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    The Magic Mean Machine
    The Magic Mean Machine
    The Magic Mean Machine
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    The Magic Mean Machine

    By Beatrice Gormley

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    About this ebook

    How can Alison Harrity beat bully Spencer Cunningham? Alison would have a good chance to win the fifth grade chess tournament—except that Spencer is cheating his way to the championship. And Alison isn’t pushy enough to stand up to him. Then Marvin Smith, a science wiz, invents the DISAST to help Alison get really tough. But is it worth it to win the tournament, if she loses all her friends?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBeatrice Gormley
    Release dateMay 3, 2010
    ISBN9781452349152
    The Magic Mean Machine
    Author

    Beatrice Gormley

    Beatrice Gormley has written a number of books for young readers, including several titles in the History’s All-Stars series, as well as biographies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and John McCain. She lives in Westport, Massachusetts.

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      Book preview

      The Magic Mean Machine - Beatrice Gormley

      THE MAGIC MEAN MACHINE

      by Beatrice Gormley

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 1989 by Beatrice Gormley

      All rights reserved.

      The cover design uses the photos girl on black background portrait © moodboard Premium, and Chess © Aliaksandr Zabudzko, under Fotolia licenses.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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

      Discover other titles by Beatrice Gormley at Smashwords.com:

      Fifth Grade Magic

      http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9776

      Richard and the Vratch

      http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10376

      Also by Beatrice Gormley

      Mail-Order Wings

      Best Friend Insurance

      More Fifth Grade Magic

      Paul’s Volcano

      Wanted: UFO

      Sky Guys to White Cat

      Ellie’s Birthstone Ring

      Back to the Titanic!

      Back to Paul Revere!

      Back to the Day Lincoln Was Shot!

      to Judy, the friend I found through book magic

      Contents

      It’s Only a Game

      A Visit to the Wizard

      A Foolproof Hiding Place

      A Brain Change

      Cheaters Never Prosper

      Chess Is War

      I’m the Champion

      Nosy Maureen

      DISASTer

      Playing Fair

      Your Move, Alison

      1. It’s Only a Game

      Your move, Alison. There was an expectant note in Denise’s voice, and a gleam in her eyes behind her glasses. She straightened one of her knights so that the black plastic horse’s head was pointing exactly forward. Denise liked things nice and tidy.

      Alison knew that tone of voice meant that Denise was going to spring a trap on her. Her heart began to pound, and her throat tightened. She studied the board, trying to concentrate on all the different ways the different pieces could move.

      Sleet slid down the classroom windows, faster than the thoughts trickling through Alison’s mind. All around the room pairs of chess players bent over their boards—on desks, on the carpet, on the counter at the back of the room. They were playing with quiet murmurs, except for a voice Alison knew too well. Spencer Cunningham’s voice. Gotcha!

      Alison flinched. If I could just keep from getting so nervous, she thought, I might like chess a lot. Thinking of all the moves together was like seeing the insides of a machine, like a clock—all the parts of the machinery working together. The queen’s moves radiated from it like long beams, the bishop moved kitty-corner, the knight made L-shaped leaps. . . .

      Go, Alison, said Denise.

      If Alison moved that pawn over—but no, pawns could only moved straight ahead. Then she should protect the pawn with that knight—no, the knight wouldn’t end up on the square where she wanted it. If she had a queen . . . but Denise had captured her queen at the beginning of the game. The white queen, actually a pawn from another set with a Band-Aid wrapped around her head, stood in back of the other captive white pieces on Denise’s side of the desk.

      Dead in the water!

      At Spencer’s victory cry, Alison jumped. She wished Mr. Donatelli, the teacher in charge of chess practice, would make him shut up.

      You’re taking all day. Denise sighed.

      Searching for a move, any move, Alison noticed the bishop. Hah! Her one remaining bishop was on a dark square, luckily, and in position to take Denis’s rook. Alison swooped her bishop slantwise over the board, nudging the rook, and picked it up. There, she said, trying not to sound too triumphant.

      A smile spread over Denise’s round face. At the same time, a boy stooped over their board, his bright blue eyes gleaming. Wow, what a stupid move! exclaimed Spencer. Didn’t you see her queen right—

      Cut it out, Spencer. Denise frowned up at the boy. To Alison she said, Check.

      Now that Spencer had pointed it out, Alison saw the black queen, Denise’s queen, poised to take Alison’s king and win the game.

      There’s nothing you can do about it, either, said Spencer with relish. You can’t move the king over there, because that would put it in check from the pawn, and it wouldn’t do any good to move it up, because the queen could still get it. Checkmate.

      I can say checkmate myself, Spencer, Why don’t you go away? Not looking at him, Denise pushed her glasses up on her nose.

      I’m playing the winner. And you just won. Move over, loser.

      Hey! protested Alison as Spencer elbowed her out of her seat. She had just seen another play she could have made—in fact, a way she could have won. "That wasn’t checkmate, because I could have gotten her queen with—"

      Too late. Spencer quickly put back all the white pieces that Denise had captured from Alison. White goes first.

      Alison’s heart raced, and her voice came out in a chocked whisper. Denise, that wasn’t checkmate.

      Denise just gave her a look as if she thought Alison was being a poor sport. To Spencer she said pointedly, I wish it’d been a draw. But she began to arrange her pieces and pawns for the beginning of a new game.

      Alison was supposed to go find someone else to play with, but she lingered beside the desk. Now that the game was over, she felt shaky and tired. And angry—why couldn’t she stay calm and concentrate? She should have won from Denise.

      You don’t have a chance, Spencer told Denise as she moved a pawn at the end of the row. "Why’d you do that? You never start with the pawns on the outside. Denise glared at him without answering, but he went on. I’ve been playing chess for three years, you know. My father taught me. he’s so good he could make a living playing chess if he wanted to."

      Hooray for you, said Denise.

      Folding her arms, Alison leaned against a nearby desk to watch. Maybe Mom—Dad didn’t play chess—would play with her for practice. She had to get better, somehow.

      Spencer picked up one of his knights by its horse head, placed it on another square, frowned, and picked it up again.

      Hey! Denise’s eyes widened. You have to leave it there. If you let go of the piece, that’s the end of your move. You let go.

      Not really, said Spencer blandly. He sat up very straight, as always, his eyes sparkling.

      Alison remembered the first time she saw Spencer. She had thought he looked cheerful and lively, like a nice kid. Hah! Spencer was the one who had started the fad of kneeing at recess, last week. He’d sneak up behind some unsuspecting person, jab his knees into the backs of her knees, and run away snickering.

      "Yes really, insisted Denise. I’m not going to play if you cheat. It’s right in the rules: if you move a piece and let go of it—"

      Don’t have a fit, said Spencer. It’s only a game. Your move.

      Alison turned away, almost glad she had lost so that she didn’t have to play with Spencer. But the best thing would be to play with him and beat him, really wipe him off the board. Oh, if only she could!

      Across the room, Karen was motioning to her. Want to play?

      Gladly Alison hurried to her and knelt down on the carpet. Karen couldn’t play chess very well, but at least Alison wouldn’t get all shaky over this game.

      Wipeout! At Spencer’s triumphant cry, Alison and Karen raised their heads. I wasted her! he went on, smiling around the classroom.

      Denise got up and stalked off as a boy took her place at the board. Her eyes burning through her glasses, she sat down cross-legged next to Alison. He cheats.

      Alison looked at her friend sympathetically, but she knew that

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