Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Magic Shop Books) (6 page)

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"Come on, Jennifer," said Ellen. "We're not going to find anything here. We'd better go to your house--or maybe over to Sharra's."

"Not my house!" shrieked Sharra. "I can't let my parents see me like this."

"Well, we've got to tell
someone,"
said Ellen reasonably.

"No! No one! This is enough."

Jennifer was a little worried. She knew they ought to get some help--not that she really thought any of their parents would know what to do about a kid who had been turned into a toad. But it also seemed that Sharra ought to have some say in the whole situation.

It was at that moment that she found a spot that looked familiar. "I think we're on the right track," she whispered. "Come on!"

"Jennifer, I don't like this," said Ellen. "I've never seen this street before."

"That's a good sign," said Jennifer. "I told you there was something weird about this place."

"Weirder than I want to deal with," said Ellen nervously.

But though they seemed to be on the right street, there was no sign of the magic shop. In fact, the only building they saw that wasn't a private home was a small place with a sign that said Beauty Parlor hanging over the door.

"Let's ask here," said Jennifer, leading the way to the door. A small bell tinkled as she stepped into the parlor. The first thing Jennifer noticed

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about the place was that it was lined with mirrors. She tried to turn away from her reflection, but it seemed that no matter where she looked, she saw herself.

I can't wait to get out of here,
she thought.

The shop was deserted except for a woman sitting at a desk near the front. She was applying dark red polish to her long nails and appeared to be so intent on the task that she hadn't noticed them entering. But when Jennifer cleared her throat, the woman looked up in such a slow, deliberate way that it seemed she had been aware of their presence all along.

Indeed, it was Jennifer who was surprised, for the woman was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Her jet black hair, parted in the middle, fell about her shoulders in thick curls. Two thin black brows divided her high, pale forehead from a pair of almond-shaped eyes that seemed first green, then gold, depending on how the woman moved her head. Her smile left Jennifer sick with jealousy and wondering if this beauty parlor had any secrets that could work on her own dumpy face.

"Can I help you, girls?" asked the woman, in a voice that was like bells ringing and waves kissing the shore and children laughing.

Can you make me look like you?
Jennifer wondered. Out loud she said, "Do you know if there's a magic shop on this street? I thought I saw one around here the other day."

"Are you sure it wasn't this place?" asked the woman.

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Jennifer wrinkled her brow. "What do you mean?"

The woman laughed, a wonderful laugh. "Is anything more magical than beauty?"

Probably not,
thought Jennifer bitterly. But aloud she said, "No, it was a little shop where you could buy magic stuff. I want to find it again."

"Tell me a little more about it," said the woman. Her voice was light, but it was forced lightness.

Jennifer shrugged, starting to feel uneasy. "It was a neat place," she said, falling back on vagueness. "I liked it, sort of."

"Did you buy anything there?" asked the woman.

This time not even the lightness of her tone could mask the hunger beneath her words. The green-gold eyes had changed again. Now they were gray, the color of cold steel.

Jennifer's skin grew cold, too. She suddenly knew that she was in big trouble, though exactly what kind she couldn't tell.

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SIX

Skippy Gets Hoppy

"Jennifer, I think we should go," said Ellen, plucking at her arm.

Jennifer agreed, but she wasn't sure she could get her feet to move. They felt as if they had been embedded in cement. The woman's eyes, shifting now to an icy blue, seemed to be burrowing into her soul. Smiling, a summer sun beneath the arctic ice of her glare, the woman said, "I asked if you bought anything." Glancing significantly at the box, she raised one elegant eyebrow and added, "Anything ...
interesting?"

Jennifer knew she shouldn't speak of Bufo-- and not only because Mr. Elives had specifically forbidden it. Something deeper, instinctual, told her not to mention him to this woman. But the woman's gaze was so compelling, the silk and steel of her voice so frightening and comforting all at once, that Jennifer could feel her control over her tongue beginning to loosen.

"I ... I bought a toad," she murmured, her

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face burning with shame at the weakness that let the words be pulled from her lips.

The woman's eyes glowed with triumph, making her at once more beautiful and more frightening. "And where is that toad now?" she asked, the tip of her tongue gliding across the top of her lip in a way that made it clear she already knew the answer.

Suddenly Ellen grabbed Jennifer by the elbow and spun her around. "Run!" she cried.

Free of the woman's gaze, it took no more than a heartbeat for Jennifer to recover her senses. Racing toward the door, she burst out of the beauty parlor and into the afternoon sunlight. From behind them she heard a chilling cry of rage and anger. But the moment the door swung shut, the cry was cut off, almost as if the door formed some barrier between the inside of the shop and the rest of the world.

"Murdley!" cried Sharra. "What's going on out there?"

"Jennifer!" shouted Bufo. "Get us out of here!" She didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing Ellen by the hand, she ran for her life.

Five minutes later Ellen collapsed beneath a tree. "Enough!" she gasped. "I can't run anymore!"

"I think it's okay," said Jennifer, between deep rasping breaths. "I don't see her anywhere."

"Jennifer," said Bufo, using Mrs. Hopwell's voice, "what is going on?"

Jennifer was so startled at hearing her teacher's

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voice that she almost answered. Then she realized what Bufo was doing. "Wait till we get back to the house," she said, pressing her hand against her side. "I'll tell you all about it then."

"Tell us now!" said Sharra from inside Jennifer's sweatshirt.

"At the house!" said Jennifer firmly, her resolve strengthened by the fact that it pleased her to defy Sharra.

But when they reached the house, explanations were delayed by the fact that the children had to deal with Mrs. Murdley. Jennifer hadn't been expecting that; even when she was late, she usually beat her mother home from work.

Today was one of those rare days when Mrs. Murdley had arrived home first. Even worse, she was cooking, which meant that she had probably had a bad day. Mrs. Murdley hated to cook and only did it when she wanted to let off steam by slicing up some vegetables.

"Where have you girls been?" she asked now, as Jennifer and Ellen came through the back door into the kitchen. Then she whacked the top off a carrot.

"Just out," said Jennifer.

Mrs. Murdley frowned. "Jennifer, you know I want you to check in with us before you take off after school. Your father had no idea where you were. Not that he has enough sense to get worried about you."

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Since Mrs. Murdley never complained about Mr. Murdley in front of her children unless she was feeling exceptionally cranky, Jennifer knew that now was not the time to tell her that Sharra Moncrieffe was a toad and that she, Jennifer, was probably responsible. As a lawyer, Mrs. Murdley would immediately start thinking about the possible lawsuits involved.

On the other hand,
thought Jennifer,
if I get arrested for this, at least Mom will know what to do.

The thought comforted her. Not a lot, but at this point, she would take what she could get.

Gathering her courage, she asked, "Can Ellen spend the night?"

Despite her mother's mood, Jennifer knew the odds were good that she would agree to this request. Sensitive to neighborhood gossip that she was too busy with her career to be a good mother, Mrs. Murdley was always glad to have an outside witness to the times that she actually did cook.

"If it's okay with her parents," said Mrs. Murdley, decapitating another carrot.

"Thanks!" said Jennifer.

She meant it; she really didn't want to be left alone with Sharra and Bufo. Reaching up, she gave her mother a hug--which always made her feel tiny, since her mother was so tall. It also made her feel uglier than usual, since Mrs. Murdley was very beautiful.

Jennifer thought it was very unfair that such a beautiful mother could have such an ugly kid. Of

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course, it wasn't her mother's fault. But it sure didn't make things any easier.

"Sorry about being late," she whispered, when Mrs. Murdley bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"It's all right," said her mother softly. "But don't let it happen again. What have you got in the box?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Just an old toad," she said casually.

THUMP!

"Sounds like a big one," said Mrs. Murdley. "What are you going to do with him?"

"I wish I knew!" said Jennifer.

"All right," said Jennifer, once they were safe in her room, "let's
think."
She took Sharra out of her pouch and set her on the bed.

"Let's not," said Bufo, climbing out of his box and hopping over to his tank. "I've still got a headache from the bouncing you gave me on the way home. Have you got an aspirin I can lick?"

Jennifer hesitated. She wasn't supposed to get aspirin for herself. On the other hand, Bufo was basically an adult.

"Just a minute," she said.

"Forget it," said Bufo. "I was only kidding. They stick to my tongue. Give me a few minutes to recover. Then I want you to tell me about that woman you were talking to, what she looked like, how she acted--all the things I missed by being in that box."

He jumped for the edge of the tank, then climbed over the side and went to sit under his umbrella.

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"I think we should take Sharra back to her parents' house now," said Ellen, glancing at Bufo nervously.

Jennifer's stomach twisted. Even though it wasn't really her fault Sharra was a toad, she had a feeling she was going to get blamed for it. But she also had a feeling that Ellen was right.

Sharra didn't share that feeling.

"No!" she cried. "No! No! No!"

"All right," said Jennifer, patting Sharra on the head with her forefinger. "Calm down. No one's going to force you."

"Don't do that!" snapped Sharra.

"Well excu-u-u-use me," said Jennifer, drawing her hand back.

They sat in gloom for a moment, the only break in the silence the annoying buzz of a fly.

Suddenly Sharra's tongue shot out--ZAP!--and nailed the fly.

"Good work," said Bufo.

"Aahh!" cried Sharra, jumping around on the bed as though someone had just lit a match underneath her. "Aahhh! Aahhh! Aaaahhhhh! I ate a fly! I ate a fly! I didn't want to! I didn't mean to do it! Aaahhh!"

"Oh, quit beefing," said Bufo. "They're good for you."

"Aaahhh!" said Sharra.

"Don't worry," said Ellen in a soothing voice. "It was a very natural thing to do."

"Aahhh!" cried Sharra. "Call the doctor! I ate a fly!"

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"Do you
really
want us to call a doctor?" asked Jennifer.

"Yes! NO! Just do something!" Suddenly Sharra stopped moving. "If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," she said, her voice trembling with passion.

Jennifer had just been thinking how much fun it would be to tell the rest of the fifth grade about Sharra Moncrieffe eating flies.

"Promise you won't tell," demanded Sharra.

Jennifer sighed. "My lips are sealed," she said, raising one hand in a sign of pledge.

"Mine, too," said Ellen.

"Sheesh," said Bufo. "You'd think there was something wrong with eating a fly."

"Shut up!" snarled Sharra. Then she hopped across the bed, crawling halfway under the pillow, and squatted there glaring at the rest of them.

"We do have to let your parents know where you are," said Ellen, after an uncomfortable silence.

"I don't want them to know."

"If we don't say something, they're going to call the police," said Jennifer reasonably. Inside she was wondering who the Moncrieffes would call once they found out their daughter was a toad.

"So what?" said Sharra, who was clearly in no mood to be cooperative.

"Well, sooner or later the police will come over here and start asking questions."

"So? You're not going to tell them what happened."