She held out her hand. When my hand brushed hers my head exploded with an image. Stevie lay on grass, her eyes closed. Cody knelt beside her. He held her hand and his mouth moved but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.
Stevie grabbed the key and pulled away from me and the image burst like a bubble disintegrating in the air. I regained my composure as we all headed for the driveway and piled into Keith’s car. I got in the back seat without even arguing or shouting for dibs for the front. Visions along with everything else seemed too much for a brand new witch with a low tolerance for change.
I could use the solitude.
**
Stevie had pulled me into a change room and had squeezed her big boobs into a tank top in the room we were crammed into.
“Keith is going to get mad if we try on clothes,” I told her reflection.
Stevie rolled her eyes at me and turned around to peer at the reflection of her butt, as if it had anything to do with the tank top she was trying on.
“He’s gone to the bathroom. He’ll be fine.”
I glanced at her and sighed, wishing my boobs were as big as hers. Stevie made a face and pulled the tank top off her head and threw it on the floor. “That makes me look fat.” She studied me and tilted her head. “You get a new push up bra?” She stared at my chest and her eyebrows almost touched the bridge of her nose.
I looked down. “Oh no,” I whispered under my breath. I’d made a wish for my boobs to be as big as Stevie’s. And since I was now Sydney Grant, Super Witch. They were. Bigger. Much bigger.
“Uh. Yeah. New bra and some of those FOAMIE things, I slid them in to see if you’d notice, ha! Listen Stevie, let’s go.” I tried not to stare at my boobs. Or poke them to see what they felt like.
“Since your birthday you’ve being acting really weird.” She pulled on her own shirt and opened the change room door in a huff and shot a glance at my chest. “And just so you know. Your boobs look totally fake.”
I glanced down and hid a grin.
“I’m only telling you for your own good. You know, so you don’t embarrass yourself in public. You should take them out.”
As if big boobs were her territory. Well they had been until I became a wish making witch. I ignored her as we sped walk out of the dressing room. I felt kind of off balance with the sudden weight on my upper chest. Stevie tossed the crumpled up shirt she’d tried on to a bored looking woman in a navy smock who smacked her gum. She stomped off ahead of me. “I have to go to the washroom. I’ll meet you and Keith in the food court.”
“Whatever,” I called and watched her go.
Two cute looking boys with long hair and black t-shirts walked by. The cutest one stopped walking and looked right at me and smiled. “Hey!” he said.
I looked around. The only other person in sight was the old woman in the dressing room booth. “Uh, hi.” I said. I wondered if they were talking to my new boobs.
“You have a boyfriend?” he asked, all cocky and sure of himself.
“No,” I said as usual an award-winning conversationalist.
Is this the way boys talked to girls with big boobs? If so, why hadn’t I signed up for big boobs earlier? Wished for them anyhow. It should have been my first wish.
“You want one?” the cute boy said.
“Not today.” For kicks I stuck out the new boobs a little. They seemed to like the attention. So did the boys.
They boys stared for a moment and the cute one called out a phone number and then with a fist pump they strolled off.
I watched them go, and looked down at my new boobs pretty sure the reasons they’d flirted wasn’t due to my sparkly personality.
A phone rang and I looked around in annoyance. The woman at the change room table raised her eyebrows and I realized it was coming out of my pocket.
I pulled out the pink phone. “Hello?” I said.
“Sydney? It’s Cody.”
I blushed hoping he couldn’t tell my chest had suddenly grown wings and bloomed. Over the phone. Hopefully brothers couldn’t pick up on things like that.
“How’d you get this number?” I asked and walked quickly out of the clothing department and headed for the main mall area.
“Cut it out okay. Nana programmed your new number into my phone yesterday.”
Man but this Magic stuff was weird. He didn’t seem in the least bothered by my sudden ownership of a new phone.
I walked into the mall area towards the food court, whiffing in the smell of freshly backed Cinabuns. “What do you want?”
“I need to talk to Stevie. She’s not answering her phone.”
“Stevie?” I said in a singsong voice. “Are you secretly dating my friend?”
“Funny. As in not. I think she took my text book by accident. When I dropped her off. Can you put her on?”
“She’s uh. Not here.” I hoped he couldn’t hear the mall ambiance and I pressed the phone closer to my ear.
“Where are you?”
“Uh. We’re on our way to school. But she had to go to the washroom. So we made a pit stop. I better go. I’ll ask her about your book.”
“Tell her to call me when she’s done.” He hung up without saying good-bye, which totally bugs me. I hate when people do that. Like they’re in such hurry and their lives are too busy to use a little common courtesy like saying two words before clicking a phone off.
I sighed as I neared the mall waterfall. Keith was nowhere in sight and neither was Stevie. Since I already had the cell phone in my hand, I dialed Nana’s number at work.
“I see you conjured up a new phone,” Nana said instead of hello. “What happened?”
“What do you mean?” I said with indignation.
“The only time you’re supposed to disturb me at work is when you have a problem. And I’m not actually at the flower shop. So can you make this quick. I won’t be in phone range long.”
“This wishing business isn’t everything it’s cracked out to be.”
“What happened?” she repeated.
My face heated up.
“Spit it out.”
“Um.. It’s my boobs. Uh. They’re as big as Stevie’s now. For real.”
She didn’t say anything, but I heard a sound suspiciously like laughter being smothered.
“You don’t need anything special to reverse it. Just wish them back to normal.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Sydney?”
“The thing is Nana. I kind of want to keep them. For a while. You know, just to see what they’re like.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Well. I think people might notice for one.”
“Yeah? I can say I got a boob jobs. People get them all the time.”
“So you’d like people to think you had plastic surgery?”
“At least it would make me more interesting.”
“The last thing you need is to be more interesting.”
Debatable.
“Come on. Don’t you think it would be fun? Besides, they’re only the same as Stevie’s.”
“Her body can support them. You’d look like an advertisement for plastic surgery gone wrong. And no, I don’t think it’s fun for you to have big boobs. This is the last thing you need on top of everything else. You have a lot more going for you than mammary glands. Wish them back to normal. I have to go. I’ll see you at home.”
I hung up the phone without saying good bye, knowing it would make her livid, but frankly, that was kind of the point.
A loud wolf whistle startled me out of my Eeeyore worthy doom. I glanced up to see a group of boys pointing at me and smiling, pushing each other towards me. I glanced around to see if maybe the water fountain was spraying on my head or if pretty girls had gathered on the other side, but there was no one around. I glanced down. Oh. That’s right. The new friends. My boobs.
I smirked at the boys and tucked my phone back in my bag and turned to leave.
“Hey,
” one of the boys shouted while the others punched him on the arm and made stupid faces. I crossed my arms across my big chest and noticed I now had a little ledge to rest them on. A squishy ledge that was kind of comfortable.
The attention made me feel a little thrilled while at the same time a little nauseous, so I shot them my most disgusted look and walked away. Lucky for them there was no more cat calls. They didn’t know they were dealing with Sydney Grant. Super Witch. I could wish nasty zits on them. Or shrink their man parts.
I wished for my boobs to be back to normal. Stevie and Keith both walked into the food court then, their heads bent in conversation.
They headed towards me.
“Better,” Squid said, nodding at my chest.
Keith looked confused but I ignored him.
“Let’s get out of here. Go back to school.”
**
On the drive to school, I ignored Stevie’s chatter and stared out the window actually looking forward to a dull class. If it wasn’t for Keith, I’d be at home under the covers. Shaking. I wanted to talk to him alone, but we had to ditch Stevie.
The worry in my stomach was growing like a tumor. Maybe being a Witch caused cancer. Everything else seemed to.
Keith pulled into the school parking lot then and as soon as he turned off the car, I opened the door to step out. The second my foot hit the pavement I winced. A premonition of doom smacked me like I’d been belted in the stomach with a fist. I bent over, the air squeezed right out of me.
Something was wrong. Every ounce of my body knew it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Sydney,” a voice bellowed. “Stop right there.”
I didn’t need to look up to know the voice belonged to Jenny Truman. She barged towards Keith’s car, her gait uncharacteristically stiff and uncoordinated.
“Hi, Keith,” she added in a sweeter voice. “We really must hook up again soon. You’re so much fun.” She giggled but it sounded off.
Again? Hook up again?
Stevie gasped and I barely resisted an urge grab her by her ponytail and demand an explanation. Instead I hurried off in the opposite direction. I had too much on my mind to even contemplate Jenny with Keith.
Stevie caught up to me. “Keith and that?” she whispered. “Oh my God.”
“Excuse me, Sydney. I need to talk to you,” Jenny bellowed, the sugar melting from her voice. The girl could work innocence with her highlighted hair and perfect face. All that was missing was a halo. But the voice. It was creepy.
I stopped and turned a scowl on my face. It hit me that she didn’t have her usual girlfriends surrounding her.
“Where are your groupies?” I had bigger worries than pissing off someone with the power to make the rest of my high school career miserable.
Until I looked in her eyes.
I took an involuntary step back. Her usually frosty blue eyes were almost black, her pupils so dilated they seemed to pulse with a life of their own.
She stepped closer to me. “You have something I want,” she growled. Her voice sounded deeper. Meaner.
“Personality?” Stevie piped in. “Natural good looks?”
Jenny ignored her. “You know what it is.” She narrowed her oddly black eyes at me.
A few friends walked by and glanced at us, but no one interfered. They kept going. I glanced behind her at Keith. He lifted a shoulder in bewilderment. I frowned, still wanting to punch him in the stomach for hooking up with Jenny.
“I swear to God, I will make you wish you were never born if you don’t give up your powers,” Jenny hissed.
Goosebumps trampled across my skin. Wish. My brain grabbed at the word. Wish. Make a wish.
“I wish… I wish you would go away,” I spit out.
Jenny stared into my eyes. I thought it wouldn’t work. For a moment she looked capable of resisting my wish. Her black eyes bore into mine and I sensed something, something so not Jenny inside her. Then quickly but awkwardly, she turned towards the school entrance, and walked away without looking back.
One of her clones hurried up beside her, but Jenny flung an arm at her and must have growled something nasty, because the clone scampered away, looking like her dog just died.
“Now there is one girl who’s been skipping her protein bars. She needs some serious nutrients,” Stevie said. “Give up your Powers? What’s up with her?”
Stevie poked a finger at me. “Maybe she thinks you’ve got Mike. Hidden somewhere. Like your bedroom.” She giggled. ”Apparently he’s missing you know.”
“Mike’s missing?” I asked.
Stevie nodded. “Probably to get attention. His parents are worried he might have taken off to his Uncle’s in Ohio. I heard they fought about something before he disappeared. Silly jock.”
She grinned. “Anyhow, way to stand up to Jenny. I didn’t know you had it in you.” She glanced back at Keith a few feet behind us, staring. “And you! I can’t believe you fooled around with her,” she yelled. She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the school.
“What did he ever see in her? Jenny’s skinniness is not natural, not like yours. You eat all the time and never gain weight. But Jenny is starving to death. You can see it in her eyes. They’re freakish.”
“I didn’t see hunger,” I mumbled. I glanced back at Keith. He followed us at a distance, his head down as if he were deep in thought.
I made a face. Mad as I wanted to be at Keith, I needed him. He was the only one who knew what was happening to me. We all tramped through the front doors of the school and glanced around for Jenny and her Clicker friends, but they were nowhere in sight. A few kids wandered around us ignoring us as they hurried off to classes.
Stevie glanced at the huge clock on the far wall off the hallway. “Shoot. I have a Science quiz.”
I licked my lips trying to catch my breath.
Keith stared at me. “You okay?”
Stevie zoomed in front of us, out of hearing.
“Did you do something magic?” he whispered. “To Jenny?”
I thought about doing something else magic, but I glared at him instead. “I wished she would go away. I might do the same to you.”
“What’re you two whispering about back there?” Stevie hollered. “I swear to God, both of you are losing your minds.”
She stopped at the T-intersection in the hallway and we caught up to her.
“I have to go this way for Science. I’ll see ya after class? Meet me out front?”
I nodded. Stevie took off and Keith and I headed the other direction. We rounded a corner and I turned to Keith. Two uniformed policemen were standing outside the door to our algebra class. They were big, bulky guys with guns in their pockets, and straight postures in crisp blue uniforms. They were chatting with our Algebra teacher. “Um,” I said. “Um, maybe I don’t want to go to class after all.”
Without talking about it we both agreed chatting to the police was not something we wanted to be doing right then. Keith grabbed my elbow and pulled me back behind the corner. We swiveled on our heels and began walking faster back the way we’d come. A few jocks stared at us as if it were incredibly odd to see non-Jocks moving so fast. Without speaking we picked up our pace. I struggled to keep up with his long legs without breaking into a run. Running in the hallways was not allowed and we didn’t need to draw even more attention to ourselves. I tried to look innocent as the bell for class rang as we reached the school entrance.
Keith glanced back over this shoulder. “They’re not following us,” he said.
I nodded. Relieved.
“They’re probably just looking for Mike. But they might want to talk to you about it. Since he was at your house. That guy is such an idiot.” Keith put a hand on my back and I closed my eyes anticipating images cramming my head, but nothing happened.
“You can do so much better than a guy like Mike,” Keith muttered.
“Not really the point here,” I whisper yelled.
“Anyhow,” his tone changed as he re
ached to push open the door. “You’re right. At this point, I think Mike is the least of our worries.” He pushed open the door, watching over his shoulder. “I’ve been getting some really strange feelings. Worse since we got to school. We need to get to your Mom.”
I stopped and he crashed into me. I scowled at him. “My mom? What does this have to do with my Mom?”
“Don’t ask me how I know. But she’s in trouble. She’s at a place in the Allendale forest. We need to get her out.”
I stared at him. “You’re getting feelings? I’m supposed to be the one with powers here. And why are you so obsessed with the damn forest?”
He pushed me out the door, but I didn’t turn from him, watching him over my shoulder.
I plowed forward, violently smacking into a body.
“Where the heck do you think you’re going, Sydney?” the voice growled.
CHAPTER NINE
My fingers automatically flew to my throat and touched my necklace. Keith’s hand pressed against my back, urging me to keep going.
“Jenny. Out of our way. Sydney and I are leaving.”
I tried to squeeze around Jenny, but she blocked me, so I put up both hands and shoved her hard. Luckily, she weighed about the same as me and she stumbled in her unstable heels.
“You’re not going anywhere until I talk to you,” she roared.
“Jenny.” I gritted my teeth together, mad enough to yell at the queen of high school, mad enough to do some black magic if need be. “Get out of my way.” I shoved her again.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she growled. She ran behind me, nipping at my heels like an annoying Beagle. “You know, Sydney, word has it the last place Mike was seen was at your house.” Her dark eyes flashed. “The police want to talk to you about that. Is that who you’re running from?”
“I didn’t even talk to Mike.” I stopped. “Listen, Jenny, I don’t have anything going on with him. I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend.”
Jenny caught up to me and grabbed my arm and her French manicured nails dug into my skin. A dark cloud fogged my mind. I closed my eyes from the horror of what I saw and felt. It wasn’t a vision like when Keith or Stevie touched me. Desperate, horrible emotions swirled around my insides. Fear. Loathing. Anger. Guilt. Negativity flowed through me as Jenny’s nails dug into my arm.
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