Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 128893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
“I’ll go.” I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what the penalty was if we were caught but since Avery did this on a regular basis, I assumed he knew his way around the kitchen and how to avoid detection.
Plus I wanted an excuse to get out of the Norm Dorm and maybe have a look around the Academy during the twilight hour. I wondered if Griffin might be sneaking out again—not that it was any of my business, but I couldn’t help wondering…
“First we both need to be in our pajamas,” Avery counseled me. “That way if anyone should happen to see us, we can say we couldn’t sleep and we were just on our way to the Healer’s office for a sleeping spell. It’s all very innocent that way.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
“Have you ever been caught?”
“Once.” He held up one finger to illustrate. “But that time I was actually caught with my hand in the cookie jar—or in the cold storage unit—which amounts to the same thing.”
“Oh my God—what did you do?” I asked.
Avery widened his eyes innocently.
“Why, I poured out my heart to the cafeteria lady who caught me, telling her how my worries about my grades were keeping me up and I just needed a warm glass of milk to help me relax.”
“Oh? And she bought that?” I demanded.
Avery gave me a Cheshire cat grin.
“She heated the milk for me herself. But that was a close call. Ever since, we usually go in pairs so one of us can act as a look-out and warn the other if someone comes in.” He shrugged. “It hardly ever happens. Most of the cafeteria ladies live off campus so it’s usually not a problem.”
“Well, let me change into my, uh, jammy-britch and I’ll come with you,” I told him.
“I have to change too. Meet you back in the common room in five,” Avery directed.
I nodded and went to my room to change into my robe and slippers—which felt wonderfully soft on the injured backs of my heels. I had gotten some bandages to cover the small wounds earlier but I could tell that wearing my Mary Janes wasn’t going to be comfortable for some time.
When I got back out to the common room, Avery was already waiting for me. He had a huge canvas shopping bag over his arm that looked big enough to hold a week’s worth of groceries.
“What’s with the bag?” I asked, staring at it. It was painted in a lot of brightly patterned colors and looked like something my Aunt Dellie would have loved. “Doesn’t it make what we’re about to do kind of obvious? I mean, who goes to the school nurse—er, Healer—with a giant-ass shopping bag on their arm?”
“Oh that’s right—she’s never seen your invisi-bag before,” Emma remarked.
“His what?” I asked, frowning.
“My invisi-bag. Watch.” Avery stroked the bag once and it suddenly vanished from sight. One minute it was there and the next minute it simply wasn’t. Only the way he was still holding his arm, like he had a bag hooked on it, gave any indication it was still there.
“That’s incredible!” I exclaimed, my eyes going wide. “How did you do that?” Thought I was now surrounded by magical beings, it was still only my second day at the Academy, so watching something disappear into thin air wasn’t something I could take lightly.
“That’s not all it can do,” Avery said smugly. He stroked the bag, makling it visible again. “Watch this. Emma, give me that pillow if you please. No—the really big one,” he added, when she started to pass him a small throw pillow. “Give me one from the back of the couch.”
“Sorry, Kaitlyn,” Emma apologized as she shifted around to grab one of the big couch cushions about four feet wide and three feet high and passed it to Avery.
Kaitlyn, displaced by the move, sat up and smiled wanly.
“It’s okay—I like watching Avery show off.”
“I am not showing off!” Avery exclaimed huffily—and then proceeded to do exactly that.
As big as his bag was, there was no way it could hold such a large cushion—or so I thought. But somehow Avery fit it in—though it was a full foot longer than the bag was tall—and pushed it all the way down so that none of it was showing at all. Then he calmly folded the full bag in half, then in half again, and again and again until he inexplicably held something no bigger than a Saltine cracker. He stroked it once with his thumb and it disappeared from sight, whereupon he slipped the invisible bag into one of the wide front pockets in his smoking jacket and spread his arms wide, like a magician completing a trick.
“Ta-da!” He smiled triumphantly and I couldn’t help applauding.
“That was amazing! It’s like living with David Copperfield!” I exclaimed.