Z SPENT A WHOLE week looking for jobs. “I’ll clean your room,” he told his brothers, and they said, “Nice try, it’s your room, too.” To his sisters, he tried, “I’ll wash your clothes,” but they said, “We don’t want you touching our underwear.”

So he went around the neighborhood with the lawn mower, but since it hadn’t rained, the yards were all dried up. Only Mr. Crane’s yard had grass because he ignored the water restrictions and used the sprinkler every morning. But Z couldn’t mow his lawn because Mr. Crane did it himself.

“I don’t know what to do,” he complained after another day of failing to find a job.

His oldest brothers and sisters had jobs at fast-food places or clothing stores, but Boxer Boy and Copycat didn’t work. Like Z, they helped around the house without getting paid. Right now, Boxer Boy was outside giving the dog a bath, and Copycat was washing dishes while their mom ironed clothes.

“There’s a lot to do here,” his sister said. “You want to wash these dishes for me?”

“Are you going to pay me?”

She laughed. “Very funny,” she said.

He plopped on the couch. “I’m never going to make enough money for the magic convention.”

“Speaking of magic,” his mom said, “your friend Loop left a message last week. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you before. He said something about a deck of cards. A spaghetti deck or something?”

“You mean ‘Svengali’?”

She shrugged.

“What else did he say?”

“He wants it back.”

This surprised Z because Loop never did card tricks. “Are you sure? He hates messing around with cards. Besides, he has all kinds of magic tricks because his parents can afford to buy him anything he wants. He doesn’t have to share everything with a bunch of brothers and sisters.”

His mom gave him a stern look. “You should be grateful for your brothers and sisters,” she said.

“Yeah,” Copycat said. “Aren’t you grateful for me?” She curtsied.

Z ignored her. “So far,” he went on, “I’ve made exactly zero dollars and zero cents. This is definite proof that I’m cursed. Loop has the messiest room, but he still gets an allowance just because he was born. He doesn’t have to lift a finger, and his parents still give him money.”

“And what about your other friend?” his sister asked. “Does he get money just because he was born?”

“No, he does chores.”

“Qué bueno,” his mom said.

“But he gets paid when he does chores. Shouldn’t I get something for helping out? I swept the driveway yesterday, and all Dad gave me was a glass of water. Then he told me to sweep the back patio. I feel like a slave sometimes!”

His mother held up the iron. It looked like she wanted to brand him. “Around here,” she said, “we work because it’s our responsibility to help one another. We don’t do it for money. Besides, you get an allowance when we have a little extra.”

“That’s right,” his sister added. “I’m not getting a cent for washing these dishes today.”

“But—”

Before Z could finish, his mom said, “Go do chores at your friend’s house if you want to get paid.” With that, she pressed the iron hard against some slacks, and steam rose from it, making the iron seem as angry as she was. For a minute, Z felt guilty about upsetting her, but then he realized that she had just made a great suggestion.

He jumped from the couch and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re a genius!” he said. “Dominic’s out of town, so there’s no one to help his mom!”

He ran out the door and raced to the apartment complex. When Dominic’s mom answered the door, she said, “I’m afraid Dominic’s not back yet. He’s staying one more week at his father’s house.”

“That’s okay,” Z said. “I’m not here to see him. I’m here to see you.”

“Really?” she said. “Well, that’s wonderful. I was getting lonely all by myself.” She let him in, and Z took a seat on the couch. Then she asked if he wanted some milk and cookies. He said yes, so she went to the kitchen for his snack. Z finished the cookies and milk in less than a minute. With his giant family, he had to rush through meals if he wanted seconds, so he was used to eating fast.

“These are so delicious,” he said, his mouth still full.

Dominic’s mom smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed them. Now, what brings you to the apartment?”

Z told her the whole story—how his parents were running out of money because business was slow and they had too many kids and how his brothers and sisters ignored him because he was the youngest and how he was always last so there was never anything left for him. “That’s why I have to compete in that magic contest,” he explained. “I know I can win, because I’m really good at every card trick that has ever been invented. My parents said I can go, but only if I raise some money. Even though they’re broke, they went and bought a car for all my brothers and sisters, but not for me, since I can’t drive yet. So all I get is a little bit of money. See what I mean?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve been all over the place looking for lawns to mow or cars to wash, but I’m not having any luck. So then I thought about you and how you’re by yourself this week. Maybe I can take over Dominic’s chores while he’s gone, and you can give me his allowance.”

She thought a moment and then said, “You’re an enterprising young man, Z.”

He didn’t know what “enterprising” meant, but it sounded like a compliment, so he said, “Thanks!”

“I’m more than happy to give you some money in exchange for help this week, but I’m afraid it won’t be enough to cover the whole convention.”

“I know,” Z said. “I’ll need to bug a lot of people to give me jobs.”

“I’m glad to hear about your perseverance in spite of all the obstacles.”

Perseverance? With all this vocabulary, Z thought, no wonder Dominic is smart.

“I have a lot of friends around the apartment complex,” she continued. “I’ll see if anyone else needs help. In the meantime, I was about to wash clothes. Maybe you can help me carry the baskets and wait for the loads to finish. I don’t like to leave them unattended because once someone stole my towels straight from the dryer. I know it sounds boring, but you can read one of Dominic’s books while you wait.”

“Thanks, but I’ve got cards.” Z showed them to her. “I’ll practice while I wait.”

“Excellent way to multitask,” she said.

Z helped Dominic’s mom take the baskets to the laundry room, which was right by a swimming pool. She loaded the machines and showed him how to work the dryers and which settings she preferred. Then she left him alone to wait.

He was all by himself, but that was okay. He played a little game with his cards, lifting some and guessing how many were in his hand without spreading them out. He had a special talent for it.

He’d watched dozens of YouTube videos and couldn’t believe how many tricks could be done with a simple deck of cards. But one trick interested him more than the others. It was called the Ambitious Card. Z liked it because he was ambitious, too.

When the clothes finished, Dominic’s mom gave Z five dollars and told him to come back the next day to help her friends. Then she handed him a ziplock bag with extra cookies. “For later,” she said. Z beamed. The cookies would be his secret. He wasn’t going to share them with anyone—especially not his brothers and sisters.