Free Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Magic Shop Books) by Bruce Coville Page A

toad. His thumb finding its way back to his mouth as if guided by radar, he sighed once and was sound asleep again.
    Envying his peaceful oblivion, Jennifer squatted beside the receiver. "Hello, Mr. Elives," she said, trying to keep her voice from quaking.
    "Jennifer, I just learned that you've been turned into a toad. I need to warn you that the spell is dangerous."
    "What do you mean?"
    "If you stay in that form for more than ten hours, the change will be permanent."
    An icy fear crept into Jennifer's heart. How much time did she have? She had put Brandon to bed at eight. So it couldn't have been later than 8:10 when Skippy kissed her.
    Which meant that at a little after six in the morning she would become a toad forever.
    "What can I do?" she asked urgently.
    Mr. Elives' response sounded impatient. "You
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    have realized that the kiss can be passed on, haven't you?"
    "Yes."
    "Well, keep passing it around until a more permanent solution comes along. Find a friend to share it with. Just make sure that no one stays a toad for more than nine hours and fifty-nine minutes."
    "We can't go on doing that forever!" said Jennifer desperately.
    "It will have to do until something better comes along," snapped the old man. "Listen, opportunities are all around you. Most people simply don't realize they are there. Keep looking, keep listening, keep thinking. The answer will present itself. Let me speak to Bufo."
    "Certainly," said Jennifer. Slightly dazed, and a little angry, she turned to Bufo and said, "He wants to talk to you."
    Bufo hopped over and squatted next to the phone. "Hey, boss," he said, trying to sound cheerful. Though Jennifer could not make out the words coming from the receiver, the tone and the volume, and the way Bufo winced, gave her a pretty good idea of the kind of thing Mr. Elives might be saying. Bufo kept trying to respond, but never seemed to be able to get past, "Yes, but ..." and "Well, I didn't ..."
    Jennifer was astonished at the idea of someone being able to outtalk Bufo. But suddenly the expression on the toad's face changed. His eyes went wide, and he listened more intently. Then he
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    blinked, and Jennifer could tell that the line had gone dead.
    "What did he say?" she asked.
    "He's annoyed with me for kissing Sharra to begin with. I swear I had no idea that it would turn her into a toad. She's the first human I ever kissed, and that was only to annoy her. It's not as if I find her attractive or anything. Anyway, once he finished bawling me out, he said, 'The wheel is turning, hearts are burning, what's worth learning is never free.' I tried to ask what the heck that meant, but he hung up."
    "Is he always like that?"
    "Yeah, he likes to keep people on their toes. Part of that 'air of mystery' he likes to cultivate."
    "Where is he now?"
    Bufo shrugged. "He could be anywhere. He moves that shop around like a con man shuffling shells and peas. What I don't know is if he's the one who decides where to go, or if he's taking orders from someone else. I do know you can't find the place if he doesn't want you to. So he must have had some reason for letting you come in."
    "I suppose he let me in so that I could get turned into a toad," said Jennifer bitterly. "I just wish I could figure out what I did to deserve this."
    "Don't be silly," said Bufo. "Things aren't over yet."
    "Right," said Jennifer. "Which means there's still a chance that they can get worse."
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    "You may think that's happened already when you hear my next idea," said Bufo.
    Jennifer swallowed nervously--an interesting sensation when done with a toad's throat. "What is it?" she asked.
    "Give me a kiss."
    "I knew it!" she cried. "I knew I was going to have to kiss you before this was all over!"
    "You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to!" said Bufo, sounding hurt. "I just thought that it might reverse things. You know--one kiss turns you into a toad, the second one turns you back."
    "Do you really think so?" asked Jennifer