The chain fell from my hand. The coin rattled onto the living room floor and slid toward the door.
Peter darted into the room and grabbed it before I could reach it. “What’s this, Danielle? What were you doing?”
“Hypnotizing me,” Addie told him. “She’s very good at it.”
“I’m an expert,” I said. “I can put anyone into a trance in seconds.”
Peter stared hard at me. “You can really hypnotize people?”
“Of course she can,” Addie said. “She can hypnotize anyone.”
“Hypnotize me!” Peter demanded.
“No way,” I said, reaching for the coin. “Addie and I are too busy.”
He swung it out of my grasp. “Hypnotize me, Danielle. I won’t give it back to you unless you hypnotize me too!”
“Peter, we’re doing this for school,” I said. “Give it back!”
Behind his red glasses, his dark eyes flashed excitedly. Waving the coin at me, he began to chant, “Hypnotize me! Hypnotize me! Hypnotize me!”
I grabbed for it again. Missed.
Addie jumped up beside me. “Okay. Let’s hypnotize him,” she said. “Why not?”
I turned to her. “Excuse me?”
“Go ahead. Put him in a trance. Turn him into a chicken or a puppy or something.”
“Yeah! Turn me into a puppy!” Peter cried. He let out a loud cheer. “Go ahead. Hypnotize me. This is so cool!”
I grabbed the silver dollar away from him. “I’ll do it if you promise one thing, Peter. After I’m finished hypnotizing you, you have to promise to leave
Addie and me alone and not pester us.”
“No problem,” he said. “Where do I sit?”
I pushed him toward the couch. “Sit down there. Lean back. Get comfortable. You have to relax if I’m going to put you in a trance.”