See Real Friendship in Action.

In writing my Actual Magic series for Young Adults, In creating characters that really mattered to me, I also explored their friendships and bonds with one another, and what those relationships brought to the power of the story.

This scene was about establishing trust. Here's an excerpt:

Lilly decided to test her theory connecting the smell of sweaty feet to someone telling her a lie. “Zymura, do me a favor?”

“What?”

“I want you to lie to me.”

The girl hesitated. “Uh. Okay, why?”

“I want to know if I have the power to detect a lie,” she said nervously, almost giggling again. “The only way I can think to test myself is to know that what you’re saying to me isn’t true before you tell me.”

“Oh, I get it. Good idea. Okay. Let me think,” she paused, gazing upward for a moment.

“I really hate this school,” Zymura said, twisting her face in disgust for dramatic effect. The air immediately saturated with the sickening stench of stinky feet.

Lilly held her breath and controlled the urge to gag against the smell.

“Well? Anything?” Zymura asked, looking at her curiously.

“Yeah, you really stink.”

“Thanks,” the girl said with a grin. The salt sea air rushed in, replacing the stench.

Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. She was satisfied that she’d proven her theory correct. She did, indeed, possess the power to detect a lie. Then as an urgent afterthought, she added, “We’ve got to keep this a secret though.”

Zymura quickly nodded her understanding. “Right! What good is the ability to detect a lie if everyone knows about it?”

Posted by Deborah McTiernan, Author of Lilly Noble & Actual Magic

Dares readers to believe in themselves and discover the magic within!