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  Isabel had planned to say more, but, instead, she went right to the music. She pressed the button on the cassette player and the waltz began. It was beautiful. When they got to the last chorus, Isabel’s family began to sing along. You could hear their voices blending with the band. Isabel stood waiting while the tape played. Then she picked up the cassette player and headed back to her desk.

  “Very nice, Isabel,” Ms. Ciara said. “And now we’ve seen another kind of tradition, also musical…Very good.”

  “Thank you,” Isabel said, relieved to be back in her seat. As she passed Anna and Joline’s desks, she noticed that they were drawing little princesses with tiaras and funny faces all over their notebooks. Isabel wished she had some paint with her now, something she could accidentally spill on their drawings. That was the thing about Anna and Joline. They sometimes made you feel like being mean, too.

  “Does anyone have any questions or comments?” Ms. Ciara asked.

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Fields walked in. “Sounds like you’re all having fun in here today,” she said.

  “We’re discussing musical traditions,” Ms. Ciara explained.

  “Well, then, I’ve come at the perfect time,” Mrs. Fields said. “I have come to talk about an Abigail Adams school tradition…the seventh-grade talent show.”

  Katani looked at Mrs. Fields. It was difficult, sometimes, for Katani to believe that the principal of Abigail Adams Junior High was her own grandmother. Her grandmother had worked hard to get where she was, and Katani was proud of her. It was all about education at Katani’s house. But, still, it was pretty weird having your grandmother be the principal, she thought.

  “Each year we have a wonderful show. And from what I heard out there in the hall, it sounds like we have quite a few potential performers here. The audition times are posted on the board. The show is voluntary, of course, though I hope each of you will perform in some way, as this is a charitable event. And that is really the part I came here to talk to you about.

  “Last year, the proceeds of the talent show funded a field trip along with a sizable contribution to the Peabody Essex Museum. The year before, we held an art show to benefit a local charity. This year it can be anything you want, with one stipulation. The event or cause you choose must be somewhat educational. What do I mean by that? A class trip to the Museum of Science is educational. A trip to Crane’s Beach is probably not…” She thought for a minute. “I take that back. A trip to Crane’s Beach could be educational if it included a nature walk…or a visit to a historic monument…You get the point. You are all encouraged to submit proposals to the Student Council. This group will make a decision at their next session.”

  Betsy Fitzgerald’s hand shot up.

  “Yes, Betsy?” Mrs. Fields said.

  “Mrs. Fields, I move that we use the proceeds of the show to hire a college PSAT coach to host vocabulary enhancement training sessions at the school.” Betsy looked around. “Any seconds?”

  The Trentini twins started banging their heads on their notebooks, pretending that Betsy’s vocabulary program would drive them over the edge.

  Mrs. Fields was clearly amused. “Don’t you think that’s a bit premature, Betsy? I mean, for a seventh-grade class.”

  “It’s never too early to build your vocabulary, Mrs. Fields,” Betsy said.

  “True enough,” Mrs. Fields said. “Well, if that’s what you would like, I urge you to write it up as a proposal and submit it to the Student Council. One page only.”

  Betsy started making notes in her notebook even before Mrs. Fields finished what she had to say.

  “I will post the audition schedule as well as the proposal guidelines on the bulletin board next to the cafeteria. Please make sure to stop by and take a look at them.”

  The bell rang and Maeve rushed over to Charlotte, Isabel, Avery, and Katani, who were on their way out the door.

  “Isn’t this so cool? A talent show,” Maeve enthused. “I went to one at my cousin’s high school once. It was super fun.”

  “Yeah, super fun if you have a talent like yours, Maeve,” said Avery. “But I see backstage work in my future.”

  The other BSG cracked up, remembering Avery’s voice and dance dyslexia. She could kick a soccer ball like Mia Hamm, but performing on stage was definitely not one of Avery’s strong points.

  The Beacon Street Girls made their way to the bulletin board. There were lots of kids huddled around, and at the center of the whole crowd were Anna and Joline, talking and whispering with Kiki Underwood. If Anna and Joline were the Queens of Mean, then Kiki was the Empress. She was so unfriendly to everyone none of the BSG could understand why she was so popular. Katani said it was because she looked like a Barbie doll and wielded power like an army general. That seemed like a good enough explanation.

  The Beacon Street Girls didn’t have much to do with Kiki. With the exception of gym and music, she wasn’t in any of their classes, and she never spoke to them. They guessed they weren’t cool enough. But that was okay with them. It was too much work to be around someone like Kiki. You never knew what she was up to. She barely spoke to Anna and Joline, and they were supposed to be her friends.

  “What are you doing for an act?” Kiki asked Dillon. She was leaning into him as she spoke, pretending she was doing it to get a better look at the announcement on the board.

  “Talent shows are not really my thing,” Dillon answered. He didn’t sound too encouraged.

  Maeve jumped into the conversation. “I think I’m going to do something from Fame, it has the best songs and dances,” she said, trying to move between them.

  “Fame is lame,” Kiki said, looking at Maeve as if she were some annoying bug.

  “We’ve decided to do something together,” Joline proudly pointed to Anna and Kiki.

  “How nice for you,” Katani said. Katani totally had a way of stopping a conversation flat when she wanted to. It was a handy quality to have in a friend, as long as you were on the right side of it. Katani once told the BSG, “You really need to learn how to get people to stop talking without shouting at them. I mean, like what if you have some totally obnoxious employee and you have to squish him before things get out of hand?” She had a point.

  “Would you guys mind moving away from the board so we can look?” Charlotte asked politely. Charlotte was always polite. She said it was from living overseas, where adults got really freaked out if kids weren’t polite.

  Dillon stepped out of the way, as did Nick.

  Dillon bowed, “All yours, girls.”

  They were really nice guys, but today that seemed to annoy Kiki.

  “I thought you Beacon Street whatevers would be doing an act together,” Kiki said. “I heard you do everything together.”

  “Where did you hear that?” Avery said challengingly.

  Anna snorted. “No one had to tell us. Everyone can see you’re attached at the hip.”

  “So what kind of act are you going to do?” Kiki said, ignoring Anna.

  “A great one,” Avery said.

  “Like what?” Anna challenged.

  “We’re going to do a magic show,” Charlotte blurted out, surprising even herself.

  The other BSG tried to look as if they weren’t surprised.

  “Right, like you know magic,” Anna said.

  “Charlotte studied magic in Paris,” Maeve said. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was a stretch.

  “Yeah, right,” Joline said.

  “She did so!” said Maeve, this time with attitude.

  “So, what, you’re like David Copperfield or something?” asked Joline.

  “More like Harry Houdini,” Charlotte said. “Which reminds me, isn’t it time for our vanishing act?”

  Attempting an exit with attitude, Charlotte managed to send the bulletin board crashing to the floor as she turned to walk away. So much for being smooth. Katani put the board back in place and shot a glare over her shoulder, silencing the snickers from
the Empress and Queens of Mean.

  “Do you think Anna and Joline were born that way?” asked Isabel when the Beacon Street Girls had finally made it down the hall.

  “No way,” answered Avery. “I think they practice after school to see how they can annoy everyone.”

  “I think they are really going to be sorry when they grow up. If they stay that way through high school, nobody is going to want to see them at our high school reunion,” Maeve said vehemently.

  Ready to change the subject, Avery turned to Charlotte. “So, did I hear you right? Did you just say we’re going to do a magic show?”

  “Sorry, it just popped out,” Charlotte said.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Isabel said. “Avery, you should have seen the magic trick that Charlotte did the other day.”

  “I think it’ll be fantastic,” Katani said.

  “I really want to do it,” Charlotte said, just realizing how excited she was.

  “I’m in,” Maeve said.

  “Me too,” added Katani.

  “Me three,” Isabel chimed in.

  “There’s just one teeny problem, Charlotte,” Katani realized.

  “What?” the others answered in unison.

  “Think about it. Charlotte is the only one who knows magic,” she said just a little smugly. “What are the rest of us going to do?”

  “Oh, yeah, good point,” said Avery with her customary “let’s get real here” attitude.

  “No problem,” Charlotte jumped in to reassure them all. “A magic show has lots of different parts…costumes, props, music. Somebody needs to get sawed in half.”

  “Eww!” Maeve shrilled. “Count me out.”

  “It’s fake,” Charlotte explained. “The whole thing is an illusion. That’s what magic is all about. Maeve, you could be the girl in the fancy costume, who walks around the stage with funny signs. And Avery, I could make you disappear. We’ll all get to do something really fun. Just wait and see.”

  Avery thought for a minute. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “But only if I get to pull Marty out of a hat.” She began whooping and running down the hall.

  In chorus, the Beacon Street Girls groaned and began to chase after her.

  CHAPTER 3

  Magic and Old Movies

  Dear Diary,

  Magic show—am I completely out of my mind? How am I going to figure all of this out in time for the talent show? I can see it all now—Charlotte Ramsey, daughter of renowned travel writer, Richard Ramsey, and a member of the now famous Beacon Street Girls, has been arrested for a magic trick gone seriously wrong. As a result of Ms. Ramsey’s ineptitude, a young girl lies in the hospital with a rather large wound (yuck!) and Ms. Ramsey faces serious criminal charges for being the worst magician ever in the history of magicianship. If convicted, Ms. Ramsey will be sent to prison until she is at least twenty years old and she will never be able to do magic tricks again!

  Charlotte lay down her pen and leaned back on the big stuffed pillows, her face creased with worry. Marty leaped on the bed and laid his head on her stomach.

  “Hey, pumpkin, what’s the long face for?”

  Charlotte started and sat up straight. Her father’s friendly, concerned face undid her.

  “Oh, Dad, I am in big, huge trouble,” Charlotte said in one of those voices that meant she was almost ready to cry.

  “Wow! That sounds serious, sweetheart. Good thing I just brought you some tea and cinnamon toast.” He walked across the room and set the snacks down on her nightstand.

  “Oh, Daddy. That’s so nice, but I am really serious. I think I signed up for something I can’t do.”

  “Well, I think we better talk this one through,” he said as he popped a piece of the toast that was supposed to be hers into his mouth.

  “Hey,” Charlotte protested with a big smile on her face.

  “I need sugar if I’m going to rescue my desperate daughter,” and he popped another piece in his mouth.

  Charlotte threw one of her pillows at her dad, and he threw one back at her. The pillow fight was on. Marty got so excited he jumped off the bed and ran for Happy Lucky Thingy, his favorite chew toy. Marty raced around like an animaltronix robot, shaking his toy and growling furiously until Charlotte collapsed onto her bed, laughing hysterically.

  “Now, I think we should talk about this Very Serious Thing that is happening with you,” her dad said as he plopped down on the bed beside her. Marty jumped up between them, Happy Lucky Thingy still in his mouth. He was quite a happy pooch, now that Charlotte and her father started to pet him. Charlotte plowed through the whole thing from start to finish, including her promise of the magic act. When Charlotte finished her story, her father fell silent for a minute, rubbing his chin as if he were deep in philosophical thought.

  “Daddy,” Charlotte poked him in the ribs. “So what am I going to do?”

  “How does moving to Fiji sound?”

  “That’s not funny…I don’t think I can pull this off without some help. And you don’t know magic…who can I get to help me?” Charlotte asked, desperation in her voice. “I don’t want to disappoint my friends. They were all really excited about this. And Maeve told Anna and Joline that I was a real magician.”

  “I’ve got it, by Jove, I’ve got it,” her dad answered in his best British accent.

  Guys, even when they are your dad, just love to joke around, thought Charlotte.

  “Well,” Charlotte said impatiently.

  “Jacques!”

  “Omigosh, Dad! Why didn’t I think of that…do you think…do you think…” Charlotte sputtered in her excitement. “Do you think he would help us…me?”

  “Let’s go find out.”

  Charlotte and her dad phoned Jacques and woke him up, because it was six hours later in Paris, but he was so excited to find out what Charlotte was doing that he didn’t care. Jacques spent an hour giving her all sorts of magician secrets. And he made her promise that she would never reveal them. It was the “Magician’s Code of Honor” that you never reveal how a trick is done except to another magician. His advice was so helpful that Charlotte began to think that they were really going to pull it off.

  MAGIC, CHOCOLATE, AND DOG TRICKS

  When they met at Maeve’s house the next day, Charlotte explained the code to everyone, and Avery and Maeve immediately fell in love with the whole secret magic society thing. They both said it made them feel very honored to be part of such an old tradition. Katani was a little suspicious and wanted to know if there was any money involved. Charlotte assured her that Jacques was not charging them at all. Isabel was so excited—she couldn’t wait to find out how real magicians managed to do some of the things they did.

  Charlotte loved the idea of the BSG all working together. Everyone could take part, and they would have a super amount of fun. Charlotte was making a list of everyone’s talents. “I’m listing everything I can think of,” she said. “You never know which one may come in handy.” The list sounded impressive, even if some of the girls’ talents could be hard to put on stage.

  Charlotte’s list of the amazing talents of the BSG:

  1. Charlotte: Reading, writing, traveling, magic tricks, klutz factor which could provide comic relief.

  2. Maeve: Singing, dancing, anything on stage, Hollywood-style glamour, impressions, acting very grown-up…mastery of high heels.

  3. Isabel: Art, computer art and animation, cartoons.

  4. Katani: Costumes, business, math.

  5. Avery: Sports, politics, team building, animal training.

  6. Marty: Official mascot of the Beacon Street Girls, major cuteness factor.

  The animal training part was something Avery had just scribbled on the list herself. She had spent all yesterday afternoon teaching Marty to jump through a hoop. Bribed by various treats, Marty learned the trick quickly. Then, just as quickly, he learned that it was easier to just walk around the back of the hoop and pick up the treat himself.
/>   “Is swimming a talent?” Isabel asked, munching on a BSG favorite—Chocolate Gag brownies that Maeve had baked for their planning meeting.

  “Yeah,” Katani said, “but I’m not sure it’s something you can do onstage.”

  “Don’t you do ballet?” Avery asked.

  “I do water ballet sometimes,” Isabel said.

  “But you used to do ballet.” Avery was sure she’d heard that somewhere.

  “Yes, but that was a really long time ago,” Isabel said. “And I don’t think they put ballerinas in magic acts.”

  “Isabel, you have to do the scenery,” Katani said. “You are such a good artist, I’ll bet you could do something really cool.”

  “Okay,” Isabel happily agreed. Scenery she could do.

  “I planned on that already,” Charlotte laughed. “We’ll need a box big enough to crawl into. Something very colorful, with sliding panels and mirrors.”

  “That sounds kinda complicated. When I did Marty’s doghouse, I just bought a doghouse and painted it,” Isabel said.

  “My dad can help us with that. He’s really good at building things,” offered Charlotte.

  “Perfecto,” answered Isabel. “But, I’ll do all the painting. He doesn’t have to worry about that.”

  “But we need you to be on stage, too,” Avery said.

  “We all don’t have to be on stage,” Isabel said.

  “Isabel and I can work behind the scenes. Right, Isabel?” Katani asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” Isabel replied, looking over Katani’s shoulder at the elaborate black-and-gold sequined outfit Katani was sketching for Maeve to wear.

  “And Maeve, you will be the magician’s assistant. We’ll just put you in the box and…” Charlotte said.

  “Excuse me?” Maeve interrupted, dropping her brownie on the floor. “Can’t we just do a card trick or something?” she asked.