"I have a surprise," said Mr. Scary.
I held my breath and kept my eyes closed.
I was terrified to hear what Mr. Scary was about to say.
"I'm glad my vegetables disappeared," said Mr. Scary.
"What?" My eyes flew open.
"You're glad they disappeared?"
Mr. Chen looked as surprised as I was.
"You're glad?" he echoed.
"Yes." Mr. Scary smiled at him.
"Because your magic show was terrific."
I gave Josh, Jenny, and Molly a thumbs-up.
Caswell was beaming.
"I did something right!" he blurted out.
"No, Caswell," said Molly sternly.
"Taking the vegetables was very wrong.
It was stealing."
"I admit I was worried about the magic show at first," Mr. Scary told Mr. Chen.
"I wasn't sure the audience would like it.
But you were great!"
"Thank you," said Mr. Chen.
"The last trick was the best," Mr. Scary went on.
"Having the audience search for Bunch was a brilliant idea!"
Mr. Chen winked at me, and I felt proud.
That part of the magic trick had been my idea.
"Your magic show was so good that I'd like to offer you a job," said Mr. Scary.
"A job?" said Mr. Chen.
"Yes. I'd like you to work as a magician here at the hotel," Mr. Scary explained.
Josh glanced at his dad.
"But what about our apartment in the city?" he asked.
"Yes, we don't want to leave home," added Jenny.
"I can't imagine our apartment building without Josh and Jenny!" I said.
"New people would move into Josh and Jenny's old apartment," said Molly.
"It wouldn't be the same."
"Just a moment, everyone," said Mr. Chen.
"Let's hear what Mr. Scary has to say."
"You won't have to move," Mr. Scary said to Josh and Jenny.
"Your dad can work here on weekends.
You kids can come too," he added.
"And Bunch of course."
"Ruff!" barked Bunch.
Then he lay down and growled at the red curtains.
Jenny leaned over and whispered to me.
"Maybe next time we can get a room without red curtains."
Mr. Scary looked at Mr. Chen.
"Well?" he said.
"Would you like the job?"
Mr. Chen smiled widely.
"I would love to work here," he said.
"Oh boy!" shouted Josh.
"We'll have so much fun!"
"Horseback riding!" said Molly.
"Treasure hunting!" added Caswell.
"Fishing!" I said.
"Good," said Mr. Scary.
"Then it's all settled, Mr. Chen.
You can start working next weekend."
Before Mr. Scary left, he tossed the rotten vegetables in the trash.
Then he let out a loud laugh.
"That's actually very funny!" he said.
"Hiding vegetables under the bed! Ha-ha!"
We all started laughing too.
Later that afternoon we got on the bus and headed home to the city.
"What a weekend!" said Josh.
I nodded. We'd had so much fun, and Mr. Chen had a new job.
Now Josh and Jenny wouldn't have to move away.
Mr. Chen said he would keep looking for a job in the city.
But on the weekends we could go to Shadow Lake Lodge.
I sat back on my seat and closed my eyes.
I thought about what Josh had said to me before we left.
"Iggy, can you invent something to help my dad find a job?" he had asked.
"I don't know," I had said.
"I'd have to be a real genius to do that."
It turned out that I had invented something to help Mr. Chen get a new job:
my rainbow trail pellets.
So maybe I was a genius after all!