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“The dog!” Erin screamed.
“Hey—I’m gone! I’m invisible!” April exclaimed at the same time.
I could hear Whitey whimpering. He sounded really frightened.
“Pull the string!” I shouted to Zack.
“Not yet!” April protested.
“Pull it!” I insisted.
Zack pulled the string. The light went out. April reappeared first, with an angry expression on
her face.
Whitey reappeared, and fell down. He jumped up quickly, but his legs were all wobbly.
He looked so funny, we all started to laugh.
“What’s going on up there?” My mom’s voice from the stairwell startled us into instant silence.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing, Mom,” I answered quickly, signalling for my friends to remain silent. “Just hanging
out.”
“I don’t understand what’s so interesting up there in that dusty old attic,” she called up.
I crossed my fingers, hoping she wouldn’t come upstairs to find out.
“We just like it up here,” I replied. Pretty lame, but it was the only thing I could think of to say.
Whitey, having recovered his balance, went running to the stairs. I heard the dog’s toenails click
on the wooden stairs as he went down to join my mom.
“That wasn’t fair,” April complained after Mom and Whitey were gone. “I didn’t get any time.”
“I think we should get out of here,” I pleaded. “You see how unpredictable it is. You never know
what’s going to happen.”
“That’s sort of the fun of it,” Erin insisted.
“I want another turn,” April said.
We argued for about ten minutes. Once again, I lost.
It was time to start the competition. Erin was going first.
“Ten minutes is the time to beat,” Zack instructed her.
“No problem,” Erin said, making funny faces at herself in the mirror. “Ten minutes is too easy.”
April had resumed her position, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, studying her
watch. We had agreed that she would take another turn after the competition was over.
After it was over…
Standing there watching Erin get ready, I wished it were over already. I felt cold all over. I had a
heavy feeling of dread weighing me down.
Please, please, I thought to myself, let everything go okay.
Zack pulled the string.
Erin disappeared in the flash of light.
April studied her watch.