Chapter one

Camilo

I woke up to the sound of someone pounding on my door.

"Alright, I'm up!" I called. I looked around my room. It had changed overnight, but I'm used to it. My room changes all the time, usually depending on my mood.

All the people in my family have some sort of magical gift, and a room that represents it. For example, my brother Antonio can talk to animals. So, naturally, his room is like a jungle. I have no idea how he manages to sleep in there, but that's his problem, not mine. So, since I'm a shapeshifter, my room changes daily.

"CAMILO!" I heard my mother say.

"Ok, ok, ok, I'm up!" I hoped I hadn't made her mad, or we'd be getting a thunderstorm in about five seconds.

I got out of bed, and quickly got dressed.

After breakfast, I walked around the town. Kids swarmed around me, asking me to turn into various people. I did my best to entertain them. Their laughs after each one of my tricks were one of the best things I'd ever heard.

Then I went back into the house. I walked up the steps leading to the second floor.

"Hey," I heard a voice say. I turned around. It was my cousin, Mirabel. She is the only one in the family without a magical gift, but that doesn't make her any less special than us. She is a few months younger than me, with wavy, short black hair, a round face and big glasses.

"Hello," I said to her.

"Camilo, have you noticed that Abuela's been acting... strange, lately?" I thought about it.

"No, not really," I said, "But I barely pay attention to her at all."

Mirabel glared at me.

"What? It's the truth!" I told her. I hadn't been paying attention to Abuela much since the incident that nearly left us homeless a few months ago.

"Well, she has been acting strange, in my opinion," Mirabel continued, "So, can you maybe help me figure out what it is?"

"Mirabel--"

"Please, Camilo! You're the only one who can help me sneak around," when I didn't answer she said, "What if it's something dangerous? You know she never tells anyone if something bad's going on."

I considered this for a moment.

"Alright, I'll help you," I said, and couldn't help grinning, "But we'll need a team name. How about... Team Camilo is the best person in the whole--"

"Camilo," Mirabel warned.

"Fine, we'll figure out the name later."

Mirabel laughed and playfully punched me in the shoulder.

"C'mon let's go," She gestured for me to follow her.

We wandered around the house for hours.

"What are we even looking for?" I asked Mirabel for the five hundreth time.

"Anything that can help us," Mirabel answered. I could tell she was losing her patience with me.

We walked down the hallway where the rooms are again. Mirabel suddenly stopped in front of a covered door. Sh took a peek under the tarp, and then stifled a gasp.

"Camilo," she said, "Who's Shayla?"