He quickly wrote the name on the pad, crossing out Archie and putting Arthur in its place. Then he read the list out loud: “Elfie. Elsie. Charlie. Arthur.” Now that they were written down, he wouldn’t forget them. He folded the paper and tucked it into his shirt pocket, where it rested against his heart.
For the rest of the night, whenever he felt himself forgetting his brothers and sisters, he touched the paper in his pocket. He did it twice at dinner and several more times while doing his homework. Before he went to bed, he took the paper out and read the names again.
“I’m not going to forget you,” he promised. “I’m going to get you back.”
He meant what he said. The problem was, he had no idea how he was going to do it. After turning the light off, he lay in bed, thinking about the Wish Eater and how he’d messed up his wish. If he ever got the chance to use it again, he was going to have to make sure he did it correctly. But that meant getting Tamyra to let him have it back, and given how she’d acted that afternoon, she wasn’t ready to do that.
Max stayed awake for a long time, and when he finally fell asleep it seemed like only a few minutes before his alarm rang and he had to get up and get ready. So when he walked into school, he was yawning and at first didn’t notice the huge crowd that was blocking the hallway.
“Tay is my best friend!” a girl said, sounding angry.
“She was my best friend first,” said another.
Suddenly, a lot of people were talking at once, all of them insisting that Tamyra was their best friend. Max searched and found Tamyra standing in the center of the arguing students, looking miserable. When she saw Max, she pushed her way through the throng.
“Come on,” she said. “I need your help.”
Max followed her as she hurried down the corridor. Behind them, the kids arguing about which of them was Tamyra’s best friend noticed that she was gone.
“There she is!” one of them shouted. “Hey, Tay, wait up.”
Tamyra began to run. Max, seeing a bunch of people running toward them, ran too. Tamyra turned a corner ahead of him, disappearing. When Max reached the corner, she was gone. Then a door opened and a hand reached out, pulling him inside a closet where janitorial supplies were kept. Tamyra shut the door behind him. A second later, the sound of running feet and voices filled the hallway.
“Shhh,” Tamyra whispered, holding her finger to her lips.
Max stayed quiet until the sounds outside stopped.
“I think they’re gone,” he said softly.
“Good,” said Tamyra, unzipping her backpack. She reached inside and pulled out the Wish Eater. “Because we’ve got some wishing to do.”
Max stared at the Wish Eater sitting on Tamyra’s outstretched palm. Seeing it again, he couldn’t believe that a toy could cause so much trouble.
“It doesn’t look magic, does it?” he said.
“I wish I’d never seen it,” said Tamyra.
After a second, they both laughed. “Probably not the best choice of words,” Max said.
“Just for the record, that’s not my wish,” said Tamyra.
“It only counts if you write it down,” Max reminded her.
“Too bad it didn’t come with a rule book,” Tamyra remarked, sitting down cross-legged on the floor. “Then we might have made different wishes.”
Max joined her on the floor. The Wish Eater sat between them. “I don’t know if that would have helped,” he said. “I think this thing is tricky.”
They both stared at the teeth in silence for a moment. Then Tamyra said, “How do you think it works?”
Max shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is, it does.”
“It still doesn’t make any sense,” Tamyra said. “Magic, I mean. Like, why is this thing magic? If I made a Wish Eater out of clay or whatever, it wouldn’t be.”
“Maybe it would be,” Max suggested. He looked at Tamyra. “You still don’t believe it’s real, do you? Not really.”
Tamyra shrugged. “I like science,” she answered. “Things that you can explain by studying them. Magic, I’m not so sure about.”
“But you love the Harry Potter books,” Max said. “You wear a Ravenclaw scarf and everything.”
“That’s just for fun,” Tamyra said. “I do love the books. And I love the idea of magic. But it’s not real.”
“Then how do you explain what’s going on?” Max asked. “My family disappearing. You suddenly being the most popular girl in school.”
Tamyra didn’t answer him. She fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment, then said, “Who should go first, you or me?”
Max wanted to say he would, but that seemed greedy. Also, he kind of wanted to see if Tamyra’s wish worked before he made his. “You go first,” he said.
Tamyra seemed relieved at the suggestion. She took a notebook out of her backpack, tore off a page, then sat quietly, tapping her pen against her leg and biting her lip.
Max waited impatiently until he couldn’t stand it any longer. “What are you going to wish for?”
Tamyra started to write on the paper. “I wish I wasn’t the most popular girl in school anymore,” she said as she wrote. “How does that sound?”
“Pretty good,” Max said.
Tamyra folded up the paper. She opened the Wish Eater’s mouth, tucked the note inside, then shut it again. “How long do you think it will take?” she asked.
“I left mine in overnight,” Max said. “How about you?”
“Same,” said Tamyra. “I hope it doesn’t take that long this time.” She put the Wish Eater back into her backpack and zipped it shut. “I guess I should keep it with me until something happens.”
Or doesn’t happen, Max thought. But he didn’t say that out loud. He didn’t want Tamyra to worry about it.
“We’d better get to class,” Tamyra said, opening the door a crack and peering out. “It’s okay,” she told Max. “My fan club is gone.”
They stepped out into the hall and walked toward their classrooms. Max’s homeroom was first, and when they reached the door Tamyra said, “You can take the Wish Eater home tonight and make your wish.”
“Okay,” Max said. “Good luck with yours. I hope it comes true.”
Tamyra smiled. “Me too.”
Max went into his classroom just as the bell rang. He slipped into his seat and unpacked his books as the morning announcements came on.
“Today’s hot lunch will be fish sticks,” said the robotic voice of Mrs. Blovage, the principal’s assistant. “Tryouts for the school play will be held during sixth period, and all interested thespians should report to Mr. Coney’s room. And in this morning’s big news, the results of yesterday’s student council election are in and Tamyra Hinkle was elected to every single position. Congratulations to President-Vice-President-Treasurer-Secretary Hinkle. I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job.”
The class erupted in applause, and Max heard several people say that they had voted for Tamyra, who as far as Max knew hadn’t even been running for student council. The Wish Eater had obviously taken her wish seriously and also apparently hadn’t answered her latest one yet. Max wondered if it even would and how it decided which ones to say yes to and which ones to ignore.