At school I opened my backpack to show Molly the bell for Caswell.
But the bell was gone!
Before I could tell Molly about it, Mrs. Romano made a surprise announcement.
"Class, I have something exciting to share!"
"Are we going to have an ice cream party?" asked Colby.
"Or take a trip to the zoo?" said Ruby.
"Maybe we're getting a class pet.
I'd like a monkey!" said Kristin.
Mrs. Romano smiled.
"No, we're not getting a monkey.
There's going to be an Invention Convention in our own city!" she said.
I sat up straighter in my chair.
"An Invention Convention will be held one week from today," Mrs. Romano said.
"Students can exhibit their inventions, and there will be prizes for the best ones."
"An Invention Convention?"
I thought, forgetting about my bell problem. "Wow!"
Molly raised her hand.
"What do you get for first prize, Mrs. Romano?"
"First prize is a blue ribbon and one hundred dollars!" our teacher told us.
I let out a low whistle.
One hundred dollars!
I wondered if that was enough to help my mom.
Then I started thinking about the magic thinking box again.
That was an even better invention than Caswell's bell.
If I could make a box that worked, I might win a prize.
And then I could figure out what my mom was so worried about!
That afternoon Josh, Jenny, Molly, and I walked home from school together.
"Did your teacher tell you about the Invention Convention?" I asked Josh.
"Yes," said Josh.
"I'd like to invent an automatic homework machine."
"We'd never have to do homework again!" said Jenny.
Molly was chewing bubble gum.
"I'd like to invent gum that doesn't lose its flavor,"
she said, popping a big bubble.
"Iggy, you could build your magic thinking box for the convention!" said Josh.
"You just read my mind!" I told him.
"What's a magic thinking box?" asked Molly.
"It's a special box," I explained.
"You put it on your head, and then I can tell what you're thinking."
Molly looked puzzled.
"But how does it work?" she wanted to know.
I was glad we had reached our apartment building by then.
Because I didn't have an answer for Molly's question.
The truth is, I had no idea how my magic thinking box would work.
I just hoped it would work.
Upstairs, my mom was on the phone again.
"Well, I just don't have enough money," she said.
I couldn't believe it.
She was talking about money again too!
I went into my room and threw my backpack on the floor.
Tate was doing his homework.
"Move that backpack!" he yelled.
"It's on my side of the room again!"
"Just barely!" I argued back.
"Boys, please!" my mother called.
"I'm on the telephone."
I kicked my backpack under my bed.
At least Tate couldn't say that was on his side of the room.
Then I flopped onto my bed.
I needed to think about my magic thinking box.
How would it work, anyway?
I wanted to win a prize at the Invention Convention more than anything.
I also wanted to find out what was bothering my mom.
But how was I going to make a magic thinking box?
I'd need real magic for that.
I remembered Mr. Chen's one-way mirror.
You could see through it on one side, Josh had said.
But on the other side, it was just like a regular mirror.
Maybe a one-way mirror was exactly what I needed for my new invention!