Chapter 11

Chapter eleven The next day was party day. The sun decided to come out bright and clear. Emily took it as a sign. "You see," she said at breakfast. "Even the sun is happy that it's my birthday." "I bet the Westside Wizard made the sun come out," I said, popping the rest of my buttered toast in my mouth. "Do you really think so, Hank?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement. "He must have incredible powers." "Of course he does." I gulped. "Let's just hope he brings them all with him today." I got up and hurried into my room. i practiced the trick for one hour straight. I got it right about half of the time. That was better than

getting it right none of the time. But not as good as getting it right all of the time. At a few minutes before noon, I took my costume and headed for the clubhouse. Our living room was already filling up with kids. Frankie and Ashley were waiting for me at the elevator in the basement. "It's crazy up there in my living room," I told them. "It's swarming with first-graders. They're like bees... but without stingers." Frankie and Ashley helped me into my costume. Ashley adjusted my beard and added more tape to make sure it held on to the sunglasses. "Okay, you're ready," Frankie said, checking me up and down. We headed to the elevator. I was pretty nervous.

"I'm going to go out there first and get all those wild kids to sit down," Frankie said calmly. "Ashley will wait by the front door of your apartment." I nodded, trying to listen carefully. Frankie continued. "When she hears me say Make some noise for the Westside Wizard, she'll open the door. That's when you come in and work your way through the crowd. Be sure not to step on any kids while you're at it." "Yeah," Ashley agreed, "because if you do, they'll kick you. Trust me, I know." When the elevator doors opened on the tenth floor, I could feel my heart beating fast under my heavy wizard coat. "I hope this goes okay," I whispered to Ashley. "You did the trick perfectly last night," she reminded me. "Just do everything you practiced and it will be fine." Frankie went into the living room. From the hall, I could hear his introduction. The kids applauded and cheered. Ashley opened the

door for me. This was it. Showtime. I walked into the living room, holding my arms high up in the air. "Behold, all you tiny tots," I called out in my best wizard voice. "The Westside Wizard has arrived." From the corner of my eye, I could see Papa Pete, leaning against the wall. He winked. I wondered how he knew it was me. As I walked by the kids, I could hear lots of oohs and ahhs coming from their direction. Hey, this was working! At least it was until one little boy with a mouthful of jelly beans reached up and tugged on my coat. I whirled around and gave him the stare of a lifetime. "What is your name, child?" I boomed. "Eugie Pasos," he said. "Well, Eugie, the wizard does not like to be touched," I growled. "Nor does his coat!" Eugie actually looked kind of scared, and leaned back away from me. I was feeling the wizard power, and it felt good. When I reached the front of the crowd, I

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turned slowly to face them. "Is there an Emily Zipzer here?" I half- shouted. Emily was sitting cross-legged in the front row, holding Cheerio in her lap. He is such a long wiener dog that even when curled up, his hind legs were hanging over on the rug. When he saw me, Cheerio sniffed the air and let out a little whimper. I looked away, hoping he wouldn't recognize me. Emily put Cheerio down and jumped up to face me. "Here I am, Oh Great Wizard," she said. "Did you bring a snake for me?" "Why, yes I did," I called out. "But let me warn you, folks. You all must stay seated and