|
Chapter 1
 MY NAME IS MARC (WITH A "C") ZEIGER.
Having a last name that begins with "Z" means that you are always the last one to be called. Being last means that you do a lot of waiting.
And that means that you have two choices: either you can spend lots of time worrying that they are going to forget about you, or, you can relax and let them worry about
finding you when they are ready. I like to take it easy. Maybe that's why I get busted all the time.
This book started out as an essay I wrote for school. I got an "A" on the essay and my teacher wrote this note saying
"Marc has a vivid imagination." The only problem is that this is a true story. Nobody believes me. You probably won't believe me either, but this story is true. The nice
people who bought this story from me to make this book don't believe that this really happened, either. They just think it's a good story and that it will make them a lot of money. I guess that's the way it goes.
Anyway, this is my story—Tanta Teva and the Magic Booth by Marc (with a "C") Zeiger.
This whole adventure got started because I wanted my parents to buy me a VR hookup (a Virtual Reality mask
and glove). VR is when you play computer games "inside the game" instead of just watching them. It has these goggles that let you see the universe of the game in 3-D
and a glove that responds to what you do with your hand. It's much cooler than the light pen which Evan just got. I just had to have one. My parents said no. I asked again, the
answer was still no. I dropped hints. They still said no. No matter what I did~ my parents still said no.
Then I came up with one of my bright ideas. My bright ideas always get me in trouble. I figured that if I ran away
from home for just one night, they'd blow their tops and ground me for a week or two.
Then after I moped around the house for a week or two, and really showed them that I was sorry, they'd cheer me
up with a surprise VR kit. It was not one of my better plans, but I was too old to try crying. I waited and picked the right night. It was the night before the big spelling test (you know
, the one that makes you remember all the words from the last nine weekly spelling tests). I packed a few things and got ready for my night in the woods.
I knew that I had to travel light. I didn't waste time getting the old Boy Scout compass or any of that stuff off the shelf.
I only packed the essentials: my Walkman and four cassette tapes, a dozen comics, some peanut butter cups, chocolate bars, granola sticks (Okay, I know they're too healthy to really like, but I still like them),
a six-pack of soda, my flashlight and three extra sets of batteries, my sleeping bag, a blow-up pillow and a foam
pad. It all fit into my backpack. In the kitchen I added three sandwiches, a box of little donuts, and a can of Pringles. I didn't have room for my spelling book and I had to carry my sleeping bag in my arms.
I spent two days reworking this letter on the computer. Bank Street Writer makes it real easy. (If any English
teachers are reading this book, I know that you are supposed to say "really" cause that's the adverb, but kids make fun of you if you talk like that.) I ran a copy off on the
printer and stuck it under the pineapple magnet on the refrigerator.
I knew that the "X-son" part would really
|
In this fantastic Sukkot novel, Marc meets Tanta Teva, a cleaning lady who is busy scrubbing graffiti off rocks in the forest. They proceed
to travel in her Magic Sukkah to meet Biblical heroes in their childhood—Joshua, David and Hillel. On his journey Marc learns a lot about the history of the Sukkah and its modern values.
