by L. C. Miller
The twins waved to them as they arrived at the tower. “Are you nervous? About tomorrow?” whispered Aaron.
“Do I have a pet snake?” replied Abby with a nervous laugh.
“I bet you’ll be just fine. You know what might help?”
Abby looked at him. “What?”
“You can always picture the audience in their underwear.”
Abby’s laughter had to be smothered when Elrane descended the steps.
“I know most of you wished class would be cancelled because of the clouds, but better luck next time. I’m glad many of you have your books since you will be using them tonight. Turn to chapter 12, page 1,236.”
Viviane rolled her eyes at Abby, and they did as instructed. By the end of the class, not just the guys were falling asleep. Abby nudged Aaron and Viviane awake. Yawning, they followed her down the steps.
“Now I’m awake after that nap,” said Paul as he handed Viviane her broom. Laughing, Abby got on hers.
Once she made it home, she threw herself on the bed. “Maybe I can fake an illness tomorrow,” she mumbled. Bombers’s tail flicked her on the ear. “Ow! Okay, okay. I was just kidding!”
~*~
The next morning Abby glanced at the clock and whipped the covers back. “I’m late! Mia’s gonna kill me. I was supposed to be there at noon,” she told Bombers. He looked at the clock; it was barely eleven thirty. He curled back up. Going to her trunk, Abby opened it and grabbed her black bag.
She dumped its contents on the floor. Quickly changing into the skirt and shirt, she grabbed her robe and stuffed it into the bag. Taking the bag with her, Abby ran into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and hair, Abby threw her WAMA green robe over her outfit.
Running down the stairs, she almost ran into Mrs. Herrin. “Detention?” she asked, eyeing her robes.
“Yeah, I’m supposed to be there at noon,” Abby lied.
Mrs. Herrin sighed. “Well, maybe now you’ll learn not to seek revenge on Mr. Cook every time he makes a nuisance of himself,” she scolded Abby. “I’ve always heard Mrs. Queenly’s detentions are brutal. Now, if I don’t see you before the dance, I will see you afterward.” She kissed Abby on the cheek before making her take a muffin for the ride. Grabbing her broom, Abby flew off. A quick look back showed that no one was watching out the door. Abby veered left and skidded across the ground a few yards from the white oak tree. Rainy was waiting near the tree.
“Nice landing! I was beginning to think I would need to fetch ya.”
“Ha-ha. Can you hold on to these for me?” Rainy nodded as Abby handed her a broom and bag. “Mrs. Herrin thinks I have detention with Mrs. Queenly. Apparently they told her I tried to get a guy at school back for being mean to me.”
Rainy laughed as they made their way through the tents and fire pits. “Well, at least you don’t have real detention … until tomorrow, that is.” Mia’s tent came into view, where all the dancers were waiting. Arika and Samoan greeted Abby as she came over.
“You ready?” Arika asked, grinning down at Abby.
“Sure am.”
After listening to Mia’s instructions, they got into their lines and practiced the first dance, then the second. Abby was glad Mia didn’t need to correct her and Natt’s movements too much.
One of the girls in the back was still a second behind the others. “Good, good,” Mia said, clapping her hands. “Time for a break.” The dancers split up. Abby had watched a few of the dancers when she was standing with Natt in the second row. Some of them seemed unsure, but after they performed the first dance, they were smiling at her.
“You’re pretty good,” said Teresa as she came up to Abby. She was the one who Mia had kept correcting, Abby recalled. Though Teresa was a year younger than Abby, they were the same height. Teresa pushed her short blonde hair behind her ears.
“So are you.” Abby drank a cup of water.
“No, I’m not,” Teresa replied, hanging her head. “You saw how often Mia kept correcting me.”
Because Abby had noticed, as had the other dancers, Abby tried to cheer her up. “Well, look at it this way: if she didn’t know you could do better, she would have replaced you on the team. I know you’re better than you think you are. You just need to stop thinking so much about it.” Teresa didn’t say anything, only nodded.
Mia kept Abby there until a little more than an hour before the dance was to start. “See you soon,” said Arika and Samoan.
Arika handed Abby a bag. Natt and Rollen waved bye to her as they went to get ready. Ethan, Aaron, and Carly were waiting for her at the house. They were also all in costume. Carly did a dramatic pose as Abby stopped in front of them. She really did look like Shelldra McWitchbe, the awful singer.
The eccentric outfit would have done Shelldra proud with the teal-and-fuchsia skirt. The peacock hat, though, is what Abby thought best represented the quirky singer. “Willy Wonka?” Abby asked, as she looked at Aaron’s yellow suit. He took off his top hat and bowed to her. “I love it.”
“When do you dance?” asked Carly.
“Right after the dance starts. As soon as we get to the school, I have to go meet up with the Mystics so I won’t be going into the mess hall with y’all. But I think you’ll like the performances we are going to do. They’re quite fun.”
“Can you tell us anything?” asked Ethan as he donned his Peter the Ghastly Pirate hat.
“Hmmm …” Abby thought a moment. “I hope you like bats,” she said as she ran upstairs.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Abby quickly took a shower and changed into her school robes. Grabbing the bag Arika had given her, she went back downstairs. They were still waiting.
“Ready?” she asked, and she followed them outside.
“What’s this about bats?” asked Ethan as they picked up their brooms. Abby laughed and shook her head. The four of them flew to school together.
Mrs. Queenly was waiting outside for Abby. She smiled at Carly, Ethan, and Aaron’s costumes. “You three may give the twins and Walt a run for their money.” They waved bye to Abby as they made their way into the mess hall.
“Come with me,” instructed Mrs. Queenly as she started through the hallways. Finally, they made it to her classroom.
Mistress Mia came rushing down the hall to join them. “Here is your potion to change your hair,” she told Abby, giving her two small vials. “One for each dance in case the timing is off.”
Mrs. Queenly tapped her wand on her desk, and it changed into a fitting room. “Now hurry up and change. The bats are getting restless,” Mia told her, as she ushered Abby into the room. Abby took the black skirt and shirt out of the bag. While she was at the camp, Rainy had gone ahead and painted symbols of ghosts and stars on Abby’s arms and back. Seeing a small trash can, Abby poured out the potion bottles. Only two people at camp knew she was an Unrestricted, and she didn’t need the hair-growing and color-changing potions.
Donning her dance clothes, Abby picked up the neon green mask. “I’m ready,” she told them as she stepped out. Mrs. Queenly tapped her wand again and the desk reappeared.
She followed Mia and Mrs. Queenly down the hall. They went into another empty classroom, this one far larger than the others she had been in. The Mystic dancers were all there. Many had already put on their masks, and a few were still practicing.
Natt came up to her, wearing his neon green mask. “Ready to impress?” he asked, taking her arm.
Mrs. Queenly wished them good luck and left the room.
Many of the dancers looked up and saw the bats were ready. The bats were flying around the room, squeaking. Abby and Samoan helped Natt get a bat out of his hair, while the others laughed.
“Everyone ready?” asked the Madam as she came into the room, her eyes bright against the orange mask she wore. “I will announce you in five minutes. Good luck, and don’t forget your pouches.” With that, she swept from the room, her long black-and-orange skirt trailing behind her.
The rest
of the Mystics put on their masks. Abby got in line and pretended to drink from the empty vial. Growing her hair long and red, Abby put her green mask on and reached into the bowl of small silver pouches. Mia gestured to the bats and they suddenly flew out, swarming through the group of dancers.
The doors to the mess hall flew open. Gasps filled the room as fourteen Mystic Dancers stepped onto the dance floor. They stood in three rows—two in the front, four in the second, and eight in the last. They all wore black clothes. The first line had black masks, the second had green, and the last had orange.
Abby glanced at the Ethan, Aaron, and Carly and winked. Music started low and gradually got louder. It was a haunting kind of music that one might associate with a graveyard. As one, the Mystics slowly raised their hands in the air.
The sound of the music sped up. Abby grinned as she saw many students duck as the dancers threw their silver pouches into the air. Wherever the bags landed, they exploded with gray smoke.
When Natt dipped Abby, she twirled her hand through the smoke. The ghost symbols on her arms began to glow, and suddenly ghosts flew up from the ground. Many of the ghosts spun with the Mystics. Natt, Abby, Samoan, and Micah dropped into the smoke.
When they sprang up on opposite sides of the room, clapping sounded around them. The music started to slow, as did the dancers. Dancing, they made their way back into the lines. As soon as they stepped back into their starting places, the music ended. The windows burst open as a cool wind swept into the room. The smoke immediately disappeared as well as several of the ghosts. The students and teachers cheered.
“Wielders! I just can’t believe it!” One of the ghosts, a well-endowed woman, was bouncing around the twins, pointing at their wands, costumes, and feet. “Never thought I’d live to see this,” she giggled.
“You didn’t. You’ve been dead more than a hundred years,” grumbled a tall ghost who was shaking his head.
The well-endowed ghost waved her hand at him. “Can you feel that?” the ghost asked, trying to poke Paul in the eye.
“Margaret, stop that,” said Teresa, the first to leave the line.
“Why don’t you make me?” challenged Margaret, laughing in a high-pitched giggle.
“Fine,” said Teresa, snapping her fingers in front of the ghost’s face. Teresa sent a silver spark at her. Margaret covered her nose and flew straight into the wall. Some of the students laughed, and the surrounding ghosts thanked Teresa.
“Th-that w-was …” stammered Paul. Flushed, he turned to his sister for help.
“What my temporarily-unable-to-speak brother means is you guys were great. I loved the bats,” Viviane gushed. Students came forward and the Mystics fanned out.
“That was totally cool,” said a guy in a vampire outfit. Another guy came in front of Abby and Natt. Abby looked him up and down before laughing.
“I know, I know. A guy dressed as a mouse dressed as a guy is a lot to take in. My name’s Walt.” He shook hands with her and Natt. “You guys were awesome.” Abby remembered the twins telling her about Walt’s Halloween costumes. The tall fifth-year student adjusted his mouse ears as he talked with them.
Abby saw Ethan, Aaron, and Carly slowly make their way toward her. “My name is Natt, and this is Gail.” Abby tried not to cringe at the name Mia and the Madam chose for her tonight.
Abby could see Martin slowly make his way to Micah and Rollen. She sighed, as he still seemed fearful. A few students suddenly clapped. One of the ghosts and her partner bowed to a small group.
She could see Brock and his friends talking to Arika and Samoan. Trying not to laugh at their expressions, Abby looked around the mess hall. It didn’t look the same. Pumpkins were floating around the hall, which was glowing from brilliant yellow lights. A gnarled hand came out of a bowl and distributed punch.
Groups split off as music filled the hall again. “What’s this?” asked Natt, staring at the jumping black cats on the tables.
“Oh, those are actually cookies. There’s a spell on them that makes them move and jump. It only lasts a few minutes. You should try one of these; they’re always filled with random stuff, but taste great,” Viviane said, handing each Abby and Natt a blue puffball.
Sniffing, Abby could smell marshmallows. Taking a bite, she grinned at Natt. “These are good,” he said, holding his up. His was filled with chocolate ice cream. Abby’s was filled with Oreos. Margaret came swooshing back into the hall, and students laughed as Paul ducked behind a few tables. Viviane led Abby, Natt, and Teresa to an empty table.
Margaret spotted the Madam speaking to Ms. Bauble and swept toward her. Micah and Samoan soon joined them. “That boy is completely insufferable!” said Samoan.
“His name is Brock, and don’t worry, we don’t like him either,” replied Ethan as he, Aaron, and Carly joined their table.
“I feel sorry for Arika.” Natt watched Brock drag an unwilling Arika on the dance floor.
“I’m sure Rollen will interrupt them soon,” said Micah. Abby offered him a bite of her Oreo puffball. Aaron came back with cups of the green punch. He offered one to Natt and Abby.
“Thanks,” said Abby, grinning at him.
“Care to dance?” Micah asked Carly. Blushing crimson, Carly took his hand. Natt and Samoan followed them to the dance floor, leaving Abby, Ethan, Viviane, Teresa, Paul, and Aaron alone.
“Anyone care to dance?” asked Abby.
Aaron immediately shook his head. “I don’t dance, but you two have fun.” Taking Ethan’s hand, Abby walked to the dance floor. She was having a great time. She danced with Ethan a few times, and even got Martin to dance with her. She was glad to see he no longer looked at the Mystics in fear.
Almost halfway through a song, Brock interrupted her and Martin’s dance. “I figured you would like to dance with someone who knows how.” He sneered at Martin as he took Abby’s hand. Since Brock was squeezing her hand so tight, she couldn’t wiggle loose, she danced with him.
Hoping her smile looked polite and not forced, she listened to him drone on and on about how good he was at everything. Abby winced when he stepped on her foot. “That wouldn’t happen if you could keep up. At least you dance better than those others.”
Abby looked over to see who he jerked his head toward and saw Teresa, who was dancing with Paul as well as a few other orange-masked Mystics. Stunned, Abby jerked to a stop. “Excuse me?” The song ended. Before she did anything she would probably not regret, but would surely get in trouble for, Abby walked toward Natt and Samoan.
They were now sitting at a table with Walt, Ethan, Aaron, Carly, and Viviane. “You look angry,” said Samoan, trying not to laugh.
“Thanks,” Abby muttered, grabbing a cat cookie off her plate.
“We would have interrupted, but you seemed like you were having a good time,” said Micah.
“So tell me,” broke in Natt, “how many times did he step on your toes?”
“Three times, and he blamed my inability to keep up with him as the reason why.” She took a seat next to Natt.
“You’re lucky,” said Arika as she and Rollen joined them. “He stepped on mine four.” Natt introduced the students around him. Rollen shook hands with all of them.
Before Abby could take a bite out of a cookie, Brock took it and bit into it. “I bet these sweets are new to you. I mean, don’t you guys normally eat twigs and berries?” He laughed at his joke; a few of his friends had joined him.
He looked at Teresa as she came over. “I’m sorry, I would ask you to dance, but I’m not sure you know how.”
“What are you supposed to be?” asked Micah, staring at Brock’s navy blue costume.
Brock seemed offended. “Can’t you tell? I’m the wizard of Watcher’s Tower!” Micah looked him up and down.
“Really?” asked Samoan. “And here I thought you were trying to be a nuisance.”
A bell rang, marking the near end of the dance. “Time to go,” said Abby, pulling Natt to his feet. He and Micah were glaring
at Brock. Mistress Mia came over to them.
“I’m sorry about him,” Walt said to Teresa, who looked on the verge of tears. “Not all of us were born permanently rude.”
“Mystics? It’s time for the next one,” said Mia as she came by. “Please excuse us,” she told the students. Micah suddenly grinned and elbowed Natt as they made their way back to the dance floor. The Madam took the stage once more.
“Now is the time for the next dance. This one is called Fallen Star.” She clapped her hands and the ceiling changed into the night sky, bright stars twinkling around a full moon.
Music started back up. Instead of standing in lines, the Mystics stood in a circle. “Look out for that Brock guy,” whispered Natt in her ear.
“Why? What are you doing?” Abby whispered back, seconds before he spun her.
“You’ll see,” was all he said.
Grinning, he picked her up as the stars from the ceiling started zooming all around the room. Plucking one out of the sky, Natt put Abby back on the floor. “He’s around the punch bowl,” she said before cracking the star in her hand. The stars exploded around them, changing their outfits from black to glittering white.
Stars spun all through the dancers as the breeze picked up its strength. The star’s powder still in hand, Abby tossed it into the air. Wherever it landed, it changed its color. The orange-topped tables became yellow, blues became green, and blacks became white.
Costumes changed colors as well. Someone dressed as a blue jay suddenly became a cardinal. The vampire’s cape changed from red to pink. “Watch this,” said Natt as they started moving in the circle.
“What are you—”
But before Abby could say anything, Natt threw a star right at Brock. Natt whipped back before anyone could see anything. Sudden shouts sprang up. Abby caught a quick glance at Brock. Doing her best not to laugh, she turned away. “Pink and white?”