4. The Wish

Chapter 4 The Wish Marvin swallowed a spoonful of ice cream. The sundae was delicious. It might have been the best ice cream sundae he'd ever had in his whole life. It had burnt pecans and caramel sauce. The crystal lay on the table between him and Casey. Maybe there was something to this wish stuff after all, Marvin thought. So far, every wish had come true. "Now what should we wish for?" he asked Casey. "How about a million dollars?" Casey thought it over. "I'm not sure about that," she said. "You're right," said Marvin. "Two million dollars." "Ummm … that's kind of selfish, don't you think?"

asked Casey. Marvin felt hurt. He didn't think of himself as selfish. Besides, weren't wishes supposed to be selfish? Anyway, he didn't really believe it would come true. Maybe that was the real reason Casey didn't want to wish for two million dollars, he thought. Maybe she only wanted to wish for things that had a chance of coming true. That way, she could still pretend to believe in the magic crystal. "How about this?" he suggested. "Let's wish that nobody in Mrs. North's class is sick tomorrow." "Good one!" Casey agreed. He knew she'd like it. It wasn't selfish. But more important, it had a good chance of coming true. "Hold out your hand," said Casey. Marvin held out his right hand, palm up. Casey placed the magic crystal on top of his hand. Then she put her hand on top. The rock was sandwiched between their two hands. The tips of their fingers pressed together. "Close your eyes," she whispered. Marvin closed his eyes, and they spoke together. "We

wish nobody in Mrs. North's class is sick tomorrow." More than anything, Marvin hoped it would come true. The next morning, he walked to school with Nick and Stuart. Nick complained about how mean Mr. McCabe was, but he didn't really sound that mean to Marvin. "So, what'd you do yesterday?" asked Stuart. "While we were stuck in Mr. McCabe's office." "Just went over to someone's house," said Marvin. "Whose house?" asked Nick. "Just somebody's house," said Marvin. He didn't dare tell them he went to Casey's house. They might think he liked her. They wouldn't understand about the magic crystal. Besides, he promised Casey not to tell anyone about it. "Did you even know whose house it was?" asked Stuart. "Or did you just walk into some stranger's house?" "It was an old fire station," said Marvin. "I got to slide down a fire pole." "I thought you said it was a house," said Nick.

"It is. It used to be a fire station. Now it's a house. The fire pole is in the living room." His friends looked at him oddly. He knew he wasn't making any sense. But at least they stopped asking whose house it was. They got to school just as the first bell rang. Marvin hurried to class. Casey Happleton was already at her desk. "I hope no one's sick," Marvin said as he sat down next to her. "They better not be," said Casey. "I'll kill anyone who's sick." That was the only wish he and Casey had made. They agreed to make only one wish a day. Casey promised not to make any wishes by herself, without Marvin. They watched the door. Marvin nodded and said "Good" to himself every time someone entered the room.

Kenny coughed. Casey glared at him. Kenny coughed again. Casey went over to his desk. "Are you sick?" she asked. "No, I don't think so," said Kenny.

"Then quit coughing!" Casey demanded. Kenny didn't cough after that. Casey returned to her seat. "He's not sick," she told Marvin. Marvin wasn't worried about Kenny. He was worried about Gina and Clarence. Both of their desks were empty. The second bell rang. Marvin glanced at Casey. She was frowning. The principal's voice came over the P.A. system. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Gina entered the classroom right after the Pledge. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mrs. North," she said. "I didn't think I had to go to school today." "Oh?" said Mrs. North. "And why was that, Gina?" "I was sick last night. Really! I threw up twice and had a fever and everything! I was just going to lay in bed and watch cartoons today. But then, when my mom took my temperature this morning, I was all better. It's not fair!" "That's too bad," agreed Mrs. North. A big smile came across Marvin's face. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Casey. "Gina was supposed to be sick today!"