Free The Internet Escapade by Joan Lowery Nixon

1

    L OOK OUT! DEBBIE JEAN’S coming this way!” Sean Quinn nudged his friend Matt Fischer, who quickly turned the knob that darkened their computer screen.
    Sean pretended that he hadn’t seen Debbie Jean. But from the corner of his eye he carefully watched her walk through Redoaks Elementary School’s media center. Bossy Debbie Jean Parker was a real pain. Sean hated the way she always tried to find out what everybody else in class was doing so she could tell them how to do it. Sean held his breath as she came close. Would she … would she …?
    As Debbie Jean pulled out a chair and sat in front of her favorite computer, Matt let out a snicker.
    Sean poked him. “Don’t make her suspicious,” Sean whispered, but he wanted to laugh so badly he could hardly stand it.
    Matt lightened up the computer screen again and began to type.
    Debbie Jean scowled and muttered, “Something’s wrong with this computer.”
    Sean clapped his hands over his mouth, but a small laugh burst out. Quickly, he turned and pretended to be reading the poster on the wall behind him. He was sure that Debbie Jean was looking at him.
    As Matt kept typing, Debbie Jean leaned closer to the screen of her computer and stared at the words on it.
    She began typing something on her keyboard, then stopped and frowned again. Sean’s stomach hurt, he wanted to laugh so much.
    Debbie Jean grabbed the mouse and shook it. “This stupid computer is broken!” she cried. Jumping up, she knocked her chair over.
    As she picked it up, she glanced at Matt and Sean, who quickly pretended to be reading something on their monitor. They waited until Debbie Jean stomped out of sight, then they broke down laughing.
    “That was great,” Matt said. “We really fooled her.”
    “What did you type?” Sean asked.
    Matt grinned. “I wrote, I’M A MAGIC COMPUTER. I’M GOING TO TURN YOU INTO A ROBOT, AND YOU’LL HAVE TO DO WHATEVER I SAY . Then she wrote back, THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK .”
    “She sure looked angry,” Sean said. “This is a great trick.”
    “Yeah,” Matt said. “I’m glad that Dennis Taylor told us how to do it.”
    Sean ran over to the computer Debbie Jean had used, cleared the screen, then hurried back to Matt. “Shhh!” Sean whispered. “Someone’s coming.”
    Charlie, Sam Miyako’s little brother, came into the media center and sat at the computer Debbie had just left.
    Matt began typing on his computer keyboard, but Sean said, “Let him alone. He’s not only our next-door neighbor, he’s just a little kid. Besides, Charlie gets spooked real easy. Sam’s always telling him scary stories.”
    Charlie leaned forward to read the message on his screen and gasped.
    “What did you write to him?” Sean asked.
    “I wrote him, I’M A MAGIC COMPUTER, AND YOU GET THREE WISHES ,” Matt whispered.
    Charlie began to type with one finger, carefully hitting one letter at a time. The message slowly came up on the screen in front of Sean and Matt.
    I WISH FOR A GIANT CANDY BAR, A NEW BIKE, AND A MONSTER UNDER MY BROTHER’S BED .
    “Cool,” Matt said. “I’d like to see that monster, too.”
    Sean felt a pang of guilt. “Charlie’s going to be disappointed when he doesn’t get his wishes.”
    “Hey,” Matt said. “It’s only a game. Okay?”
    Sean was intent on watching what Charlie continued to write: I NEVER MET A MAGIC COMPUTER … He jumped when a stern voice behind them said, “Sean! Matt! Turn around please.”
    Mrs. Harrison, the school’s media specialist, stared down at them. “We had a complaint about one of the computers, and now I see why. Isn’t it amazing how your hands are off the keyboard, yet letters continue to appear on your screen?”
    Sean could feel his face burn as Mrs. Harrison asked, “You crossed the wires, didn’t you?”
    “Uh, yeah. We were kind of playing a trick,” Sean tried to explain. “We connected the monitor where Charlie’s sitting with this keyboard, and vice versa.” He couldn’t help