‘It’s a rather cute, fluffy swamp creature, but its snarl is so bad that it’s been known to send people mad.’
‘Oh, right. And why is it called a snotten? That’s a rather gross name.’
‘Probably because they are green, if you know what I mean. Don’t worry, they’re super rare and I don’t think you can get them in this country.’
The sky lit-up and a chant filled the air.
‘We always impress and are better than the rest.
Watch us win and as we’ll always pass the test.
Everyone else is nothing but a pest
Just give up now as you’ll never be the best.’
‘Charming,’ Stef smirked.
‘They should definitely be thrown out of the contest for that,’ Alice sang.
‘Whatever, let’s get inside and get this over with,’ Stef pulled on Charlotte’s arm.
When inside the great hall, they saw that Charlie and his friends had saved seats for them in the front row. Charlotte rushed over to him and sat down in the seat next to him.
‘Hello again,’ he squeezed her hand.
‘Hi,’ she croaked out and coughed to clear her throat. ‘Hello.’
‘You look beautiful,’ he grinned.
‘Thanks,’ she blushed.
‘Pass me a sick bag,’ Stef grinned.
‘I think they’re the cutest,’ Gerty smiled.
Charlie gave her a grin before he moved away his hand. Charlotte blushed again and quickly looked up at Molly as she walked up onto the stage.
The great hall fell silent and everyone’s gaze fell on Molly.
‘Hello everyone and welcome to this year’s Eisteddfod competition. It is a great honor to be hosting this event here at Miss Moffat’s Academy for Refined Young Witches. Talent Contests have been part of the magical community for centuries. The songs that our teams will sing tonight may have become more modernized but the true meaning of the Eisteddfod remains. It’s about teamwork, dedication and enjoying ourselves. We’ve been practicing hard, just as I’m sure you all have and I can’t wait to hear you all sing. So, let’s get this year’s annual Eisteddfod underway.’
The crowd cheered and Molly allowed for them to quieten down, a smile formed on her face. She clapped her hands and three owls swooped into the room and perched on a wooden platform that had been magically suspended up high above the stage.
‘The three wise owls will be our judges. Their verdict is final.’
The girls gazed up at the owls. One had snow-white feathers, another was slightly larger and had black feathers and the smallest of the three was a brown-feathered owl with a gray-white crest.
‘Thank you for coming here and being our judges,’ Molly smiled up at the owls.
They let out toots of approval and the white owl flapped its wings.
‘Alexander’s College, it’s over to you,’ Molly said.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the boys stood up and made their way over to the stage.
‘Good luck,’ Charlotte whispered to Charlie as he got up from his seat.
‘Thanks,’ he smiled.
She let out a thoughtful sigh as she watched him walk up onto the stage and take his place in the front row.
Charlotte noticed Molly sat on the end seat of the first row. One of the older boys who was standing on the stage glimpsed a look at her but she kept her gaze on the floor.
Charlie took a step forward and coughed to clear his throat.
‘Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a great time,’ he smiled.
The crowd cheered, including Charlotte who let out a ‘whoop’ and enthusiastically clapped her hands.
‘It's a pleasure to be here performing for you all,' he looked out at the crowd and then up at the owl judges. ‘We're Alexander's College and for you this evening we will be singing Sorry by Justin Bieber.’
‘I hate this song,’ Stef groaned.
Charlotte play-hit her arm and told her to ‘shush!’
Charlie stepped back into his place in the front row. There was a brief pause before the background music started.
‘You gotta go and get angry at all my honesty,’ a blonde-haired boy sang.
‘Honesty,’ the rest of the boys harmonized.
His voice was faultless and Charlotte found herself transfixed by him.
They were all clicking their fingers and swaying in time to the music.
Alexander’s College finished the rest of their song and once they’d finished the room applauded and all of the boys took a bow.
A clapping Molly rushed back onto the stage.
‘Thank you Alexander’s College, that was brilliant.’
The boys thanked her before they walked off the stage.
Charlie smiled at Charlotte before he sat down next to her.
‘You were amazing,’ she whispered to him.
‘Thanks,’ he grinned at her. ‘I can’t wait to hear you sing.’
Molly waited until everyone was seated before she continued to talk.
‘Next up is Miss Moffat’s Academy,’ Molly announced.
A feeling of dread filled Charlotte. She’d been so mesmerized by Charlie’s performance that she’d forgotten that she’d soon have to stand up there in front of all these people and sing.
‘Good luck,’ Charlie smiled at her.
‘Thanks,’ she blushed.
‘Come on,’ Alice shoved her forwards.
Charlotte joined the crowd of students as they walked up onto the stage and took their places. Alice stood in the middle of the front row and she coughed to clear her throat before she took a step forward.
‘Hello everyone, I'm Alice, Alice Smithers. No doubt you've all heard of me as my family is very well-known in the magical community.'
‘Alice,’ Molly hissed from behind the stage curtains.
‘Anyway, we are all extremely delighted to be standing here before you singing this marvelous song. I’m in no doubt that you will all thoroughly enjoy it. So, yes, this is Let It Go.’
Alice stepped back to her place; there was a brief pause before the backing music started up.
‘The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen,’ the front two rows sang with Alice singing the loudest.
Everyone sang the chorus and moved their hands in a circular motion in front of them.
‘Let it go, let it go.’
‘Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,’ Alice sang out.
The sound kept on coming from her mouth and she seemed unable to stop it.
The rest of the students continued to sing but Alice’s ‘Ooooooooooooooooooooo,’ sound seemed to get louder.
Molly darted over to a mortified looking Alice and guided her off the stage. Alice flailed her hands out in protest but she was still making the ‘Oooooooooo’ sound so Molly continued to drag her off the stage. Laughter erupted from the audience and the rest of the girls struggled to concentrate.
Alice’s solo was coming up and none of them knew who was meant to sing it.
Molly rushed back onto the stage and stood in Alice’s spot.
Molly sang Alice’s part. She knew that she was completely out of tune and that she sounded awful, but she also knew that she couldn’t let the girls all stand there whilst no one sang the solo part.
The song came to an end and the girls hurried off the stage.
‘So erm, thank you for that splendid performance,’ Molly blushed.
‘That was hilarious,’ Stef said to Charlotte over her shoulder, as they walked back to their seats.
‘Poor Alice, she put so much effort into practicing,’ Charlotte replied.
‘Someone definitely put a spell on her,’ Gerty added.
‘She’s going to be in an awful mood later,’ Charlotte said.
‘I hope she’s not still stuck going ooooooooooooooooo all night,’ Stef grinned.
As they sat down on their seats they noticed that Alice’s seat was empty.
‘You were dazzli
ng,’ Charlie smiled to her.
‘Thanks, but it didn’t go as planned.’
‘You were still as outstanding as always.’
Charlotte felt herself blushing, so she quickly turned her gaze to her feet. Even though their routine was a total mess-up...Charlie still said lovely things about her. He always made her feel better and for that, she was truly grateful that out of all the girls in this Academy he liked her.
‘Next up is Witchery College,’ Molly addressed the crowd.
The girls from Witchery College stood up and marched in unison up to the stage. A girl with waist length brown hair glared at Molly as they passed each other.
The Witchery College students formed a semicircle and smiled at the audience.
‘It’s weird seeing them smiling,’ Gerty whispered to Charlotte and she nodded in reply.
They definitely didn’t look like their normal fierce selves with scowling faces. Still, Charlotte couldn’t deny the fact that they looked good on the stage.
The girl with the long hair stepped forward; she flicked her hair behind her back and gave an extra-wide smile.
‘Good evening, we’re Witchery College and we will be singing Oops! .I Did it Again by Brittany Spears.’
The girl stepped back to her place and the music began.
‘This song is ancient,’ Stef rolled her eyes.
The music started up and all of the Witchery College began to sing:
‘Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.’
Two of the girls walked out from the sides of the semi-circle and into the middle of the stage.
‘I think I did it again
I made you believe we’re more than just friends...’
As the girls sang, one of the girls who’d stepped forward, flicked her wand and her hair turned green. She gave a shocked look and feigned fainting. The other girl at the front of the stage twirled her wand and yellow sparks shot out of it and chased her around the stage.
Stef, Gerty and Charlotte all laughed. In fact, most of the audience were chuckling. Alice reappeared; she was no longer saying ‘ooooo.’ She walked towards her seat, not caring that she was blocking people’s views and knocking into their legs. She sunk down into it, let out a loud sigh and folded her arms.
As Witchery College came to the end of their song, a petite girl with her blonde hair tied into bunches stepped forward and began to sing:
‘I’m not that innocent.’
She flicked her wand and gave a shocked expression, just before she vanished.
The crowd jumped to their feet and cheered and clapped, including Stef who climbed on top of her chair and then continued cheering.
The vanished Witchery College girl ran up the steps of the stage and took her place in the semi-circle. The crowd cheered even louder.
The Witchery College girls all held each other’s hands, stepped to the front of the stage and took a bow. The crowd continued to go wild.
Molly walked up onto the stage and forced a smile while she waited for the audience to quieten down.
‘Thank you Witchery College,’ she said, but the cheers were still too loud.
‘I said, thank you Witchery College!’ she shouted and she flicked her wand so that her words echoed across the great hall.
The room fell silent.
‘That was a truly original and creative performance,’ she forced another smile.
‘Thank you to all the competitors, you were all brilliant. The judges have a difficult task ahead of them...so let’s give them some time to decide upon a winner.’
She flicked out her wand and the long table at the back of the room instantly filled with colorful cakes, a savory snacks tree, and a color changing drinks fountain.
‘In the meantime, please help yourselves to the food and drink that you’ll find at the back of the room.’
Molly walked off the stage and the Witchery College girls followed her. There was a squashed rush towards the back of the room and Charlotte soon found herself being shoved into Charlie.
‘It’s okay, I’ve got you,’ he put his arm around her.
The crowd thinned and Alice shuffled her way alongside the other girls.
‘Alice, cheer up,’ Gerty smiled.
‘Why? Someone put a spell on me and ruined all my practice. It must have been those Witchery College girls.’
‘Why would they do that?’ Charlotte asked.
‘Are you kidding me! It is so obvious that I am the most talented one here and they were threatened by me. They should be disqualified for what they did. They certainly don’t deserve to win.’
‘On that note, I’m going to get a marshmallow cup before they all go,’ Stef said. She patted Charlotte on the shoulder and then she navigated her way over to the table.
Charlie brought Charlotte over a flavor changing drink and a bright pink, sparkly cake. She smiled as she took them off him and took a bite out of the cake.
‘Do you want some,’ she held up the drink and the cake.
‘I’ll have a sip of the drink but the cake is all yours,’ he smiled.
They took it in turns to sip through the drink's straw, all the while gazing at each other longingly.
‘Barf,’ Stef pretended to be sick. ‘Those two are so lovey-dovey it’s sickening.’
‘I think they’re in love,’ Gerty replied.
‘That doesn’t make them any less sickening,’ Stef smirked.
Bats flew into the great hall and flapped their way above the crowd.
‘Please return to your seats,’ they repeated.
When everyone was seated, the bats flew out of the window.
Molly was standing on the stage, a strained smile on her face and black shadows under her eyes. Charlotte wondered when she had last had a full night’s sleep? Flame was amazing, but he was also hard work. She made a mental note to ask Molly if she needed her to do more night shifts? She loved Flame but she also cared about Molly, she knew how busy she was with her head girl duties and how important getting her rest was.
‘I’m sure you’ll all be excited to know that the judges have made their decision. So, without further ado, please let us know who it is?’ she looked up at the perching owls.
There was a flutter of wings as the owls swooped above the heads of the crowd. They circled around Alice’s head, which caused her to excitedly jump to her feet.
‘It’s me! I won! It’s me!’ she shouted.
The owls stopped circling around her and flew off towards Witchery College.
‘As if they’ll win,’ Alice huffed.
The owls continued to swoop around Witchery College. They grew faster and faster until they became one blur. The blur kept on spinning until it became a circle of gold. The Witchery College girls were lifted up into the air and flown above the crowd.
They all looked shocked and excited as they peered down at the crowd beneath them. The spinning gold circle flew them over to the stage and placed them down on it.
The gold blur turned back into owls and they flew over the top of Witchery College, tooting excitedly.
‘It looks like we have our winners, congratulations!’ Molly smiled.
She flicked her wand and a beautiful gold-handled trophy appeared in her hands.
The Witchery College girl with the long hair stepped forward and was about to take the trophy from Molly when suddenly Mistress Ravenshawk appeared on the stage and grabbed the trophy off Molly.
The girl with the long hair gave an annoyed look before she forced a smile and took her place alongside the other girls.
‘Well, this is a great honor,’ Mistress Ravenshawk addressed the crowd.
‘I am of course extremely proud of my girls. They are determined, hard-working, ambitious young women...every single one of them. Of course, we are tainted with an unfair brush...one that says that Witchery College isn’t good enough. That Witchery College is dark and untrustworthy and has questionable teaching methods. I worked hard to esta
blish my college. It is one that doesn’t discriminate or set ridiculously high standards like Miss Moffat’s Academy. However, we are proud of our girls. And this win proves that we are the superior girls’ school.’
‘You’ve got to be joking!’ Alice shouted, abruptly standing up.
Everyone in the room turned and glared at Alice, including Mistress Ravenshawk, who looked far from impressed.
‘Well, I’m just saying…’
Mistress Ravenshawk flicked her wand and a zip appeared across Alice’s mouth. Her eyes filled with worry as she brought her hands up to her mouth and tried unzipping it, but it wouldn’t budge. Reluctantly she slumped down into her seat and folded her arms.
‘As you’ve all just seen, when it comes to refined young women...it’s not Miss Moffat’s precious Academy that nurtures these skills and values. Instead, it is Witchery College. Thank you, I’m in no doubt that my talented girls will win many more trophies in the next few years to come and for many years after that.’
Miss Moffat walked over to Mistress Ravenshawk and gave her a slight nod.
‘Congratulations,’ she said through gritted teeth.
‘Thank you,’ Mistress Ravenshawk smirked.
‘Thank you to everyone here for joining us and participating in the annual Eisteddfod contest. It was a joy to watch and you were all superb,’ Miss Moffat forced a smile. ‘Goodnight and I hope you all have a safe trip home.’
Miss Moffat walked off the stage, her long cloak flowing out behind her. Witchery College began to filter off the stage and the rest of the crowd stood up.
‘Miss Moffat is not happy,’ Stef said.
‘Nope, not one bit,’ Gerty giggled.
‘Alice, that was super dumb,’ Stef glared at her.
Alice stared back at Stef and gave exaggerated hand movements.
‘I kinda think that Alice did have a point. And Mistress Ravenshawk was being rude and nasty,’ Charlotte said.
‘Yeah, she was and I don’t think it’s true. I prefer Miss Moffat’s girls, especially one in particular,’ Charlie took her hand.
‘Oh you two...’ Gerty giggled.
‘Come on Charlie, we’ve got to go.’ Harry grasped his shoulder.
‘Yeah coming,’ he grinned back. ‘Just give me a minute.’
Harry nodded. He gave a wave to the girls and walked off.
Books for Girls - WITCH SCHOOL - Books 2-6: Book 1 is FREE! Page 35