The Clumsy Magician (A Weirdville Book)

By Majanka Verstraete

Ever since he received a magic kit from his estranged father, Ryan wanted nothing more than to become a professional magician. But when he tries to perform a trick at school, and it fails, he becomes the laughing stock of the entire school–and starts to doubt himself.

Matthew, a creepy loner who hangs out with the school bully, promises Ryan he can help him perform real magic, not just tricks. Ryan doesn’t believe him, at first, but then mysterious things start happening to convince him that magic is real after all.

What Ryan doesn’t know is the price he’ll have to pay to use such magic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Majanka Verstraete
• Release date: Sep 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005698881

Majanka Verstraete

Majanka Verstraete begged her Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of her hometown library. She wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her attention, writing is more than a passion for her. She writes about all things supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in. Majanka is currently studying for her Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.”

Book preview

THE CLUMSY MAGICIAN

(A Weirdville Book)

Lower Grade Chapter Book

Majanka Verstraete

www.WhimsicalPress.com

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THE CLUMSY MAGICIAN

(A Weirdville Book)

Copyright © 2021 Majanka Verstraete

Originally published in 2015

Art Copyright © 2015 Noelle Giffin

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.majankaverstraete.com or @iheartreads.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

Other Books by

Majanka Verstraete

Valentina’s Spooky Adventures

Valentina and the Haunted Mansion

Valentina and the Whackadoodle Witch

Valentina and the Masked Mummy

Weirdville

The Doll Maker

House of Horrors

Fright Train

Drowning in Fear

The Clumsy Magician

Grave Error

Sally Sleuth

Sally Sleuth and the Missing Mice

For a complete, up-to-date list of her other books, visit her website:

www.MajankaVerstraete.com

Dedication

For all those kids out there who love telling scary stories to their friends, and reading scary books in bed at night, wondering if they should leave the lights on or not after reading.

Hope you enjoy this story as well!

Chapter One

Ryan’s cheeks burned up. He glared at the top hat he clutched in his hands. I.... His voice trembled as violently as his hands. I have no idea why it won’t work. I’ve done this trick a thousand times.

Mrs. Bell, the young, blonde-haired teacher who always wore three coats of makeup, yet still managed to look so pretty half the boys had a crush on her, leaned forward until her eyes were level with his. Don’t panic. Take a deep breath.

She spoke in a soft, melodious voice, reminding him of the songs his mom used to sing to him before bedtime.

Loser can’t do it. The voice booming through the classroom belonged to Timothy, the leader of a gang of bullies who always picked on Ryan. Since he’d failed fifth grade several years in a row, he towered two heads above the other kids in class.

Timothy. Mrs. Bell spoke in a sharp voice. One more insult, and I’ll put you in detention tonight.

Timothy snorted, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, as if wanting to show the entire class detention didn’t scare him.

Knowing his track record, that didn’t surprise Ryan in the slightest. The bully had detention several days a week; collecting it the way other kids collected Pokémon cards.

Please, Ryan, give it another shot. Mrs. Bell put a hand on his shoulder.

His heart leapt up and flipped in his chest. He nodded before he could stop himself. Okay.

Yesterday, Mrs. Bell had asked all kids to prepare a demonstration for their favorite hobby, so they could show it to the other kids today. Timothy had showed them some kick-box moves. Ally loved baking, so she’d brought a box full of cupcakes and handed them out to everyone. Ryan’s best friend, Aaron, had played the violin so well he’d even managed to shut Timothy up for a while.

Ryan had planned to show off one of his latest magic tricks. He’d conjure up a rabbit from his hat—not a real rabbit, of course, but a stuffed animal. But someone had messed up his trick—on purpose. Ryan glared at Timothy. If anyone would ruin Ryan’s moment to shine, it would be the bully who stole his lunch money every other day.

Ryan grabbed the top hat and investigated it. He lifted up the hat to show to the others, and then tried to pull away the fake bottom layer, so he could grab the bunny and pull it out. Except this time, just like before, he couldn’t pull the false bottom back, as if someone had glued it stuck.

It won’t work. His shoulders fell, and