A Magic Crystal? by Louis Sachar Page A

Casey told him. “He wants to come home with me.”
    “You do?” asked Casey’s father.
    Marvin blushed. “Well, she asked me,” he said.
    Casey got in the back seat and slid over to make room for Marvin. He sat down next to her.
    Casey’s father turned around and looked at Marvin. “So you’re Marvin Redpost,” he said. “Casey has told me a lot about you.”
    “I have not!” Casey insisted.
    “Aren’t you really a prince, who was kidnapped at birth?” asked her father.
    “Yes, I mean no. I’m not really sure.”
    “He really likes cats a lot,” said Casey.
    “That’s good,” said Casey’s father.
    “But you don’t have any cats,” said Marvin, a little unsure.
    “No, I hate the furry little things,” said Casey’s father.
    Casey’s sideways ponytail stuck out toward Marvin. It bounced up and down as the car drove over the speed bumps in the school parking lot.
    “Do you know when the book report is due?” Marvin asked her.
    “Yes,” said Casey. “Mrs. North told us Tuesday.”
    Marvin nodded. He still didn’t know what that meant.
    “I’m going to have to call my mom when we get to your house,” he said. “She thinks I’m at Stuart’s.”
    “Do you know your phone number?” asked Casey.
    “Of course,” said Marvin. “Don’t you?”
    “No,” said Casey.
    That surprised Marvin. He’d known his phone number since kindergarten. “You should,” he said.
    “Why should I?” asked Casey.
    “I don’t know it either,” said Casey’s father from the front seat.
    That
really
surprised Marvin. “Did you just move or something?” he asked.
    “No,” said Mr. Happleton.
    They reached Casey’s house. The house was four stories high. It had a very long driveway and a huge garage.
    “I didn’t know you lived in a mansion,” Marvin said slowly.
    “This house used to be a fire station,”Mr. Happleton told him. “That was before Casey was born. The garage was even bigger than it is now. We remodeled. What’s now the living room used to be part of the garage.”
    “Cool,” said Marvin.
    Mr. Happleton parked the car in the driveway. Marvin climbed out of the car.
    “Don’t forget your book,” Casey reminded him.
    Marvin’s book lay on the back seat. He picked it up, then followed Casey into the house.
    It looked pretty much like a normal house, except there was a pole right in the middle of the living room.
    “That’s the fire pole,” said Casey. “The firemen used to slide down it when there was a fire.”

    “Cool,” Marvin said as he walked over to it.
    Marvin looked up. There was a round hole in the ceiling, and he could see another hole in the ceiling above that, and the one above that, too. The pole went all the way up to the fourth floor.
    “Are you allowed to slide down it?” he asked.
    “Sure,” said Casey. “I do my homework at the very top. It’s the library. Then, when my dad calls me to dinner, I slide down the pole.”
    “That is so cool,” said Marvin.
    “Here’s the phone,” said Casey’s father, handing it to him.
    Marvin set his book down on a table and took the phone. He called home. His mother seemed quite surprised when he told her he was at Casey Happleton’s house.
    “Can you give me their phone number?” she asked.
    “No one knows it,” said Marvin.
    “What do you mean, no one knows it?”
    Marvin put his hand next to his mouth and whispered into the phone. He didn’twant to embarrass Casey and her father. “They don’t know their own phone number.”
    “How could they not know their phone number?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Let me speak to Casey’s mother.”
    “Well, she might know it,” said Marvin. “But she’s not here. You can talk to her dad.”
    He handed the phone to Mr. Happleton. “My mom wants to talk to you.”
    To Marvin’s surprise, he heard Mr. Happleton recite a phone number.
    Marvin turned to Casey. “I thought your dad just said he didn’t know your phone number.”
    “Are you crazy?”