"I don't suppose
you two could help me go invisible for a few weeks?" she said, half-joking,
to Alexi and Megan Ambrosius.
Her Las Vegas magician
friends were real friends, met and made in her days of living from commercial to
commercial. They had taken a nervous, first-time-away-from-home adolescent under
their wings and had remained friends ever since.
Bethany could only go
home to Neighborlee for Christmas if she could lose the press and scandalmongers
who chased her. Athena's Artificial Intelligence friend, London Holiday,
arranged for airplane tickets for her father and a condo in the middle of the
desert. No one would know when Ben Miller was leaving to spend Christmas with
Bethany this year. Not like the disaster of last year, when every time they
turned around someone was flashing a camera at them or banging on their door.
If they spent the entire holiday indoors, they would be safe. Bethany knew
better than to trust to luck. Sometimes it felt like the whole planet was
focused on finding her. And honestly, she didn't want to sit in the condo for
three solid weeks.
She wanted to go home
to Neighborlee, sleep in her own bed, eat at the family diner, hang with
Athena, and make sure Wallace was good enough for her. Bethany was happy for
her best friend, and jealous. Because honestly, the more successful she got,
the more miserable she felt. Which made no sense.
Okay, just be happy
with a peaceful Christmas with Dad. Leave it at that. Don't ruin things by
wishing for more.
"And invisibility
for my dad, too," Bethany added on a sigh.
"Sweetheart, you know our magic is little more than illusions," Megan began. She squeaked and turned red when Alexi nudged her hard enough she nearly fell out of the booth in the dark corner of the casino where they were currently working.
"I don't know any such thing." Bethany pulled out her ace card. She had held it to herself, a secret treasure, for the past five years. "I know you can do real magic. I saw you."
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