The Invisible Enemy by Marthe Jocelyn Page A

you disappeared that the hidden parts of you started to show. Isn’t that weird?”
    Her mouth slipped into a smile without her noticing.
    “I was thinking the same thing about you,” she said. “Not that we’re ever going to be friends or anything. But you’re not as creepy as I thought. You covered up for me, and you were pretty resourceful. Like with Mr. Donaldson. And J. P.’s pj’s!” She laughed. “You’re funnyand sort of clever. You even, you know, sort of handed over J. P.”
    “He does seem to find your knobby knees pretty appealing, don’t you think?”
    “Very funny,” said Alyssa, pushing past me on her way to the living room. But I could tell she thought so, too.
    “Don’t say thanks or anything,” I called after her, sort of kidding.
    “Don’t worry, I won’t.” She was sort of kidding, too.
    “Oh, hello, Alyssa,” said my father, passing around a tray of ginger ales. “That’s right, isn’t it? Alyssa? I wasn’t sure who that was, lurking in the hall.”
    “She’s our surprise guest,” I said. “She just showed up out of nowhere.”
    “Can you join us for lunch?” asked Dad.
    Alyssa actually grinned at me. “Oh sure,” she said. “I’m here to stay, whether you like it or not.”

Epilogue
    W e had so much fun during lunch, eating crepes and imitating my father’s terrible French, that I almost forgot about the bathtub situation. Until the smell seeped into the living room.
    “What
is
that?” asked my dad, starting to his feet. “What were you doing in there, Billie?”
    “I’ll deal with it,” I said, scurrying to the bathroom.
    “I’ll help,” said Alyssa, right behind me. “But we’re using these.” She giggled and handed over the latex gloves. “They were in your coat pocket.”
    On the ride home, when I described the mess to Hubert, he plugged his ears and hummed like a dial tone. Amazingly, Alyssa had stayed and helped me till the tub was gleaming. That was truly the most surprising thing that happened all day.
    Ever since Alyssa’s adventure, Jane has been begging me to “get gone.” Though it is often tempting, I have so far managed to resist. But I did give her a big reward for keeping our secret. I made her a pair of fairy wings, using wire hangers and tutu material and a whole tube of silver glitter. She couldn’t believe her luck, but I couldn’t believe mine either—that she didn’t blab the whole story to Mom.
    Jody is writing a book, keeping track of all her inventions and their possible benefits to humankind. One of these days she’ll be famous, I bet, but first she has to figure out how to keep her ideas from being used by bad guys—and also how to blend the antidotes more aromatically!
    Jean-Pierre came with me as Official Tester when I bought Hubert the coolest yo-yo we could find, to replace the one sitting in my mother’s office drawer. The yo-yo craze has subsided at school, but Hubert is still determined to conquer a Skin the Gat, and the Glow-Mobilo will definitely help him achieve that goal.
    It wouldn’t be quite true to say that Alyssa and I are living happily ever after. We certainlyaren’t friends the way I am with Hubert. But when Mr. Donaldson made us partners for the “Life in a Castle” project, we built a pretty good model of a cloister without pouring glue in each other’s hair.
    And, once in a while, in the middle of math, maybe, or on line in the cafeteria, she’ll look over at me and say, “Remember when Michele was bald?” or “So, what color
are
J. R’s pj’s?” and we’ll laugh till it hurts. We share a secret, after all: a memory that’s only ours.

Marthe Jocelyn
    is the author of
The Invisible Day, The Invisible Harry, and Earthly Astonishments.
She has also written and illustrated two picture books,
Hannah and the Seven Dresses and Hannah’s Collections.
Before becoming a full-time author and illustrator, Ms. Jocelyn was a children’s clothing and toy designer.
    Ms. Jocelyn lives with her