The XYZs of Being Wicked

by Lara Chapman

  the secrets we hide in the night.

  Our magic is sought,

  invoke our power,

  in this hour,

  bring our gifts to light.”

  My mind shoots back to the attic, to the Book of Shadows, to the storm I somehow created there.

  I’ve heard this spell.

  I’ve said this spell.

  What happens if I’ve already said the spell? Will I be twice as powerful if I say it again? I don’t want to be twice as powerful. Should I stop the class and tell Lady Rose?

  “Seekers, repeat after me.”

  It’s too late to do anything, so I repeat the spell with my hand on the vibrating amulet.

  I’ve been part of Dowling for three days, and I’ve already said a spell I shouldn’t have and stolen a High Priestess’s amulet. Way to go, Hallie.

  “Breathe in,” Lady Rose instructs.

  I suck up all the air I can.

  “Breathe out,” she whispers.

  The class exhales, and the lights slowly brighten.

  Everyone in the room is looking at each other, eyes never resting on one person too long, like they’re afraid of what they might see.

  Jo is the first to speak. “That’s it?”

  Lady Rose giggles in a just-wait-and-see kind of way. “The change isn’t instantaneous, Jo. For some of you it could take weeks, even months, to determine your gift.”

  “So how will we know what our gift is?” Ivy asks.

  “Look around,” our teacher says. “This is a room built for experimenting. You will journal your experiences. Anything new you feel or sense should be written down. I’ll visit with you about your journal daily so that I can guide you. For example, if you feel that you have the power to move objects, we will test that here. I will teach you how to develop your gift in a way that helps others. It is imperative that you remember that. The Dowling coven doesn’t tolerate dabbling in black magic.”

  Kendall and Zena give each other a knowing look. My stomach roils like a ready-for-children witch’s brew. That look means trouble. I don’t know how or when or where, but trouble is coming. And if history repeats itself, I’m right in the line of fire.

  Twelve

  I stare at the journal on my lap. With Kendall in the shower this is my chance to write. She’s been watching me way too closely since we got to our room after dinner. I managed to ignore her—and the journal—by reading the hedge witch book.

  Lady Rose made it clear she expects us to journal every day, even if we aren’t experiencing anything new. Kendall wrote in her journal for at least an hour, then put it away with a smug smile and satisfied sigh.

  I glance at her book bag, wishing I had the guts to look in her journal. But it feels wrong. I’ve already broken enough rules at Dowling by accident. I sure don’t need to break any on purpose. Lady Rose said some of us already know what our gift is, and I’m sure Kendall and Zena are two of those. They act like they know everything about everyone.

  I put my pencil to the clean white paper, but I don’t write. If I put it in writing, someone could find it. Kendall could read it. Then where would I be? The last thing I need is her messing with me while I’m trying to figure out my gift.

  I decide to go cryptic.

  Headmistress.

  Miss A’s hair.

  Ivy’s hair.

  Bacon.

  There. I’ve journaled.

  When Kendall comes out of the bathroom, she glances in my direction, then immediately looks away.

  I close the journal and put it into my book bag. “You know, you won’t turn to salt if you talk to me.”

  Kendall acts like she didn’t hear me.

  “You’ll see,” I tell her. “You’re going to need me one day, and then you’ll have to talk to me.”

  This gets a snort from Kendall.

  I turn off the lamp and slide under my covers. Hand on the amulet, I whisper, “You’re going to need me. You’ll see.”

  Lady Jennica leans against her desk, a small basket in her hand.

  “Seekers, today you’ll begin research on some of Dowling’s most influential High Priestesses.”

  Excitement pumps the blood through my veins at lightning speed.

  Dannabelle.

  “The good news is, you won’t be doing it alone. You will work with a partner to complete the project.”

  I immediately look to Ivy, who gives me a thumbs-up. Group projects aren’t my favorite thing in the world because I always end up doing all the work. But if I can work with Ivy, I know it’ll be fine. Maybe even fun.

  “Your assignment is to choose a High Priestess to research. You will work together on all aspects of the research, the report writing, and the creation of a PowerPoint to present your information to the class.”

  The room is humming as girls find friends to partner with. Kendall and Zena are already moving their desks closer together. My hands white-knuckle the edge of my desk. They’d better not pick Dannabelle. She’s mine.

  “The bad news,” says Lady Jennica, pausing until she knows everyone’s listening, “is that you don’t get to choose your partner.”

  My heart skids to a screeching stop. Zena and Kendall pause in their desk arranging.

  Lady Jennica shakes the basket in front of her, ignoring the moans from the students. “We’ll leave the partnering to fate.”

  Fate? That’s what I’m relying on?

  I look at Ivy, fingers crossed. She crosses her fingers too as Lady Jennica pulls the first name. “Dru Goode,” she says, then walks the basket to Dru. “Pick your partner.”

  Dru pulls a name I’ve never heard from the basket. Dru’s permanent smile never leaves her face. “Cool.”

  Lady Jennica repeats the process several more times before she reaches someone I know. “Jo Carrier.”

  Jo pulls a name from the basket, then smiles in my direction. “Ivy Oliver,” she says.

  I’m briefly disappointed. I really wanted to be partners with Ivy.

  I whip around to look at Ivy, then look at the other girls in the room whose names haven’t been called. Kendall and Zena are still partnerless, and so am I.

  Lady Jennica calls several more names, then finally calls mine. “Hallie Simon.” She walks the nearly empty basket to my desk. I fumble around for a piece of paper that feels right. One hand on the amulet under my shirt for luck, I pick a piece of paper.

  I hold it in my hand and take a deep breath.

  “Open it,” Lady Jennica says softly, like she knows why I’m hesitating.

  I look up at her dark eyes.

  “It will be okay,” she promises.

  Unable to stall another second, I slowly unfold the paper and swallow the panic lodged in my throat. When I speak, I barely recognize my shaky voice. “Kendall Scott.”

  Kendall turns around slowly. “What?”

  I match her glare but don’t bother answering her.

  Lady Jennica calls another name, but I tune out the rest of the process. All I can focus on is the fact that I have to work with Kendall. So much for fate.

  “Please move so you’re sitting with your partner. I’m handing out a list of High Priestesses you may research and the guidelines for the project. Raise your hand when you know which priestess you’d like to learn more about.”

  Kendall doesn’t move.

  Neither does Zena.

  A girl walks to the seat in front of Zena and says, “I’m Jessie.”

  Zena crosses her arms over her chest. I don’t know Jessie, but I feel as sorry for her as I do for myself.

  “I’m sorry,” Ivy mouths as she moves closer to Jo. I’d give anything to be partners with Jo. With anyone except Kendall.

  When Lady Jennica sees that neither me nor Kendall are moving, she walks to Kendall’s desk and puts her hand on her shoulder. “There’s a free seat next to your partner. Please take your things and move.”

  Kendall pauses, then grabs her binder like she wants to throw it across the room. When sh
e sits down next to me, she mutters, “This stinks.”

  For once I agree with her.

  “I’ve already picked our High Priestess,” I tell her, forcing my voice to be confident.

  I’m shocked she doesn’t argue, so I raise my hand.

  Lady Jennica comes by with a clipboard. “That was fast. Who’s your High Priestess?”

  “Dannabelle Grimm, please.”

  She smiles. “She’s fun. You’re going to enjoy your research.”

  I grin smugly at Kendall. She’ll never admit it, but she’ll be glad I picked Dannabelle.

  “Let’s divide the research,” Kendall suggests, turning the paper to see the teacher’s research guidelines.

  “Remember, girls,” Lady Jennica says above the voices already working. “You must work on this together. You cannot divide and conquer, then combine your efforts at the end. And don’t attempt to fool me. I’m a witch, remember? I have gifts you can’t even imagine.”

  The room goes quiet with the reminder that Dowling isn’t like other schools.

  “We need to work in the library,” I say. At the thought of the library, I grab the amulet.

  I have to put the amulet back.

  “Fine. We can meet during our Personal Growth time.”

  “Start today?” I ask.

  She shakes her head.

  “Kendall, I’m not putting this off to the last minute.”

  She stares back at me, eyes tiny little squints of pure hate.

  “You have to work with me. You need me, like it or not.”

  When the words come out of my mouth, we look at each other strangely. What I just said is almost exactly what I said to Kendall last night. Then I thought it again before I went to sleep. I put my hand on the amulet and thought it.

  “Wait a minute,” Kendall says. “What did you do?”

  I shake my head and stare at the paper on my desk until the letters fade away.

  All I can see, all I can think, all I can hear is the whisper of my own voice last night.

  You’re going to need me.

  You’ll see.

  Thirteen

  We have to find the library custodian,” I tell Ivy. We’re walking to lunch, but I can’t eat. I’m focused on getting this amulet back into the library case. Too many weird things have happened already.

  “What about lunch?” Ivy asks, following me as I zip past the dining room.

  I don’t answer, just walk into the library to see if she’s there.

  But it’s empty again.

  “Hallie,” Ivy says, touching my shoulder gently. “What’s going on? You’re acting really weird.”

  I point to the amulet beneath my sweater. “This thing has powers. Powers I can’t control.”

  Ivy’s eyes light up. “What kind of powers?”

  “I don’t know. Powers. Like I think something, and it just happens.”

  “Like what?”

  I tell her about Miss A’s hair, about her hair, about Jo’s bacon, and my conversation with Kendall last night.

  “I told her she’d need me, and bam! Today she’s my research partner. And, trust me, this girl needs me to get this report done. I don’t think she’s ever completed a single assignment without her friends’ help. She’s never once made the honor roll. I don’t mean to brag, but having me as a partner guarantees she’ll get an A. Even if she doesn’t earn it.”

  I can practically hear the gears in Ivy’s head spinning faster and faster. “Wait a minute. You’re the reason I left my hair down?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I think so.”

  “Don’t ever do that again!” Ivy points a finger at me. “Do you know how much I’ve been teased today?”

  “Whatever. Your hair looks wonderful.”

  Ivy pulls her curly hair down in an attempt to control it. “Have you looked at me?”

  I force my eyes to focus on Ivy’s hair. This morning her hair was still damp, and the curls around her face were soft and loose. Now her hair is a puffy, frizzy mess.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Honest.”

  “This is why I never wear my hair down. I forgot how much I hated it.”

  “It won’t happen again. Promise.”

  She gives me a grin that lets me know she isn’t mad.

  “Let’s go find your custodian,” she says, linking her arm in mine. “I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you, aren’t I?”

  We walk the halls, doing our best to ignore the empty rumbling in our stomachs.

  We pass several custodians—one in the GC, one in the lobby, and one in the bathroom.

  “Are you sure you remember what she looks like?” Ivy asks.

  “Positive.”

  We turn the corner to the wing of the building containing our classrooms and run into a cleaning cart. I don’t see a custodian, so I look in the classrooms around us, but all of them are empty.

  “Dang it,” I whisper to Ivy. “Where is she?”

  A heavily accented voice speaks behind us, nearly giving both of us heart attacks. “Can I help you find something?”

  We turn around, and I practically jump up and down. It’s her.

  “No, thank you,” Ivy says.

  Ivy begins to walk away, but I stay where I am, memorizing her face and her nametag. Esme.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Ivy turns around to see where I am and realizes I’ve found my custodian.

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  Get her keys.

  “Um—”

  She pulls a spray bottle with blue liquid from the cart, but looks at me before moving on to the classroom she’s cleaning.

  I look at the keys dangling from her wrist on a coiled cord. I need those keys. My fingers itch to snatch them and run.

  “Do you think . . . ,” I begin, not at all sure what I’m about to ask her. What was our plan again? “I left something in Lady Jennica’s classroom. Can I borrow your keys to get in?”

  The custodian smiles and rolls the keys off her arm. “I’ll let you in.”

  My heart hits the floor. I give Ivy a Do something look.

  “Which classroom?” Esme asks, large key between her fingers.

  The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, and the hallway begins filling with students.

  “You should be able to get in now,” she says, pulling the key cord back up her arm.

  Ivy grabs my hand. “Let’s go.”

  She drags me around the corner and speaks softly as girls begin walking past us to class. “You can’t just ask her for the keys.”

  She’s right, of course. What was I thinking? We’re going to have to borrow them. Without permission. And that’s not stealing, because we’re totally going to return them.

  “We have to come up with a good plan to get them.” I put my hand over the amulet, buried beneath two layers of clothing. “Because this thing is freaking me out.”

  In elements class Lady Rose calls girls to her desk, where they talk in private about what they’ve written in their journal. I look at my own journal in disappointment. I’m feeling and experiencing so much more than I’ve written down. But I can’t make myself put it on paper. I thought I was coming to Dowling to learn how to be a hedge witch, learn skills that would require me to use plants to help people. Sure, I thought it was a little boring as far as witches go, but after these past couple of days, boring sounds perfect.

  Lady Rose walks with Jo to the lab area of our classroom. Every pair of eyes in the room follows. This is the first girl she’s taken to the lab. Does it mean she knows what Jo’s power is?

  Lady Rose opens the storage room door, and Jo walks inside. The teacher shuts the door behind her.

  “Hallie, Ivy,” she calls to us. “Can you please go into the restroom at the end of the hall? Have a short conversation about any topic you choose. Then come back.”

  I glance at Ivy, unsure what to do.

  Iv
y is already standing. “Let’s go,” she whispers.

  I follow her out of the classroom, and we speed-walk to the bathroom.

  Once inside, we just look at each other, then burst out laughing.

  “Awkward,” she says.

  “What are we supposed to talk about?”

  She shrugs. “Anything. Let’s talk about . . .”

  “Movies,” I answer.

  “Okay. What’s your favorite movie?”

  “The Incredibles. Yours?”

  “Hoot.”

  “Think that’s enough?” I ask.

  “She said short,” Ivy says. She swings the door open, and we walk back to the classroom.

  Lady Rose is in the same place, standing in front of the storage room door.

  “Did you do as I asked?”

  We both nod. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Very well,” she says, opening the storage room door.

  Jo walks out smiling.

  Lady Rose looks at Jo. “Did the test work?”

  Jo nods, then looks at me, half-laughing. “Are you serious? Your favorite movie is The Incredibles? What are you, eight?”

  My mouth drops open. How did she hear that?

  Lady Rose looks to me. “What did you ladies talk about?”

  “Movies,” I answer. “Our favorite movies.”

  “And yours is The Incredibles?”

  I nod numbly. How could Jo have possibly heard us?

  Lady Rose turns to Jo again. “What was Ivy’s favorite movie?”

  Every pair of eyes in the room is locked on Jo. I know what she’s going to say before she says it.

  “Hoot.”

  Ivy slaps her hand to her chest. “That’s right! How’d you know that?”

  Jo is beaming like a fluorescent light. This is what she’s been waiting for. Real magic.

  “Seekers,” Lady Rose says, putting one hand on Jo’s shoulder. “Jo has been blessed with the gift of clairaudience.”

  Clairaudience?

  I look at Ivy, but she looks as clueless as me.

  “What does that mean?” asks Dru, her black eyes wide and her face animated in curiosity.

  “It means Jo can hear what people say even when they are far away.”

  “Wow,” Dru says. “Cool.”

  Lady Rose laughs lightly. “You’re right; it is cool. Let’s not forget, however, that our goal as Seekers is to not only find our gift, our karama, but also to develop it. Learning your gift can be overwhelming. Jo will have to learn how to control what she can hear.”