Be Careful What You Wish For Read Online Free Page A

and began pedaling furiously toward home.
    A perfect end to a perfect day
, I thought bitterly.
    Trapped in the rain with a crazy woman.
    And the wish?
    I knew it was totally stupid.
    I knew I’d never have to think about it again.

7
    I found myself thinking about the wish at dinner.
    I couldn’t get over the way the crystal ball had glowed that strange red color.
    Mom was trying to get me to take another helping of mashed potatoes, and I was refusing. They were the kind from a box — you know, potato flakes or something — and didn’t taste at all like real mashed potatoes.
    “Sam, you’ve got to eat more if you want to grow big and strong,” Mom said, holding the potato serving bowl under my nose.
    “Mom, I don’t
want
to grow any more!” I exclaimed. “I’m already taller than you are, and I’m only twelve!”
    “Please don’t shout,” Dad said, reaching for the string beans. Canned string beans. Mom gets home from work late and doesn’t have time to make any
real
food.
    “I was tall when I was twelve,” Mom said thoughtfully. She passed the potatoes to Dad.
    “And then you shrunk!” Ron exclaimed, snickering. My older brother thinks he’s a riot.
    “I just meant I was tall for my age,” Mom said.
    “Well, I’m
too
tall for my age,” I grumbled. “I’m too tall for
any
age!”
    “In a few years you won’t be saying that,” Mom told me.
    When she looked away, I reached under the table and fed some string beans to Punkin. Punkin is my dog, a little brown mutt. He’ll eat
anything.
    “Are there more meatballs?” Dad asked. He knew there were. He just wanted Mom to get up and get them for him.
    Which she did.
    “How was basketball practice?” Dad asked me.
    I made a face and gave a double thumbs-down.
    “She’s too tall for basketball,” Ron mumbled with a mouth full of food.
    “Basketball takes stamina,” Dad said. Sometimes I can’t figure out why Dad says half the things he says.
    I mean, what am
I
supposed to say to that?
    I suddenly thought of the crazy woman and the wish I had made. “Hey, Ron, want to shoot a fewbaskets after dinner?” I asked, poking my string beans around on the plate with my fork.
    We have a hoop on the front of the garage and floodlights to light up the driveway. Ron and I play a little one-on-one sometimes after dinner. You know. To unwind before starting our homework.
    Ron glanced out of the dining room window. “Did it stop raining?”
    “Yeah. It stopped,” I told him. “About half an hour ago.”
    “It’ll still be real wet,” he said.
    “A few puddles won’t ruin your game,” I told him, laughing.
    Ron’s a really good basketball player. He’s a natural athlete. So of course he has almost no interest at all in playing with me. He’d rather stay up in his room reading a book. Any book.
    “I’ve got a lot of homework,” Ron said, pushing his black-framed glasses up on his nose.
    “Just a few minutes,” I pleaded. “Just a little shooting practice.”
    “Help your sister,” Dad urged. “You can give her some pointers.”
    Ron reluctantly agreed. “But only for a few minutes.” He glanced out the window again. “We’re going to get soaked.”
    “I’ll bring a towel,” I said, grinning.
    “Don’t let Punkin out,” Mom said. “He’ll get his paws all wet and track mud on the floor.”
    “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Ron grumbled.
    I knew it was stupid, but I had to see if my wish had come true.
    Would I suddenly be a great basketball player? Would I suddenly be able to outshoot Ron? To actually throw the basketball into the basket?
    Would I be able to dribble without stumbling? To pass the ball in the direction I wanted? To catch the ball without it bouncing off my chest?
    I kept scolding myself for even thinking about the wish.
    It was so dumb. So totally dumb.
    Just because a crazy woman offers to grant three wishes
, I told myself,
doesn
’
t mean that you have to get all excited and think you’re