Out of Sight (7 page)

“Are those shoes I can see over there?” Her mom suddenly looked over Sophie's shoulder in the general direction of where the pair of nude-colored, peep-toe wedge boots were sitting. Sophie silently groaned as she realized too late that they weren't invisible. Thankfully, the basement lighting wasn't the best, and so Sophie quickly tried to block her mom's view while glancing in the other direction.

“S-shoes,” she stammered. “I can't see any shoes.”

“No, not that way,” her mom said. “Over there. In the corner. I'm sure it's some—”

“So about this babysitting tomorrow. I'd love to do it,” Sophie quickly broke in, and the moment her mom stopped looking in the direction of the shoes, Sophie made a quick wish, sending them to the back of her closet, while making a mental note never to shop and fly at the same time.

“Oh?” Her mom was immediately distracted as she looked at Sophie in delight. “You would? Sophie, that's wonderful. Max will be so thrilled.”

“That makes two of us,” Sophie lied as she followed her mom up the stairs and wiped her brow. That was way too close for comfort. Still, the important thing was that, according to Malik, with some more practice her flying skills would be good enough to rescue her dad. Suddenly, the idea of having to babysit Ryan the biter didn't seem so bad.

S
O,
WHAT HAPPENED? I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING,”
Harvey demanded the next morning as they pushed their way down the aisle of the bus and squeezed onto the two-person bench seat, as was their habit.

“It was fantastic.” Sophie grinned before proceeding to tell them everything that had happened. Right down to the ice cream and the shoes.

“Shoes?” Harvey shook his head in disgust, his long bangs swinging. “You ruined a perfectly good flying adventure by stopping to buy shoes?”

“Well, it was Malik's fault for wanting ice cream,” Sophie protested, before remembering just what a nuisance the shoes had been. She turned to Kara and took a deep breath. “But actually, there is something I need to tell you. I kind of promised that I would babysit Ryan the biter after school today,” she said, bracing herself for their reaction.

Yep. There it was.

“You what?” Kara and Harvey yelped in unison, their faces matching masks of horror. Kara added, “Why didn't you tell us about this first?”

“Because I knew that you would both freak out and start making faces. See.” Sophie pointed to them both as proof.

“Yes, well, we're making faces because it is a very bad idea,” Kara retorted. “A very, very bad idea. After all, if Mr. Rivers can keep a djinn in his basement, then there's no saying what else could be in there.”

“Plus, don't forget that he has very strange body language,” Harvey added. “I still haven't figured out if he's a serial killer or has an eating disorder, but there's definitely something weird about him.”

“Look, you guys, I don't want to do it, either. Especially since I'm supposed to be going shopping with Kara at the mall.”

“So don't do it,” Kara immediately replied. “Just tell your mom that you can't cancel because it's a fashion emergency. I mean, I could totally buy the wrong outfit if you're not there.”

“Of course you won't,” Sophie assured her, since her friend, who was tall and willowy, tended to look amazing in pretty much anything she put on. Paint-splattered clothes included.

“Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that Mr. Rivers is evil,” Harvey pointed out. “So if you just mention it to your mom, I'm sure she'll change her mind. I mean, she's hardly going to make you babysit for someone evil.”

“I know it's not ideal, but Mr. Rivers has been helping her out loads lately with her pottery business. Plus, he had no idea that Malik was trapped in a vase in his basement,” Sophie protested as the bus pulled into Robert Robertson Middle School and they all scrambled out. “Besides, it actually helps me with the tricky problem of how to explain to my mom that I could afford my new outfit for the anniversary party when she knows that I only have three bucks in my bank account. The important thing to remember is that Malik said that flying was going really well and that I should be ready in time.”

Thankfully, that seemed to keep her friends happy, and Sophie spent the rest of the day dreaming of what it would be like to see her dad again. When he left she had been only seven. Back then she couldn't even pronounce her
th
sounds properly, but now, not only was she four years older, but she was also a djinn.
The only djinn to have created Solomon's Elixir.

By the time the final bell rang, Sophie was buzzing with excitement. Not least since at lunch Kara had received a text message from Malik to say that he finally had a lead on Manny and he would BITSYFC, which they had finally decided must mean
be in touch soon you funky chickens.

Soon. It would all be okay soon.

Then she caught sight of her mom's old Toyota pulling into the parking lot and she ran over.

“You look happy,” her mom said as she headed toward Mr. Rivers's house. “And while I'd like to believe it's because you're looking forward to babysitting Ryan today, I have the feeling it's something else.”

“Of course I'm looking forward to babysitting Ryan,” Sophie assured her mom quite truthfully; now that she could turn herself invisible, Ryan would be getting a nasty shock if he tried to bite her and she just disappeared. After all, if it worked at school, then it was sure to work on a six-year-old kid.

“Well, I'm pleased that at least one of my daughters is happy,” her mom continued as she pulled out into the traffic and started to drive down King Avenue.

“Are you sure there's something wrong with Meg? I mean, the girl loves sharks—maybe it's just part of her weirdly gruesome nature?”

“I don't think so,” her mom said as she turned left onto Meadow Lane and slowed down so that an old woman could shuffle across the street. “I tried to talk to her again after breakfast, but all she would say was that she likes things the way they are and she doesn't want anything to change.”

“Yes, well, when change involves selling the house and moving to Montana, I tend to agree with her,” Sophie said as she reached up and touched the lucky guitar pick that was hanging from her neck. “But some change is good change. I mean, things are okay now, but who's to say that something can't happen to make life even better?”

Sophie's mom started to smile. “Oh, honey, you've got no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I mean, I know I was stuck in a rut for a long time, but I've finally managed to see that sometimes good things can happen when you very least expect them to.”

“Exactly.” Sophie gave an empathetic nod of her head, since it was fair to say that six weeks ago she never expected to become a djinn
or
to find out the truth about her missing dad. But now, she was almost on the verge of changing their entire life. And considering the extra attention Sophie's mom was putting into her appearance, not to mention how happy she was lately, it was almost like she
knew
that Sophie's dad was on the brink of coming home.

And...but whatever Sophie was about to think next was lost as her mom pulled into Mr. Rivers's driveway and Sophie caught sight of Jonathan Tait standing outside his house next door, looking adorable in a pair of baggy jeans and Sophie's favorite apple-green hoodie, which made his golden curls look even more golden.

A happy sigh escaped her lips. Even better, the minute Jonathan saw her, his eyes widened in surprise and he started to jog over to the car. Sophie immediately wished that her flat blonde hair wasn't quite so flat.

“And actually, while we're on the subject of things changing...” Her mom stopped the car and gave an awkward cough. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about.
And you're not listening to me, are you?
”

“Huh?” Sophie blinked as she dragged her gaze away from Jonathan for a moment and turned back to her mom. “Did you say something?”

“Never mind.” Her mom shot her a rueful smile. “I know better than to try to talk to you when there's a cute boy around. Go and say hello to him, and I'll let Max know we're here.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Sophie pushed open the car door. “You're the best.”

“I know,” her mom agreed before narrowing her eyes. “Is your hair looking bouncier than normal?”

“Er, of course not. I've just been using some new conditioner.” Sophie crossed her fingers as she quickly scrambled out of the car to greet Jonathan.

“Hey, Mrs. Campbell.” Jonathan nodded as Sophie's mom walked toward the front of Mr. Rivers's house. Then he turned back to Sophie and smiled. “So I guess you got roped into babysitting Ryan the biter again. Ouch.”

“I know. It was kind of a last-minute thing,” Sophie explained, returning his smile and valiantly resisting the urge to push one of his blond curls out of his eyes. “So how was basketball?”

“It was pretty cool.” Jonathan nodded. “Though if I'd known you were going to be hanging out here all afternoon, I wouldn't have arranged to go to Cooper's house to play Halo. I could've hung with you instead. Man, here he is now to pick me up.”

“Maybe I'll still be here when you get back?” Sophie said in a hopeful voice, savoring the fact that Jonathan wanted to hang out with her. There were just some things that a girl never got sick of hearing.

“Sounds good to me,” he agreed as he gave her one final goofy grin and hurried over to the car, where Cooper Mitchell was waiting for him. Sophie waited until he was gone before she turned and walked toward Mr. Rivers's house, a dreamy smile still on her face.

An hour later Sophie wasn't smiling quite so much. Ryan had already asked for three snacks and had made Sophie crawl on her hands and knees to look for a piece of missing LEGO—which, when she'd finally wished for it, had appeared in her hand smelling very much like the small pond at the back of the garden. Judging from the surprised (and disappointed) expression on Ryan's face, Sophie realized he must've put it there on purpose. Little beast. That's when he started throwing marbles at her.

In the end, the only way she had managed to stop him was by turning herself invisible and taking the marbles from him. That had caused him to cry so much that she had conjured up the latest Guitar Hero game for him to play with. Even then, he hadn't said thank you. But at least, judging by the noise coming from the guest room, Sophie might be able to have some time to herself.

She collapsed onto the large leather sofa. It was nothing like the lumpy one at her mom's house, which had a big stain where Meg had once spilled some ketchup, as well as shredded sides, courtesy of Mr. Jaws.

She ignored the blast of music coming from upstairs as she wondered how Malik was getting on with his lead. More importantly, she wondered how long it would be before she heard back from him. As a positive person she wanted to believe it would be within the next few minutes. Of course, as someone who had known Malik for the last six weeks, she realized it could also be considerably longer. His jaunt to France being just the latest example.

Had she mentioned how much she hated waiting? Normally she would've called Kara or Harvey, but they were both busy. And after what had happened in the basement that last time she was here, exploring the house wasn't something she was eager to do. Which left her with homework.

She reluctantly flipped open her Spanish book and was just about to start when she glanced out the window just in time to see a large white catering van pulling up the Taits' driveway. Sophie gazed at it with interest as a smart-looking woman holding a large black folder got out. She was quickly followed by a fat man with a bunch of helium balloons. They must be there about the anniversary party.

The anniversary party that
she
was going to!

Sophie grinned with excitement as she thought about the gorgeous outfit that she and Kara had spotted at the mall last week (the one that was now hanging in Sophie's closet, since that's what eleven-year-old girls with magical powers tended to do). Then she realized that, with all the excitement, she hadn't had a chance to see her dress and new shoes together. She closed her eyes and wished for them both to appear.

She grinned as they hovered in front of her like a floating mannequin. Not just because they were helping her levitation abilities, but because that last time she had been babysitting, Ryan had snuck in and stolen her good jeans, which had been the thing that had led her to release Malik accidentally from his bottle. Not something that she was—