“Why can’t I just go in and see if they have cookies?” she complained.
I shook my head. “They don’t have cookies.”
“But what if Marjorie’s wrong,” she said. “Maybe they normally don’t have cookies, but today as a surprise they have them.”
I ignored her, but she kept talking.
“I wish they had a cat. Why don’t they have a cat? This isn’t as good as the one by my house. They have cookies and a cat.”
I smiled; suddenly I had a feeling we weren’t going to be coming back.
“What are you so happy about?” said a voice.
I froze and spun around. It was Sam. Mr. Fred was with him; he nodded at me and walked over to talk to Claire. Sam stood in front of me, waiting for an answer. He didn’t need to know my private thoughts, so I answered his question with a question.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s kind of a summer job,” said Sam. “I’m helping Miss Sato put some of her slides in the computer, so we can make a slide show for her anniversary party.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. He could tell—I probably had a blank stare on my face. I’d forgotten to fake understanding with a smile or a head nod.
He frowned. “Do you know what a slide is?”
I shook my head.
Suddenly he was animated and excited. “It’s an old-fashioned way of showing a photograph. Instead of the photo being printed on paper, it’s printed on a small piece of plastic that has a cardboard frame around it. And when you want to see the photo, you put the slide into a projector, and that projects the image so you can see it big on a screen.”
This time I nodded, even though I was still completely confused. Sam grinned and continued talking.
“I come here Mondays and Fridays to set up the projector, fill it with slides, and show them to Miss Sato. I’m transferring all the photos she likes onto my computer, so I can make a slide show with titles and captions.”
I probably should have said, Wow! That’s amazing, but enthusiasm is hard to fake when you have no idea what someone is talking about. So instead, I just said, “Oh.” I looked toward the driveway, but it was empty—no Mom. I wanted her to come save me.
Sam held up his hand. “Wait, I can show you.” He took off his backpack and pulled out a long skinny box. He opened it and held up what looked like a two-inch-square piece of cardboard. It was a big white frame with a smaller, dark square in the middle. He took a step forward and held it in front of my face. “Look in the middle, at the dark square. Can you see the picture?”
I didn’t want to step closer to him, so I just strained my eyes. It wasn’t easy to see, but he was right, there was some kind of picture there. Sam handed me the slide so I could take a closer look.
“Hold it up to the sky,” he said. “Just don’t touch the middle part. If it gets scratches on it, it ruins the picture. That’s a picture of Miss Sato’s special bag. It’s from Japan.”
I held the slide up to the light, squinted, and then covered my mouth. I couldn’t believe it. The bag was in the shape of a goldfish. It was a goldfish bag. What was the chance of that? Another goldfish thing.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sam.
I handed back the slide.
“Goldfish.” I shook my head. “Ever since Claire came, it’s been goldfish everywhere. Like it’s a sign or something.”
Sam put the slide away. “Why goldfish?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s her favorite animal.”
Finally Mom pulled into the driveway. Claire ran to the car and opened the door.
She yelled and waved. “BYE, MR. FRED! BYE, SAM!”
I started to get in but stopped and gave Sam a half wave. He was okay, different than I thought he’d be—maybe even kind of nice.
“See you Monday!” shouted Claire.
I snapped on my seat belt, and Mom pulled out into the street.
“It’s Friday,” I said. “The craft thing is just once a week.”
“I know.” Claire bounced up and down. Even a seat belt couldn’t hold her still. “But now we can come on Monday! Mr. Fred invited us to a concert, and it’s on Monday.”
“Wow.” Mom looked back at us and smiled. “That sounds fun. I’m glad you had such a good time.”
“We did.” Claire beamed.
I ignored her and looked out the window.
She didn’t care. She kept talking. “And Mr. Fred taught me a new word. Nifty! It’s old-fashioned. I’m going to use it a lot. Mr. Fred said that’s the best way to remember a new word.”
Monday? Really? We had to come back on Monday! I slumped back against my seat. There was no winning with Claire; just when you got a handle on things—bang! Suddenly there it was, a new surprise staring you in the face.
chapter twenty
Cheat
I usually sleep in on Saturdays, but today I got up extra early. It was the only way I could think of to sneak down to the basement without getting caught. Mom and Claire were still asleep, and if I was lucky, they’d stay that way for at least thirty more minutes. It was a relief to see the wish jar right where I’d left it—nothing had been moved. I twisted the lid back on. What I really wanted to do was sit in the chair and pull out a wish, but I resisted—it wasn’t worth what could happen if Mom caught me.
I grabbed the two wishes I’d already read, shoved them into my pocket, and crept back toward my room with the jar. My heart was racing, and my fingers were crossed the whole time up the stairs. As soon as I got to my room, I closed the door and leaned back against it. I’d made it. I got out the wish map, put it on my desk, and threw the two used wishes on top. I’d stick them on the map later, but first I had something important to do: try a new wish.
I sat on the side of the bed and studied the jar. It was the first time I had seen it in real light, outside the basement. Now it seemed less mysterious, just like an ordinary jar with a pretty label. Maybe the light in my room was wrong—too bright. The basement was probably better for magic—dark and gloomy. I stuck my hand in the jar and spun the balls around. Please find a happy one. I was getting tired of the sad wishes. I picked one out and rolled it between my finger and thumb. Was it a good one? There was no way to tell. I closed my eyes, smoothed out the paper, took a deep breath, and looked down and read it.
I Hope Spencer Doesn’t Tell on Us
I should have been on my way to a new adventure, but I wasn’t. Instead, I was still sitting on my bed. I wrapped up the ball, put it in the jar, and pulled it out again and unwrapped it. Maybe I’d done something wrong. I read it again.
I Hope Spencer Doesn’t Tell on Us
Still nothing. There wasn’t any magic. Now I was nervous. My hands were sweaty and shaky. I picked out a new ball; maybe that last wish was broken. Could that even happen? I didn’t waste time thinking. I opened the new wish and read it.
I Wish Ashley Wouldn’t Ignore Me
But it was the same—nothing happened. But wait—I’d already seen this wish. I jumped up and pulled out the map. Yes, there it was at the top of the board, the exact same wish. What was going on? Why were there two wishes exactly the same? And why weren’t they working? I had an answer, but I ignored it—instead I tried everything I could think of to make them work. I put them in the jar, took them out, wrapped them up, unwrapped them, sat on the floor, sat in the chair, stood up, and even twirled around, but nothing made them work. The magic was gone. I didn’t want to believe it. I wouldn’t believe it. And suddenly I knew why there were two wishes for the same thing—if you really wanted something to come true, it was impossible to stop wishing.
It was still early. Mom and Claire weren’t up yet, so I grabbed everything and snuck down to the basement. I was desperate. It was the only thing I could think of. Maybe I had to be in the basement. Maybe I had to sit in the chair. Maybe it wasn’t broken.
On the way down the stairs I rolled the Spencer wish into a ball. I dropped it into the jar, sat down in
the chair, and then pulled it out again. I had my own wish too; it wasn’t on paper, but it filled my head. Please work. Please work. I opened the wish and looked down. I knew it by heart, but I made myself slowly and carefully read each word on the paper.
I Hope Spencer Doesn’t Tell on Us
Ashley and Shue were at the Dumpster again, and as soon as I saw them, I screamed—it was a scream of joy. I felt like I could run up and hug them, but of course I couldn’t. I stayed back.
Ashley was looking into the Dumpster. “There’s usually good stuff inside.”
I walked over and looked inside—it was empty.
Shue took a step back and shrugged. “That’s okay.” She didn’t seem disappointed. She looked around for a second and climbed up onto the edge of the Dumpster.
Ashley looked surprised. “What are you doing?”
Suddenly I remembered the test words; I hadn’t said them yet. It took me a minute to think of something, but it was worth the effort.
“Brown owl.” It was a dedication to Lucy.
Shue was now standing on the edge of the Dumpster, her arms reaching out on either side for balance. It wasn’t like the adventure park; she didn’t have a harness to keep her safe.
“Maybe you should come down,” said Ashley. She seemed nervous.
Shue smiled. “I’m okay—I’m good at balancing. What do you think? I bet I can make it all the way around in less than two minutes. Time me.”
Ashley shook her head, but that didn’t change Shue’s mind. Finally Ashley gave in; she looked at her watch and said, “Go.”
Shue started. She was good at balancing. We watched her make her way around the lip of the Dumpster. There wasn’t much room to walk—it was only five inches wide—but she didn’t have any trouble.
“Five more seconds,” shouted Ashley.
Shue was about ten steps from the end; she wasn’t going to make it. She tried to run, but that was a mistake—I saw her wobble.
“STOP!” Ashley screamed, but it was too late. Shue was going to fall. Suddenly Ashley was there, next to the Dumpster. A second later they were both on the ground. They cried out, moaned, and slowly rolled apart.
“Should I get Mom?” said a voice. I recognized it; it was Spencer. Where had he come from?
“I’m okay,” whimpered Ashley.
Shue was quiet, but a few seconds later she mumbled a weak “Me too.”
Both girls groaned and slowly forced their bodies to sit up. There was a check of arms and legs—luckily nothing was broken.
Shue looked at Ashley. “You saved my life. Why?”
Ashley shrugged. “I’m a good pillow.” She rubbed her arm; a bruise was starting to show. “You almost made it.”
Shue nodded. “I’ll pay you back one day, I promise.”
“Okay.” Ashley groaned and tried to smile, but her smile turned into a creepy grin—probably because of the pain. She stood up but then immediately leaned over again, bracing herself against her legs. “But it has to be something big, because I’m probably going to be sore for a week.”
Shue rubbed her shoulder. “It’ll be huge—you’ll see.” She struggled to her feet.
Suddenly Ashley straightened up and turned her attention to Spencer. “You won’t tell on us, right?”
Spencer took a few steps forward. “You know that Mom said no Dumpster diving.” He looked over at Shue, waited an extra second for effect, and nodded his head. “Okay, I won’t tell.”
I wanted to know what would happen next, but for me it was over. I was back in the basement. My head was spinning. There were too many feelings all at once. I was relieved that the wish had worked, happy that it was a good one, but filled with dread when I heard footsteps upstairs. I grabbed the jar and the wishes and sprinted to the top of the stairs. I carefully turned the knob and slowly opened the door, but it didn’t matter. Claire was standing right in front of me. We stared at each other, me not knowing what to say, and her knowing that I was cheating.
“You aren’t supposed to go down there,” she whispered.
I nodded. She was looking at the wish jar.
I hugged it close to my body and tried to cover it up. “I had to get this. It’s for a project. It’s special and private.” This wasn’t going to work. There was no way Claire wasn’t going to ask me a million questions. I felt sick.
Claire was quiet for what seemed like forever. She looked down the hall left and right and then nodded her head. “Okay, I won’t tell.”
It was a miracle, and exactly what I needed to hear. I whispered, “Thank you,” and sprinted up to my room. I closed my door, leaned against it, and slowly dropped to the floor. I let myself stay there for a minute or two, but I couldn’t rest for long. I hid the jar and the map and ran back downstairs. I had to make sure Claire didn’t say anything to Mom.
After breakfast—pancakes for Claire—she surprised us by finally letting us see her whole list. It was impressive and way too long. It took a while, but Mom finally convinced her that it would be better to make her list shorter. Some of the stuff on there was impossible, like drive a tractor, ride on an elephant, and see the end of a rainbow—she obviously had some real big expectations for this summer. Mom worked with her, and together they got the list down to ten things. I was a little disappointed that the elephant was gone. I was curious to see how Mom was going to make that happen—plus secretly I’d have liked to ride on an elephant too.
CLAIRE’S NEW LIST
1. Do crafts with old people.
2. Buy new outfits at the thrift store.
3. Have a yard sale.
4. Go to Hawaii.
5. Have a birthday party for Steve.
6. Make cookies.
7. Carve a pumpkin.
8. Bounce on a trampoline.
9. Go on a treasure hunt.
10. Make a fort.
When the list was done, the first thing Mom said was “I’m sorry we can’t really go to Hawaii. But we can try and make a pretend Hawaii; would that be okay?”
I was still hoping for the elephant, but Claire didn’t want to make any more changes to her list.
She smiled at Mom and said, “Pretend Hawaii is okay with me. It’s nifty.” I had a feeling that we were going to be hearing a lot more of that new word. Thank you, Mr. Fred.
We spent the rest of the morning talking about the list. Claire did a lot of looking at me and smiling, but she was good; not once did she say anything about the basement. It was a huge relief. It made me want to pay her back. I had two ideas. When Claire went to the bathroom, I asked Mom about them.
“Do you think I could make a fort for Claire today, and then tomorrow maybe we could do the Hawaii thing?”
Mom loved the fort idea but was pretty skeptical about Hawaii. Pulling off a tropical island paradise in one day seemed kind of impossible to her, but I said I could do it. I just needed some special supplies from the store. I didn’t say, Plus I really want a coconut so I can send it to Lucy in the mail. That thought was up there, but she didn’t need to know about it. Finally Mom agreed, and I put a list together of stuff she should buy. I was excited; pretend Hawaii was going to be fun.
It took all afternoon to make the fort, and when we were done, most of the backyard was covered. We pretty much used every single blanket in the whole entire house, except for the ones on our beds—we weren’t allowed to use those. I attached a rope that went from the house to the garage and over to the big tree in our side yard. These were the main supports for the blankets, but we used other stuff too—boxes, big buckets, and even a shelf that we emptied and dragged out from the garage. When it was done, it looked more like a hobo village than a fort, but Claire liked it. Her favorite thing to do was to go in and out of it and scramble through the passageways. She must have done it a hundred times. It was a testament to my building skill that the whole thing held together and didn’t just collapse right on top of her. I was proud of that.
Claire, Mom, and I were all supposed to have dinn
er in the fort, but at dinnertime Claire announced, “It’s a kids-only fort!”
Mom said that was okay, and she could eat in the house, but I didn’t want that. I wanted her in there, in the tent, helping with Claire. We’d already spent all afternoon together, and I needed a break. At first Claire complained, but finally she agreed that Mom could come in for dinner if she left right after eating. That wasn’t really good enough for me, but Mom said not to worry, that things would work out. I wasn’t convinced, but dinner went well, and Mom ended up being right. For dessert she brought out banana bread, strawberries and ice cream, a book, and a postcard for me from Lucy. I was surprised about the postcard.
While we ate dessert, Mom read Claire a story, and I read my postcard. Lucy had gotten the name sign, and she loved it—and she especially loved how it hadn’t come in a box. Mom’s idea had been great. I looked over at her; she was reading to Claire. If she had looked up, I would have given her a smile, but she didn’t. She was too busy reading. I went back to the postcard. It was mostly a giant thank-you. I think Lucy felt bad that she couldn’t send me cool things too. She tried to make her postcard look fun by drawing little pictures on it, but there is only so much you can do with a piece of paper. I smiled. She was going to flip out when she got the coconut. After the story, Claire didn’t want Mom to leave, and I could tell that Mom was happy to stay.
When the food was cleaned up, I got out some flashlights and made spooky shadows on the outside of the tent. Claire loved that, and Mom being in there with her made it not scary. I felt a little sad that Lucy wasn’t here; she would have liked making shadows. The only bad part of the night was that we had to take the fort down superfast, and it was right when I had almost figured out my most impressive shadow yet, the giant squid. Raindrops can really ruin your fun.
Before I went to bed, I pulled out the wish map and added the new wishes. Now I had nine wishes, all in order, but they were only pieces, just snippets of the story. It was going to be hard to wait for more, but I’d have to. Mom was not going to let up on the basement ban. I was pretty sure about that.
Dreamer, Wisher, Liar Page 9