“Max, Max!” Donna Shelton called as she ran into the apartment building. “I’ve been chosen as MC.”
Max was painting the frame of one of the lobby windows. He put the brush at the edge of the paint bucket. “MC?” Max asked.
“That’s Master of Ceremonies. But for me,” Donna said, “I’m a girl—I think it’s Mistress of Ceremonies. The fifth grade is having a talent show and I’ll introduce all the acts.”
The door opened. Donna’s twin sister, Diane, walked into the lobby with Gary and Kevin Young.
“Ah,” Max said. “My fourth floor twins are all here.” Max sat on one of the lobby chairs. He folded his arms and said, “Tell me about this talent show.”
Max is the doorman and fix-it man for the apartment building. He calls Donna, Diane, Gary, and Kevin his fourth floor twins because they all live on the fourth floor. And they’re twins.
Donna and Diane Shelton are identical twins. But they try not to look exactly alike. Donna wears her hair in braids. Diane’s hair hangs straight down. And when they dress in the morning, Diane usually waits to see what Donna is wearing. Then Diane puts on something very different.
Gary and Kevin Young are not identical twins. Gary has curly brown hair and wears eyeglasses. Kevin has straight brown hair and freckles.
“Diane and I are doing a juggling act,” Kevin told Max.
Kevin took three plastic bowling pins out of his book bag. He gave one to Diane. He took four giant steps. Then he turned and faced Diane.
“One, two, three,” Kevin counted. Then he threw a bowling pin to Diane. She threw the pin she was holding to Kevin and caught the one flying toward her.
As the bowling pins flew between Kevin and Diane, Gary said, “I’m doing a magic act.” He took a deck of playing cards from his pocket and said to Max, “Pick a card and show it to everyone but me.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Donna called out. “Before our next act I’d like to tell you what happened on my way to school this morning.”
Max took a card from Gary. He looked at the card, showed it to Donna, and put it back in the deck.
The door opened. “What is this,” Mrs. Cooper called out, “a circus tent or the lobby of my apartment building?”
Gary and Donna stopped talking. Diane dropped the bowling pin she was holding. A second pin flew past her and landed near the window, right in the bucket of paint.
Mrs. Cooper was carrying two large shopping bags filled with groceries. Max took one of the shopping bags. The twins watched quietly as Max pushed the elevator button for Mrs. Cooper. The doors opened. Max and Mrs. Cooper walked into the elevator. “The lobby is not a playground,” she told the twins as the elevator doors closed.
Diane took the bowling pin out of the bucket. She held it over the newspaper spread near the window. Paint dripped onto the newspaper.
Gary searched through his deck of cards.
“On my way to school,” Donna said, “I met a real smart dog. I asked the dog how much four times zero is and the dog said nothing.”
“Take a deep breath,” someone behind one of the doors in the lobby said.
Gary held up the queen of hearts. “Was this the card?” he asked.
“Yes,” Donna told Gary. “That’s the card. But did you get my joke? Four times zero is nothing. And that’s what the dog said. Nothing. Get it?”
“There’s someone locked behind that door,” Kevin said.
“Now listen to this joke about a mixed-up cook,” Donna said. “He scrambled his watch and tried to wind up a dozen eggs.”
“Quiet,” Kevin told the others as he walked toward a closed door. “Listen.”
Donna and Gary walked toward the door. Diane didn’t. Paint was still dripping from the bowling pin. The twins waited.
“Save me, Doctor. Save me!” they heard someone call from the other side of the door.
