time to leave. Then we huddled together over the table.

  “Are you really going to do it, Frankie?” Eduardo whispered. “Are you really going to put that stuff in his drink?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Just a few drops of this, and he’ll disappear. Then he’ll see that magic is real.”

  I jumped up and crossed the room. I had tossed my jacket over the arm of the couch. I picked it up and dug the plastic bottle from the pocket.

  I carried the bottle to the table. I raised it in front of me. The three of us gazed at the bright yellow liquid at the bottom of the bottle.

  “Here goes,” I murmured. I took a deep breath. Then I unscrewed the cap. I held the bottle over Ari’s glass—and poured the secret formula into his lemonade.

  Haha. Frankie is playing a good joke on Ari. The only problem is, he won’t be able to see the sick look on Ari’s face when he realizes what Frankie has done to him!

  I’m a good magician, too.

  I’m so good, I have you in my control. Now watch what I can do. When I say Abracadabra, I can make you turn the page. Watch …

  Abracadabra!

  Melody had her eyes on Ari’s lemonade glass. She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “This is so totally evil.”