So Mote it Be

by Isobel Bird

  She stayed downstairs for a while and talked to her parents. Then it was time for bed. Back upstairs, Kate changed into the old T-shirt she liked to sleep in and got into bed. As she lay in the darkness with her quilt pulled up around her, she thought about the doll in her closet. Maybe she hadn’t worked any magic. After all, she’d just lit some candles and said a simple rhyme. No one could call that playing with supernatural powers or anything. People lit candles all the time, even in church, and it had nothing to do with magic or spells.

  Still, part of her hoped that maybe there was more to it than that. As she drifted off, she imagined herself sitting in a circle of lit candles, saying some words she couldn’t quite make out. Then she saw a figure walking toward her. It looked like a guy. But before she could see his face, she was asleep.

  CHAPTER 3

  The next morning as she walked to school Kate tried to imagine what it would be like if Scott really did ask her to the dance. She tried out several different scenarios, but the one she liked best involved her standing by her locker, putting her books away, and Scott coming up and gently touching her shoulder. She saw herself turning around and looking into his blue eyes. She watched as he smiled, opened his mouth, and said, “Hey, Kate.”

  That’s not very romantic, she thought. Then she realized that it wasn’t just her imagination—someone really had spoken to her. She looked up and saw that Jeff Higdon was standing in front of her on the steps of the school.

  “Um, hey, Jeff,” she said, her breath making little clouds in the morning air. Like Scott, Jeff was also on the football team. And like Scott, he had never spoken to Kate before. But now he was acting as if they talked to one another all the time.

  “So, how are you today?” he asked, sounding nervous as he stood with his hands in his jeans pockets.

  Kate looked around, wondering if maybe Jeff and some of his buddies were playing a joke on her. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except that Jeff was watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

  “I’m fine,” she said, and there was a long pause.

  “Um, did you want something?” she said finally.

  Jeff shook his head. “No,” he said. “Nothing special. I just wanted to say hey and, you know, see how you are.”

  “Well, thanks, I guess,” Kate said. “But I’m getting kind of cold. I guess I’ll just go to my locker now. See you later.”

  She walked past Jeff and into the building. As she went down the hall toward her locker, it seemed like several people’s eyes were on her. She couldn’t say exactly why, but she felt as if she was being watched. Only when she turned around to see who was looking at her, all she saw were guys walking quickly toward their classrooms.

  As Kate took her books out of her locker, she heard someone come up behind her. She turned around hopefully, thinking that it might really be Scott. But it was only Sherrie, Jessica, and Tara.

  “Thanks for all your help yesterday.”

  “Hey, guys,” Kate said. “I’m sorry. I had so much homework to do that I just couldn’t make it.” She felt guilty for not telling her friends what she’d really been doing, but she was starting to feel a little silly about the whole thing, and she knew she’d feel even dumber if she had to talk about it.

  “It’s a sad day when studying is more important than social commitments,” Sherrie said, only half joking. “But we’ll forgive you.”

  “This time,” added Tara.

  “Besides,” said Jessica, “we came up with a totally brilliant idea.”

  Kate shut her locker. “Oh, yeah?” she said, glad to have a change of subject. “What is it? No, let me guess—a masquerade ball?”

  All three of them glared at her.

  “How did you know?” demanded Sherrie.

  “It took us three hours to come up with that,” said Tara.

  Kate smiled. “Then I guess you didn’t need me after all,” she said. “But it was just a lucky guess. Is that really what you decided to do?”

  “Well, we did think it was original,” said Jessica. “But clearly if you came up with it in two seconds it isn’t.”

  “Maybe she just has highly developed psychic powers,” suggested Tara.

  “Or maybe she’s a witch,” said Sherrie.

  “Why did you say that?” Kate snapped.

  “Relax,” said Sherrie, taking Kate by the arm. “I’m just trying to explain your amazing powers of deduction. They have us mere mortals mystified.”

  “Sorry,” Kate said. “I guess I just wish I’d been there with you guys instead of home with a bunch of books.”

  “I keep telling you that too much reading is going to get you into trouble one of these days,” Sherrie said. “But on to better things.

  “I’m thinking palace ballroom for the motif,” she said as they walked. “We’ll turn the gym into Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Not the thorn-covered, nasty one—the one they hold the celebration in after the prince wakes her up. Lots of pink and white, and the whole ceiling strung with white Christmas lights.”

  “Oh, and when couples enter we’ll announce their names, just like at a fancy dress ball,” said Tara excitedly.

  “Like you’ve been to so many that you would know about that,” sniped Sherrie.

  “You’re not the only one who saw Shakespeare in Love,” Tara replied. “Just imagine everyone lined up, and then the announcer says, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Tara Redding and Al Dillinger.’”

  “Al Dillinger?” Kate, Sherrie, and Jessica said in one voice, stopping in the middle of the hall and looking at their friend.

  “He asked me this morning,” Tara said, her freckles turning pink under her friends’ scrutiny. “And I said yes.”

  Al Dillinger was a quiet guy who spent most of his time in the art room, painting or working on some kind of sculpture that never seemed to get finished. None of them had ever heard him say more than a few words to anyone, especially not to any of them.

  “It’s those quiet ones you have to look out for,” said Sherrie knowingly.

  “I was surprised, too,” said Tara. “It took him forever to get the question out.”

  “Well, that’s one down,” said Kate.

  “Two,” said Sherrie. “I didn’t want to say anything, because none of you had dates yet, but Sean asked me if I would go with him.”

  Unlike Tara’s announcement, Sherrie’s was no big shock. Sean McNeeley and Sherrie had gone out a couple of times, and it was no secret that they liked each other. Sherrie just wasn’t ready to instate him as her boyfriend because, as she’d said, she owed it to the male student population not to get tied down so early in her high school career.

  “I guess that just leaves you and me, Jess,” Kate said, putting her arm around her friend. “So what do you say we just go together and cause a scandal? We could go as Catwoman and Batgirl.”

  “Sorry,” said Jessica. “Much as I’d love to don a slinky latex number, I already told Blair I’d go with him.”

  “Blair?” said Sherrie incredulously. “That’s like going with your brother.”

  Blair Peterson had been Jessica’s neighbor since they were both six years old. They’d been best friends until the onset of adolescence made them both a little embarrassed about it, but they still hung out a lot, and most people just assumed they were an item. No matter how many times Jessica explained that she hung out with Blair because they both played cello in the school orchestra, no one believed her.

  “Since there was asking involved, can we safely say that this time you’re on an official date?” said Tara, bringing up an old group joke. Neither Jessica nor Blair had ever gone out with anyone else, and both routinely turned down offers from other people, but they refused to call what they did together dating. Jessica, as usual, ignored the question, tucking her hair behind her ears deliberately and pretending to examine the floor’s industrial linoleum.

  “That just leaves you, Kate,” she said, trying to deflect the conversation away from the to
pic of her and Blair.

  “And no, you can’t go alone,” Sherrie said before Kate could say anything. “You’re going with a boy, and that’s that. We can’t have a member of the planning committee going solo.”

  Kate sighed. Talking about dates only reminded her of Scott and the dates they were not having, and that was something she most definitely did not want to think about.

  “I’ll work on it,” she said feebly.

  “Al’s friend Dan needs a date,” suggested Tara. “I could ask him if he wants to go with you.”

  “Not Dan who runs the projectors for the AV department?” said Sherrie dismissively. “Please, Tar, Kate hasn’t yet sunk to the level of mercy dating.”

  “He’s a nice guy,” Tara said defensively. “I think he’d clean up just fine.”

  “Can we not talk about this anymore?” Kate said. “I said I’d handle the date situation.”

  “Just don’t wait too long,” said Sherrie. “The more days go by, the closer you are to AV guy.”

  Any further discussion was cut short by the ringing of the bell. But Sherrie had to get in one final dig. “And don’t even think about holding out for Scott,” she said as she and Jessica headed off, leaving Kate and Tara to their chemistry class. “You’d need Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmothers and their magic wands to make that happen.”

  Kate didn’t have much time to think about the dance during chemistry. In preparation for their midterm the next day, Miss Blackwood was having them do a practice experiment. Kate followed Tara to their usual lab station, but she noticed that wherever she went the boys in the class were watching her, some openly and some only when they thought she wasn’t looking.

  “Maybe I put too much into it,” she said, suddenly thinking about last night’s spell, not realizing that she was talking out loud.

  “Too much what?” asked Tara, shaking a spoonful of greenish powder from the bottle in her hand into a measuring spoon.

  “Oh, nothing,” said Kate. “How much water do we need to add to that?”

  Kate went to the sink to fill a beaker with water. She couldn’t help but notice that all the boys watched her as she passed by. One, distracted from his experiment, added the water to the wrong flask and started choking as the reaction produced a thick cloud of smoke.

  “Watch it, Tony,” said his partner, grabbing the smoking container and dumping it into a nearby sink.

  “Sorry, Annie,” Tony said sheepishly, not taking his eyes off Kate. “I got distracted.”

  Annie Crandall followed Tony’s gaze, and when she saw Kate she frowned. “Save that kind of chemistry for after class,” she said, giving Kate a hard look. “I don’t want to blow this practical tomorrow.”

  “What are you worried about?” Tony said, watching Kate as she walked back to her table. “You always ace this stuff.”

  Tony’s right, Kate thought as she read over the instructions for the experiment. Annie does always get A’s in chemistry. In fact, Kate wished that she could do half as well as Annie Crandall did.

  Kate and Tara did their best to make their experiment work out, but something seemed to be not quite right about it. The liquid in their test tube turned bright purple instead of green, and it gave off an awful smell. Oddly, other groups seemed to be getting similar results—especially groups with at least one male partner. They all seemed to be distracted by something, and more and more that something appeared to be Kate.

  “Let me help you with that,” said Billy Himler as Kate carried her and Tara’s failed experiment to the sink.

  “No, let me,” said Peter James, trying to take the dirty beakers from Kate’s hands. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in making her lose her grip, and the containers crashed to the floor and shattered.

  “Steer clear of the chemicals!” ordered Miss Blackwood, coming over to see what was going on. “What happened here?”

  “The guys were just trying to help me,” Kate tried to explain.

  “Well, now they can help you clean up this mess,” Miss Blackwood said. “Be sure to pick up all the glass.”

  Billy and Peter practically fell down in their rush to come to Kate’s aid. They were joined by a couple of other boys, and soon the floor was wiped clean again.

  “I don’t know what you’re up to, but whatever it is, it’s working,” Tara said to Kate as they watched the boys throw out the last of the glass.

  “I have no idea what this is all about,” Kate said.

  But she did know what it was about. The spell was working overtime. She didn’t know how or why, but instead of making just one boy interested in her, it seemed to have made all the boys interested in her. Wherever she looked, another guy was watching her. It made her feel a little nervous, but it also made her feel really good. She felt powerful. She’d done a spell, and it was really working.

  “If your performances today are any indication, you’re all going to be in big trouble tomorrow,” Miss Blackwood said from the front of the room, bringing Kate’s thoughts back to the class. “I suggest you spend tonight studying, because this midterm counts for one third of your final grade.”

  Kate gathered up her notebooks, and she and Tara left the classroom. As they walked down the hallway, they found themselves tailed by several boys. Kate also couldn’t help but notice that Annie Crandall scowled at her and turned away as she passed by. But she quickly forgot about Annie as the group of boys continued to follow her and Tara.

  “Okay, back off,” Tara said finally, turning around and standing between her friend and the group of boys. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you boys today, but give us a little room here. The lady needs to breathe.”

  One by one the guys turned and reluctantly walked off, and soon Kate and Tara were walking by themselves again.

  “I swear they’re all just walking hormones,” Tara said as they made their way to their next class. “Word must have gotten out that you’re looking for a date for the dance.”

  “That must be it,” Kate said, hoping Tara would drop the subject. She was excited about all the attention the boys were paying to her, but the one boy she really wanted to notice her hadn’t even made an appearance. But why, when she had specifically focused on him? She was starting to worry that she’d done something wrong and the spell had backfired. She tried to remember exactly what she’d said when she did it, but it was all running together in her head.

  As they turned the corner, the two girls saw Jessica and Sherrie standing in the hall ahead of them. Jessica was holding a poster against the wall, and Sherrie was directing her on where to put it.

  “A little higher,” she said as Kate and Tara approached. “Now to the left. That’s perfect.”

  Jessica taped the poster in place and stepped back to admire her work.

  “Looks good,” Kate said.

  “Only nineteen more to go,” Sherrie said, handing her a roll of tape. “Why don’t you come with me and we’ll do the second floor. Tara and Jess can do the rest of this floor.”

  “What about class?” Kate said.

  Sherrie waved a handful of paper slips at her. “Passes,” she said. “We’re on official student government business. Now, follow me.”

  Before Kate could protest, Sherrie started for the stairs. Leaving Tara and Jessica, Kate followed, tape in hand.

  “I figure we should put three in each hallway and one in the other stairwell,” Sherrie said as she walked ahead of Kate. “Jess and I already put some by the gym, the art rooms, and the library, so that should cover everything. So, have you thought any more about your date?”

  “Not really,” said Kate. Sherrie hadn’t witnessed any of the Kate-induced craziness that had overtaken the guys yet, and for once Kate was thankful for the fact that her friend was so self-involved. While Tara seemed to be taking Kate’s newfound popularity as some kind of freak accident, Kate knew that Sherrie would be suspicious, and she didn’t know how long she could hold out under the interrogation she was sure to get. She told her friends
absolutely everything, but this spell stuff was one thing she didn’t think she could share with them. She didn’t understand it herself. Besides, she thought as she remembered the way the boys had fallen all over themselves in chemistry class, I like being the one who gets noticed for a change.

  “I’m only telling you this for your own good,” Sherrie said as they stopped outside Mr. Draper’s room to hang a poster. “But it’s high time you started paying more attention to your romantic life. I know you and Jess and Tara think the basketball team is the most important thing in the world, but there is life off the court.”

  “Thanks for reminding me,” Kate said as she pulled off a piece of tape. “Is this straight?”

  “Yes,” said Sherrie. “I’m just saying that maybe you should think about, you know, developing a more well-rounded personality.”

  “Says the girl who thinks cheerleading should count for academic credit,” Kate shot back.

  “Well, it does combine athletic skills with linguistic ability,” Sherrie answered primly. “But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”

  “That’s a refreshing change,” said Kate, “but let’s not.” She picked up the posters and moved on. Of all her friends, only Sherrie had a way of making her feel like a total social disaster. She always had, ever since they’d met on the first day of second grade and Sherrie had immediately taken charge of Kate’s untied shoelace and crooked barrette. Somehow they’d managed to stay friends, but sometimes Kate wished she could do something to show Sherrie up once and for all, to prove that she was just as popular as Sherrie was, or thought she was. Just once she wished she could be the girl everyone else envied.

  They were standing at the end of the hall, putting a poster on the wall where everyone going up or down the stairs would see it. Sherrie had launched into a long speech about how Kate would look so much better if she would just wear a little more makeup and maybe do something different with her hair. Kate was attempting unsuccessfully to tune her out when someone came around the corner and stopped to look at the poster Kate was trying to center between the debate club announcements and the flyer for the upcoming jazz band concert.