The Frights of Fiji by Sunayna Prasad (books to read for self improvement .txt) 📕

whispered Simon. “Get back here.”

“But the frog’s hurting Isabelle,” said Alyssa.

“It’s too late,” said Destiny.

“What?” Alyssa turned to Isabelle and Mathias. Both lay on the ground and moved nothing. The frog shut its eye and disappeared.

“What happened?” shrieked Hailey.

“The frog weakened us.” Isabelle lifted her head up.

“We won’t be able to help you anymore,” said Mathias.

“Are you serious?” asked Hailey.

“Yes,” said Mathias.

 

 

 

14

 

About a half hour ago, the girls had carried Isabelle and Mathias to their bed. Isabelle had also told Alyssa to call a doctor from Kipling’s Hospital to come for both her and Mathias. According to Isabelle, wizard doctors could see two patients at one time during emergencies. Unlike the ordinary culture Alyssa had grown up in, magician doctors could also visit patients if they had time.

Any moment, a doctor from Kipling’s Hospital would appear inside the tent. Alyssa hoped that he could cure Isabelle’s and Mathias’s weaknesses. She sat on her bed and tapped the mattress. The other girls did the same. Hailey and Madison joined Alyssa, while Jasmine and Destiny sat on the middle bed.

A swish suggested to Alyssa that the doctor had arrived. She turned to the door and watched him carry a small briefcase here. He introduced himself with an Indian accent.

“Hi.” Isabelle lay on her bed with Mathias.

“Do you want the girls out while I’m here?” asked the doctor.

“They can stay,” said Mathias. “I’m totally cool with it.”

“Okay.” The doctor walked toward their bed.

He asked Mathias and Isabelle how they had lost their strength, and they answered. Then he put a patch on each right arm and whipped his wand at it. It turned golden yellow with black polka dots.

“Okay, you two have Zooaefortus,” he said.

“What is that?” asked Madison.

“It’s a magical weakness caused by animals,” The doctor turned back to Isabelle and Mathias. “And if the animal’s brain was dominated by something manmade, you can’t cure the weakness or retrieve your magical skills.”

“Why not?” asked Isabelle.

“No one has been able to find a cure for it,” said the doctor. “But you’ll be able to get your strength and magical skills back if and only if the person who owned that computer dies. For now, I’ll make you a walker to help you walk when you need to use the bathroom or get up for anything.” He created two walkers with his wand.

“Thank you,” said Mathias.

“We’re going to have to find a way to kill him,” said Isabelle. “Girls, tonight you and Simon should brainstorm ways to defeat Master Beau. Also—make sure they’re all indirect, meaning he can’t see you hurt him.”

“Why?” asked Destiny.

“You don’t want Master Beau to catch you,” said Isabelle. “Plus, you’re not old enough to use anything dangerous.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Jasmine. “Where’s Simon?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” he said.

“Can you come out here?” shouted Isabelle.

Simon appeared in the bedroom. Isabelle repeated to him what she’d told the girls.

“I’ll do that now,” he said. “Let’s go into the living room, girls. We should let Isabelle and Mathias rest.”

Everyone sat as Simon turned on his tablet.

“Now, girls, before we think of ways to hurt Master Beau, I need to see what he’s up to right now,” said Simon. “I also want to make sure he didn’t make any changes to anything inside the center.”

The girls gathered around him to view Master Beau on the screen.

Master Beau sat in his office and typed on his laptop. Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he said.

The door opened to reveal David. “Hello, Master Beau.”

“Hi. I’m impressed that your progress is getting better.”

“Thank you. I came here to ask why you put a bulb on the door to the computer room.”

“I don’t want any unauthorized people going in there. If someone who doesn’t work here tries to go in there alone, the alarm will go off, and I’ll kick that person out. Do you have any other questions?”

“No.”

“Okay then. You can get back to work.”

David left.

“Well, that’s great,” said Simon. “Now we’re going to have to find another way to hurt him.”

“How about we give him some potion—”

“We can’t buy dangerous potions without a license, Madison,” said Simon.

“Can you create your own?” Madison asked.

“Nope,” said Simon. “You can’t create harmful substances with magic, especially ones that can hurt or kill you.”

“I hope he’s allergic to something,” said Destiny.

“I wouldn’t rely on that,” said Simon.

“Aw, darn it.” Destiny crossed her arms.

“I have an idea,” said Alyssa. “Why don’t we fool him into thinking something’s dangerous, and when he gets there, something will happen to him?”

“What did you have in mind?” Jasmine asked.

“Um . . . we’d play a recording of one of his workers in danger, and when he gets there, we’d have sleeping gas to knock him out. Then we’d inject water into his arm, and he’ll die.”

“How do you know all this?” Madison asked. “We never learned about that in science.”

“My uncle once played the news in the car, and there was a story where that happened,” said Alyssa.

“I’m not sure about the recording part, although I really like that idea,” said Simon.

“What’s wrong with the recording part?” asked Alyssa.

“I don’t have any ways to capture any of his workers’ voices,” said Simon.

“So what can we do, Simon?” asked Alyssa.

“Tonight, while I’m sleeping, I’ll absorb what types of entertainment he likes. We’ll play something loud so that he can hear it.”

“That sounds good,” said Alyssa.

“All right, so tomorrow let’s all wake up by seven-thirty, and we’ll do this,” said Simon.

 

*      *      *      *

 

The next morning, Simon served Isabelle and Mathias some fruit and cereal since he couldn’t create hot cooked food. He created the same things for the girls.

“Why can’t you create pancakes, waffles, French toast—stuff like that?” asked Destiny.

“I don’t have that skill,” said Simon. “You’re going to have to deal with what I can make.”

“You can’t even cook?” asked Destiny.

“Just eat what you have,” said Simon. “We want to get out as soon as possible so that Master Beau can die and Isabelle and Mathias can be strong again.”

“What kind of entertainment does Master Beau like?” asked Madison.

“Ah, thanks for asking, Madison,” said Simon. “He likes jazz music a lot.”

“Do you have that on your WiPod?” asked Hailey.

“Uh huh,” said Simon.

After breakfast, Simon grabbed his WiPod from the bedroom.

Isabelle lifted her head up. “You really think your plan’s a good idea, Simon?”

“It was Alyssa’s idea,” he said.

Mathias and Isabelle turned to Alyssa as she stood by her and Hailey’s bed.

“I actually like that idea,” said Simon. “You said it had to be indirect anyway.”

“Well, injecting distilled water is kind of direct.” Jasmine stood by her and Madison’s bed.

“But he’ll be sleeping, so he won’t be aware of the needle coming,” Simon said.

“Do you have any needles?” asked Alyssa.

“Not right now, but you can make those appear,” said Simon. “All right, girls, let’s go.”

“Wait,” said Isabelle. “You don’t have anything that can take you there.”

“You’ve got a point,” said Simon.

“Don’t give up, though,” said Mathias. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?” asked Simon.

“Why don’t you program yourself into the tracking app on your tablet and let the girls watch you there?” asked Mathias. “You don’t want them near Master Beau anyway.”

“You do have a point,” said Simon. “All right—I’ll do that.” He grabbed his tablet from the living room and flew back into the bedroom, where he tapped different parts of the screen. He landed and said, “Okay, I did it. I programmed the tracking app to track me.”

“Great.” Mathias smiled.

“Okay, girls, I’m going to disappear to the dark magic center,” said Simon. “Please watch me so that you can see what I’m doing.”

Alyssa and the other girls nodded.

Simon grabbed his WiPod and an invisibility poncho, made his speakers and some sleeping gas appear, and then disappeared.

“Do you guys want to watch too?” Alyssa asked Mathias and Isabelle.

“Sure,” said Mathias.

Alyssa placed the tablet on the nightstand next to Mathias and Isabelle and leaned it against the wall. She then unlocked it, pressed the spy icon, selected Simon as the tracking choice, and then chose the video option to see him. Simon set everything up.

“Do we have to watch this?” asked Destiny. “Watching Simon set up is such a waste of time.”

“Shut up, Destiny,” said Hailey.

Then jazz music blasted.

“Look—the music’s playing,” said Madison.

Alyssa turned to the screen and saw Simon put his poncho on while the music played. Master Beau hadn’t come out. After three minutes, though, he opened the building’s front door.

“What’s this music playing?” he exclaimed. He disappeared and appeared outside of the fence surrounding the building. “Whoever’s playing it, either you shut it off, or I will destroy whatever device it’s coming from!” He looked down at the can of sleeping gas. “Oh no, not a prank.” He whipped his wand at it, and it disappeared.

Simon turned and gasped. He shut off his music and grabbed his WiPod and speakers.

“Whoever’s responsible for this—show yourself!” Master Beau screamed.

Simon pushed himself up, still wearing his poncho. He carried everything as he flew away.

“I think I saw some white marble above me,” said Master Beau. “I suspect it’s someone helping Alyssa and her friends.”

Alyssa inhaled and experienced tingling. Master Beau couldn’t catch Simon and harm him. But he pointed his wand at Simon’s foot and blew the poncho off him.

“Come with me!” Master Beau pointed his wand at Simon. A spark shot out and forced Simon to the ground.

“You won’t be able to disappear or fly anymore.” Master Beau picked up Simon.

“Hey, put me down!” yelled Simon. “My WiPod’s still on the ground!”

“You won’t be needing it anymore,” said Master Beau. “I’m going to do something to you that’ll shock the girls.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

 

“What are we going to do?” whined Hailey. “I don’t want anything to happen to Simon!”

“We’ve got to do something,” said Alyssa.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” said Jasmine.

“Well, we can’t just let Master Beau hurt Simon.” Alyssa turned to Isabelle. “Isabelle, do you have a private taxi driver?”

“I do, but he can’t drive to the dark magic center. There are no roads leading to it.”

“So we have to let him go?” squeaked Alyssa, tears stinging her eyes.

“Alyssa, don’t get upset,” said Mathias. “We’ll call the police.”

“But Master Beau’s invisible to the police,” Alyssa said. “So is the center.” She turned around, covering her face as tears trickled down. Some even poured onto her striped shirt’s U-neck.

“There’s got to be something,” wept Hailey.

“I have an idea,” said Isabelle.

“What?” asked Hailey.

“You can call my pilot,” Isabelle said.

Hailey picked up the phone and looked at it. “How do you turn it on?”

“Press the round button on the bottom,” said Isabelle.

Hailey did so, but nothing happened. “It’s not turning on.”

“I guess it’s out of charge,” said Isabelle.

“Take my phone,” said Mathias. “It’s an Endroid, the magical version of the Android, so it may work a little differently.”

“How?” asked Hailey.

“You turn it on at the