41 - Bad Hare Day (6 page)

I shut the attic door and switched on the light. Where can I hide this? I
wondered, gazing around at all the junk. I stepped over piles of old magazines.
In one corner sat my old toy chest.

Perfect, I thought, opening the chest. I pulled out a toy school bus and a
couple of trucks to make room for the case.

What’s in here, anyway? I wondered as I hefted Amaz-O’s case. I held Amaz-O’s
magic kit in my hands. How could I go to sleep without seeing what’s in it? How
could I wait two whole days until Saturday?

Maybe I’ll take a little peek inside, I thought. Just a quick one. Then I’ll
go to bed.

I set the case on the floor. My hands trembled as I fumbled with the clasp.

Here goes, I thought, tugging open the clasp. I pulled the case open—

And it blew up in my face!

I fell over backwards. I lay sprawled on the floor, covering my eyes.

What happened?

Am I dead?

I opened my eyes. I squeezed my arms. I grabbed my chest.

I’m okay, I realized.

I sat up. The case sat on the floor. No signs of an explosion.

Carefully I crawled over to the case. I could have sworn it had blown up. But
I didn’t see anything that would blow up.

Then, taped to the inside of the top flap, I saw a little metal disk. I
tapped it. It made a muffled roar.

I examined the metal disk. It was an electronic chip. It made an explosion
sound effect when I shook it or tapped it.

Just one of Amaz-O’s tricks.

What else is in here? I wondered.

I pulled out all kinds of cool stuff. A pair of trick handcuffs. A pocket
watch for hypnotizing people. Three different decks of trick cards. A rope. And
a long chain of silk scarves tied together.

I wonder how all this stuff works, I thought. I’ll have to fool around with
it on Saturday and figure it out.

I found a small black sack that held three oval shells and a little red ball.
The shell game, I realized. One of my favorite tricks. You hide the ball under
one of the shells and shift them around. The audience has to guess which shell
the ball is under.

They always guess wrong, because the ball isn’t under
any
of the
shells. The magician secretly palms the ball while he’s shifting the shells
around.

Gets ’em every time.

I reached into the case again. My hand brushed against something silky. I
pulled it out. It was a black tuxedo jacket.

“Wow!” I gasped. “Amaz-O’s own jacket!”

I had to try it on. I pulled it over my shoulders. It was too big. The
shoulders drooped halfway down my arms, and the sleeves covered my hands.

But it felt great. I ran my hands over the satin lapels.

I stood up and walked around in it. A real magician’s jacket. I wonder what
he’s got in the pockets?

I stuck my hands in the pockets. But suddenly I felt something wiggle. Along
the back of the jacket, near my neck.

I shook my shoulders. The wiggling stopped.

But then I felt it again. Something came sliding down the sleeve!

I shook my arm. What is it? I thought. Is it alive?

The thing crawled along my arm. “Yuck!” I sputtered. “Get off me!” I squirmed
inside the coat, trying to shake the thing off.

I had to get the jacket off—right away! I struggled to get my arms out of the
sleeves.

Then something poked its head out. Out of the sleeve, near my hand.

A snake.

A live snake.

I clamped my mouth shut to keep from screaming. The snake felt warm and
creepy against my arm. I shook my arm hard. The snake clung to me!

I gritted my teeth and shook my arm again. And again. I brushed at my sleeve
with my free hand.

It wasn’t working!

I shook my arm once more, as hard as I could. The snake uncoiled and
slithered out of the sleeve. It dropped to the floor.

It hissed and curved around the toy chest. I watched it with a shiver.

Then I felt it again—that slippery, wriggling feeling. Something hissed
near my ear and squirmed across my shoulder.

“Ohhh!” I moaned. Another snake! I slapped at it. “Get off me!”

As I tried to brush the snake away, another one slithered down my sleeve.
Something slimy wriggled across my stomach and down my back. A snake popped out of an inner pocket and plopped to the floor. It started to
coil around my leg.

The jacket is crammed with snakes! I realized with horror.

I thrashed my arms, frantically trying to tear off the jacket. A snake slid
down the front of my shirt.

I thrashed harder, shaking my arms and legs. Now I was covered with snakes!
My whole body!

I wanted to scream—but I couldn’t wake Mom and Dad. A snake curled up my
neck and around my head. I squirmed, desperately trying to get out of the
jacket.

“Help!” I moaned. “Ohhhh—help!”

Snakes everywhere!

One slithered over my head. With a trembling hand, I grabbed at it and heaved
it away.

Gasping in terror, I struggled out of the jacket. I tossed it on the floor.
Snakes wriggled over it. Snakes wriggled over my feet. I hopped up and down.
Then I hopped onto a chair. A snake coiled up the leg of the chair. It crept
closer. “Go away!” I whispered. “Leave me alone!”

The snake hissed. I jumped off the chair.

Squish!
My stomach turned. Did I step on a snake? I was afraid to look.

I lifted my foot and glanced down. I hadn’t stepped on a snake. It was one of
Ginny’s old dolls.

A snake slid over the doll’s face and around its neck. Another snake
slithered over my shoe.

There’s no escape! I realized. I’ve got no choice—I have to wake up Mom and
Dad. What else can I do?

I hopped around the squirming, hissing snakes.

I’ll get into trouble, I thought. But at least I’ll be out of this snake pit!

A snake darted toward me—then suddenly froze. The room fell silent. No more
hissing.

All around me the snakes stopped moving. They lay stiff on the floor. Their
cold eyes stared.

What happened? Were they dead?

I glanced around, afraid to move. The floor was littered with dead snakes.

How could they all die at once? I wondered. It’s so weird!

I stood there, not moving a muscle. My eyes darted around the room.

I slowly reached out my leg and tapped one of the snakes with my foot. It
jiggled a little.

I took a deep breath. Should I touch it?

I got up the courage to bend close to the snake. I stuck out a finger and
poked at it. Nothing happened. My heart pounded. I picked up the snake.

It lay limp in my hand. It didn’t seem real.

I twisted the body. It was rubber! I examined the eyes. They were made of
glass.

They’re mechanical snakes, I realized.

I turned the snake over. I found a tiny wind-up key hidden under a rubber
flap.

Amaz-O’s jacket was rigged with wind-up snakes.

I began to breathe again. Everything is okay, I told myself. I don’t have to
wake up Mom and Dad. I’m not going to get into trouble. I’m not going to be eaten alive by
snakes.

When will I learn? I scolded myself.
All
of these things are just
tricks. None of them is real. Amaz-O is a magician.

I gathered up the snakes and stuffed them back inside the jacket. Then I
jammed the jacket into Amaz-O’s magic kit. I took one last look inside the bag.

This is amazing, I thought. I’ve got some of Amaz-O’s best tricks—right
here in my own house!

I forced myself to close the kit. I’d better stop fooling around with this
stuff, I thought—before anything else happens!

I’ll check it all out on Saturday. In daylight, when I have plenty of time to
see how it all works.

Then I’ll give the kit back to Amaz-O. On Monday.

I knew I had to return the kit. It had been wrong to take it. And crazy.

If only Amaz-O hadn’t been so mean to me! He used me in his act—and then he
locked me in the basement! He told me to get lost. He called me a punk!

I started to get angry all over again. Amaz-O doesn’t deserve to get his
magic kit back, I thought.

But deep down I knew I had to return it. I wanted to do the right thing. I’d check out the tricks, then give them back.

Of course, I didn’t know then how dangerous the kit was. I didn’t know the
trouble it would cause.

If I had known, I would have returned the case
that night!

“Another day of work,” Mom sighed at the breakfast table the next morning.
“I’m absolutely dreading it. Those students just drive me crazy.”

Dad grabbed a doughnut and gazed out the window. “It’s raining,” he said
unhappily. “I probably won’t sell a single car today.”

Ginny and I exchanged glances. Mom and Dad had no idea we had sneaked out the
night before.

I slumped into a chair and ate my cereal. I was sleepy. I’m not used to
staying up so late.

“You look tired, Tim,” Mom said, sitting across from me. She glanced at
Ginny. “So do you, honey.”

“Didn’t you two get any sleep?” Dad asked.

“Sure we did,” I replied.

Ginny grinned. “Not that much sleep. Tim and I have a secret!”

The little brat! I kicked her under the table.

“Ow!” she cried. “Tim kicked me!”

“Don’t kick your sister,” Dad scolded. “I have to leave.” He picked up his
briefcase and kissed Mom good-bye. “Off to another day of torture. See you
tonight, kids.”

Dad left. Mom started clearing away the breakfast dishes. “Did you say
something about a secret?” she asked.

“No!” I insisted. “Ginny didn’t say anything about a secret. She said, ‘Tim
and I want a wee pet.’”

Mom shot me a weird look. “A what? A wee pet?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You know, a little pet. A nice little kitten or something.
Ginny’s learning about Scotland in school now. She’s picked up some Scottish
words, right, Ginny? She’s been running around calling everything ‘wee’.”

“I have not,” Ginny protested. “I’ve never called anything ‘wee’ in my life!
And I’m not learning about Scotland in school!”

“Yes, you
are,”
I insisted.

“What in the world are you two talking about?” Mom carried the pile of cereal
bowls to the sink.

“We did a bad thing, Mom,” Ginny blurted out. “Ow!” I kicked her again, but
that didn’t stop her.

“We sneaked out last night, Mom. We rode our bikes to Midnight Mansion to see
the magic show. We didn’t get back until after midnight. I’m sorry, Mom. Please don’t get
angry. Tim made me do it. I didn’t want to.”

I covered my face with my hands. Why does Ginny have to be such a big mouth?

I’m doomed, I thought.
Doomed!

“What did you say, Ginny?” Mom asked, wiping her hands on a towel. “I was
running water in the sink, and I couldn’t hear you.”

I let out a long breath. I couldn’t believe my luck. I glared at Ginny and
kicked her again—really hard this time.

“Nothing, Mom,” Ginny murmured. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You two better get ready for school,” Mom said.

I pushed my chair away from the table and dragged Ginny out of hers. “We’ll
be ready in a minute, Mom,” I said.

“What is your problem?” I whispered to Ginny in the hall. “You could’ve
gotten us in big trouble!”

“You
would get in trouble. Not me,” Ginny replied. “You’re the big
brother. You
made
me go.”

“I didn’t make you do anything. And anyway, you promised not to tell!”

“You promised not to peek into Amaz-O’s kit until Saturday,” Ginny reminded me. “But I sneaked up to the attic this
morning—and I know you looked! You opened that bag! You even played with some
of the stuff!”

“Me? I did not!” I lied.

“Yes, you did. One of the sleeves of a jacket was sticking out of the kit.
And I found a scarf on the floor. You big fat liar!”

“So what? You’ll still get to see the stuff on Saturday.”

“You promised,” Ginny repeated. She flicked my nose. “Boi-oi-oing.”

I stormed into my room. There’s no arguing with Ginny. She does whatever she
wants—promise or no promise.

She’s always getting me into trouble, I thought angrily. She drives me crazy!
I wish there were some way I could pay her back. Some way to pay her back for
everything.

Little did I realize I would soon find it.

“Are you sure you kids don’t want to go to the antiques show with us?” Dad
asked. “You might see some neat old junk there.”

“We’re sure,” I insisted. Saturday morning had arrived, and all I could think
about was Amaz-O’s magic kit. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I wished my parents would hurry up and leave.

“All right,” Mom said, kissing Ginny and then me. “There’s tuna salad in the
fridge for lunch. We won’t be back until dinnertime.”

“Be good,” Dad added.

“I’ll
be good,” Ginny declared. “I don’t know about
Tim.”

I tried to shove her, but she dodged me. “I’ll be good,” I promised. “I’m
always good.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “Just don’t fight too much,” she said. “’Bye.”

Ah. At last. As soon as they were gone, I raced to the phone and dialed Foz’s
number.

“The coast is clear,” I told him. “Come on over.”

I’d told Foz all about the show at Midnight Mansion and Amaz-O’s magic kit.
He begged me to let him see the cool tricks in Amaz-O’s bag.

As soon as Foz arrived, we all trooped up to the attic. Ginny made a beeline
for the magic kit. I blocked her.

“Heee-ya!” She leaped into a pre-karate chop stance. “Out of my way!”

“Ginny—wait!” I pleaded. “There’s a lot of weird stuff in that bag. Let me
show it to you my way.”