Addison Addley and the Trick of the Eye Read Free

though. He comes in handy a lot.
    â€œThe air has a different density than the water,” Sam said, practically bubbling over with enthusiasm. He likes having me around to explain things to. That’s okay. I like to do my bit for our friendship. “When the light hits the water, it changes speed and bends.”
    He pointed to the lure glistening in the creek. “That lure is actually in a different spot than you think. The light makes it look like it’s moved. If you looked at it from a different angle, like lower down, it would look like it moved again.”
    I still didn’t get it. Did a fish look like it was in a different place than where it was too? How would an eagle catch a fish if it wasn’t where it was supposed to be? Eagles didn’t learn about laws of refraction.
    Maybe this refraction stuff would explain why we’d never caught any fish. There had to be some sort of explanation, because I knew we were the best fishermen around. At least we were the best at trying to be. And we didn’t have a lot of competition.
    Sam swept his arm out in front of him as he got ready for his grand finale speech. “Things can appear totally different, depending on what angle you’re looking at them from. I guess you really could call that an optical illusion.”
    I nodded, pretending I understood. By that time, though, I didn’t care if I understood the facts. The only things I needed to know were jumping around in my brain like fish in a net.
    Different angle + optical illusion = different look…
    I suddenly saw my moving problem in a whole new light. I would create some optical illusions of my own. I’d fool Mom into thinking that our dumpy old house was actually a mansion, heck, a castle. A small castle, mind you, since she didn’t want anything too big.
    That new development was going to look like a rundown little doghouse when I got finished painting it in a new light.
    The only thing I hadn’t figured out yet was what to do about the break-ins. I didn’t think that I could make an optical illusion out of them. No matter what angle you looked at them from, break-ins were still scary.

Chapter Three
    Paint, nails, Sam’s old gaming system . We wrote a list on the way home after school the next day. Well, actually, Sam wrote while I listed. I didn’t want to waste energy doing both things at once.
    â€œWait a second,” Sam cried. “My old gaming system? How is that going to make your house look better?”
    â€œCome on, Sam, think!” I urged. Sometimes Sam doesn’t get my ideas too quickly. I thought great minds were supposed to think alike. Maybe Sam’s wasn’t so great after all.
    â€œIt’s the illusion thing. The more stuff we cram into the house, the smaller it’s going to seem, and the more Mom will realize that we really do need all that space,” I explained. That and the fact that I’d been dying to try out Sam’s system on my own, without him watching me. I needed to practice without pressure. Besides, he had a new system now anyway. He usually likes to keep his games and systems all lined up and locked away in the closet, in alphabetical order. I was sure he could let one go just this once. After all, it was an emergency.
    â€œIt’ll just be for a couple of weeks,” I promised. “I’ll take really good care of it.” I would. Taking really good care of video games was one thing I was great at.
    â€œKeep writing,” I said. “Garbage bags, shovel, hole digger.”
    â€œHole digger? Isn’t that the same as a shovel?” Sam asked.
    â€œNo, not at all. I’ve got big plans for the backyard. I’m going to turn it into a worm store. I don’t want to dig up the whole yard with a big shovel. Little holes will do. The worms aren’t that big. I think I can make a hole digger with a spike and some duct tape. I’ll need something to tie it on