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CONTENTS
Part One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Part Two
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Oh, Brother!
PART
ONE
Chapter One
Justin Russo couldn’t stop staring at her.
Her long, silky blond hair shimmered in the afternoon sun. Her aquamarine eyes were the color of the Caribbean Sea, and when she smiled, her face lit up brightly. She was beyond gorgeous.
What he wouldn’t do to have her notice him just once!
I’d give up my mint-condition collector G.I. Joe doll, Justin thought. In fact, he’d give away his entire collection of prized superhero figures to go out with her. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Ever.
“Dude, close your mouth. Your tongue is going to dry out,” his friend Henry joked.
Justin suddenly realized his mouth had dropped wide open! He took a swig of water from his water bottle and opened his textbook, trying to look as if he were doing something. Something other than staring at her.
“Listen, man.” Henry nudged him. “Why don’t you just ask her out?”
“Kari Langsdorf?” Justin gaped at his friend in disbelief. “I can’t ask out Kari Langsdorf! She has no idea who I am. She’s never even talked to me. I’m totally invisible to her.”
Justin turned his gaze again to Kari. She stood by the front door of Tribeca Prep. A bunch of guys swarmed around her. He could hear her giggle. He leaned in closer, hoping to overhear what made her laugh. Suddenly, his shoulder was shoved by a guy walking past.
“Sorry, man.” The guy grinned. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Why would you?” he muttered. It was the story of his life—especially his life in high school. “Totally invisible to everyone,” Justin told Henry.
Justin watched the guy walk right up to Kari. No hesitation at all. Why would he hesitate? Justin reminded himself. The guy was a high school senior and looked like he belonged in the starring role in a teen movie on TV. He was the kind of guy girls like Kari noticed.
“Hey, Kari.” The guy smiled, revealing perfect white teeth. “You want to check out a movie this weekend?”
“Do you play baseball?” she asked.
The cute guy raised his eyebrows. “No. But I’m quarterback of the football team, president of the student council, and I’m a swimsuit model.”
“Oh.” Kari seemed unimpressed. “I only date baseball players.” She shrugged her shoulders and walked away from him.
Justin stared in surprise. If Kari wouldn’t pay attention to that guy, he knew he should never think about even approaching her. Then he noticed that she was heading in his direction. She was coming his way! Closer . . . he had trouble breathing . . . closer . . . and then she bumped into him!
“Oh! Sorry.” She blinked rapidly, as if confused. “Didn’t see you there.”
Justin choked out a chuckle as she walked right past him.
Henry gave him a friendly shove. “So, Justin.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Do you play baseball?”
Justin watched Kari walk toward the parking lot. “Yes,” he said with a sigh.
For Kari, he’d play baseball. For Kari, he’d play anything. He would be a baseball superstar! “Are you going to try out for the team this year?” Henry asked.
“I might.” Justin sniffed at the faint scent of her perfume still floating in the air.
Henry gave Justin a serious look. “Think you got a shot at making it?”
Justin sighed again, reality crashing down around him. He stunk at playing baseball. “Absolutely not.”
Chapter Two
Alex Russo stood behind the counter of the Waverly Sub Station, the restaurant that her parents owned and ran. She was thinking about the essay she had to write for English class. Then she thought about next Tuesday’s math test. She knew she should probably go upstairs to her family’s apartment and hit the books, but that sounded so . . . boring. She thought about the cute boys who sometimes hung out at the restaurant after school. Homework could definitely wait.
“Hey, Alex,” her best friend, Harper Evans, called out. She hurried over to the counter. “Can I get a turkey sandwich?”
Alex shook her head. “I’m off the clock.” She gestured to the kitchen behind her. “You know where everything is,” she told her.
“Well, if you’re off the clock, then what are we doing here?” Harper demanded. “I’ve got a jean jacket at home that’s not going to sequin itself.”
Alex smiled. Her friend loved do-it-yourself fashion. “Relax, Harper. We’re just waiting for my dad to come back with the team he’s coaching, so we can see the cute guys.”
The girls turned as the door to the restaurant suddenly swung open. A group of boys in red-and-black baseball shirts that had AZTECS printed on the front headed into the sandwich shop.
“All right, guys,” called Mr. Russo. “Root beer floats are on the house.” He grinned. He loved sports, especially baseball, and he really loved coaching.
The team cheered and grabbed chairs at the few empty tables.
Mr. Russo noticed his younger son, Max, playing video games in the corner, and he waved him over. “Hey, Justin tried out for the first time and made the team.” He proudly pointed to Justin in his brand-new uniform. “Who knew?” Mr. Russo was totally surprised that Justin was into baseball. He’d always thought Justin was more interested in hitting the books than in playing sports.
Justin blushed as his dad beamed at him. “Well, I know how much you love baseball, so I figured I’d, um, give it a shot.”
Max’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! Then it’s settled. I’m the Aztecs’ number one fan. Let the trash talking begin.” He chuckled, already planning ways to tease his older brother.
Justin rolled his eyes. “Dad, he’s doing it again.”
Mr. Russo placed his arm around his younger son’s shoulder. “Uh, Maxy, we really appreciate the enthusiasm, but let’s not revisit what happened on the soccer field.”
Max tried playing innocent. “What soccer field?”
“The one the park police said you can’t go to anymore,” his dad said.
“Excuse me for cheering for my brother. Is that a crime?” Max asked.
“According to the park police, yes.” His dad was no longer smiling.
Max shook his head. Why did no one understand the art of being a committed fan? You couldn’t hold
back. You needed energy, heart, and a lot of devious creativity—his specialty. “The kid in the diaper started it,” Max reminded his dad.
Alex ignored her father’s conversation with Max. She was fixated on the cute guy with the curly brown hair also wearing the Aztecs uniform. His name was Riley, and Alex had had a crush on him for a long time. They had gone out on a date once, but that had turned into a total disaster. But Alex was determined to go out with him again. She tried to act cool as he approached the counter.
“Hey, Alex, do you have an extra-long spoon?” Riley asked.
Alex took a deep breath. “Sure,” she said casually. She smiled and walked calmly into the kitchen.
Spoon, spoon, long-handled spoon . . . Alex pulled open drawer after drawer. No spoon here. Nothing in there. She tossed a pile of spoons out of another drawer, and they clattered to the floor. She slammed the drawer shut. She had to find the spoon—fast. She discovered a basket of silverware in a cabinet and dumped it onto the counter with a crash. A long-handled spoon. Perfect!
Alex grabbed it, smoothed her dark hair, and calmly walked back to the counter. “Here you go, Riley.” She handed him the spoon, giving him a wide smile.
Riley looked at her oddly, having heard all the clattering and crashing. “Uh, thanks.”
“What was that?” Harper asked, after Riley returned to his table. “I thought you were off the clock.”
“I’m always on the clock for Riley,” Alex said dreamily. “Isn’t he so cute?”
“You mean Justin,” Harper corrected her. Harper had had a crush on Alex’s older brother since they were in elementary school.
“No, Riley.” Sometimes Alex wondered if Harper needed her eyes checked. Riley was cute. Her brother was so not.
“Justin’s cute,” Harper insisted.
Alex chose to ignore her. Harper’s crush on Justin made her question just how silly her friend really could be. She looked over at Riley’s table. “I can’t believe Justin’s on Riley’s team. Finally, after years of Justin being a bore, I can use him for my own personal gain.”
Harper leaned closer. “How are you going to do that?”
“I have no idea,” Alex admitted. “But it’s a nice feeling, the kind that makes you stop and give thanks you have a brother.” Alex would have thought that having a brother two years older than her would have worked to her advantage long before now. But Justin wasn’t that kind of brother. Usually, he was the annoying kind. Oh, well, better late than never, Alex thought.
“Here he comes!” Harper squealed, spotting Justin heading toward them. “How do I look?”
Alex checked out Harper’s red-and-white dress, red-and-white headband, and red-and-white dangling earrings. Harper definitely had a thing about matching. “Fine,” Alex replied.
Harper’s eyes widened in horror. “Just fine? Fine isn’t good enough!” She glanced at Justin. “Oh, shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” She bolted toward the door.
Alex sighed. Harper could be such a drama queen!
“Hey,” Justin said to Alex.
“Hey, Justin. Congrats on making the team Riley’s on. Baseball, right?” Alex asked.
Justin frowned. “Yep. I made the team all right.”
“Well, you don’t sound ‘all right,’” Alex commented. “What’s the matter?”
Justin glanced behind him. Then he grabbed his sister’s arm and dragged her back into the kitchen. “I’ve done a bad, bad thing, Alex,” he admitted.
“What?” Alex asked.
Justin took a deep breath. He knew Alex would be the only one to understand. “I charmed the baseball so Dad would think I’m a good pitcher.”
“I didn’t know you were into baseball,” Alex said. Her brother usually spent more time in the library than on the baseball field.
“I’m not. I’m into Kari Langsdorf,” he confided.
“Okay. So what’s the bad, bad thing you did?” Alex asked.
“I cheated. I used magic to make the baseball team. If Dad knew, he would flip out.” Justin was a wizard. He could do magic. Alex and Max were wizards, too. They came from a family of wizards, but no one—not even their best friends—knew. It was a big secret. If people found out about their powers, they’d probably be locked up in a lab somewhere with weird scientists poking at them. They had promised their dad they would never use magic, except when he taught them magic classes in their basement. But Justin had broken his promise.
“Hmmm.” Alex never thought twice about using magic out in the real world. Doing spells was fun, so why not enjoy it? Of course, the problems came when her magic backfired— which was just about always. Spells were a lot harder than just waving a wand and making things magically appear. “Yeah, but the important thing is now you’re on the baseball team with Riley,” she reminded Justin. She liked to look on the bright side of things. This could definitely work out to her advantage!
“What?” Justin asked, following her.
“Well, Riley’s the catcher, so he can teach you some stuff,” Alex explained. “But until then, you should probably use magic to stay on the team.”
“Alex, I’m not like you. I don’t break the rules. I’m ridden with guilt. It’s eating up my insides.” He clutched his stomach. “Pretty soon I’ll be just a shell.”
“Ugh. You’ll get over it.” Alex rolled her eyes. She needed Justin to stay on the team, so she’d have a reason to hang out at practices and games, and cozy up to Riley. Justin was her in. “And, Justin”—she decided to try logic— “magic is your talent. Why should a wizard not use magic?” Alex asked.
Justin thought about it. Maybe she did have a point. But he hated lying to his dad. . . .
“Hey, congratulations on making the team,” a voice behind him suddenly said.
Justin looked up and nearly stopped breathing. It was her!
“I’m Kari,” she said, smiling at him.
“Hi, Kari.” He was totally stunned! “I’m Just-Just— I’m Just—”
“Just so happy to meet you,” Alex said, coming to her brother’s rescue. “Yes, he is. And his name is Justin.”
Justin chuckled and nodded vigorously.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Justin. I love going to baseball games, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” She smiled again. “I love baseball.”
“Uh-huh.” Justin tried to speak, but he was so nervous! He laughed awkwardly again as Kari waved and headed back across the sandwich shop.
“She can see me,” he said to Alex, totally amazed that his baseball jersey had so much power. He didn’t even have to use magic! “She can totally see me. I’m not invisible anymore.”
Alex gasped. “No way! You know the invisibility spell? I’ll trade you for the popularity spell.”
Justin’s little sister didn’t get it. But he did. Suddenly his choice was crystal clear. “You know what? I am totally going to use magic. Thanks, Alex. You always know the right wrong thing to do.”
Alex smiled. Excellent! She gave Justin a nudge toward the table of baseball players. “Now go sit by Riley and tell him how cool I am,” she told him.
Chapter Three
Justin glanced up at the scoreboard at Lynch Memorial Field. The game was so close. He watched the player on the pitcher’s mound and was happy that it wasn’t him standing there. He liked sitting on the bench. He got to wear the uniform, Kari liked him because he was on the team, and he didn’t have to go near a baseball. Perfect.
“Here we go! Come on now!” his dad called from the dugout.
The pitcher threw the ball high into the air.
“Ball four!” yelled the umpire. “Take your base!”
Justin cringed as the batter jogged to first base.
“Time, Ump!” Mr. Russo called.
“Time!” The umpire agreed to the time-out.
His dad signaled to Justin. It was his turn now. He would have to pitch the rest of the game. Justin jogged over to the mound.
“Nice job today. Nice job.” Mr
. Russo patted the other pitcher on the back as the player left the mound. He turned to his son. “All right, Justin. Let’s see if you can finish this thing.”
“Yay, Justin!” Harper screamed. She nudged the man sitting in the stands next to her and pointed to the pitcher. “He and I are going to be going out soon,” she confided to the stranger.
Then she stood up and walked over to Alex by the fence behind home plate. “Justin looks great in his uniform,” Harper told her.
Alex wrinkled her nose. “He slept in it last night.”
Harper sighed. “I find that totally attractive.” She thought about Justin snuggled up in his uniform. How adorable!
It’s all up to me, Justin thought. He closed his eyes as a line of sweat trickled down his forehead. He was nervous. Really nervous.
Justin opened his eyes and tried to focus on Riley’s open catcher’s mitt. He wound up and pitched. The ball zigzagged wildly, bouncing off the fence and landing in the dirt behind the catcher. Riley shook his head in amazement. He pulled off his mask and went to scoop it up.
Harper nudged her friend. “Alex, here comes Riley! Do you want to talk to him alone?”
“That’d be nice.” Alex fluffed her long, wavy hair.
“Got it. If you need me, I’ll be over here.” She pointed to the stands. She turned and saw Justin looking their way. “Hi, Justin!” she cried, waving. She smiled broadly. Maybe Justin will come over to talk to me, too, she thought.
Alex glanced up as Riley walked behind home plate. She pretended to be surprised to see him, which she thought was kind of lame, since he was the catcher and the catcher always stood near home plate. Oh, well. “Hey, Riley. Cute uniform.”
Riley beamed. “Thanks. It was my idea to go with the sleeveless jerseys.” He showed off the red jersey layered over his black long-sleeved shirt.
Alex smiled mysteriously. “I’m going to be your good-luck charm.”
“What?” Riley stepped closer to the fence. He gave Alex a curious look.
“Whenever I’m here, you’ll win,” Alex explained matter-of-factly.
Riley smirked. He pointed to the batter from the opposing team. “If this guy strikes out, I’ll believe you.”
All Mixed Up Page 1
