AFTER LOOP AND HIS friends left Conjuring Cats, they went a whole block without saying a word. Finally, Z broke the silence.

“Maybe there’s a way we can compete as a team. Some musicians have bands, and others go solo. If it works for music, why can’t it work for magic?”

“That’s true,” Loop said. “But think about the singing competitions like American Idol. It’s one person competing, not a whole band.”

Z wouldn’t give up on his idea. “Okay, but in sports, people compete against each other—in teams and by themselves.”

Loop was not convinced. “But sports have rules that control whether they have teams. Can you imagine playing one-on-one football, or a bunch of dudes cramped in the same car for the Indy 500?”

Then Z said, “Maybe I can’t imagine one-on-one football, but I can imagine one-on-one basketball. Plenty of sports have both solo and team events.”

Loop couldn’t believe it. This guy would not give up. “Like what?” he asked, because he couldn’t think of any examples.

“Like tennis, track, swimming, and gymnastics,” Z answered.

Loop threw up his arms. “That still doesn’t make any sense!” he said. “Sure, you have relays in track, but you never have a single guy running against a whole relay team.”

Then Dominic offered his opinion. “I think competing as a team is a great idea, but we’d have to look at the rules to see if it’s allowed.”

Loop shook his head. “Face it, guys. This magic competition is not a team sport. Just like Ariel said.”

“But it might be,” Z said, all hopeful. “We just have to look at the rules, like Dominic suggested. Maybe there’s a team category.”

“Well, if there is,” Loop said, “I’d have to be the leader.” His friends glanced at him, all confused. Were they really that dense? “I’m the only one with money, remember? Plus, I already turned in my registration form. ‘First come, first served’ is what I say.”

“No,” Dominic said. “If we work as a team, I should be the leader, since you two are slackers when it comes to using your neurons.”

“I use my neurons!” Z said, but then he added, “Wait, what’s a neuron?”

Dominic tapped his head.

“I use my head!”

Dominic laughed. “How can you say that, when every time you get a set of instructions, you need me to figure them out?”

“We don’t need you to figure them out,” Loop said. “You’re the one who’s always grabbing the instructions and acting like you know it all.”

“Besides, it takes a lot more than reading instructions to do magic,” Z added. “You also need a personality. Without my advice, your tricks are boring.”

“Well, without my advice,” Dominic countered, “you wouldn’t know step one of your routine.”

“And without me,” Loop said, “neither one of you would have any props to work with. You’d be doing air magic.”

Dominic narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Don’t come crying next time you need me to explain instructions that any third grader could follow. You’re on your own from now on.”

“Whatever,” Z said. “I don’t care. I’ve got enough people telling me what to do. The last thing I need is someone else acting like he’s my brother or my dad.”

They reached a big intersection with lots of traffic, so Dominic pressed the crosswalk button. “In that case, we can just forget about competing in the magic contest as a team. Even if there is a loophole.”

“Sounds good to me,” Loop said. “I thought it was a stupid idea all along.”

“The idea wasn’t stupid,” Z said, all offended. “You guys are the ones who are stupid!”

“You’re the one who’s always asking dumb questions and giving dumb answers,” Dominic said.

“Only because you guys never let me answer or perform or do anything first. By the time I have a chance to talk, all the good stuff has already been said.”

The little walking man showed up on the street sign, and Z ran across. He didn’t even say good-bye, and when he got across the street, he kept running.

Loop chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Dominic asked.

“Don’t you get it?” Loop said, but when he realized that Dominic had no idea why he was giggling, he went on. “This is a big fight over nothing. Let’s face it. I’m the only one who’s going to win, because I’m the only one who’s actually going to the convention.”

“Here we go again,” Dominic said.

“What does that mean?”

“Sometimes, you’re nothing but a show-off.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why are you always waving money in our faces?” Dominic said. “You know Z’s family is broke.”

“It’s not my fault you guys are pobres.”

“I’m not poor. My dad helps out. And guess what, he’s my real dad. He doesn’t have to prove anything.”

Loop postured up for a fight. “Take that back!”

“Make me,” Dominic said as the streetlight began to tick off the time—only five seconds left to cross the street. “Guess you’ll have to catch the next light,” he called as he raced off.

Sure enough, traffic started to move again, but Loop didn’t care. He was fighting mad. Show-off, huh? Maybe Loop did wave money in their faces, but that didn’t stop his friends from taking it. They didn’t even thank him when he gave them stuff. If he was a show-off, then they were leeches, and the only way to get rid of leeches was to pluck those bloodsuckers off.