Genie in a Bottle (Whatever After #9) (Volume 9) - Couverture rigide

"So now can I go play duckball?" Jonah asks. "Prince is being good. Look."

I glance down at Prince. He's napping. I yawn again. I wish I could take a nap.

I look over at the game. It does actually look like fun. "Okay, fine. Go ahead."

"Yay!" Jonah says, and runs over to Aladdin.

"I can play, right?" Jonah asks him.

Aladdin smiles. "Sure. But I'm pretty good, so watch out," he says, and whams the ball at Jonah. But not that hard, I notice.

Awww, Aladdin really is a nice guy.

Jonah catches the ball and throws it at a boy. The ball bounces off his leg and hits a girl in the stomach.

The girl doubles over and at first I think she's hurt, but she's laughing. "Guess I'm out," she says, and tosses me a ball.

Oh, why not? I AM pretty good at dodgeball. I just hate the getting-hit-with-the-ball part.

"Try to get me!" Aladdin calls to me, grinning. I grin back and throw the ball as hard as I can and --

Oops. The ball hits him right in the face.

GULP. His nose is bleeding!

Oh, NO!

"I am SO sorry!" I say, rushing over to him. "Are you okay?"

Jonah runs over to us, too, looking worried.

The rest of the kids stop playing and gather around.

"I'll be okay," Aladdin says, covering his nose with his hand. But he doesn't look that okay. "I'll just run home for an ice pack. You guys keep playing!"

The rest of the kids start the game again, but Jonah and I head back over to the stone wall, watching as Aladdin dashes off down the road.

"I feel terrible," I say. I started off wanting to help Maryrose and now I've ended up HURTING Aladdin!

Praise for Whatever After:
"An uproariously funny read. The swift pace of the tale and non-stop action . . . will enchant readers from the first page." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Hilarious . . . with unexpected plot twists and plenty of girl power." -- Booklist
"Giddy, fizzy, hilarious fun!" -- Lauren Myracle, author of Luv Ya Bunches
"Tons of fractured fairy tale fun!" -- Meg Cabot, author of Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls and The Princess Diaries
"The feminist in me adored it, and the mother in me loved how my daughter would long to cuddle in close as we read together." -- Danielle Herzog, blogging for The Washington Post