Sugar and Spice Page 9

  I packed cheese and crackers, fruit, two boxes of spaghetti, and two adorable reusable water bottles. Plus toys, books, pillows, and blankets. Also the rest of the chocolate-chip cookies. Jonah tried to sneak one when we were packing up the box, but I slapped his hand away. How many times does he want to throw up in one day?

  “It’s thirty seconds to midnight,” I say. “Ready, you two?”

  Ruff! Prince barks.

  “Not you, Prince,” I say. “We’re not going. Just Hansel and Gretel.”

  “We’ll miss you guys,” Gretel says. “Thanks for everything.”

  The four of us stand in front of the mirror, looking at our four reflections. It’s amazing how identical we look. Who would ever have guessed that Jonah and I would find our look-alikes in fairy land?

  Jonah knocks on the mirror. Then again. Then a third time.

  The mirror starts to swirl. Jonah and Prince and I stand to the side so we don’t get sucked in.

  “Bye!” Hansel and Gretel say as Gretel clutches the box tight against her chest.

  “Bye!” Jonah and I say.

  “One, two … three!” Gretel counts.

  Then she and Hansel jump through the mirror.

  When the mirror clears and we see our reflections again, I call out, “Maryrose? Are you there?”

  The mirror ripples. I see the very faint image of a woman’s face in the glass. Her long hair flows down along the side of the mirror.

  She’s there!

  “Of course I’m here,” she says.

  I have so many questions! “Hi! Don’t go! I have to ask you stuff!”

  “Go ahead,” she says.

  Okay! “Did you think Hansel and Gretel were us?” I ask. “Is that why you let them through the mirror into our basement?”

  “Absolutely not,” Maryrose says with a laugh. “I knew what I was doing.”

  “Why, then?” Jonah asks.

  “Did you learn something by being in their world?” Maryrose asks.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “What?”

  “That we were being spoiled brats,” Jonah says.

  She laughs again. “Exactly.”

  My cheeks heat up, but I keep going. “Did you know they looked just like us?”

  Maryrose smiles. “Of course. That’s one of the reasons I chose you. You reminded me of them.”

  “Huh?” I say. “Chose us? You chose us? But you couldn’t have! The mirror was here when we moved in! Didn’t we choose you?”

  She laughs a third time. “No, little ones. I definitely chose you.”

  My heart speeds up.

  “But for what?” Jonah asks. “For the mission?”

  “Yes,” she says. “Absolutely.”

  “But what’s the mission?”

  Instead of answering, Maryrose slowly fades away.

  “Wait! Maryrose!” I say.

  The mirror ripples until it’s smooth again.

  “Aww,” Jonah and I both say.

  I have so many more questions. Next time. I’ll have to ask her next time.

  Jonah, Prince, and I climb back upstairs. I give them each a hug good night and then close my door.

  I sneak a final peek at my jewelry box. Hansel and Gretel are by the pond with their dad, sitting on one of the blankets I gave them and having a picnic. Ms. Duck is floating on the pond. Hansel is taking a bite out of a cookie.

  They look happy.

  In the morning, my alarm goes off, and I bounce out of bed.

  Jonah comes out of his room with his usual messy bedhead, and we go downstairs.

  My mom is still in her bathrobe. “Smoothie?” she asks.

  Jonah and I give each other horrified looks.

  I swallow. Hard. “Sure,” I say. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “My pleasure!” she says.

  Jonah whispers to me, “Do we have to drink them?”

  Yes! I mouth back. Be grateful for the smoothie! Be grateful for Mom! “You know what?” I say to Mom. “I can make them.”

  “Yeah?” she asks, surprised. “You know how? When did you learn?”

  “Oh … by watching you!” I say, which is basically true. “You can get ready for work. I’ll call you when they’re done.”

  “Sure,” she says, stepping back. “Thanks!”

  “I’ll take care of the bagels,” Jonah says just as my dad is about to pop the bagels in the toaster oven.

  “Sounds good to me,” my dad says. “I’ll pour the coffee. For me and your mom. Not for you.”

  “Obviously,” I say. Anyway, coffee is disgusting. But not as disgusting as black licorice.

  “Thanks, kids,” my mom says. “We appreciate the help.”

  “We appreciate you,” I say.

  I pop a banana, some blueberries, milk, yogurt, and some ice in the blender. I see leftovers of last night’s spinach in a Ziploc container. I throw in a piece for good luck.

  I press BLEND and hope for the best.

  Abby is going on a WONDER-ful adventure …

  Look for:

  SUPER SPECIAL:

  ABBY IN WONDERLAND

  Thank you to all the publishing people who turn my ingredients into a book:

  Aimee Friedman, Laura Dail, Tamar Rydzinski, Lauren Walters, Deb Shapiro, Jennifer Abbots, Olivia Valcarce, Abby McAden, David Levithan, Tracy van Straaten, Caitlin Friedman, Rachel Feld, Antonio Gonzalez, Sue Flynn and everyone in Sales, Rachael Hicks, Emily Rader, Elizabeth Parisi, Lizette Serrano, Emily Heddleson, and Robin Bailey Hoffman, and everyone in the school channels!

  Thank you, family, friends, writers, and others: Elissa Ambrose, Aviva Mlynowski, Larry Mlynowski, Louisa Weiss, Robert Ambrose, the Dalven-Swidlers, the DAttilios, the Goldmiths, the Heckers, the Finkelstein-Mitchells, the Steins, the Wolfes, the Mittlemans, the Bilermans, the Greens, Courtney Sheinmel, Anne Heltzel, Lauren Myracle, Emily Bender, Targia Alphonse, Jess Braun, Lauren Kisilevsky, Bonnie Altro, Carolyn Mackler, Caroline Gertler, Stuart Gibbs, Jen E. Smith, Robin Wasserman, Adele Griffin, Leslie Margolis, Maryrose Wood, Tara Altebrando, Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Barnes, Alan Gratz, Penny Fransblow, Avery Carmichael, Maggie Marr, Jeremy Cammy, and Farrin Jacobs. Also, my special readers, Priya DAttilio, Sofie Dewan, and, of course, Chloe Swidler.

  Thank you, Todd, and my Chloe and Anabelle — I love you even more than chocolate peanut butter cups, cookie dough ice cream, and salted caramel. Mwah!

  Thank you, readers: You guys are the sweetest.

  Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling author of the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she is cowriting with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy tale–loving daughters. Visit Sarah online at sarahm.com and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @sarahmlynowski.

  #1: Fairest of All

  #2: If the Shoe Fits

  #3: Sink or Swim

  #4: Dream On

  #5: Bad Hair Day

  #6: Cold as Ice

  #7: Beauty Queen

  #8: Once Upon a Frog

  #9: Genie in a Bottle

  #10: Sugar and Spice

  Copyright © 2016 by Sarah Mlynowski

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
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br />   First edition, December 2016

  Author photo by Heather Waraksa

  Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

  Cover illustration by Helen Huang, © 2016 Scholastic Inc.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-85108-4

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