Be Careful What You Wish For Read Online Free Page B

instantly going to turn into Michael Jordan!
    Still, I couldn’t wait to play with Ron.
    Was I in for a big surprise?

8
    Yes. I
was
in for a surprise.
    My shooting was actually
worse!
    The first two times I tossed the ball at the hoop, I missed the garage entirely and had to go chase the ball over the wet grass.
    Ron laughed. “I see you’ve been practicing!” he teased.
    I gave him a hard shove in the stomach with the wet basketball. He deserved it. It wasn’t funny.
    I was so disappointed.
    I told myself over and over that wishes don’t come true, especially wishes granted by crazy women out wandering in the rain.
    Still, I couldn’t help but get my hopes up.
    I mean, Judith and Anna and the other girls on the team were so mean to me. It would be totally terrific to come to the game against Jefferson Elementary tomorrow and suddenly be the star of the team.
    The star. Ha-ha.
    Ron dribbled the ball to the hoop and made an easy layup. He caught his own rebound and passed the ball to me.
    It sailed through my hands and bounced down the driveway. I started running after it, slipped on the wet surface, and fell facedown into a puddle.
    Some star.
    I
’
m playing worse!
I told myself.
Much worse!
    He helped me up. I brushed myself off.
    “Remember, this was
your
idea!” he said.
    With a determined cry, I grabbed the ball, darted past him, and dribbled furiously to the basket.
    I had to make this basket. I
had
to!
    But as I went up for my shot, Ron caught up with me. He leaped high, raised his arms, and batted the ball away.
    “Aaaagggh!”
    I let out a frustrated shout.
“I wish you were only a foot tall!”
I cried.
    He laughed and ran after the ball.
    But I felt a tremor of fear roll down my body.
    What have I just done?
I asked myself, staring into the darkness of the backyard, waiting for Ron to return with the ball.
Have I just made my second wish?
    I didn’t mean to!
I told myself, my heartthudding
wildly in my chest. It was an accident. It wasn’t a real wish.
    Have I just shrunk my brother down to a foot tall?
    No. No. No.
I repeated over and over, waiting for him to reappear.
    The
first
wish hadn’t come true. There was no reason to expect the second wish would come true.
    I squinted into the heavy darkness of the backyard. “Ron — where are you?”
    Then I gasped as he came scampering toward me over the grass — a foot tall — just as I had wished!

9
    I froze like a statue. I felt cold as stone.
    Then, as the tiny figure emerged from the darkness, I started to laugh.
    “Punkin!” I cried. “How did
you
get out?”
    I was so happy to see him — so happy it wasn’t a tiny Ron scampering over the grass — I picked up the little dog and hugged him tight.
    Of course his paws got me covered with wet mud. But I didn’t care.
    Sam, you’ve just got to chill
, I scolded myself as Punkin struggled free.
Your wish about Ron couldn’t come true because Clarissa isn’t here with her glowing red ball.
    You’ve got to stop thinking about the three wishes,
I told myself.
It’s just dumb. And you’re making yourself crazy over them.
    “What’s going on? How’d
he
get out?” Ron cried, appearing from the side of the garage with the ball.
    “Must’ve sneaked out,” I replied with a shrug.
    We played a few more minutes. But it was cold and wet. And no fun at all, especially for me.
    I didn’t sink a single basket.
    We finished with a foul-shot competition, a short game of HORSE. Ron won easily. I was still on the O.
    As we trotted back to the house, Ron patted me on the back. “Ever think of taking up tiddle-dywinks?” he teased. “Or maybe Parcheesi?”
    I uttered an unhappy wail. I had the sudden urge to tell him why I felt so disappointed, to tell him about the weird woman and the three wishes.
    I hadn’t told Mom or Dad about her, either. The whole story was just too stupid.
    But I thought maybe my brother would find it funny. “I have to tell you about this afternoon,” I said as we