Authors: Cindy Callaghan
Lost in London (19 page)
Eryn bumped me out of her way, causing me to drop the letter. “Move it, buttmunch,” she said. She stepped on the letter as she left the house. (This is what I meant about her attitude—bad.)
Piper did pretty much the same thing on her way out, not because she had attitude issues but because she wasn’t paying attention.
Shannon picked the letter up for me. She was twenty-two years old and definitely the nicest of my sisters. She commuted to the University of Delaware and itched to finish school so she could move out of our house and “find herself,” whatever that meant.
I took the letter, followed Shannon into the car, and climbed in the back with Piper. Eryn sat shotgun. Always. I didn’t even try to beat her to the front seat anymore. Shannon always dropped us off at Wilmington Prep, then headed to UD. She picked us up later, on her way home. After school, we did homework or whatever until Mom or Dad got home from the law firm, where they worked together. They were always home for a late full-family dinner, when we talked about our day whether we wanted to or not.
On our drive Piper chattered about our spring break trip, while I just stared out the window.
“What do you guys know about chain letters?” I asked.
Shannon said, “You need to send ’em right away, don’t you?”
I could feel Eryn rolling her eyes.
Piper asked a hundred questions: “What’s a chain letter? . . . Who sent it? . . . Why? Can you send it back? . . . Why not? How come I didn’t get one? . . . Huh?”
I didn’t answer her; I responded to Shannon. “I don’t have any stamps or envelopes, and I want the good luck today.”
“Why don’t you e-mail it?” Shannon asked. “You could do that right now on your phone.”
Piper said, “Problem solved. Shannon is supersmart. . . .” She continued to ramble on while I typed the letter quickly with my thumbs. I reread it to make sure I hadn’t made any mistakes. I put my name on the bottom and removed Clare’s. When I finished, Piper was still talking. “She gets As in college. That’s a lot of hard work.”
I hit the send button on my phone, and e-mail chain letters went out to three friends from summer camp. “Okay. It’s done. Let the good luck begin!”
Eryn snickered.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing,” she said with a smirk. “Let me know how that works for you. On second thought, don’t. That would mean you’d be talking to me.” She made a grossed-out face that I caught in the side mirror. “But
any moron knows that you can’t e-mail a snail-mail chain letter. It’s cheating. And chain letters have a way of messing with cheaters.”
Piper said, “Uh-oh.”
Uh-oh?
I couldn’t have any
uh-oh
.
Not today.
CINDY CALLAGHAN
is also the author of
Just Add Magic
and the upcoming
Lucky Me
,
both with Aladdin M!X. She is a full-time writer, animal advocate, and supermom. Cindy lives, works, and writes in Wilmington, Delaware, with her family and numerous rescued pets. She loves hearing from fans, speaking at schools and conferences, and zip-lining. Please visit her website,
www.cindycallaghan.com
.
Meet the author, watch videos, and get extras at
KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com
Also by Cindy Callaghan
Just Add Magic
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN M!X
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
First Aladdin M!X edition October 2013
Text copyright © 2013 by Cindy Callaghan
Cover illustration copyright © 2013 by Annabelle Metayer
Cover design by Jessica Handelman
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.,
and related logo is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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.
Interior design by Hilary Zarycky
The text of this book was set in ITC Berkeley Oldstyle.
Library of Congress Control Number 2013939119
ISBN 978-1-4424-6653-1 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4424-6654-8 (eBook)