“That’s a really good muffin,” he exclaimed. Then he took an even bigger bite.
I beamed. “Thank you. I know I’m a little heavy handed with some of the ingredients” and other things, “but everyone seems to love them.”
“I can see why,” he mumbled between mouthfuls. “But now I really must be off, or we’ll never get started.”
Carter smiled warmly, and I was glad he hadn’t taken offense at my comments. I only wanted to do right by Pike, and I suspected he knew that. So, I was a little placated when, with wand in hand, he trotted over to the back of the gym where some ladies were struggling with their bunting.
“Catch you later,” Lea called after him. But he didn’t hear her. At least he didn’t seem to.
“You worry too much,” Lea said. She settled down into her seat and nudged her bag under it. “And I saw you checking out that man’s ass as he left, don’t you think I didn’t.”
I grinned in spite of myself and picked up the muffins from the chair. “I don’t know what you’re referring to,” I lied. After all, Carter certainly had a magical backside. You’d have to be blind not to see it. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’m just going to drop these off.”
The staff had put out a refreshment table in the corner of the gymnasium, and I dropped off my muffins along with the other offerings. It was a good spread this year, and the table was bursting with all kinds of muffins, brownies, cupcakes, and pretzels. We had a lot of single moms in our number, and word had clearly got out that the new Head Wizard was hot.
Shaking my head, I turned and looked over to Pike, who was standing with the other contestants, just a few feet away from the long table. She was quiet but didn’t look particularly nervous. I shot her an encouraging smile which she pretended to ignore, thirteen-year-old that she was, and she turned and feigned interest in her friends’ conversations. Teenagers!
Lea hadn’t moved from her seat and was checking her makeup in her compact. She snapped it shut when I returned and slid it back inside her purse.
“So, what was that all about?” I asked.
“Sorry, what?” Lea said.
“The little hand thing. I saw it. You were hitting on him.”
“Well, of course I was!” Lea confessed. “Weren’t you?”
I thought about this. Carter was certainly worth a second look or three, and I suppose, deep down, I kinda liked him. But I wasn’t ready to be gushing quite yet. “He’s a very nice man,” I said. “Apart from the love potion thing. I still think he’s wrong about that.”
“Oh, you’re like an old woman,” Lea chided playfully. “Always overreacting. Just relax and have a bit of fun for a change. No one will judge you. Seriously, enjoying the company of a new man wouldn’t make you a bad mother. It’s time already.”
Please God, not this again. I rolled my eyes and leaned in a little closer. “Don’t you have anything better to do other than worry about my sex life?” I whispered. “And you’re being evasive. Something has happened between you two already, hasn’t it?”
“It most definitely has not!” Lea protested. “We just met the other night at a small cocktail thing over at the Van Horns. He didn’t stay long; not his thing I suppose, but we were introduced.”
“And?” I leaned in a little closer, my intuition telling me there had to be more.
“Aaaand. Nothing. I was only with him for a few minutes.” Lea sat back hard in her seat, grinned and cocked her head to one side. “Well. I might have overdone the compliments a bit. But hey, ya know. I could be wrong.”
It was my turn to smile. I could totally see it. Lea’s charm was a force majeure; it would take a strong man to resist one of her attacks. My respect for Carter was growing in leaps and bounds.
Chapter 3
“Witches and Warlocks,” Carter boomed from in front of the long table. He was now wearing his ceremonial pointy hat and black robe. It looked oddly out of place among all the parents, who were dressed casually in normal street clothes. To his credit, he didn’t look fazed at all, and I suspected it was perfectly usual for the Heads to wear their robes at the prestigious colleges he’d attended. “The Spelling Bee is about to begin. If you would all find your seats, we can get started.”
For a minute, the noise in the gym increased as excited parents settled down into their seats. The three judges, a warlock and two witches, also dressed in their ceremonial robes, took the empty chairs beside us, each carrying a clipboard and all smiling broadly as the four contestants, including Pike and Crystal, took their places.
Carter stood in front of them, beaming directly at all the parents. I was at liberty to check him out thoroughly now. He looked suave and confident, and I had to admit, he was smokin’ hot. I bit my lip. Not in front of the children.
“Good evening, witches and warlocks. I am delighted to be here to host the finals of the 2019 Capstone County inter-school Spelling Bee. Joining us tonight are contestants from the Misty Cedars School for Warlocks and also the Academy of Arts and Alchemists. Let’s give all our finalists a warm welcome.”
He paused to clap, and the audience joined in enthusiastically. Beside me, Lea called out, “Go, Crystal!” and I grinned and blew a quick kiss over to Pike. Pike shook her head, appalled, and looked away.
“Thank you, thank you,” Carter said, raising his hands to quieten everyone down. “Now, let’s also give a warm welcome to our panel of judges. Joining us this evening are Professor Eliot from Arts and Alchemists, Professor Wendell from Warlocks, and our very own Professor Paterson, whom I’m sure you all know.”
The clapping resumed for a moment, then Carter hushed them all down again. “Awesome, wonderful! Now, as you all know, we will be testing our candidates in three magical areas: ingredient appreciation, incantations, and practical applications. We will start with ingredient appreciation, and our first contestant is Bibi Bellamy, representing the Academy of Arts. Bibi, if you will please rise, we can begin.
Bibi Bellamy was a tall, lanky young witch with ginger hair and freckles. Her clothes were almost identical to Pike’s, right down to her stripey socks, but unlike my daughter, Bibi evidently preferred pastels to strong colors or black. She wore a purple school blazer with a smoking cauldron badge on the pocket. My heart ached for her when she crossed one hand over the other to stop them from shaking and looked nervously up at the judges.
Carter had moved over to the side of the long table, where he could be seen by all, but where he wouldn’t obstruct our view of the contestants. The gymnasium became very quiet.
“Good evening, Bibi,” Carter said jovially. “I am going to ask you three spell ingredient questions. Are you ready?”
Bibi looked like she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She nodded quickly, her head down and her cheeks the color of strawberries.
“Please tell me what the three ingredients are in a magical fizz?”
Ah. I knew Pike knew that one, and I glanced her way. She was rocking on the edge of her seat, eager to jump in if Bibi botched it.
“Um. A tablespoon of baking soda, two drops of red food dye, and a splash of vinegar.”
Pah, I thought. Too easy. Ahead of us, Bibi relaxed her shoulders, clearly glad to have the first one out of the way.
“That is correct.” Carter flipped that question card to the back of the stash he held. “Your second question: What are the four ingredients for spider slime?”
Bibi grinned, her confidence growing by the second. A few seats away from me, I could see her mother, Violet, straining forward in her chair, willing her daughter on.
“That would be two tablespoons of soaked chia seeds, um, a smidgeon of PVA glue, enough cornflower to bind it, and––half a cup of water!”
“That is correct.” Carter flipped another card. “And your final question in this round is, what goes into a pre-exam meditation potion?”
Bibi’s brow furrowed, and I caught the look of panic in her eyes. The silence in the gymnasium was deafening as the y
oung witch searched her memory, and a few seats along, her mom looked like she was about to have an aneurism.
Bibi opened her lips, but nothing came out––she closed them, then opened them again.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to hurry you along,” Carter said.
“Um, is it two cups of water, half a teaspoon of lavender…”
It was like the entire gymnasium was on edge with her, holding their breath.
“I think, maybe, a large teaspoon of honey.”
“Yes?” Carter nodded for her to continue.
Bibi’s eyes were downcast, and she began shaking her head. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, staring at her feet. “I don’t remember the rest of it.”
“That’s okay,” Carter said gently. “Take a seat.” Then his gaze fell on the other contestants. “Does anyone else know the answer?”
In an instant, two hands shot in the air. It was Crystal and Pike, although Crystal’s went up first.
Carter pointed to Crystal. Like her mother, Crystal was impeccably dressed, and though her short skirt and lilac-printed sweater were appropriate for her age, she clearly came from money. She and Pike were besties, but both girls were highly competitive, and I knew neither would want to lose.
“Is it one heaped teaspoon of blue lotus?” Crystal asked.
“And the final ingredient?”
“Oh, um.” Crystal looked puzzled, and I could tell from her eager grin that Pike was ready with the answer.
“Sorry, sir.” Crystal frowned. “I’ve forgotten.”
Pike’s hand was still waving frantically in the air.
Carter pointed at my daughter. “Pike?”
“The last ingredient is one heaping teaspoon of hibiscus,” my daughter said confidently, her smile lighting up her entire face.
“That is correct!”
Next to me, the judges scribbled something on their clipboards and, a second later, a bright green bubble in the shape of a number two, and two more shaped as number ones floated forward toward the long table. The number two settled about three feet over Bibi’s head, and the number ones floated above Pike and Crystal.
For the next half an hour, the room was buzzing with similar questions. Delighted as I was with Pike, who aced every question Carter put to her, including what I thought was an especially difficult enchantment for a healing spell, I still felt all the heartache of the other mothers when the contestants stammered or failed.
Each of the contestants had performed well, but at the start of the potion round, Crystal had an eight-count bubble hovering over her head, Pike had a seven, Bibi and a wizard named Charlie were tied for third place, each with a five-count bubble. It was nerve-rackingly close, and the gymnasium atmosphere was bursting with so much magical excitement, it was a wonder there weren’t rogue roman candles whizzing off randomly in the air.
At least the children looked relaxed. The speaking part was over, and it all came down to the quality of the love potions sitting in the vials and pots in front of them. The three judges rose from their seats and walked over to the table to begin the judging. While they looked, sniffed, and tasted the potions, my gaze wandered over to Carter, who had taken a momentary break to head over to the refreshments, and where he was now pouring himself a cup of water.
I blushed as I saw him help himself to another of my muffins, and my color deepened when his gaze locked on mine. Oh, sweet mother of frogs––why did he have to be so damned gorgeous?
His smile was broad––and did he just? Oh, my word, he actually licked his fingers, then winked at me! I didn’t know whether to look away or burst out laughing. But then he grinned, and conscious that other eyes might be on him as well as mine, his expression became serious again, and he wandered back over to the judging. Eat your heart out, brownie makers, I thought. I believe this one is mine.
Chapter 4
The three judges were all huddled together, nodding profusely, shaking their heads one minute, then nodding wildly the next. At last, raising their hands in a show of unanimity, they returned to their seats to enter their final scores into their clipboards.
Up went the bubbles, a seven, a seven, then a ten and another ten. The numbers took forever to drift over the heads of the students, and I couldn’t help but shriek a delighted “Yes!” as the second ten settled over Pike’s head. She had won. Well, tied with Crystal at least. I couldn’t have been more delighted.
“Well done, children, well done,” Carter said, shouting over the roar of the delighted crowd and clapping his hands in appreciation. “Now it seems we have a tiebreaker. As you know, I have the casting vote, so, please keep your seats for a moment longer while I judge the two top potions!”
Crystal and Pike, ever the best of friends, now exchanged wary looks. Once this competition was over, they’d be happily hexing pixies together again in my flower-fest of a garden—but at this moment they were rivals, each determined to beat the other. Realization shone in Crystal’s eyes. She knew she wasn’t going to walk this one.
At the front of the table was a Styrofoam cup containing two final judging spoons. Carter selected one, then after studying the consistency and color of Crystal’s potion, which we could all see was a powdery pink, he dipped in his spoon and scooped out a sample. He sniffed it, then smiled, and sipped the contents of the spoon.
“Very nice.” He smiled at Crystal, discarding the old spoon in a plastic tub placed under the table. Then he selected the final, slightly larger spoon out of the cup and moved along to Pike’s potion.
All eyes were on Carter as he stirred the potion in the pot, then ladled out a small sample to judge. The moment it touched his lips, they flashed a strong shade of pink, almost red, and a glazed look came over his eyes before he closed them. Shit. I knew what that meant. We all did. The Head Wizard was bewitched!
I stared in horror at the vial with my daughter’s potion in it. Nothing had changed––it was the same shade of pink as it had been in my kitchen. I turned to check out the other judges, but all three were acting perfectly normal, and, in fact, seemed as amused by the situation as everyone else. So, what had Pike done wrong?
Carter’s eyes fluttered open and a stupid grin lit up his face. He turned slowly to face the audience, like a man without a care in the world. His gaze fixed on me and his smile widened.
“Hello, Tamara,” he said dreamily. “You’re looking very pretty tonight.”
Everyone around me began to laugh, and I sensed others nudging and pointing at me. I felt my color rising, and I got up. Damn, I had to do something. This was so embarrassing.
“I love your muffins.” Carter walked toward me with his arms outstretched, like he was in some stupid romantic movie ending. “Come and give me a kiss.”
The laughing doubled as the pathetic Head stumbled my way, and I stepped aside quickly to dodge him. Pike jumped up from the table, and shaking her head, ran as fast as she could from the gymnasium. Just great. The last thing in the world I wanted was to shame my daughter in front of all her friends. I was never going to hear the end of this.
“Come on, sweetie, don’t be coy,” Carter said. “Just one kiss, that’s all I’m asking.” He closed his eyes and puckered up, not realizing that the moment his eyes had closed, I’d moved again.”
“Whoa now, Carter, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” I snapped my fingers, trying to break the spell, but the Head Wizard was having none of it. “Stop it! You’re bewitched. Hey, are you even listening? Oh, gosh darn it.”
I could see tears in the eyes of the laughing crowd, and even Lea was having a difficult time not laughing along with them. Seeing his error, Carter kept his eyes open this time and made straight for me. I had no choice but to run around the long table, just managing to keep a step or two ahead of his grasp.
When I knocked my knee against a chair leg and cried out and started limping, losing speed, some of the parents stopped laughing, and a few of the dads came running to my aid to hold Carter back. Thank God, I thou
ght, gasping from the shock of it all. Looking back, the demented Head still had his eyes on me, one arm pinned by a dad, but the other stretched out toward me.
“Why, Tamara, why?” Carter shouted after me. “You know you love me. We’re so perfect for each other!”
God, why did he have to sound so pathetic.
“Out of my way!” Pike’s cries rang clear over the roaring crowd, and my daughter was soon back at my side, a black sack the size of a sports bag in her hand, which she dropped unceremoniously on the table beside me. I recognized it at once as my emergency magic bag. I always kept it in the Subaru’s trunk for—well, emergencies.
“Good job one of us has some brains,” Pike said, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
Without hesitating, my thirteen-year-old angel ripped open the zipper and plunged in to remove a small brewing pot, a plastic salt pot, and a small hand burner.
“Give me your driver’s license,” she said, as she tossed the salt into the pot and started to heat it with the hand burner.
I didn’t have my purse, but I recognized the counter spell she was trying to invoke so I limped to get it. After fumbling in my purse for a minute, I gave Pike what she wanted, and she tossed my image into the heated pot and began the incantation.
“The salt is white––so whiten me. The salt is pure––so purify me. Remove the love spell Mrs. Candlewick made for me. Take it from me, set me free.” The wizards who had been restraining Carter forced him over to Pike.
“I didn’t cast a love spell,” I argued.
My daughter looked up at me, her intelligent gaze fixed on me. “No, but your muffins did.”
Oh, Lord, she was right! A full love potion just required a lot more cinnamon and apple, and my muffins had been loaded with it. Dang! I was even famous for how much I put in there. How stupid did I feel now? It was quite humbling when you realized your daughter was smarter than you.
Carter reached out to me, imploring. “Don’t let them do this to me,” he pleaded. But the crowd cheered on the dads, who all knew this would make him right again. I stepped out of the way, allowing the men full access to the pot. “They can’t separate us; we are in love!”
Spelling Bee Page 2