1
“Pick a card. Any card.”
I held the deck up to Ava and Courtney. They’re in my class. Ava Munroe and Courtney Jackson.
They both laughed. “Steven, we know this trick,” Ava said.
Ava is the tallest girl in the sixth grade at Everest Middle School. She’s very pretty, with wavy blond hair and blue eyes. But I think being so tall gives her an attitude.
She likes to look down on me. And I’m only two or three inches shorter than she is.
I waved the deck of cards in their faces. “Maybe this trick is different. Go ahead. Pick one and don’t tell me what it is.”
Courtney crossed her arms in front of her blue hoodie. “It’s the ace of hearts,” she said without picking a card.
Courtney is African American, with short hair and big dark brown eyes. She wears long,dangling earrings and lots of beads. She has a great laugh.
I hear her laugh a lot. Because she likes to laugh at me and my magic tricks.
“How do you know your card will be the ace of hearts?” I asked.
“Because every card in the deck is the ace of hearts,” Courtney replied.
She and Ava bumped knuckles and laughed again.
“Okay, okay,” I said. “You guessed that one.” I tucked the trick deck of cards into my jacket pocket. “But here’s a trick you don’t know. Can you spare any change?”
I reached up and pulled a quarter from Ava’s nose.
Ava groaned. “Steven, that’s totally obnoxious. Why are you always doing that?”
Obnoxious
is one of her favorite words. Her brother is obnoxious. Her dog is obnoxious. Today she said her
lunch
was obnoxious. I’m not kidding.
“I just feel a change in the air,” I said. I pulled a quarter from Courtney’s ear. I spun it in my fingers and made it disappear.
“Know where the quarter went?” I asked. “Ava, open your mouth.”
“No way,” she said, spinning away from me.
“Steven, give us a break,” Courtney said. “We’ve seen all your tricks—remember?”
It was a cool fall day. A gust of wind blew my hair over my eyes. I have long, straight black hair. My mom calls it a
mop
of hair. She likes to wait till I brush it just right and then mess it up with both hands.
Everyone in my family is funny.
Most of the guys in my class have very short hair. But I like it long. It’s more dramatic when I’m doing my comedy magic act onstage.
Ava, Courtney, and I were standing at the curb on Everest Street. School had just let out. Kids were still hurrying out of the building. The wind swirled, sending brown leaves dancing down the street.
Courtney tucked her hands into her hoodie. “So tomorrow is the talent assembly?”
I nodded. “Yeah. My act is going to
kill.”
“Not if Courtney and I kill you first!” Ava said.
Ha-ha. LOL. They’re both crazy about me. Otherwise, they wouldn’t say things like that—right?
“You’re my assistants tomorrow. Remember?” I said. “We have to rehearse the act. Practice your moves.”
Courtney squinted at me. “You’re not going to pull quarters out of our noses in front of the whole school, are you?”
“Do you have any tricks that aren’t obnoxious?” Ava asked.
“For sure,” I said. “Here. Check out this new trick.”
They didn’t see the spray can of Silly String hidden at my side.
I leaned forward. Then I pretended to sneeze on Ava. A biiig sneeze.
And as I sneezed, I squirted a stream of white Silly String all over the front of her sweater.
She gasped and staggered back in surprise.
It was a riot.
But then Courtney tried to grab the Silly String can from my hand.
And that’s when things went out of control.
2
Courtney swiped at the can. My finger pushed down on the button. And squirted the stuff all over her face and in her hair.
“Yuck!” She let out a cry and tried to wipe the Silly String gunk from her eyes.
Then Ava grabbed the can and sprayed it on me. I couldn’t squirm away. She kept her finger down on the top and covered me in a ton of the sticky stuff. Then she tossed the can to
“Pick a card. Any card.”
I held the deck up to Ava and Courtney. They’re in my class. Ava Munroe and Courtney Jackson.
They both laughed. “Steven, we know this trick,” Ava said.
Ava is the tallest girl in the sixth grade at Everest Middle School. She’s very pretty, with wavy blond hair and blue eyes. But I think being so tall gives her an attitude.
She likes to look down on me. And I’m only two or three inches shorter than she is.
I waved the deck of cards in their faces. “Maybe this trick is different. Go ahead. Pick one and don’t tell me what it is.”
Courtney crossed her arms in front of her blue hoodie. “It’s the ace of hearts,” she said without picking a card.
Courtney is African American, with short hair and big dark brown eyes. She wears long,dangling earrings and lots of beads. She has a great laugh.
I hear her laugh a lot. Because she likes to laugh at me and my magic tricks.
“How do you know your card will be the ace of hearts?” I asked.
“Because every card in the deck is the ace of hearts,” Courtney replied.
She and Ava bumped knuckles and laughed again.
“Okay, okay,” I said. “You guessed that one.” I tucked the trick deck of cards into my jacket pocket. “But here’s a trick you don’t know. Can you spare any change?”
I reached up and pulled a quarter from Ava’s nose.
Ava groaned. “Steven, that’s totally obnoxious. Why are you always doing that?”
Obnoxious
is one of her favorite words. Her brother is obnoxious. Her dog is obnoxious. Today she said her
lunch
was obnoxious. I’m not kidding.
“I just feel a change in the air,” I said. I pulled a quarter from Courtney’s ear. I spun it in my fingers and made it disappear.
“Know where the quarter went?” I asked. “Ava, open your mouth.”
“No way,” she said, spinning away from me.
“Steven, give us a break,” Courtney said. “We’ve seen all your tricks—remember?”
It was a cool fall day. A gust of wind blew my hair over my eyes. I have long, straight black hair. My mom calls it a
mop
of hair. She likes to wait till I brush it just right and then mess it up with both hands.
Everyone in my family is funny.
Most of the guys in my class have very short hair. But I like it long. It’s more dramatic when I’m doing my comedy magic act onstage.
Ava, Courtney, and I were standing at the curb on Everest Street. School had just let out. Kids were still hurrying out of the building. The wind swirled, sending brown leaves dancing down the street.
Courtney tucked her hands into her hoodie. “So tomorrow is the talent assembly?”
I nodded. “Yeah. My act is going to
kill.”
“Not if Courtney and I kill you first!” Ava said.
Ha-ha. LOL. They’re both crazy about me. Otherwise, they wouldn’t say things like that—right?
“You’re my assistants tomorrow. Remember?” I said. “We have to rehearse the act. Practice your moves.”
Courtney squinted at me. “You’re not going to pull quarters out of our noses in front of the whole school, are you?”
“Do you have any tricks that aren’t obnoxious?” Ava asked.
“For sure,” I said. “Here. Check out this new trick.”
They didn’t see the spray can of Silly String hidden at my side.
I leaned forward. Then I pretended to sneeze on Ava. A biiig sneeze.
And as I sneezed, I squirted a stream of white Silly String all over the front of her sweater.
She gasped and staggered back in surprise.
It was a riot.
But then Courtney tried to grab the Silly String can from my hand.
And that’s when things went out of control.
2
Courtney swiped at the can. My finger pushed down on the button. And squirted the stuff all over her face and in her hair.
“Yuck!” She let out a cry and tried to wipe the Silly String gunk from her eyes.
Then Ava grabbed the can and sprayed it on me. I couldn’t squirm away. She kept her finger down on the top and covered me in a ton of the sticky stuff. Then she tossed the can to
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