Earlier that day, Chris had been walking home from school. He was sweating a bit from all the books in his backpack that he was carrying. Oh how he wished he was as big and strong like Nate, but it looked like he was stuck short and weak. He was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn't notice taking a wrong turn until he found himself standing in front of a shabby looking store.
"Zarconi's Magic Shoppe." He read the wooden sign hanging above the door. He never heard of this shop before, but for some reason he felt like going in and checking it out. After stepping through the door, Chris discovered that the shop was just as dingy and shabby as the outside. And instead of the usual hats, card decks and gags of a normal magic shop, this shop had crystals, jewelry and rows of musty old books and cobweb covered jars of stuff Chris didn't recognize.
"Well now, what do we have here?"
Chris jumped (or at least tried to, but his backpack prevented him from leaving the ground.) Somehow he hadn't noticed the person sitting behind the counter. He was an old man with neatly combed back white hair, a trimmed beard and wore a simple linen shirt and dark slacks. "It's been awhile since the Great Zarconi last had a customer.Today is your lucky day, you are the seven hundred and seventy seventh customer to walk through those doors."
"Sorry, didn't mean to-" Chris started, but the man had already turned around and began to rummage the shelves.
"Now let's see here, where did I put it?" He muttered as he moved one item after another, stopping to sneeze from the dust. "Ah hah! Here we are." Turning around, he handed Chris a box. "Take this, this will let you grow to new heights."
"Grow?" Chris asked, a bit confused.
"Yes, like a weed!" He chuckled. "That is what you desire most is it not? Now go home and try it out, I am sure you will have lots of fun!" Before Chris could protest, Zarconi turned him around and pushed him out of the door. Chris felt as if his legs were moving on their own, and before he knew it, he was home.
After his little wrestling match with Nate, Chris went back upstairs to his room and went to the box that the man had given him and opened it. Inside was an ornate ring with a green gemstone set in it, as well as a piece of old paper with barely legible ink. Before Chris didn't believe this thing was magic, but as he put on the ring that was two sizes too big, it suddenly shrank before his eyes to fit perfectly on his finger. That had to be magic, right?
Picking up the slip of paper, Chris read it out and found out...