The Superstar Sister by Lexi Connor Page B

get to perform on TV. It wouldn’t be fair for me to take someone else’s chance away.”
    “Yeah.” B grinned. “And I wouldn’t do it because I’m a chicken.”
    “You are not!”
    B just shook her head and finished putting her things away in her locker.
    “Anyway,” Trina said, “I just saw Mr. Bishop. He said he’s looking forward to us showing him what we’ve prepared for Friday night.”
    “Ugh,” B groaned. “None of my ideas are any good. I’m so not ready.”
    “Well, don’t worry,” Trina said. “Mr. Bishop can help. You’ll see.”
    The bell rang, and B and Trina headed toward their homerooms. A freshman ambled past them, letting out an earsplitting caterwaul.
    “What was
that
?” B said.
    Trina grinned. “Yodeling, I think.”
    All through art, history, and English classes, B’s teachers battled bravely to keep everyone’s attention, but B’s classmates were far too interested in tomorrow’s talent show auditions. Even Mr. Bishop, who usually kept his classes spellbound with his comical teaching and his rabbit-in-the-hat-style “magic” tricks, gave up trying to discuss vocabulary words from
Harriet the Spy.
He threw up his hands in despair, and assigned his students an extra essayon what they would do with the prize money if they won the national
You’ve Got It!
talent competition.
    Lunch was in an uproar with everyone using every spare minute to practice their talents. After B, Trina, and George had eaten their food, they left the cafeteria early and headed down to the gym. George said he had something he wanted to show them.
    The gym was empty when they arrived. George steered Trina and B toward a far corner, half-obscured by the collapsed bleachers. The overhead lights were off, so the room was only dimly lit by the overcast sky peeping through the skylights.
    “Perfect,” George said. “No one should see us here. I want you guys to tell me what you think of my act. I practiced for hours last night.”
    “Cool,” Trina said. “What are you doing?”
    George pulled a loop of climbing rope from his backpack. “First wrap me around and around with this, will you, B?”
    B started tying George up.
    “Careful! Don’t cut off my circulation,” George yelped. “Okay, Trina, would you take this padlockand fasten the clips of the rope together? Make sure the lock’s behind my back.”
    B and Trina fussed with the rope and the lock until George was all trussed up.
    “All right, ready? Here I go!” George began bouncing up and down, leaping high in the air and twisting. “I decided …”
jump
… “to be the bouncing …”
jump
… “joking …”
jump
… “escape artist.”
Jump.
    “Oh, my goodness,” Trina said. “That’s quite a combination.”
    “I call myself …”
jump
… “Jumping …”
jump
… “Joking …”
jump
… “George.”
    “Let’s hear some jokes, then,” B said.
    George kept on bouncing. “Well, I tried to think of some good ones,” he said, “but I’ve been pretty
tied up
lately. Get it?
Tied up?
”
    B and Trina groaned.
    “I’m not the only jumper in my family, you know,” George went on. “I’ve got a pair of twin brothers. The neighbors couldn’t believe it when my parents named them both Jack. But how else could we call them
Jumping Jacks
?”
    Trina and B exchanged a look. In spite of herself, B started to giggle.
    “See? See? I’m making you laugh!” George said. “But these ropes aren’t getting loose.”
    “Maybe that’ll be enough for the judges,” Trina said. “You look pretty funny, anyway.”
    “Help me get out of this, will you?” George said. “I guess I need to work more on the escape part of the act. Either that, or I need someone to tie me up more loosely.”
    B and Trina started tugging at George’s rope.
    “We’d better hurry,” Trina said. “The bell’s about to ring.”
    Just then, a movement from the opposite side of the gym caught B’s eye. She turned just in time to see somebody