The neon school bell shrieked across the skyscrapers. Sami leaped from the school steps and raised her glowing wand toward Messy, who blocked the Friday street. Sparks spiraled around her school uniform. Then the magic hiccupped. “Sho—”
A bright shoelace shot from the wand with a zzzip! Sami grabbed it before it vanished between the buildings. She pulled hard, but the lace looped around Messy’s enormous ankle. The monster stomped once, and every window flashed with reflected neon. Sami tightened her grip. “Not yet.”
Sami lifted the wand again. “Sho!” This time, giant golden shoes popped onto Messy’s feet. The monster slid past glowing billboards, arms windmilling, until a soft, booming thump shook a rooftop. Sami stared for one blink. Then she raced toward the fire escape.
Sami climbed the fire escape, rung by ringing rung. On the rooftop, Messy struggled beneath a tangle of shining laces. Sami knelt and loosened one knot, then another. The monster held perfectly still. Around them, city signs blinked pink, blue, and green.
Messy lifted one enormous foot. Beneath it sat a tiny trapped school bell. Sami slipped the bell free, and it rang—DING! The sound sent both of them tumbling into soft rooftop laundry. Sami laughed and offered a glowing lace. Messy tied it into a bow.
Messy bowed so deeply that the rooftop laundry fluttered. The giant golden shoes vanished. Sami raised her wand, and harmless starlight burst around her. For one shining moment, the rooftop looked like a tiny sky above the city.
The next Friday, the school bell rang neatly beneath the skyscrapers. Sami met Messy at the street corner. The monster bowed, his sparkling bow shining above the pavement. Sami adjusted her backpack and pointed toward school. Together, they marched beneath the billboards.
Messy’s footsteps went thump, thump, thump, but never blocked the way. Sami’s shoes tapped beside them. Above, the skyscrapers glittered like a thousand school bells. At the school steps, Sami raised her wand. Messy raised one enormous hand. The neon bell rang, and they marched inside.