“I’m glad you like it,” said Dr. Pickle. “Would you like to sit on the couch?”
Kathy sat back down. “Very comfortable,” she noted.
“When I count to three, you will wake up. But you will still be on the other side of the mirror. One . . . two . . . three.”
Kathy opened her eyes.
“How do you feel?” he asked her.
“Fine, thanks,” said Kathy. “How are you?”
“Very well, thank you,” said Dr. Pickle. “Do you mind if we continue with our little experiment?”
“Sounds like fun,” said Kathy.
“Happy,” said Dr. Pickle.
“Smile,” said Kathy.
“Smart,” said Dr. Pickle.
“Mrs. Jewls,” said Kathy.
“Friend,” said Dr. Pickle.
“D.J.,” said Kathy.
Dr. Pickle led her to the door.
“Thank you, Dr. Pickell,” she said, shaking his hand. “You are very wise. And I like your beard.”
“What’s wrong with my homework?” asked Kathy.
“It’s written backward!” said Mrs. Jewls. “Every sentence. Every word. Every letter. Even the numbers are backward.”
“Looks normal to me,” said Kathy. “Do you want me to do it over?”
Mrs. Jewls sighed. “No, that’s all right, Kathy. I’m just happy to see you doing so well. I’ll figure it out.”
7
The Closet That Wasn’t There
Mac was a curious kid.
When Miss Mush served chicken fingers, he asked her how many fingers a chicken had on each hand.
After lunch, he played basketball. Besides playing, he was also the self-appointed announcer, describing every shot, every pass, and every dribble.
Jenny finally told him to put a sock in it.
Only then, when he stopped talking, did Mac remember that he’d left his catcher’s mask in the cafeteria. Mac liked to wear his catcher’s mask for all sports, including basketball.
He was a curious kid.
The cafeteria was on the fifteenth floor. Mac found his mask right where he’d left it, but by then, it hardly seemed worth it to go all the way back down to the playground. So he continued on up to the thirtieth story.
And there, just outside his classroom door, was the most curious thing that Mac had ever seen. Next to the wall was some sort of giant closet. It hadn’t been there before lunch.