Vocabulary 16 suspicious banjo dominoes interpret practical sway barley dot intervalpreach sweat presence swirl basin dough invisible bathe doughnut invitation prevent

I should have been suspicious when my mother did not reprimand me as I reached for a third doughnut. Yes, I admit that is a little too much sugar to begin the day with, but I could not help myself. My dad had just returned from the bakery, so the doughnuts were hot and fresh, and they were chocolate dough with chocolate and vanilla swirl icing—my favorite! My mother did not even try to prevent me from eating a third doughnut. As a matter of fact, she did not even seem to notice my presence at the breakfast table at all, no one did. Conversation went on all around me but no one extended an invitation for me to join in. Fine with me, I was not much of a morning person anyway. After eating, I headed upstairs to get ready for school. I began to bathe without even paying attention to what I was doing. I let the shower water rush over me as I scrubbed my hair and body. I then stepped onto the bath mat and dried myself off. I walked over to the sink to brush my teeth. I turned on the faucet and wet my toothbrush. As the water splashed into the basin I looked into the mirror. I saw nothing. Not only was I invisible, but I also couldn’t see the toothbrush I was holding in my hand. I started to panic. I could feel the sweat forming on my brow. I could feel it, but I surely could not see it! My body began to sway as my legs seemed to turn to Jell-O. No! I would not pass out and die in this bathroom. No one would ever find my invisible body if I did! I had to find a way out of this predicament. I wanted to prevent alarm for my family. How long until they figured out I was “missing”? I could hear my father practicing his banjo, and my mother and brother seemed to be playing a quick game of dominoes before school and work. The TV was on, and some guy was preaching about the effects of global warming. I needed to figure out what had caused me to vanish. I hadn’t done anything unusual last night. I did have trouble sleeping. After everyone else was in bed, I had gone into the kitchen to fix myself a cup of barley tea. This often helps my insomnia. Maybe there was something magical about the barley I had used. I remembered that I had also put a dot of honey in my tea, but that shouldn’t make any difference. I returned to the kitchen to read the label on the barley tea bags. The writing on the package was some language I could not interpret. Where had these tea bags come from? The symbols were not even the same as our alphabet, and the intervals were also strange. Then I remembered a new practical magic store had just opened downtown. My brother and I had gone to check it out a couple of days ago. Some of my friends were also in the store, so I started talking to them and lost track of my brother pretty quickly. I do remember him making a purchase: although I never asked him what it was. Apparently, it was tea bags with a side effect of vanishing! Oh, as soon as I reappear, I am going to ring his neck!