True Love and Magic Tricks Read Online Free PDF Page A

So I stayed with Dad. Little did I know I’d
be friends with everybody and nobody all at once.
    Smoothing my hair out, I put a smile
on my face and keep it there. Think positive thoughts. Nate-like
thoughts.
    My braids give my hair a nice wavy
look, so I just spritz on some hairspray and pull a fresh
elastic—one that isn’t covered in knotted hair—around my wrist.
Just in case my blond locks get in the way of a magic sword or
something.
    After applying my makeup and
scrutinizing every bump and curve of my body in the mirror, I turn
to Mr. Pippi with arms spread.
    “ And the judge’s score
is…?”
    He doesn’t move, still sound asleep
after his full meal of gerbil pellets.
    “ A ten? Oh, you’re too
nice.” I wave bye, blow a kiss, and grab the big blue and black
gift bag I got for Nate. “Wish me luck!”
    After hearing nothing but silence, I
put on a gerbil voice and squeak, “Luck!”
    One of these days, I’ll have a human
friend to do this with.
     
    ***
    My knees won’t stop bouncing as I wait
on the porch. My neck’s going to have one heck of a kink with the
way I’m cranking it to look up and down my street. Please tell me
he remembers where I live. He took me home last night after swing
dance, but it was dark. Houses look so different in the
dark.
    But duh. I’m sitting on the porch.
Dead giveaway that it’s my house.
    I check my phone for the millionth
time. So, I’m early. Like, way early. He won’t be here for another
twenty. I blow out a sigh, rumbling my lips. And because the sound
makes me giggle, I keep doing it as I trudge back
inside.
    I flop on my cushy couch and peek
through the blinds. My hands are totally shaking, so I stuff them
under my butt so they knock it off. But it doesn’t work.
    I pull out my phone. Gar… it’s been
one minute since I came inside. “Make time go faster!” I whine at
the clock and shake my cell as if it possesses a magic genie who’ll
grant my request.
    Something whooshes outside, and I hop
to my knees and look out the window. A galloping horse takes off in
my tummy when I see a car that looks a lot like Nate’s pulled up on
the side of the road.
    I bounce off the couch and swing the
door open, fixing the hair that just got caught in my lip-gloss.
“You look cute. Stop thinking, Kaylee,” I mutter under my breath
and put on a smile.
    But when I look closer, there’s no one
in the driver’s seat. There’s no one anywhere.
    Oh balls. I thought… I guess it could
be someone else. There’s still eighteen more minutes till Nate
needs to be here. My gosh. I’m such an antsy pants.
    Maybe I’ll walk around the block. Make
time go faster by doing something. I zip my hoodie jacket, hook the
present I got for Nate on my arm, and stuff my fists in the pockets
before skipping down the sidewalk. I really do try to control my
enthusiasm, but my legs and butt just want to shake and shimmy all
over the place.
    I cross the street and hop onto the
opposite sidewalk, thinking about how cute these pink and black
Sketchers are when I casually look over my shoulder into the car
that got my hopes up.
    My feet stop in their tracks. Nate’s
splayed across the backseat, flipping a deck of cards between each
hand. It looks like he’s talking to someone, but I’m pretty sure he
doesn’t have a gerbil in there.
    I run to the window and quickly rap my
knuckles against the glass with probably the most un-cute smile
ever. But I don’t care. The genie in my phone must’ve granted my
wish.
    The cards spill from his hands and
topple all over his chest and stomach. I’m sort of jealous of
them.
    I wave, and after a few blinks, he
sits up and opens the door.
    “ Uh, hey.”
    “ Hi!” I squeal, then my
face heats. “What are you doing out here? You forget where I
live?”
    He shakes his head before running a
hand through his hair. “I was way early. And you know, didn’t want
to… so I waited out here… and well, yeah.”
    His pink cheeks are so cute I want to
pinch