Read The Magician's Bird for Free Online Page B

tell Miss Abernathy about our scavenger hunt plans anyway.”
    She stalked off toward the school building, kicking up little bits of turf as she went.
    ----
    Good Reasons Not to Kill Bud Wallace
by Laurie Madison, rising seventh grader
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  1. Prison seventh grade probably even worse than regular seventh grade.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2. Murder definitely goes on permanent record.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3. Would have to come up with scavenger hunt ideas alone, which means dealing with Miss Abernathy alone.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4. Lots of good possibilities for revenge, which are not possible if he’s dead.
----
    â€œSee? Are you happy now? It’s just your basic email from your friend’s weird mom. Okay?” Laurie stood next to the computer monitor in the school library, trying to keep it together. Like it wasn’t bad enough that Bud totally doubted her email reading skills. No, he had to press the issue so she was forced to go into the school library, where 1. She had to be all nice and huggy kissy with Miss Lucille, the old lady librarian. 2. She had tododge Candy Winkle and her tour of crazy people. And 3. She had to come face-to-face with Ponch and Jon, the bloodthirsty classroom gerbils she’d had to take care of last year, who were now summering in the school library. (It was probably technically face-to-face-to-face, but Laurie wasn’t in any mood to get technical.)
    It wasn’t a great start to the day.
    â€œYeah, you’re right. It looks like she’s grounded.” Bud said, after poring over the email for way more time than was necessary. It was what, three lines? Not much to pore over there.
    â€œYeah. No kidding.”
    â€œSo what did you say?”
    â€œWhat do you mean what did I say?” Laurie tried to keep her voice down, but she could tell she was sounding shrill. It was like she was doing a Misti impression. Miss Lucille had already turned her hearing aid down twice.
    â€œIn response. What did you write back?” Bud had taken on his I’m-talking-to-a-crazy-person tone.
    Laurie gritted her teeth. “I didn’t say anything back. Although, when you think about it, if she wants Misti to honor her commitments, she really should make her come meet us. You know, since she committed to that.”
    â€œYeah, you should say that,” Bud said.
    â€œReally?” Laurie huffed.
    â€œSure.” Bud shrugged.
    â€œOkay, fine, I will.” Laurie threw herself into the chair at the computer and started typing.
    EMAIL
    FROM: LAURIE MADISON
    TO: MRS. PINKERTON
    SUBJECT: Misti’s grounding
    Dear Mrs. Pinkerton,
    Thank you for letting me know that Misti won’t be coming today. But if she needs to learn to honor her commitments, shouldn’t she be required to honor her commitment to Bud and myself?
    Thank you,
    Laurie Madison (Misti’s friend)
----
    Bud watched as Laurie hit send. Then he gave a low whistle. “Oh, man.”
    Laurie looked up. “What?”
    â€œI can’t believe you really sent it, that’s all. I mean, you know.”
    Laurie shifted uncomfortably. “You know what?”
    â€œJust that it’s borderline disrespectful, that’s all. You know. Mouthy. Fresh. Come on, Laurie, it’s Misti’s mom .”
    Laurie gaped at him, her mouth hanging open like she was a fish. “What? But you . . . it was your idea!”
    Bud snickered. “Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d DO it!”
    Laurie grimaced and launched herself out of the chair and down the hallway.
    ----
    What to Do When You’ve Been Tricked into
Sending a Mouthy, Borderline Disrespectful
Email to Your Friend’s Mother
by Laurie Madison, rising seventh grader
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  1. Feign amnesia.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2. Pretend your account was hacked.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3. Throw yourself on Mrs. Pinkerton’s mercy and