Haven [1] A Stranger Magic Read Online Free Page A

gross!” she continued, standing in the hallway and fully dressed. Sam was furious. He was about to go Ninja on her, he could feel it.
    “Mom, Sam’s being gross again!” she yelled out. Then she gave him the irritatingly mischievous grin he hated so much.
    Okay, that was it! Therapy was too expensive. But a good blow to the head was cheap! Sam reached for the closest object he could find, which was an empty video game case lying on the floor, and hurled it at her. The plastic case whirled through the air like a boomerang, finally striking the side of the door frame next to her.
    Sarah didn’t move or flinch a single muscle. She watched unimpressed as the plastic case fell to the ground and looked back at her brother.
    “And that’s why you don’t play baseball, loser!”
    Sam thought his head was going to explode with rage.
    “I … I …”
    He was trying desperately to think of something hurtful, yet clever enough to leave his sister speechless, but all that came out was, “… think you’re stupid!”
    Sarah rolled her eyes, folded her arms, and leaned into the frame of the door.
    “You know, dork, you should never enter a battle of wits unarmed, just sayin’.”
    Then she sighed while looking down at her nails, as if she were bored.
    Sam clutched both of his fists, trying to control his temper.
    “Look,” she said calmly, “I can see you’re a little overwhelmed right now trying to think and all, so I’m going to play nice and throw you bone.”
    She blew on her nails and looked up at her brother.
    “We have new neighbors. They moved in yesterday while you were with your girlfriend , Travis.”
    Livid, Sam stared into her eyes. She hated Travis, despite the fact he had a crush on her, and for whatever reason, was always nice to her.
    “So?” Sam said, becoming more frustrated by the moment. “So” and “stupid” were all he had in his arsenal of comebacks at the moment.
    Sarah grinned, “Sooo, they have a daughter about your age.”
    Why in the world would she be telling him this? She had never talked to him about girls before, and why was The Grin back?
    “So, I don’t care!” he said abruptly, even though he knew he sounded like a child. There was a moment of silence between them, where the two of them just stared at one another—Sam with his big hair and bad boxers, and Sarah with that stupid grin on her face.
    Sarah’s grin turned into a smile. “Well you should care, because she’s staring at you right now through her window! And guess what? You’re still wearing your boxers!”
    At first, Sam wasn’t sure he had heard her right. Did she say she was staring at him? Like right now ?
    In that split-second Sam’s world went silent and everything closed in around him. He froze in place as the ill feeling of humiliation began to slowly creep its way in. His mind was confused again.
    Please, he told himself, let her be lying to me just one last time!
    Sam slowly turned to face his side bedroom window and glanced across the breezeway to the other house. There, staring back at him through the adjacent window was a very pretty girl. She had long black hair, magnificent green eyes, and she was dressed in a purple shirt with faded blue jeans.
    Sam could feel the blood drain from his face. He wanted to duck, run, or do anything instead of just stand there, but it was too late for any of that.
    He stared back like a complete idiot at this beautiful girl with his big hair, skinny body, and his stupid, giant, what-was-he-thinking Garfield boxers on.
    There was another brief moment of silence until Sarah cleared her throat and stood up straight.
    “Now that, my little minion, was priceless,” she said.
    Still unable to move, Sam stared back at the girl, not knowing what to do. Then, as if nothing had ever happened, the girl smiled, reached for the blinds on the window and slid them shut.
    Sarah turned, flinging her hair around her shoulders like she always did when she felt she had proven her