The Magic Misfits 2. Neil Patrick Harris

the one with the awesome hair and this book in your hands!

      Who else would I be talking to?

      You’ve returned! How nice to see you again! It’s been too long. If I know you at all, I’ll bet you’re seeking an escape from the ordinary and looking for more adventure, more puzzles, more em-ay-gee-eye-see. Well, look no further. I have another story to tell you… Have I ever!

      I hope you remember everything we discussed in the last book. It will make it easier to hop back in…

      Need a refresher? No problem!

      Let’s begin with our delightful cast. Do you recall the boy with fast fingers? The orphan, Carter Locke, was a wiz with card tricks and could make things vanish – and reappear too! Though truthfully, he didn’t believe in real magic until he hopped on a train to the town of Mineral Wells, where wonders appeared around every corner – from the buzzing circus tents of the fairgrounds to the magnificent auditorium way up in the hills at the Grand Oak Resort.

      His friend Leila Vernon was the young and bright-eyed escape artist extraordinaire, who wrangled out of handcuffs and straitjackets as easily as if she’d played with them as toys in her cradle. Surely it had nothing to do with her lucky lockpicks, given to her by her fathers, whom she lived with above a certain magic shop on Main Street.

      Let us not forget Theo Stein-Meyer, the multitalented violin prodigy who could levitate objects using his violin bow. Yes, music can be soothing for the soul, and for the heart, especially when it comes with magic. Theo rarely showed his regally thoughtful face around Mineral Wells unless he was dressed in one of his favourite and famous tuxedos.

      There was also our little spitfire, Ridley Larsen, whose mad-scientist red hair made her look just as fierce as she acted. She could transform one object into another and then back again all before you could say “Abracadabra! ” Ridley kept a notebook hidden in a compartment in the arm of her wheelchair so she could work out puzzles and invent secret codes to share with her friends. If you’re especially kind, maybe one day she’ll share them with you too. (Or maybe she already has.)

      And last (but not least!) were the hilarious Izzy and Olly, the comedic Golden twins, who performed at the Grand Oak Resort. Those two were quite the act, both literally and figuratively. If you wanted laughs, those were the twins you needed.

      In our previous tale, not long ago – or was it forever ago? I can’t remember – Carter, Leila, Theo, Ridley, Olly, and Izzy used their stage magic skills to stop a rash of petty robberies and ultimately prevented the theft of the world’s largest diamond. Working together, these six kids bonded while battling the barbaric B. B. Bosso, and thus formed a very special magic club called the Magic Misfits.

      Is it all coming back now?

      Brilliant!

      Now, for another reminder…

      The volume you are currently holding tells the next chapter in the saga of our misfit magicians. Like the one that came before, this book is also filled with lessons on magic – lessons that you can practise in your bedroom or basement or school sports hall.

      If you read the whole thing, both the tale and the lessons, you’ll likely come away with some skills of your own – skills that you can use to make your friends gasp and gag and giggle with gratitude. There may even be laughter and clapping. Because isn’t that what this is all about: making your friends smile and giving them an escape from the ordinariness of the everyday?

      Once again, I must ask that you keep the secrets of the magical lessons to yourself. In other words, please don’t go whispering them into sewer grates in the dead of night. And don’t stand in front of an audience and explain how each trick works before or after you perform them. It ruins the illusion, and you probably won’t get the same kind of applause. And, of course, refrain from reciting the lessons to any gossips in your school. You never know when a rival magician might show up and thwart your hard work. Rival magicians can be tricky that way.

      If you do feel the need to share these lessons, make sure it’s with a group of your best friends, those who’ve promised to keep your secrets – a magicians’ club, if you will, just like our very own Magic Misfits. After all, secret organizations are quite fun. Who doesn’t want to be part of a club?

      One of the most fun things to do with other magic-minded folks is to put on a show. Keep this in mind as you discover the magic lessons within these pages. How would you set your stage to impress your audience? Would you use a great red curtain? Or would you start in the dark to add a sense of mystery and tension? Would one of your friends act as an announcer? Or might your magic club begin the show in silence?

      These questions are not only useful when staging a magical production but they also come in handy when telling a story like the one I am about to begin. Personally, I feel that a mixture of the following aspects is most effective: curtains, trapdoors, shadows, mirrors, music, sound effects, voice-overs, and fog. And don’t forget the sense of excitement of a new journey.

       Are you ready to find out which of these I’ve chosen to start our show?

      I mean, story ?

      Well then, go on and turn the page!

      Leila Vernon had not always lived in Mineral Wells. In fact, her name had not always been Leila Vernon. When she stayed at Mother Margaret’s Home for Children, Leila’s last name had been Doe.

      Doe was not a name that she’d been given by family – Doe was Leila’s name because no one knew who her family was. When Mother Margaret first found Leila, a notecard in the cradle stated only her first name and birth date. Leila never let this get the better of her. In fact, she tried harder than the other girls to keep a positive attitude, even when they treated her as if she were as worthless as a wooden penny.

      That was why, one afternoon, when several girls from Mother Margaret’s Home were dragging Leila Doe down the hallway toward Mother Margaret’s office, Leila let out a loud. “Ha-ha-ha!” she shouted as they pinched her arms. “That tickles!”

      Leila was not actually tickled by what the mean girls were doing to her, but she figured that maybe an adult would hear her loud cries and intervene. She didn’t need to be psychic to know what the girls were up to, as they locked her in the darkest cupboard in the whole orphanage at least once a week. All because the tallest of the bunch had decided at some point that she didn’t like Leila always smiling and being cheery.

      The tall girl wished for Leila to be as miserable as she was. And so she and her friends went out of their way to torment Leila every chance they got. Leila fought with every breath to not show them how much they were hurting her, especially on this particular afternoon, when a group of real-live magicians from the town of Mineral Wells was going to perform for all the children. Leila had been looking forward to the show for weeks.

      “Come on, guys!” Leila said with a forced smile. “Let’s all go down to the sitting room. Everyone is probably waiting for us. There might be cookies!”

      The