Chase Tinker & The House of Magic by Malia Ann Haberman Page A

of
felt normal again.
    The four of them were snickering and giggling
when they rounded the next corner. "Hey! Look at Chase!" exclaimed
Andy, pointing at his brother.
    "Look at you! " said Chase. "And Janie.
And Persephone!"
    Andy's shorts and t-shirt were gone. He was
now dressed in a dashing, black and white tuxedo. Janie had on a
purple genie's outfit and shoes that curled up at the toes, while
Persephone was clad in a swashbuckling, red and black pirate's
costume, complete with sword and eye-patch.
    "I'm James Bond! Cool!" said Andy. "But,
Chase, what are you?"
    Chase glanced down at the long, pink granny
dress he now wore. "What the heck?"
    "Nice bonnet," said Andy, grinning
mischievously. "Much better than a lampshade."
    "Look, I'm a blood-thirsty pirate," said
Persephone. She swished her sword around. "Ahoy, maties! Shiver me
timbers and all that rot!"
    "This sucks!" cried Chase as he yanked the
pink, flowery bonnet off his head. "Why wasn't I switched
into something good? Like an astronaut…or a cowboy?" A second
later, the frumpy dress magicked into blue-jeans, boots, a cowboy
hat and a red flannel shirt. "This is more like it," he said,
yanking the hat lower over his eyes. "Much cooler."
    "At least you're not wearing dorky shoes,"
said Janie as she waved her foot in the air. She skipped over to
him and caught his arm. "Now come on, Wild Bill, let's head
out."
    Their clothes returned to normal as soon as
they left the hallway. Chase frowned at his smirking brother. "I
should've been James Bond."
    Reaching the next room, they crowded around
the doorway and peered into the shadowy space. At least twenty
tall, shiny cabinets were crammed against the walls, and they were
filled with dishes and glassware.
    "Wow! It's like a china and crystal store in
here," said Janie. "This must be worth a fortune!"
    "Let's see what's on the wallpaper," said
Chase, running to an empty spot between the cases. "Pictures of
people...shooting stuff out of their noses? This guy has…bananas.
And this other guy has worms. How weird is that?"
    Across the room, Andy was studying another
picture. "Hmm...this person looks like he's blasting out some kind
of liquid." He opened a cabinet door, took out a tall glass and
held it under his nose. Squinting with concentration, he said, "I
want some… root beer! " A brown stream shot from his nose and
into the glass. Andy eyed the foamy contents then lifted it to his
mouth and drank every drop. He smacked his lips. "Yum. Tastes like
root beer."
    "Sick!" cried Janie. "That came out of your
nose!"
    Laughing, Chase got a glass of his own.
" Butterscotch pudding! " Orange goo flowed from his nose. He
grabbed a spoon and took several huge bites. "Delicious!"
    The girls grabbed their throats as they
gagged and choked.
    "Oh, yuck! That is way too gross!"
said Persephone. "How about something less revolting? Bubbles. " Dozens of colorful bubbles popped from her
nostrils and floated around the room. "See? Much better."
    "Cool," said Andy, holding a bowl underneath
his nose. "But I'd rather have a bunch of chocolate-covered
peanuts! And some gummy bears! You should try this,
Janie. It's awesome!"
    "Oh, all right," she said. "I guess I can
give it one little try." She pulled a bowl from the cabinet next to
her. "I would like… onion soup. " Steaming soup gushed from
her nose. Scrunching her face, she gingerly took a sip. "Hey,
you're right, Andy, this is good."
    "Onions! Now that's what I call
gross," said Chase.
    After a few more experiments, including
baseball cards, plastic bugs, hot-dogs and fries, the kids were
back in the hallway and on their way to another room.
    "I like that room!" said Andy as he munched
on his candy. "I hope I remember where it is."
    "Isn't it a weird power, though?" asked
Janie. She touched her nose as if to make sure it hadn't lost its
adorableness.
    "Depends on how you look at it," said Chase.
"You'd never go hungry because you could always turn your boogers
into food."
    Persephone