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“It was just an optical illusion,” April insisted. “Why are you guys making such a big deal about
it?”
“It wasn’t!” Erin insisted.
“He clicked on the light. Then he disappeared in a flash,” Lefty said. He dropped the softball. It
bounced loudly on the hardwood floor, then rolled behind the mirror.
He hesitated for a few seconds. Then he went after it, diving for the ball in the darkness. A few
seconds later, he came running back.
“You really were invisible, Max,” he said.
“Really,” Erin added, staring hard at me.
“Prove it,” I told them.
“Let’s go!” April pleaded. She had moved to the doorway and was standing half in, half out of
the room.
“What do you mean prove it!” Erin asked, talking to my dark reflection in the mirror.
“Show me,” I said.
“You mean do what you did?” Erin asked, turning to talk to the real me.
“Yeah,” I said. “You go invisible, too. Just like I did.”
Erin and Lefty stared at me. Lefty’s mouth dropped open.
“This is dumb,” April called from behind us.
“I’ll do it,” Lefty said. He stepped up to the mirror.
I pulled him back by the shoulders. “Not you,” I said. “You’re too young.”
He tried to pull out of my grasp, but I held onto him. “How about you, Erin?” I urged, wrapping
my arms around Lefty’s waist to keep him back from the mirror.
She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll try, I guess.”
Lefty stopped struggling to get away. I loosened my grip a little.
We watched Erin step up in front of the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, dark and
shadowy.
She stood on tiptoes, reached up, and grabbed the lamp chain. She glanced over at me and
smiled. “Here goes,” she said.