At recess that day, I sat on a wall by myself.
Mr. Dalmati marched over to the bumpy slide and blew his whistle.
Kids were pushing each other and arguing about who was first in line.
Molly and Jenny came over to me.
"You're so quiet today, Iggy," said Molly.
"Are you thinking of a new invention?" asked Jenny.
"No," I said. "I already thought of one—a Fabulous Glasses-Finder.
But no one wanted to use it.
Now I'm out of ideas."
"Just look around," said Molly, waving her hand.
"Mrs. Romano said you should search for problems right under your nose."
Mr. Dalmati blew his whistle.
"No pushing and shoving!" he said.
The kids waiting to go on the slide were acting wilder than ever.
"I've got a problem," said Jenny. "A big problem."
"What's wrong?" asked Molly.
"I flunked my spelling test today," said Jenny.
"I always get one hundred on my spelling tests."
"Did you study?" I asked.
"I tried to study," said Jenny.
"But I was pretty busy last night.
I have a math test tomorrow, and I was studying for that too.
All those numbers gave me a headache!"
"That is a problem," said Molly.
"I wish you could invent something to help me, Iggy," said Jenny.
"I'm having a lot of trouble at school lately."
"I'm sure I can think of something," I said.
I couldn't believe I said that!
I had no idea how to fix Jenny's problem.
"Oh, Iggy, that would be great!" said Jenny.
Jenny looked so hopeful.
Now I had to find a way to help her.
After school Molly and I stopped at Josh and Jenny's apartment.
Jenny showed her dad her spelling test.
Mr. Chen looked upset.
"Jenny, what happened?" he asked.
"You usually get all the words right on your spelling tests!"
"I know," said Jenny.
"I just can't seem to pay attention lately.
And I have a math test tomorrow."
"Try to study hard tonight," Mr. Chen said.
"I can help you.
And if you're still having problems, I'll speak to your teacher."
We sat down at Josh and Jenny's kitchen table to have a snack.
Mr. Chen went into his magic room to practice his tricks.
He was planning a new magic show.
"Too bad your dad doesn't have a magic trick to fix your problem," Molly said to Jenny.
Josh laughed. "Right now Dad is practicing cutting people in half!"
"Hey, isn't that division?" joked Molly.
"I've already told Dad that I don't want to be cut in half," said Jenny.
"It's just a trick, Jenny," said Josh.
"Dad doesn't really cut people in half.
But he could turn you into a rabbit," he teased her.
"I don't think a rabbit would get good grades on spelling," I pointed out.
That made everyone laugh, even Jenny.
"Wait a minute.
Look at this!" said Molly.
She picked up a book from the table.
The title was Hypnosis Made Easy.
"We could hypnotize you, Jenny!" said Molly.
"Then you might be able to tell us why you're having trouble in school."
"Yeah!" I chimed in.
"I saw a lady hypnotize someone on TV once.
It's simple. First the hypnotist put a man in a trance.
She made him act like a chicken and asked him a bunch of questions.
Then later she woke him up."
But Jenny looked worried by our idea.
"What if you can't wake me up again?" she said.
"I'd be hypnotized forever."
She shook her head.
"Maybe you should cut me in half instead!"