This morning I had a bad case of hiccups.

"Quit making that awful noise, Alex," my sister, Madeline, said as we walked to school.

"I would if I could," I said. "But I -- hic...hic...hiccup -- can't."

"You need to walk on your hands," said Cody, my best friend.

"Walk on my--" I covered my mouth as another hiccup climbed my throat. "Walk on my hands?" I asked.

"Yeah. Then you'll be upside down and all the blood will rush to your head. That'll stop the hiccups for sure. Though you'll need to stay upside down for ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" I doubted I could even do it for one minute.

"And plug your ears and hold your breath the whole time," Cody added. "Otherwise the hiccups will come right back."

"Hold my breath the whole time?" I gulped back another hiccup. I also gulped in fear. No way could I walk on my hands, plug my ears and hold my breath for ten minutes. Especially not all at the same time.

"Oh, none of that stuff will help," Madeline snorted. “But I do know what will help.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah, what?” Cody echoed.

Madeline smiled. “I think you should use glue, Alex."

"Glue? How would that help?"

"You’d use it to glue your mouth shut. That way the hiccups couldn't get any air. They'd have to go away."

"But--" I swallowed several times as another hiccup came. "But I wouldn't get any air either."

Madeline frowned. "Hmm. I didn't think of that. Let's see, maybe you could— Yes, I've got it! You'll still be able to breathe – through your nose. And then.... No, that won't work. If you breathe though your nose the hiccups will also get air. Hmm. This is a problem."

"No it's not," Cody said. "What you need to do, Alex, is to suck on a lemon. For an hour."

"An...hour?"

"Yes," Madeline echoed. "That'll do it. Though it'll have to be a real sour lemon."

"And you'll need to take a cold shower while you're sucking on the lemon," Cody added. "A shower as cold as you can make it."

"Icy cold," said Madeline.

"Yeah," Cody agreed. "Like the arctic."

I gave another gulp. They couldn't be serious. They couldn't-- My mouth dropped open.

"What's wrong?" asked Cody.

"Do you have an extra large hiccup coming on?" asked Madeline.

"No," I said. I grinned, let out a whoop, clapped Cody on the back and gave Madeline a brotherly hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've done it. Both of you have."

"We have?" Cody asked.

"What have we done?" Madeline asked. 

"You've frightened my hiccups away. All your crazy advice scared them off."

"Cool," said Cody. “At least I think it’s cool. But what if the hiccups come back. What if they get in my throat?”

“Or in mine?” Madeline added.

I shrugged. “No problem. I’ll be a good friend or a good brother and do just like you two did. I’ll scare ‘em out of you.”

“Really?” Cody smiled. “Hey, thanks, Alex.”

"Yes," Madeline said. “Thanks. But if they’re gonna come back let’s hope it’s not until tonight. The school’s right up ahead."