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Authors: Liz Kessler
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still don’t know why it only works on you.”
I shook my head. “I know. I don’t get any of it.”
“Maybe we should ask Nancy,” Izzy suggested.
“No.”
“Why not?”
I thought about her question, and I wasn’t sure of the answer. I told myself it was because Nancy probably didn’t know anything. Just because she knew this man didn’t mean she knew what he was up to with the crystals.
The real truth was more complicated, though. Nancy had been like an aunt to me my whole life. I couldn’t
bear
the thought that she might have something to do with all this — that she could be using me as part of some kind of experiment. If that
was
the truth, I wasn’t ready to hear it yet. And I wasn’t sure how to explain all that to Izzy, either.
“I just don’t want to,” I said in the end.
Izzy nodded. Maybe she understood without my having to explain.
“I know who we
could
ask,” she said after a while.
“Who?”
“Tom.”
“Tom? We can’t involve him in this! We can’t tell
anyone
about it!”
“Come on, Jess, it’s Tom. He’s the one person we both know we can trust. He wouldn’t tell anyone else,” Izzy argued. “And I figure we could use a brain like his on the case. We don’t even have to tell him about you turning invisible.”
I frowned. “Really?”
“Really. Not if you don’t want to. We could just show him the spreadsheet and see what he makes of it.”
I thought for a moment. Izzy was right. Tom loved solving logic problems even more than Izzy did. If anyone could make sense of this, it was probably him. And she was right that we could trust him, too. “OK. Let’s get him on board,” I said as the bus rounded the corner.
Izzy already had her phone out.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting him to tell him to meet us at my house. We can send the pic to my computer and blow it up so we can see it better. We’ll show it to Tom and ask him what he thinks of the chart. You can be in charge of how much we tell him. OK?”
I nodded at Izzy as we got on the bus. “OK.”
Forty-five minutes later, Izzy and I were sitting at her kitchen table with her laptop open, waiting for it to boot up so we could open the picture, when the doorbell rang.
“That must be Tom,” I said.
Izzy jumped up to let him in.
“Hey, girls,” Tom said with a smile as he came into the kitchen. “What’s going on? What’s with the weird text?” He sat down at the table and waited for one of us to answer.
I looked at Izzy. She looked at me. And then I said, “Look, you’re going to find some of this hard to believe, but as long as you promise to keep it to yourself, I’m going to tell you everything — and all of it’s true.”
Tom’s smile faltered a little. “Sounds ominous,” he replied nervously. “Go on, then.”
So I did. I told him everything that had happened. Tom listened in silence to the whole thing.
When I’d finished, he stared at me with his mouth open. He glanced briefly at Izzy, then back at me. And then he burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Izzy asked.
“This! This — story, or whatever. It’s great. I love it. You two crack me up with your crazy stuff.”
“Tom, this isn’t crazy stuff,” I hissed. “Well — I mean, yeah, it is
pretty
crazy. But it’s not a story. It’s true.”
Tom leaned in closer. “You’re honestly telling me that you can turn invisible?” he whispered.
“Yes!”
“And that there’s some sci-fi lab in the middle of town full of crystals and charts and potions and mad scientists that might be responsible for it? Which, by the way, would actually be the coolest thing in the world, if it
did
exist.”
“It
does
exist!” Izzy insisted.
Tom scowled. “Really? I mean,
really
?”
I stood up. “Tom,” I said impatiently, “watch.” And then I took a deep breath, cleared my mind — and turned myself invisible.
Tom’s eyes looked as if they might actually pop out from his face. He turned to Izzy. “She .
I shook my head. “I know. I don’t get any of it.”
“Maybe we should ask Nancy,” Izzy suggested.
“No.”
“Why not?”
I thought about her question, and I wasn’t sure of the answer. I told myself it was because Nancy probably didn’t know anything. Just because she knew this man didn’t mean she knew what he was up to with the crystals.
The real truth was more complicated, though. Nancy had been like an aunt to me my whole life. I couldn’t
bear
the thought that she might have something to do with all this — that she could be using me as part of some kind of experiment. If that
was
the truth, I wasn’t ready to hear it yet. And I wasn’t sure how to explain all that to Izzy, either.
“I just don’t want to,” I said in the end.
Izzy nodded. Maybe she understood without my having to explain.
“I know who we
could
ask,” she said after a while.
“Who?”
“Tom.”
“Tom? We can’t involve him in this! We can’t tell
anyone
about it!”
“Come on, Jess, it’s Tom. He’s the one person we both know we can trust. He wouldn’t tell anyone else,” Izzy argued. “And I figure we could use a brain like his on the case. We don’t even have to tell him about you turning invisible.”
I frowned. “Really?”
“Really. Not if you don’t want to. We could just show him the spreadsheet and see what he makes of it.”
I thought for a moment. Izzy was right. Tom loved solving logic problems even more than Izzy did. If anyone could make sense of this, it was probably him. And she was right that we could trust him, too. “OK. Let’s get him on board,” I said as the bus rounded the corner.
Izzy already had her phone out.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting him to tell him to meet us at my house. We can send the pic to my computer and blow it up so we can see it better. We’ll show it to Tom and ask him what he thinks of the chart. You can be in charge of how much we tell him. OK?”
I nodded at Izzy as we got on the bus. “OK.”
Forty-five minutes later, Izzy and I were sitting at her kitchen table with her laptop open, waiting for it to boot up so we could open the picture, when the doorbell rang.
“That must be Tom,” I said.
Izzy jumped up to let him in.
“Hey, girls,” Tom said with a smile as he came into the kitchen. “What’s going on? What’s with the weird text?” He sat down at the table and waited for one of us to answer.
I looked at Izzy. She looked at me. And then I said, “Look, you’re going to find some of this hard to believe, but as long as you promise to keep it to yourself, I’m going to tell you everything — and all of it’s true.”
Tom’s smile faltered a little. “Sounds ominous,” he replied nervously. “Go on, then.”
So I did. I told him everything that had happened. Tom listened in silence to the whole thing.
When I’d finished, he stared at me with his mouth open. He glanced briefly at Izzy, then back at me. And then he burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Izzy asked.
“This! This — story, or whatever. It’s great. I love it. You two crack me up with your crazy stuff.”
“Tom, this isn’t crazy stuff,” I hissed. “Well — I mean, yeah, it is
pretty
crazy. But it’s not a story. It’s true.”
Tom leaned in closer. “You’re honestly telling me that you can turn invisible?” he whispered.
“Yes!”
“And that there’s some sci-fi lab in the middle of town full of crystals and charts and potions and mad scientists that might be responsible for it? Which, by the way, would actually be the coolest thing in the world, if it
did
exist.”
“It
does
exist!” Izzy insisted.
Tom scowled. “Really? I mean,
really
?”
I stood up. “Tom,” I said impatiently, “watch.” And then I took a deep breath, cleared my mind — and turned myself invisible.
Tom’s eyes looked as if they might actually pop out from his face. He turned to Izzy. “She .
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