Chapter 9 MAGIC CHARM

Jeanie couldn’t stop thinking about Willow’s secret.

She thought about it while Ms. Patel handed back their spelling tests.

She thought about it while she refilled Jelly Bean’s water bottle.

She thought about it while she wrote her assignments down in her homework folder.

Jeanie had a million more questions. But she knew she couldn’t let anyone overhear them. She had to wait until classroom 2B was packing up to go home.

Finally, Jeanie caught Willow’s eye and motioned her over to the cubbies.

“I understand why you grant wishes,” Jeanie began. “But how do you actually do it?”

Willow gave her a nervous smile. “I’m still trying to figure that out. I know that the person has to look me in the eye and say the words ‘I wish.’ And I know that they have to really mean it. I can only grant heartfelt wishes.”

“That makes sense,” said Jeanie thoughtfully.

“But I’m still trying to get the hang of wish granting,” said Willow. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“You can learn anything with practice,” said Jeanie. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “But how do you know if your wish granting is working?”

Willow lifted the gold charm around her neck. “When a wish is about to be granted, my necklace glows.”

Jeanie peered closely. It wasn’t a teapot or an elephant’s head after all. It was a magic lamp! The golden charm was even prettier than Jeanie had realized.

“Wow,” Jeanie whispered.

“Girls, time to collect your backpacks, please,” called Ms. Patel.

Jeanie hurried to zip her bag. But then she stopped suddenly.

“Wait!” she whispered to Willow. “Do you live in that lamp?”

Willow giggled. “No, silly, that’s only in fairy tales. I live in a regular house. I bet it’s a lot like yours.”

As they headed for the door, the bells on Willow’s bracelet tinkled cheerfully.

“Hey,” said Jeanie, “speaking of houses, do you want to come over to mine this afternoon?”

Willow smiled.