Witch School Dropout: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #7

by M. Z. Andrews

  Sweets nodded. “Of course, Char. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

  “I will too, Char,” said Gran, rubbing her friend’s arm. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I’m not going anywhere now. I’m sticking around Aspen Falls to take care of you for as long as you need.”

  I looked at my grandmother curiously. So she had been planning to take off. I knew it!

  “We’ll all be here for you Char,” said Jax sympathetically.

  Detective Whitman walked back around the corner with Louis at his side.

  “Char, I just wanted to let you and your employees know that until I’ve had the medical examiner confirm the cause of death, I’d like you not to disturb anything in the bakery. I’ve got my guys doing their thing now, but until we know for sure that Vic died of natural causes, I don’t want the place contaminated.”

  Char nodded her head. “I don’t know what I’ll do about the bakery anyway.” She reached her hand out to Sweets. “Sweetheart can you and Louis meet me tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll talk about what to do about the bakery?”

  Sweets nodded. “Of course.”

  Louis gave a simple nod too.

  “Let’s meet at Habernackle’s. Detective Whitman doesn’t want us here.”

  Louis gave her a curt nod. “If that will be all, I’m going to go then.”

  “Go. There’s nothing else you can do. Nothing else any of us can do,” she said sadly. She looked at the rest of us. “Unless Detective Whitman needs you, the rest of you should go as well.”

  No one moved.

  “It’s fine girls,” said my granny. “I’ll take her home and take good care of her.”

  I looked over at Mr. Bailey. I was curious where he was going to go, but I didn’t want to ask in front of Char.

  He saw me glance at him curiously. “I’m staying with my wife, dear. I’m not leaving her side until my spirit fades to black,” he promised. He glanced up at my grandmother. “But you don’t have to tell her that.”

  Gran didn’t say a word. She simply swallowed hard and helped Char to her feet.

  The rest of us got to our feet too. We each took a turn giving Char a hug and our condolences, and with heavy hearts, we headed back to the Paranormal Institute wishing we could make things all better.

  8

  That evening at supper in the quad, we all chewed our food with deliberate, thoughtful bites. As with all the deaths we’d encountered since the first day of school, but especially more so now, it was easy to slip into the somber feeling of losing another human being. Now, mourning the loss of Mr. Bailey, a friend of ours and such a well loved and respected member of the community, it was extra painful for the five of us and even more so for Sweets.

  “Are you alright Sweets?” asked Jax. Worry lines creased her forehead.

  Sweets bit her bottom lip to keep from tearing up as she’d been doing through the whole meal. “I’ll be okay.”

  “It’s going to take some time, Sweets,” said Alba. “Don’t rush it, okay?”

  Sweets gave a perfunctory nod of the head. “Okay,” she whispered.

  “You can stay with us tonight,” offered Jax, glancing over at me to make sure I agreed.

  Reaching across the table, I put a hand over Sweets’. “Yeah, I’ll clear off the futon for you.”

  Sweets smiled up at us through glimmering eyes. “Thanks, girls. I’ll probably take you up on that.”

  “When is your meeting with Char and Louis?” asked Holly as she took a sip of her Paranormally Delicious latte.

  “Tomorrow at eleven,” said Sweets. Her meek voice trembled as if she might start to cry again at any second.

  “Do you want one of us to go with you, Sweets?” asked Holly.

  “Or all of us,” I suggested. “Comfort in numbers.”

  Sweets shook her head. “Thanks girls, I appreciate it. It’s alright. I’ll be okay. I’m mostly just worried about Char.”

  “You know she’s going to ask if you can work full-time, right?” I asked Sweets.

  Sweets nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that ever since Mr. Bailey suggested it at the party. I’m prepared.”

  We all stared at her, hanging on her next words. Waiting for her to tell us what her decision was. I had no idea how Sweets would be able to keep up the grueling schedule that she’d be on while the Bailey’s were on their honeymoon.

  When she didn’t speak, Alba leaned forward. “Well? Are you going to tell us what your decision is?”

  Tears simmered in Sweets’ eyes. She pulled a napkin from her tray and dotted it at the corners of her eyes. “I’m thinking about dropping out of witch school,” she admitted with a choked sob.

  My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened as I stared at her. “Sweets! You can’t drop out of college!”

  “Yeah, Sweets. Think about what you’re doing. Dropping out would mean a whole semester down the drain!” said Alba. “Have you talked to your parents about this?”

  Sweets shook her head as she gnawed on her plump lower lip. “No. I haven’t said a word to them. I haven’t even told them about Mr. Bailey yet.”

  “Sweets, you have to tell them,” said Jax emphatically. “They’re going to want to know.”

  She leaned her head to the right and used her fork to swirl the gravy around in her mashed potatoes. “Yeah, I know,” she whispered. “I will. I’m just not ready to talk about it yet.”

  Jax ground her face up into a twisted pout. “You can’t seriously want to drop out of witch school, Sweets?” To Jax, the only thing in life that mattered was being a witch, so dropping out of witch school was a completely foreign concept.

  “Girls. I came to witch college to learn to make potions. I’m a baking matchmaker. That’s who I am. Mr. Bailey was going to let me start making matchmaking sweets at the bakery. But he thought it was important to make me a well-rounded potion maker, too. He taught me to make his special breads for easing symptoms of high blood pressure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and the list goes on and on. I’m helping people more now than I could have ever hoped to on my own. This internship opened up doors for me that I never realized could be opened up,” she said. Her words were impassioned. Her expression sad. “And now he’s gone!” she said, wiping away her tears again with her napkin.

  When she’d regained the ability to speak, she began again softly. “I didn’t want it to happen this way, but girls, I can’t give up the opportunity to continue to work at the bakery. If Char is going to give me full-time work, maybe she’ll let me work my way towards full management, and someday maybe I can even buy the bakery from her.”

  “Lofty goals,” said Alba. She sounded impressed.

  I knew I was impressed. Sweets was figuring out her life, and here I was just trying to keep up with my homework and debating on whether or not I wanted a boyfriend or not. “I think it’s great Sweets. You have to do you. Don’t worry about what your parents think or what we think. You have to do you.”

  Sweets smiled at me with genuine appreciation. “That means so much to me, Mercy. Thank you!”

  Jax’s head spun around as if she’d just been possessed. She stared at me in shock and horror. “I can’t believe you, Mercy. Are you seriously trying to convince Sweets to drop out of college?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not trying to convince her to do anything. I just think she should stay true to herself. Being a matchmaker is true to herself. Where else is she going to find a way to do what she truly loves? It’s a ready-made opportunity! The more I think about it; I actually think she’d be crazy not to go for a full-time job there.”

  Jax frowned at me. “Well she can work full-time, but I think she should keep going to school. Then she’s always got that to fall back on.”

  “She’s going to get way more relevant work experience and life experience working at the bakery than she ever would finishing witch school. Sweets isn’t trying to learn telekinesis or ghost science skills. She’s a potion maker. Yeah, she can probably pick up a few new potions if she t
akes another two semesters of school, but let’s face it. We’re in the age of YouTube videos and websites like ‘allwitchpotions.com.’ Whatever she needs is on the Internet now. She’s going to have everything she doesn’t know at her fingertips.”

  “But if she works and keeps going to school she’ll get those last two semesters,” argued Jax. By the tone of her voice, I could tell she was getting desperate. “I think it’s important she finish what she started.”

  “I’m sorry, but that argument is weak. As I said, the work experience will be way more beneficial to her.”

  Sweets held a hand up in the air to stop our bickering. “Hello, she is still in the room. And while I appreciate your input, Mom and Dad, I haven’t made my decision yet.”

  Jax and I stopped arguing with each other long enough to look at Sweets. Holly giggled, holding a hand to her mouth while Alba nearly snorted soda out her nose.

  “I am going to go talk to Sorceress Stone today. I need to ask for at least a week or two off school until I can get things figured out, so I can help take care of Char and the bakery and stuff.”

  “Are you sure that’s wise, Sweets?” asked Jax, pinching one eye shut and eyeing Sweets out of the other. “What if you take time off and find out that you like just working at the bakery full-time?”

  “Well, then I’ll know.”

  “But then you might never go back to school!”

  “Well, then I won’t.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  I sighed. “But nothing, Jax. Let it go. Let Sweets figure it out.”

  Jax looked down at her hands. “I just don’t want my friend to go. I’d miss you if you left,” she whispered.”

  Sweets leaned over and threw an arm around Jax’s shoulders. “Thanks, Jaxie. I’d miss you too. I’m factoring you four into my decision. I’m not sure that I want to leave you either.”

  “Look, I don’t want to lose Sweets either, but you can’t make this decision based on friendship, Sweets,” said Alba. “This is your career we’re talking about here. Anyone of us would do what was best for ourselves if we were in this situation. We have to. Witch school is only for one more year and then we’re out on our own. We have to figure out our lives for the long haul. Like Red said, you have to do you.”

  Sweets nodded. “Thanks, Alba. Thanks all of you. I appreciate the advice. I just need some time to think, and I really don’t know what Char’s going to say anyway. Maybe she’ll decide to promote Louis to full-time. Maybe she’ll sell the bakery or heck; maybe she’ll decide she wants to work there full-time and she’ll just keep me on as an intern. Who knows. I’m probably getting way ahead of myself.”

  Sweets’ phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked down at it. Her eyes welled up with tears again as she put the phone back in her pocket without saying a word.

  “What is it Sweets?” asked Jax.

  “Nothing,” she whispered.

  “Not nothing. You’re upset,” said Holly. “Who was that?”

  “Corey.”

  “Corey Donovan?” asked Holly.

  Sweets swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.”

  “How’d he get your number?”

  I looked down at the table. “Hugh texted me earlier today and asked for it,” I admitted. That was before the party, before Mr. Bailey passed away, and before the Bailey’s had asked Sweets to consider working full-time for them. I thought the burden on her shoulders was about to be lifted, so I’d given it to him. “Sorry Sweets, I suppose I should have asked you first if that was alright.”

  She lifted one shoulder. “It’s okay,” she whispered, wiping away another round of tears with her napkin.

  “But I don’t understand. We all know you like him. Why is it making you sad that he texted you?” I asked. “What did he say?”

  “He asked me if I found any free time this weekend so he could take me fishing,” she whispered.

  Holly smiled broadly. “You’re not going to respond to him?”

  Sweets shook her head.

  “Why on earth not?”

  Sweets let out a shaky breath. “I just don’t have the free time. I hate to turn him down again, but I don’t have the time to date right now. I’ve got school, and work, and now I’ve got Mr. Bailey’s death to work through, and I need to be there for Char.”

  We were all silent. I completely understood. That was how I felt about Hugh. Between school and my friends and my family and all the trouble we always seemed to get into, there just weren’t enough hours in the day for a boyfriend. “There’s no law saying you have to respond right away,” I said with a smile. “Take some time to breathe and then answer him back. Maybe you’ll get everything figured out after you talk to Sorceress Stone or Char or even your parents.”

  “I hope you’re right,” said Sweets.

  Holly frowned at me. “There’s no law that says you don’t have to text a boy right back, but you can’t keep that boy waiting forever.”

  I slumped down. I knew she was shooting that remark at me just as much as she was shooting it at Sweets. Hugh won’t wait forever, Mercy. That was what she was really trying to say.

  I sat up straighter and reached across the table to put my hand on Sweets’ again. “Everything always works itself out. No worries, alright? Worrying never does anyone any good. And that is a Linda Habernackle quote,” I said with an assured smile. “So you can take it to the bank.”

  That got a smile out of Sweets. “My mom used to say that too,” she said through a sniffle.

  “Well, then it’s a two-for-one mom special. It must be true.”

  Sweets’ tiny giggle lightened the mood at the table, but we all chewed again in silence for a few long moments.

  Finally, Jax’s tiny voice piped up. “What I don’t understand is, if you’re witches, why can’t you just make Mr. Bailey be alive again?”

  Alba smiled. “It’s not that easy, Jax.”

  “Remember that guy Evan? The one that tried to do a spell on me and Morgan Hartford. He was trying to shove my spirit into her body.”

  “No, he was trying to shove her spirit into your body,” I said, disagreeing. I frowned and had to think about it. Which way was it?

  Jax shrugged. “Whatever. He was trying to make a spirit come back to life, but it didn’t work because I wasn’t a witch. Mr. Bailey is a wizard. Why can’t you just put his spirit back into his body?”

  My mouth opened to tell Jax exactly why we couldn’t just shove Mr. Bailey’s spirit back into his body, but then when I couldn’t think of why that wouldn’t work, I looked at Alba questioningly. Alba frowned and looked at Holly. Holly looked at Sweets, and then Sweets looked at me. No one seemed to have an answer to that question.

  “Is it possible?” asked Jax.

  “Well, obviously Evan thought it was possible,” I said slowly, thinking things through.

  “Mr. Bailey’s been dead for a while now. How long do bodies keep for?” asked Holly.

  I looked around. No one seemed to know.

  “He was in the freezer for a while. That’s got to prolong his body,” said Jax.

  “You’d think,” I agreed. “But usually spirits only stick around until their issues are resolved. If Mr. Bailey died of natural causes, then he doesn’t have any issues to resolve. Who knows how long he’ll be around. Maybe he’s only going to be here long enough to tell Char goodbye.”

  “Unless he didn’t die of natural causes,” suggested Alba.

  “Unless he didn’t. Right, but we won’t know that until an autopsy is done.”

  Jax sucked in her breath. “And then they’ll chop up his body!” she said with wide eyes.

  My heart stopped beating for a moment as that realization sunk in. She had a point.

  There really was no time to spare if we were going to try and attempt a spell like that.

  Holly nibbled her fingernails nervously. “What if it doesn’t work though?”

  “What can possibly go wrong? He’s already dead. Can it
get much worse than that?” asked Alba.

  “Alba’s right. Mr. Bailey is dead. Char’s broken hearted. Sweets lost her mentor, and the town is in mourning. How can that get any worse?” I said.

  “Exactly,” nodded Alba. “We’ve got to try.”

  Sweets wiped away the tears that dotted her eyes. “Does anyone here know how to do it?”

  I rubbed my hands together in my best evil witch charade. “No, but I know where to find out! We’ll meet after breakfast in the morning.”

  9

  After breakfast the next morning, the gang split up. Sweets had her own agenda for the day and though she’d managed only a few hours of sleep on our futon the night before, she’d still risen early, showered, and left to start on the list of things she had to do for the day.

  The rest of us were witches with a plan. With lots to do and not a lot of time to do it, we all grabbed a bagel and a caffeinated beverage from Paranormally Delicious, the coffee shop in the Winston Hall dormitory lounge and met outside in the quad.

  It was a crisp spring morning as we sipped our warm drinks on the low, rock wall surrounding the quad. I pulled my zip-up hoodie tighter around my waist and exalted in the deliciousness of my macchiato. Not only did the drink feel good warming my insides, but the cup warmed my hands nicely as well. I looked down at the cup. Hocus Pocus, I need coffee to focus, read the black scrolling print on the cup. I smiled.

  When Alba pushed her way through the doors, Holly, Jax, and I stood up. “Let’s go,” she said. Her brusque tone told us she was in business mode, as we all were. If we were going to figure out how to reunite Mr. Bailey’s spirit with Mr. Bailey’s body, we were going to need to get serious about it and fast.

  I led the pack in silence down the sidewalk. Our destination wasn’t far.

  “How do we know where to start?” asked Holly through a small mouthful of bagel.

  I turned around to face her as I walked. “We’re starting at Hallowed Hall.”

  “Well, duh.”

  I shrugged and turned back around. “You asked.”