The store had opened its doors at 11:00 pm, and an hour and a half later, Gary thought the Year of the Fire Snake was looking good. People didn't just admire the new feng shui display, but also bought some ornaments for their homes. The snake bile soup his parents had not been sure about had proved to be the star of the refreshments table. And of course, Gary was having the time of his life demonstrating the use of the I-Ching coins the Magic Manor had in stock for the first time since it had opened. It was hardly the highlight of his evening when his mother took him aside and asked him to keep the world's surliest girl company in the back room until her mother was ready to leave.

"Mom! I'm on a roll here!"

"Think of it as your coffee break. And besides, she seems like an interesting girl."

"But, Mom - "

She held up her hand. "I'm not your mom tonight. I'm your boss. And I'm telling you to keep your new friend company until it's time for her to go home."

Kiki looked up as Gary pushed through the bead curtain that separated the back room from the rest of the shop. How many other thirteen year old boys dressed exactly like their fathers, she wondered. She shot him the most menacing look she could manage, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"So what brings you to the Magic Manor tonight?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Can I show you anything? We've got some really interesting stuff."

"I'm not buying."

"And I'm not selling. But it's going to be a while until the face reader is finished and - "

"Your parents sent you here because they thought I would steal something, didn't they?"

Gary seemed taken aback at that. "I think my mom just hoped we'd be friends."

He looked so earnest that Kiki nearly laughed in his face. "That is never going to happen, Magic Boy. And if you don't believe it, you can consult your crystal ball."

He grinned. "Is that what you've been doing?" he asked, his gaze shifting to a spot over her left shoulder.

Kiki turned to see what he was looking at. Right at eye level, on the shelf behind her, was a row of crystal balls.

She snorted "As if I believe in any of that stuff!"

"You don't believe in the supernatural?"

"I don't believe in what's not real."

"What if I convinced you it was real?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever tried an ouija board?"

"Oh, yeah . . . One night, at a friend's house. The stupid board got every question right. Then it turned out it was my friends pranking me."

"I won't prank you. I think this is real, remember? Ask it something I wouldn't know."

Kiki told herself that she was only agreeing to it because she was bored . . . and because he would obviously keep badgering her if she didn't. "If I ever find out you were fooling me, geek . . ."

He smiled as he turned in the direction of the stairs. "Maybe I'll ask it something I wouldn't know."