The Magic Mistake

by Barbara Brauner

  Paige and I run down the empty hallway shouting, “STOP THE WEDDING!”

  We reach the cafeteria door and fling it open. We both shout at once: “Stop the wedding!”

  Katarina and Sunny turn, stunned, but Gina (Sunny’s mother, Gina—this is getting confusing!), the coach, and the minister don’t even look at me—the spells I put on them are too strong.

  The minister keeps droning on—and he’s reached the part near the end where he says, “If any of you can show just cause why Coach Overdale and Sunny’s mother may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else forever hold your peace.”

  I shout at the top of my lungs, “I OBJECT! THIS IS THE WRONG GINA! THE COACH IS SUPPOSED TO MARRY PRINCIPAL NAZARINO!”

  The minister still doesn’t pay any attention to me. “All right. Since there are no objections, we may proceed with the vows.”

  Sunny runs up and tries to yank Gina away, but Gina stands as still as a stone. Because of the love spell, she wants to get married, and she’s not going to budge till she does. “Mom, don’t do this!” Sunny begs her, but Gina doesn’t even seem to hear.

  Paige waves her hands in front of the coach’s face and yells, “Coach! Snap out of it!” She might as well be invisible.

  The minister asks, “Do you, Coach Overdale, take Sunny’s mother to be—”

  I shout, “We’ve got to stop this before he says, ‘I do!’”

  Katarina flies over and dive-bombs the minister’s head, but he just swats her away like a pesky bug.

  The minister continues: “…your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold…”

  What am I going to do?

  “…as long as you both shall live?”

  Coach Overdale takes a deep breath and says, “I—OOOOOFFFFFF!!!!”

  The ooofff is because I just hit him on the head with a plastic garbage can. Garbage spills all over the floor.

  The can doesn’t knock the coach down the way I hoped it would. He just bobbles a little and turns back to the minister and says, “I—”

  Then I see a Tic Tac box on the floor. A familiar Tic Tac box. I grab it.

  “WAIT!” I yell, waving the box in front of the coach’s face. I tell him, “You’re about to kiss the bride. It’s the most important kiss of your entire life. Don’t you want your breath to be minty fresh?”

  The coach blinks at me, thinking.

  Sunny and Paige look at me like I’ve gone crazy, and I motion to them to hold their noses.

  Just like I hoped he would, the coach puts a hand up to his mouth, sniffs his own breath, and frowns. He takes the Tic Tac box away from me and pops it open right in front of his face.

  There’s a whoosh of air, and he gets blasted by the smell of an entire cafeteria’s worth of tuna-roni and feet.

  The coach stumbles backward, trips over the garbage can, and wham! He hits his head against the wall and falls to the ground.

  As the tuna-roni/feet smell floats over the room like a dark cloud, Gina and the minister start coughing. The stink was bad before, but now that it’s been cooped up in a little plastic box, it’s a hundred times worse.

  The minister covers his face with his hands and lurches out the back door.

  Gina looks like she’s about to throw up (the smell is that bad), so Sunny leads her outside, too.

  Paige and I kneel down to look at the coach. “He’s out cold,” Paige says.

  I pat his cheeks. “Wake up! Wake up!”

  Katarina fans him with her wings, but his eyelids don’t even flicker.

  So Paige and I grab his feet and drag him out of the smelly room. He weighs a ton, and his head keeps clunking on the floor, but we finally get him outside onto the lawn.

  Nearby, Sunny sits on a bench with Gina, who’s got her head between her knees as she tries not to puke. “Is the coach all right?” Sunny asks.

  I shake the coach’s shoulders. “Come on! Wake up!” He just lies there, not moving.

  The minister walks up and asks him: “Do you take Sunny’s mother to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  Paige says, “He can’t hear you.”

  “Oh, how silly of me.” So the minister leans down and shouts as loud as he can: “DO YOU TAKE SUNNY’S MOTHER TO BE YOUR LAWFULLY WEDDED WIFE?”

  Katarina, floating nearby, grumbles, “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

  I tell Paige, “Take the minister over to the bench and try to make him be quiet.”

  She nods at me and leads the minister away, telling him, “We can’t finish the ceremony right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the coach isn’t feeling well.”

  “Why?”

  “He just isn’t.”

  “Why?”

  This could go on all night.

  I pat the coach’s cheeks again. He still doesn’t wake up. “The coach needs a doctor—where’s your dad?” I ask Paige.

  “He’s probably already in the car, waiting for me. I’ll get him.” She starts to get up, but the minister grabs her hand and says, “Why?”

  “I’ll get your dad,” I say.

  As I run to the parking lot, I pass Principal Nazarino. She’s leaning against her car, and her eyes are red from crying. “Lacey, what’s happening?”

  I stop long enough to tell her, “I’ve got to get Dr. Harrington. There’s something wrong with the coach!”

  Principal Nazarino claps her hands over her mouth, shocked. “Where is he?” she asks.

  I point back to the cafeteria and start running again.

  When I reach Dr. Harrington’s car, he’s inside checking his e-mails. Thank goodness! I pound on the window and shout, “Come quick! We need your help!”

  It only takes a minute for Dr. Harrington and me to get back to the lawn in front of the cafeteria.

  We find Principal Nazarino sitting on the ground holding the coach’s hand. “Brian, wake up! I know I was mad at you, but I love you.”

  Dr. Harrington kneels and checks the coach’s pulse. Then he gently pushes back one of the coach’s eyelids with his thumb and gets a worried look on his face. I couldn’t have truly hurt him, could I? I look over and see Katarina perched on a tree branch, also looking worried. Oh, geez.

  Paige’s dad stands up and says, “I’ll be right back. I’ve got an emergency kit in my car.”

  Katarina opens up her notebook and starts writing. She mutters, “This is really not going to look good in my report to the Godmother Academy.”

  She is so helpful.

  While we wait for Dr. Harrington to come back with the emergency kit, Principal Nazarino sits by the coach, her eyes full of tears. “Brian, wake up! Wake up!” But he doesn’t seem to hear.

  This is horrible!

  Principal Nazarino whispers, “Brian, please wake up! I love you!” She leans down and kisses him on the lips.

  And a moment later—a wonderful moment later—the coach’s eyes open, and he smiles.

  A pink light shines down on them, and streamers and confetti fall from the sky. The coach sits up, and he and Principal Nazarino hug like they never want to let each other go.

  “What’s happening?” I ask Katarina.

  Katarina clasps her hands and sighs. “It’s something very rare! It’s true love’s kiss! Principal Razapino broke your idiotic spell with her love.”

  “You mean Nazarino?”

  “Whatever.”

  On the bench, Gina—Sunny’s mother Gina—looks at Sunny, bewildered. “Have I been sleepwalking? I’ve been having the strangest dream!” The kiss must have broken the spell on her, too. (But not on the minister, who’s still smiling goofily. He’ll be stuck that way till midnight.)

  Sunny studies her mother’s face and smiles. “Mom! You’re back!” Gina flings her arms around Sunny and gives her a big, happy hug.

  Sunny’s mom doesn’t notice—but I do—when the engagement ring that the coach gave her slips off her finger.

  Plink, plink, roll! The ring bounces its way right to the coach’s feet. H
e picks it up and looks at it, surprised.

  Principal Nazarino asks him, “What’s that?”

  “It’s my grandmother’s engagement ring.”

  The coach helps Principal Nazarino to her feet, then goes down on one knee. “Gina Nazarino, will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  He slips the ring on her finger, and they kiss. I thought the other proposal was the most romantic thing I’d ever seen, but that was just love-spell playacting compared to this. This kiss is epic.

  The coach tells Principal Nazarino, “I don’t want to wait! Let’s fly to Las Vegas tonight and get married!”

  A little of the light goes out of her eyes. Oh no. Las Vegas may have Elvis, but I’m pretty sure it won’t have Principal Nazarino’s dream wedding.

  I look at the clock on the school sign—it’s 8:32. That gives us fifty-one minutes before the official time of the full moon, at 9:23. I can still give Principal Nazarino her dream wedding. We’ve got the groom, and we’ve got the minister.

  But then I stop myself. Part of the reason I wanted to make the wedding work is that it was Sunny’s mother’s dream. I would be doing it for her, and I would also be doing it for Sunny. And it made being sent away to the Academy seem almost worth it.

  But I don’t even know Principal Nazarino—not really. She’s just a woman who yells at me when I run in the hall at school. Do I really care if she gets her dream wedding?

  If I don’t complete my fairy-godmother assignment, everyone on earth will hate me. But I won’t have to go away to the Academy, and I can stay in my room and never go out. It won’t be very nice, but at least I’ll still be with my family. And maybe, somehow, I’ll be able to fix the hating part later on.

  It’s not my fault the fairies gave Principal Nazarino a fairy-godmother-in-training who’s not very good: me. And it’s not my fault she’ll be miserable for the rest of her life because she doesn’t get her dream wedding.

  Oh, wait. It is my fault.

  I look at Principal Nazarino’s face as she tells the coach, “I think Las Vegas would be okay.” But she doesn’t look happy about it.

  She’s not just a principal who yells at me, she’s a person whose life I’m about to ruin. So, when Principal Nazarino puts on a brave smile and says, “Brian, let’s go to Vegas. Who needs a wedding dress?” I have to jump in.

  “You do,” I say.

  Katarina goes, “Phew!” like she’s been holding her breath the whole time I’ve been deciding.

  I grab the principal’s hand. “I really, really need to talk to you.”

  “Can’t it wait?”

  “No! Please, this will only take a second! It’s an emergency!”

  Principal Nazarino has been hearing kids talk to her about their emergencies for years—and what makes her a good principal is that she listens to them. She tells the coach, “I’ll be right back.”

  And I lead her away.

  Principal Nazarino and I stand behind a school bus, where no one can see us, while Katarina flutters in the shadows.

  The principal asks me, “All right, Lacey. What’s this about?”

  I curtsy and give the standard fairy-godmother speech: “Greetings and salutations! I am your fairy godmother! Not every girl receives this boon, but you are one of the lucky few!”

  Katarina, hovering behind the principal’s head, gives me a thumbs-up.

  Principal Nazarino raises an eyebrow.

  “I know it sounds crazy—” I say.

  “Yes, it does. But I’ll be happy to meet with you about it on Monday.”

  Katarina frowns and gives me a thumbs-down.

  I could stand here arguing with Principal Nazarino all night, but she still wouldn’t believe me. So I pull my wand out of the pocket of my basketball shorts and chant, “Time for the dress, so we’ll have success!”

  The principal’s plain white blouse, sweater, and gray skirt swirl with magic sparkles, and I stand back, waiting for the elegant Grecian wedding dress to appear. But this time, instead of just white sparkles, there are also bands of pink and red. The sparkles disappear with a flash of light, leaving behind a wedding dress.

  Uh-oh. It’s not the tasteful white wedding dress I expected. It’s an over-the-top, princessy dress with a poufy net skirt, pink lace, and a lot of big embroidered red roses. It’s the dress Madison picked out! This is awful!

  Principal Nazarino pats the dress, her mouth hanging open. “How did you do this?”

  “I told you: I’m your fairy godmother.”

  The principal looks around. “Is this for a TV show? Where’s the camera?”

  I take her hand. “No, Principal Nazarino. There’s no camera. I’m telling you the truth. Your dream is for a perfect wedding with your true love, and my job is to give it to you. I’m sorry that the dress isn’t quite right.”

  I point to her reflection in a school-bus window, and she stares. It’s the first time she’s seen how she looks in the dress.

  “OMG!” she says, sounding exactly like one of us kids.

  “Maybe I can change it,” I say.

  “Change it? It’s what I’ve dreamed of my whole life!” She twirls around, looking at her reflection. And she’s smiling!

  She finally tells me, “I saw a wedding dress like this when I was five years old, and I told everybody, ‘When I get married, this is the one I want.’ And here it is. How did you know?”

  I didn’t know. There must be some fairy-godmother magic going on that I don’t understand yet. I guess that’s what the hundred years of school is for.

  Principal Nazarino doesn’t wait for an answer. She just hugs me and says, “Of course you know. You’re my fairy godmother!” With her glowing, smiling face, somehow the dress isn’t over the top anymore. It’s as beautiful as something out of a fairy tale.

  I ask her, “You do want to get married tonight?”

  She frowns a little. “You mean in Las Vegas?”

  “No! Here! Just to make sure…Your true love is Coach Overdale?”

  She nods enthusiastically. At least I got that right.

  I tell her, “Everything is ready. Wait till you see how beautiful the wedding chapel is.”

  Katarina coughs loudly and shakes her head.

  Principal Nazarino whirls, sees the fluttering fairy, and gasps.

  “That’s my assistant,” I say. “Katarina, is there something you wanted to tell me?”

  Annoyed at her new job title, Katarina points a finger at the cafeteria. “Somebody set off a stink bomb in the wedding chapel, remember?”

  Principal Nazarino looks outraged. “Who did that?”

  Katarina points at me. “It was a certain fairy godmother I know.”

  Oh, geez. Katarina’s right! There’s no way the cafeteria is going to work. I’ll never be able to find another place before the full moon!

  Now I wish I’d stuck with my plan to have the wedding in the park. There wouldn’t have been a smell problem there.

  Wait a minute. Why not have it in the park? I tap my cheek, thinking. I’d need to go there first and magically decorate it for the wedding. Then Sunny and Paige could walk over with Coach Overdale and the minister—it’s only two blocks away. But Principal Nazarino shouldn’t have to walk—not on her wedding day, and not in high heels!

  In a fancy wedding, doesn’t the bride arrive in a limo? I look around the parking lot and see Sunny’s mom’s Hyundai, parked sideways, just the way we left it. I raise my wand and chant, “The bride needs a ride!”

  The Hyundai stretches, and stretches, and stretches, with its paint turning from faded red to shiny black. I didn’t know a limousine could have that many windows.

  I walk to the car and open the back door with a flourish. “Principal Nazarino, your carriage awaits!”

  As she gets in, Principal Nazarino says, “This car is bigger than my entire apartment!”

  Katarina looks at the limo and shakes her head.

  “What’s wrong now?” I ask.


  “She can wait in there all she wants. But without a driver, she’s not going to get very far.”

  “We’ve got a driver,” I say. I start whistling and calling: “Fifi! Fifi! Here, girl!”

  A moment later, the bushes at the edge of the parking lot shake, and Fifi bursts out of them and runs up to us in her spike heels. “’Ave you zeen ze squirrel?”

  “No, Fifi. I need you to drive a bride to a wedding.”

  Fifi’s whole body shakes like she’s wagging an invisible tail.

  Two minutes later, I run into the school parking lot to find my family. The school’s clock says it’s 8:46. I need to get this show on the road.

  Some of the people in the crowd have left after the basketball game, but there are still groups scattered around talking.

  I see Mom, Dad, and Madison waiting by our car. Mom says, “There you are, Lacey! Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been…helping plan a wedding.”

  Dad smiles. “Is it a mascot wedding? Is the Bridemonster marrying the Grizzly?”

  “No! Principal Nazarino is marrying Coach Overdale in the park!”

  I must be saying it a little louder than I meant to, because suddenly everybody in the parking lot turns to look at me.

  Mrs. Brinker rushes over. “Lacey, are you serious?”

  Mr. Griffith walks over, too. “What’s this about somebody getting married?”

  And before I know it, I’m surrounded by people. I was just going to get my family—but now that I think about it, it would be nice having a lot of people at the wedding.

  So I climb up on the bumper of Dad’s car and shout, loud enough for the whole parking lot to hear, “Everybody! I have an announcement to make! I want to invite you all to the surprise wedding of Principal Nazarino and Coach Overdale!”

  “Students, too?” Martin Shembly asks.

  “Anybody who wants to come! Everybody, start walking to Fountain Park!”

  But I don’t walk to the park—I run.

  At 9:12 p.m., dozens of people have gathered in the park for the wedding of Principal Gina Nazarino and Coach Brian Overdale.