Signal to Noise(26)

He kept thinking about attending, wearing brand new sneakers, his hair combed back, looking like a rock star.

“What are we going to wish for next?” Daniela asked.

“Isadora’s birthday party,” Sebastian said before Meche could open her mouth.

The girls blinked and looked at each other, then back at him.

“We should go, at least for a little bit. Go in style. Make them notice us.”

Daniela shrugged. Meche sipped her bottle of apple juice and began peeling its label off with careful fingers.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Meche said. “All the cool kids will be there.”

“We could be just as cool as them. Couldn’t we?” Daniela asked.

“If I had Constantino’s money I’m sure I could look cool too,” Sebastian replied.

“So are we wishing for money?” Daniela asked.

“Yeah,” Sebastian said. “Enough dough to buy new outfits. What do you say, Meche? You girls could get your hair done. Makeup. The whole nine yards.”

“Makeup is not going to cover my pimples,” Meche said.

“So we wish away the pimples,” Sebastian said.

Daniela giggled. “Can I wish for a different eye colour? Just for the weekend?”

“Sure,” Sebastian said.

“We can’t be wishing too much, too often,” Meche warned them.

“Why not?” Daniela asked.

“’Cause I felt tired after what we did. Didn’t you feel it? I slept like a rock.”

“Me too,” Daniela said “Why would it work like that?”

“I dunno.”

Sebastian watched as Isadora moved away from her group, heading towards the school’s little general store. Sebastian had no business near the store: he could not afford the drinks or sandwiches they sold there.

But he had the wild desire to talk to Isadora, to open his mouth and regale her with a sentence for once in his life. He was still high from the motorcycle trip with Meche and he felt this day he might actually do it.

“Okay, no wishing too often, got it,” Sebastian said hastily. “I’ll be back.”

He walked quickly, moving in the same direction Isadora had gone. He stood behind her in line, with nothing more than one peso in his pocket. When she glanced at him, Sebastian nodded and smiled.

She gave him this weird look, like she was a little surprised to see him standing behind her, but did not speak to him.

Sebastian waited in line, his hands deep in his pockets, trying to keep calm.

“So... umm... your birthday’s this Saturday, right?”

“Yes,” Isadora said.

“What kind of presents are you hoping for?”

“I don’t know. I like jewellery.”

Constantino’s father owned a jewellery store. For a moment Sebastian saw his opportunities dwindle, but then he remembered he could buy anything they wanted. They had magic now. He could look for a nice, golden bracelet for Isadora. Or a little chain. Something pretty, which she might wear often.

“Cool.”

“Are you going to come?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said.

“Your friends too?” She lifted her chin, looking in Meche and Daniela’s direction.

Sebastian nodded. “All right. I’ll see you then.”

The line moved, Isadora bought a soft drink and stepped aside. Sebastian looked at the candy and junk food for sale, trying to figure out what he could buy.





WHEN HE WALKED by the Pit that afternoon, Sebastian saw Isadora, Constantino and some other students standing there, smoking and chatting.

Isadora held her cigarette with two fingers and she smiled, just a tiny smile.

He felt like waving and smiling back, but Constantino turned his head and saw him. Sebastian continued on his way, eyes fixed straight ahead.





“YOU KNOW WHAT it’s like? It’s like reverse engineering.”

“What’s reverse engineering?” Sebastian asked.

“Umm... it’s when you lack the software specifications so you poke around the program interface trying to find the solution. That’s what we are doing with magic.”

Meche grabbed another record, looking at it critically. They had tried four different albums and none of them had produced the same magic effect as last time. Meche had been sure all they had to do was focus and be specific, but apparently that was not enough.

“I don’t understand,” Sebastian said.

“Okay, like the TU-4.”

“The what?”

“During World War II the Russians didn’t have a strategic bomber like the US and they wanted one. But they couldn’t figure out how to build it. Then a few B-29 bombers had to make emergency landings in Russia and the Russians looked at them, figured how they were made and made their own bombers. It’s like... like building a puzzle without the instructions. Figuring it backwards. Something like that.”

“You mean it’s like taking a stab in the dark,” Sebastian said.

“An educated stab.”

“How’d you learn about World War II?”

“That time they punished me and I had to spend a whole month during recess in the library. I had to read the encyclopedia and write a report on Russia during World War II.”