The Quirks, Welcome to Normal (17 page)

Just then, Bree Quirk appeared and began to shake her head. “I can’t do that,” she said certainly. “I can’t convince this many people to believe something—you
know my magic doesn’t stretch that far. I wish I
could
.”

“It doesn’t matter, Mom,” Molly said as a thought formed in her head. “I’ve got a different idea. What we really need is for you to convince Charlie to forget about
the gum in the dunk tank. Then, get him to stay away from here for a while. You can do that, right?”

Bree nodded. “That much I can certainly do.” All of the Quirks helped dig Charlie out of the gum. Moments later, Charlie listened as Bree Quirk told him an elaborate story about what
he’d
really
been doing for the past hour or so—getting ready for the championship round in the bouncy castle highest-jump competition. Charlie, looking excited, scuttled off to
rejoin the festival while the Quirk kids went to work. Bree made her way toward the bouncy castle to convince the teenagers who were in charge to actually
have
a jumping contest.

“Okay,” Molly said, pulling her brother and sister into a huddle. “Here’s the plan. Finn, you’re going to pull the gum out of your mouth, then sneak the gumballs
from the dunk tank to the gumball machine. If you fill it up slowly, no one will notice that we’re doing it. It will just look like the gumball machine’s not getting any emptier, even
though people keep taking the gum.”

A slow smile spread over Finn’s face. “So you’re telling me I’m
supposed
to get invisible in public and sneak around?” He began to laugh. “I love
this plan!”

Finn snuck behind the dunk tank, and when he reemerged, his gum was out of his mouth and behind his ear. “I put the chewed-up piece back here,” he explained to Molly, who could still
see him. “I didn’t want it to go to waste—every piece counts, right? I’ll add it to the ball when I run up there.”

“Just be careful,” Molly said, but she knew she didn’t have to worry. Her brother had had plenty of practice being sneaky, and since it was his challenge they were working
toward that night, she knew he wanted to succeed more than anyone else. He hid the gumballs inside his invisible shirt, so no one would see them floating through the air as he passed.

Molly and Penelope ran toward the gumball machine. Their job was to distract people every time Finn came trotting toward them with another delivery of gumballs. Molly would quietly lift the lid
on the top of the machine just in time for her brother to dump in another load, and then she dropped it back into place again. In just fifteen minutes, Finn had carried more than twenty loads of
gumballs from the dunk tank to the gumball machine. Even though the ABC ball continued to get bigger, and people kept chewing, the supply of gum didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

“Molly,” Penelope whispered happily, through a mouthful of gum. “Your plan is going to work! No one is noticing.”

Molly chewed and popped, chewed and spat, growing more excited by the moment. She watched as Mayor Normal measured the ball, then remeasured, and measured again. With each piece of gum that was
stuck onto the ball, Mayor Normal’s smile got wider, until she began to look positively giddy.

Through everyone’s chewing and early celebrations, Finn continued to sneak gumballs from the dunk tank to the gumball machine. Molly watched him dodge and weave through the crowd, carrying
loads of colorful gumballs in his shirt pouch until finally, the dunk tank was empty.

But the gumball machine was nearly empty, too. Finn pulled the sticky piece of gum from behind his ear and smushed it onto the pile. Then he just managed to snag one of the last remaining fresh
gumballs for himself before they were all gone. He dodged back behind the dunk tank, popped the gum into his mouth, and made himself visible again so he could rejoin the party.

Molly and Penelope both gave him a high five as he wiggled with pride. “You did it!” Molly said, beaming. “No one suspects anything—and it’s almost ten
o’clock. We must be so close to breaking the record!”

Just as she said that, Mayor Normal stepped back up onstage again. “Well, folks,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but our gum supply
has survived the night.” Everyone cheered, but no one yelled as loudly as Penelope and Molly and Finnegan Quirk. “I need everyone to put their very last piece on the pile, and then
let’s measure this sticky beauty to see if we broke this year’s not-so-normal record!”

The townspeople all gathered around the golden platter and reached their hands toward the pile of gum. Wad after wad was pressed onto the huge, sticky lump, until finally every last piece for
forty miles around—and some from Pen’s own imagination—was added to the ball. Mayor Normal stepped off the stage, and everyone grew quiet as they waited for her to announce the
result.

The mayor approached the ball of gum and stretched her tape measure from here to there, around and down, then up and back. No one said a word. In fact, Penelope could hardly even breathe while
they waited for her to tell them the good news. Molly was buzzing with excitement—they’d been a part of something important. Something big! Never before in their lives had she or Pen or
Finn been a part of something this fantastic.

“You’ll have to excuse me for a moment while I check my records,” Mayor Normal hollered out in the silence of the evening. “Just one moment, please.” She stepped
away from the stage.

Everyone looked around, wondering what was going on. “I’m sure nothing’s wrong, right?” Penelope asked, squeezing her brother into a hug under her arm. “She’s
just making sure?”

Molly nodded, but she was a teensy bit nervous again. Suddenly, a warm, familiar arm draped across her shoulders and Molly looked up to see her mother’s face smiling down at her proudly.
“You did something extraordinary tonight,” Bree Quirk said.

“Penelope and Finn were the real heroes,” Molly said. “I just helped them come up with the ideas.”

“No,” Bree said softly. “You also made them believe it was possible. That takes a special kind of power.”

Molly smiled, because she knew that was true. “Mom?” Molly said quietly.

“Yes, dear heart?” Her mother leaned in close.

“You know I didn’t mean it when I said I hate being a Quirk, right?” Molly nuzzled into her mother’s wild hair and hugged her close. “I really do love being a part
of our family. And the thing is, well, life would be pretty boring if we were just like everyone else.” She looked up at her mother and smiled. “I think we can probably figure out a way
to fit in, just as we are.”

Bree Quirk looked her daughter in the eye and smiled. “You’re a special girl, Molly Quirk. We’re lucky you’re one of us.”

As Finn and Penelope crushed into their hug, Mayor Normal stepped back up onstage again. She tapped the microphone, then began to speak. “I’m afraid I have some bad news,” she
said. The entire town of Normal released a collective groan. “Sadly, it was close. Too close. In fact,” the mayor said, “if we’d had just one more piece of gum to stick to
the top of the ball, we would have reached our goal. But we’re totally out of gum—and it’s only three minutes before ten, so I’m afraid our fate is sealed.”

Everyone began speaking at once. “Check your purses for spare gum!” someone cried.

“Just one more gumball,” a kid yelled. “Come on!”

But after a lot of shuffling and even more head shaking, no more gum was found. It was absolute chaos as everyone let it sink in: they had failed.

“One piece short?” Penelope muttered. “One piece?!”

“Hey,” Molly said, trying to comfort her. “If it hadn’t been for you, we would have been hundreds of pieces short.”

“Close only counts in bumper bowling,” Finn grumbled. “And toots.”

Penelope and Bree pulled him close, trying to cheer him up. Grandpa joined them and ruffled Finn’s hair. They were all disappointed that Normal hadn’t succeeded, but Finn looked
absolutely heartbroken.

That’s when Molly realized something. They could see him—which meant one very important thing: Finn was still chewing a piece of gum! She remembered him taking one of the last
gumballs from the machine when he was filling it. Then he’d popped it into his mouth so he wouldn’t go see-through again. And now, it was
still
in his mouth.

“Finn!” she whispered sharply, standing inside the circle of her family. “You’re still chewing a piece of gum!”

“I know,” he said, hanging his head.

Molly reached her fingers under his chin and tilted his face up so he was looking at her. She looked to Penelope, then back again. “You need to spit it out—if you add your piece to
the pile, we’ll break the record!”

Finn shook his head. “But I can’t,” he said quietly, pointing at the crowds of people that surrounded them. “If I take it out of my mouth, everyone will see me disappear.
I’ll fade away, right in front of everyone. We’ll beat the record, but the Quirks will be done done done in Normal. And I don’t wanna leave.”

“Maybe we won’t have to,” Penelope said quietly. They all turned to look at her. “Maybe I can help.”

Molly’s grinned. “Do you think you can do it, Pen?” She chewed her lip. “When Finn takes the gum out of his mouth, you think you can make him stay visible?”

“I can try,” Penelope said with a nod.

Both Molly and Finn stared at their sister, wondering. They were all thinking the same thing: What if it didn’t work? Would Finn fade, right in the center of Normal, with everyone
watching?

Molly twisted at the curl behind her ear while she gazed around at the crowd of friends that surrounded them. Finn chomped at his gum nervously. Penelope tried to look confident, but Molly could
sense her sister’s fear. They all knew that if it didn’t work, the family would be headed to Texas first thing in the morning. But if it did . . .

Molly was sure it was worth the risk. She was sure her sister could do it. Finally, she nodded back.

Penelope closed her eyes. “I want this to work, more than anything. Go, Finn. Quick, before it’s too late!”

Finn ran to the center of the square, while his sisters watched and waited. He dashed up to the golden platter and shouted, “Miss Mayor! I’ve got one last piece! The winning piece of
gum is right here, in my mouth.” He opened his jaw up as wide as it would go and shouted, “Look back there at my molars!”

Mayor Normal grinned, then she pointed to the ball of ABC gum. “Go ahead, young man.”

Finn strode proudly forward and reached his hand into his mouth. The whole town stared at him, completely still and totally silent. Finn looked back at Molly and Penelope once, then lifted the
gum out of his mouth. Molly closed her eyes—she couldn’t watch. She just held her sister’s hand tightly beside her, and wished and wished for it to work.

Suddenly, everyone around them gasped. Molly couldn’t stop her eyes from flying open.

Finn’s fingers were outstretched, and he’d just placed the final piece onto the giant, sticky ball of gum. It stuck up like a tiny mountain on the top of the gooey ball. Cheers
erupted from all around them. Finn was pumping his fist in the air. Molly looked at Penelope, and saw that she, too, was beaming.

“You did it,” Molly gasped, realizing that everyone around them could still see Finn. He was still visible . . .
and
he’d put the final, perfect piece on the giant
ball of chewed-up gum.

“No,” Penelope said. “
We
did it.”

“You’re right,” Molly said. “The Quirks did it—together. And you know what?” She grinned at her sister. “Remember that bet? You owe me ten bucks.
Because I think Normal might work out just fine.”

* * *

“Look this way and smile!” Mayor Normal shouted into her microphone to get everyone’s attention a short while later. She pointed to a cameraman perched at the
top of a giant ladder. “We did it, friends! Let’s get a picture for the paper!”

The whole town squeezed in close. The Quirk kids stood at the center of the crowd, in front of the world’s largest ball of ABC gum. It was a sticky mess that they had helped build, and
Molly was sure she had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life.