The Sleepover Read Online Free PDF Page A

chocolate. Then she very slowly slips her hand into the bowl and extracts one green M&M, smiling as she pops it into her mouth.
    â€œOmigosh, Paige ! Who? Was it that guy from camp last summer? And why didn’t you tell us?” Anna Marie jumps up and pretends to throttle Paige, but in the struggle, Veronica’s Mountain Dew gets knocked over, causing us all to scream so loudly, we barely hear the doorbell ringing above our heads.
    Anna Marie holds up her hand to shush us and then whispers, “Who the heck could that be?”
    Veronica wipes her glasses clean on her shirt. “Oh. That’s probably my present.”

CHAPTER FOUR
Imagine Your Happy Place
    W e race up the steps, giggling and tripping, but right as we reach the top, we hear Anna Marie’s little brother open the door.
    â€œWho are you ?” Max asks. Paige opens the basement door a crack, and all four of us peek out at the front entrance. We have to squeeze along the top two steps so our heads line up one on top of the other in order for us all to see.
    â€œCall me Madame Mesmer,” says this wispy, otherworldly voice. I can’t see the person talking because she’s still outside. “I’m the hypnotist, here for the birthday party show.”
    Hypnotist? I can’t turn my head to look at my friends because of the way we’re wedged in, but I hear Paige whisper, “Cooooool.”
    Max tugs his friend into the doorway next to him. “Hypnotist? That’s so great. Are you gonna hypnotize my sister? Can you get her to be my slave? Dude, how killer would that be?”
    â€œHypnotism doesn’t work like that, my child,” Madame Mesmer says. “But if you don’t invite me in, I might just work my magic on you so you will hiccup from now until next week.”
    Max looks nervous. “Oh, um, no, thanks. I hate hiccups. Please. Please come right in!”
    A woman steps into the hallway, and now I can see the person who matches the voice. She’s extra-tall and skinny, wearing clunky Mary Jane heels and swaying a little bit in this super-long, filmy skirt. It’s impossible to see what color her hair is since she has it all hidden underneath a velvet turban that’s wrapped tightly around her head. But her eyebrows are thick and dark and her lips are painted a deep maroon. She has these two spots on her cheeks that look like blush, but if so, she needs the tutorial Paige’s sister gave us on blending. As she shakes off her bright-orange coat, the dozens of bangles marching up her arms clang against each other in a weirdly musical way. She looks a little like she bought a Halloween costume marked GYPSY at Party Central. Someone elbows me, but somehow we all manage to hold in our giggles. Right below me, Veronica softly breathes an “oooohhhh.”
    Madame Mesmer glances around the entryway and then says, “I presume your sister is the birthday girl. Where would I find her? And what about your parents?”
    â€œMy mom is taking a bath, and I have instructions only tointerrupt her in case of an emergency. Think this counts as one?”
    â€œI’d venture not,” Madame Mesmer says, adjusting her turban with both hands. Each of her fingers has a clunky ring on them. As if she senses our presence or something, she turns toward the basement door.
    Veronica gasps and loses her balance. She tumbles forward into the hallway, taking the rest of us down with her like we’re a bunch of bowling pins. All four of us sprawl across the wood floor.
    â€œUm, hi,” Anna Marie offers from her spot on the ground.
    The woman seems completely unconcerned that four kids have basically fallen at her feet. “Hello. I’m Madame Mesmer.”
    Paige grins and pops up. “Score one for Veronica. This is actually a Grade A present. Follow us.”
    I get up way more slowly, brushing off my butt and trying to get out of Madame Mesmer’s way. The funny