Magic Eight Ball

We were coming home far too late from a party the other night, everyone giddily overtired. Mae had brought her Magic Eight ball with her that evening and Mihiretu managed to get his hands on it for the ride home.

Lana asked, "Are rocks real?" She loves to ask questions she knows the answers to, just to see if the thing is working.

Mihiretu, even if he had suddenly gained the ability to read, couldn't see the words in the dark.

Ben improvised from the front seat, "Reply hazy. Try again."

Giggles all the way around.

Now Mihiretu asked, "Aw woks wul?"

I said, "Outlook not so good."

Mihiretu, now shouting gleefully, "Aw woks wul?"

"September," Ben answered solemnly.

"AW WOKS WUL?"

"Spaghetti," I said helpfully.

"AW WOKS WUL?"

"Chicken face," said Lana.

"AW WOKS WUL?"

"Lemon curd," piped up Mae from the back.

Finally, close to home, to defuse the excitement before bedtime, we assured all concerned that rocks were indeed real. And then I carefully disengaged Mihiretu from that very magic ball before he threw it at Lana. Those things are surprisingly heavy. Must be all that enchantment packed into such a tiny sphere.