Zacktastic by Courtney Sheinmel Read Free Book Online Page A

speak some fake alien language to me, then I’m hanging up the phone!” And that’s what she does, without waiting for me to answer. The next thing I hear is a click and a dial tone. I lower the phone from my ear and look over at Uncle Max.
    â€œI told you so,” he says.
    â€œAw, man,” I said. “That stinks!”
    â€œSorry, Zack,” Uncle Max says. “It’s a safety mechanism put in place by the Genie Board in the seventh parallel. Decision number two hundred and fifty-eight. We’ve had trouble in the past.”
    There’s something called a Genie Board?
    â€œOkay,” I say. “Can I use some of my spark plug energy to do magic in front of her? Not accidental magic, though. Real stuff, just like you did to me. Then she’ll totally believe me. Or maybe she won’t, and she’ll think she’s turning into a nut job herself!”
    â€œThat’s not the way you’re supposed to use your power, Zack.”
    Not supposed to doesn’t mean not possible .
    â€œBut you can come to me with any genie business,” he continues. “ I’ll be able to understand you. And you must tell me if you feel anything out of the ordinary. Like if you have any strange sensations. Those tend to pop up when peoplemake wishes around you. It’s a little like an allergy. It’ll be different than when you’re actually called upon to grant wishes. But still, you should tell me about them when they occur.”
    â€œI had a strange itch today,” I tell him. “Quinn’s friend Madeline said she wished something. And by the way, my toe didn’t itch a little bit. It itched like crazy.”
    â€œHow crazy?”
    â€œLike a hundred fire ants bit me in the same spot,” I tell him.
    â€œHmm,” Uncle Max says. “It’s happening sooner than I thought. On Monday I’ll make a call to SFG.”
    SFG? As in the initials on the bottle? Who could he—or she—be?
    I don’t have a chance to ask. “Uh, Uncle Max,” I say. “Something’s happening right now.”
    â€œYour toe is itching again?”
    â€œNo, it’s not itchy. It feels . . . I don’t know . . . it feels alive.” I guess toes are always alive, as longas they’re part of a living body. But when was the last time you were aware of the life in your toe? “It feels like it’s about to take off.”
    Tingles travel from my toe up my whole body. Suddenly I’m lifted up. For real . I’m floating in the air, and spinning around and around and around. You know that pins-and-needles feeling you get when your foot falls asleep? That’s what my whole body feels like. “What’s happening to me?!”
    â€œYou’re being called away for your first genie assignment,” Uncle Max says. He’s on the porch still. Standing up now, but his feet are still planted firmly on the ground.
    â€œAren’t you coming with me?” I ask.
    â€œA genie works alone,” he says. “But I didn’t think this would happen so soon.”
    â€œUncle Max!”
    â€œIt’s all right, Zack. It’ll be all right. Just . . .”
    His voice is fading away. I’m headed right toward the green bottle. It looks bigger than before. In fact, it looks gigantic. Did it grow? Iwhip my head toward Uncle Max, and he looks like a giant. Holy smokes, I’m shrinking! How small will I get? Down to nothing? I want to cry out, Help me! But my voice is gone.
    â€œIf you need me, call me through—” Uncle Max says.
    But whatever the end of his sentence is, I don’t hear it. I’m sucked inside the bottle instead.

6
    D UMPED
    I ’m twisting and turning and hurling superfast. This must be what the Speed of Light roller coaster feels like. My heart drops down to my stomach. My stomach is in my throat. And my throat, well, I don’t know where it is. I can’t feel it