I nodded vehemently. I still didn’t believe a small bottle of liquid would really make me thin, but I was really getting caught up in her sales technique. She was pretty darn good.
“I promise. I will follow your directions to a tee.”
She stared into my eyes for a few seconds. “Okay, I’ll write them down. If you have any… complications with the potion, though, call me immediately.”
“What do you mean by complications?” I asked.
“Well, something more than the typical side effects. Tyler, could you go help that customer over there?” she said, pointing towards a young girl looking at charms.
“Sure,” he said, leaving the counter.
I narrowed my eyes. “What kinds of side effects are typical?”
“Upset stomach, headaches, heartburn. Those are typical. But if there is anything else, call me.”
“Okay, how much?”
“Well, how much do you have?” she asked.
I laughed. “Well, I have ten dollars.”
“That’s how much it is,” she answered, holding out her hand.
I pulled out the money my mother had given me and she rang up the sale. She then wrapped the bottle in tissue paper and stared at me with concern. “I’m not sure why you want to do this; you’re a lovely young girl.”
I lowered my voice. “No offense, but you’re thin and probably don’t understand what it’s like when you look like me.”
Her eyes softened. “Listen, Kendra, you are a very pretty girl and I seriously don’t think you need to lose weight,” she said.
“Thank you, but I’m getting really tired of being teased at school about my weight,” I whispered. “And if this bottle can help me, even a little…”
She sighed and pulled out a pen and paper. “Okay, fine. Kids are cruel, I get that. Just, follow these directions,” she replied, writing them down. “And don’t take any more than what this says.”
“I will and… thanks.”
She folded the up the directions and slid it into the bag. “You’re welcome. Just remember to be very careful.”
I nodded. “I will.”
Smiling, she handed me the potion. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope you’ll stop by after you’ve taken the potion, so I can see the results.”
“I will, thanks,” I said, feeling giddy.
Just then another customer looking at old books motioned for Rebecca. “Oh, I gotta go. Call the store if you need me for anything,” she said, squeezing my shoulder as she walked away.
“Goodbye.”
I waved to Tyler, who was still assisting the young girl, who was now gazing at him like he was some kind of celebrity. He excused himself and walked back over to me while she watched him with open adoration.
“Looks like you’ve made an admirer,” I teased.
He turned back towards the girl, who blushed and looked away. He smiled and then turned to me. “So, my mom cautioned you about the potion?”
“Yeah and I’ll be fine.”
Sighing, he walked me to the door. “You know, I really wish you’d just believe it when I say you don’t need to change. You look great now.”
My cheeks turned crimson, all this talk about my weight was beginning to make me uncomfortable. “Um, well thanks. I guess I’d better get going. So, see you on the bus?”
He nodded. “Sure, see you tomorrow.”
Who knows, maybe you’ll see less of me by then, I thought with a little smile.
As I walked out of the store, I had this crazy feeling that I was being watched. I stopped and looked around, but didn’t notice anyone paying me any mind.
“Enchanter,” whispered a gentle breeze against my ear.
I turned towards the sound of the voice, but found myself still alone on the sidewalk.
“Witchhh…” the voice hissed into my other ear.
Okay, I’m going crazy, I thought, twisting back around again.
Nobody.
With my heart hammering in my chest, I clutched my bag tightly and hurried away.
Chapter Seven
I didn’t slow down until I was about two blocks from home and I heard someone call my name.
I groaned.
Megan.
I’d forgotten all about her invitation.
She was sitting on her porch, drinking what appeared to be tall glass of lemonade. She smiled and waved me over.
“Hi. Where are the other girls?” I asked, climbing the old wooden steps.
“Oh, they left a while ago.”
“Look, I’m sorry I’m late,” I said. “I stopped by that new shop on Main Street, ‘Secrets’, and lost track of time.”
“Oh, I totally understand. I’ve been there; it has some really cool things.”
I nodded.
“You didn’t happen to see Tyler there, did you?”
“Yes, actually, his mother owns that shop.”
“Fascinating,” she said, twirling a long black strand of hair around her finger. With her large chocolate eyes and perfect cheekbones, I knew I wouldn’t have much of a chance against someone as pretty as her if she was setting her sights on Tyler.
“Um, so I only have a little while,” I said, wanting to get off the subject of Tyler.
“Come on then,” she said, waving me inside of her house, which, honestly, looked like it had been built in the eighteen hundreds and hadn’t been painted or fixed up since then, either. It was kind of creepy-looking and I knew that some of the younger children in the neighborhood were frightened of it, saying that it looked haunted. To me, it just looked old and worn.
“You have a massive home,” I said as we walked inside.
She smiled. “Yeah. We inherited this monstrosity from my grandmother. You can get lost inside of this place if you’re not careful.”
“I bet,” I said. The house had to be over four thousand square feet. “You must have had fun playing hide-and-seek here as a child.”
Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, oh, my God, it was a blast! My cousins and I would hide and sometimes it would take over an hour to find someone.”
I smiled. “Cool.”
We walked through several candlelit rooms and I noticed that most of the furniture was covered with sheets, which I thought was kind of odd, since they were living in the house.
“It keeps the dust off,” she remarked, noticing my confusion.
“Oh.”
“You know, it’s just me and my mother, unless we have guests, then she takes the sheets off.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I said. “A big house like this, I totally understand.”
“Yeah, it’s a bitch to clean, too, especially that room,” she said as we passed a small, cluttered library. “Thankfully I’m only responsible for my bedroom.”
“This place is so big, it would take forever to dust and polish all of these floors,” I stated, noticing that most of it was hardwood.
“Watch where you’re walking,” said Megan, as two cats raced by, chasing each other. “My mother has ten cats running around here somewhere.”
“Hi there,” I said to a tabby who’d brushed up against my leg before taking off to follow the other two cats.
“My room’s upstairs,” said Megan as we neared the staircase.
“So, um, where’s your mom?” I asked.
“Oh, she’s probably around… somewhere.”
We went up the old winding stairway and down two more hallways until we finally reached her room. “Come on in,” she said, opening the door with a secretive smile.
I gasped when I entered her bedroom; it was so different from the rest of the house.
She smiled at my shock. “I know, right?”
As I stepped onto her plush cream carpeting, I stared in awe at all of the modern décor in a room that was twice the size of mine. Basically, it was the coolest bedroom, I’d ever seen.
“Pottery Barn,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “Gotta love them.”
“This room is amazing,” I said, staring at her large flat-screen television, which was bigger than the one in our living room. “I’m so jealous.”
Even the walls were cool. One was the color of sapphire, and as I stepped closer, I noticed that someone had painted tiny, intricate stars that glittered almost… magically.
“Who painted your wall?” I asked, amazed at the details of each of each star.
“One of my aunts did it. Gemma, she’s an artist.”
“Awesome.”
Next to that wall was an enormous platform bed with a velvety blue and black comforter. Plush pillows were scattered all over it, along with a black cat, who eyed me suspiciously.
“This is Willy,” she said, motioning towards the cat. “He’s mine.”
“Hi, Willy,” I said, offering a friendly smile.
He stood up, stretched his legs, and then jumped off the bed and pressed up against my legs.
She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, he likes you,” she said. “He doesn’t like anyone.”
I bent down and scratched his fur while he purred happily.
“I’ve got to get me one of those,” I said, admiring the plush white leather chaise that sat next to her bedroom window.
“Go ahead, take her for a spin.”
“Thanks,” I said, sinking into the cool leather. I closed my eyes and smiled. “Oh, wow, this is freaken’ amazing. I’m so jealous.”
“Sometimes I fall asleep in it and don’t wake up until the next morning.”
“I bet.”
Willy jumped on my lap and made himself at home.
“So,” she said, staring at me as I pet her cat. “Did you find anything at Secrets?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t about to tell her I’d purchased a bottle of potion to make myself thinner.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” she answered. “I’ve purchased quite a few items since they’ve opened.”
“Oh?”
She nodded. “Yes, one must be prepared for anything, you know.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant but I agreed.
“I saw your sister with Mark today,” she said, getting onto her bed. She lay on her stomach and rested her chin on her hands, watching me. “I was really surprised.”
“I know. I can’t stand him.”
She nodded. “That was one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you. Mark.”
“Oh?”
Her eyes hardened. “He’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“He’s into… witchcraft.”
I laughed. “What is all of this talk of witchcraft today? It seems like everyone I talk to has something to say about it.”
“You live in Bayport. What do you expect?”
“So,” I said, watching her closely. “I heard that you’re a witch.”
I expected her to burst out laughing but she only shrugged. “Oh, who said that?”
“Some of the girls at school.”
She rolled her eyes. “God, I hate gossipers.”
“You and me both,” I said.
She stared past me but didn’t answer.
“So,” I said, changing the subject. “Mark is dangerous, huh?”
“Definitely. He has a bad aura about him.”
“What’s an aura?”
“Basically, it’s the energy he produces, and it’s connected to his personality. Mark’s is black. Really black.”
“Oh,” I said. “I’m assuming that’s pretty bad.”
“Yes,” she said, sitting up. “So, if you care about your sister, keep her away from him.”
There was a soft knock on the door. “Megan,” called a woman’s voice.
Megan rolled her eyes again. “What, mother?”
Megan’s mother walked into the bedroom. She was an older version of Megan, but with permanent worry lines on her forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know you had a guest.”
“Well,” I said. “I really have to be leaving anyway.”
“How’s your mother doing?” asked Megan’s mother.
“Um, good I guess,” I said, surprised that she’d asked about her.
She smiled at me. “Could you please tell her that Adele says ‘hello’?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded and turned back to Megan. “I should probably get going now. It’s getting late and my mom’s going to get worried. Sorry I couldn’t stay very long.”
Megan stood up. “Another time maybe?”
I smiled. “Definitely.”
She walked me back through the house to the front door and handed me something.
“It’s my phone number,” she said. “If you ever run into any problems with Mark, call me. Seriously.”
“Uh, okay, thanks,” I said.
She closed the door behind me, and as I walked away, I glanced back towards the house. Staring down at me from one of the windows above, was Adele. Before I could raise my hand to wave goodbye, she vanished into thin air.
I’m losing it, I thought, as I turned on my heel and walked home.
Chapter Eight
“Where’ve you been?” asked my sister as I walked in the door. It was almost six o’clock.
I shrugged. “I went shopping and then stopped at a friend’s house.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You went shopping?”
I nodded. “Yes. Enough about me, what’s going on with you and Mark?”
Kala smiled. “I’m not sure yet. He’s super sweet, though.”
“He’s as sweet as a moldy lemon,” I muttered.
“Whatever,” she said. “He invited me to a party this weekend and mom said I could go.”
My jaw dropped. “A party? Really?”
“Um, yeah, she said it was fine – if you come with us.”
I snorted. “Fat chance of that.”
“Oh, please?” she pouted, following me as I walked towards our bedroom. “She seriously won’t let me go if you don’t come with us. Pretty please? I’ll do anything.”
“Kala, any party that Mark’s going to will be trouble.”
She scowled. “What do you mean?”
“Come on! You’ve heard the stories from last year. You know there’s probably going to be alcohol and drugs. I heard Mark’s a total lush.”
“No, he doesn’t drink anymore. I asked him.”
I snorted. “Right…”
“Listen, if I don’t go to this party, my friends will think I’m lame, and I’ll never live it down. Please go with me? I will do anything, absolutely anything!”
I sighed.
“This could be good for you, too, Kendra! If people get to know you, they might be nicer to you at school. Come on, I’ve never asked you for anything.”
She was right about that. My sister was always offering to do things for me and never asked for anything in return.
I owed her.
I sighed. “Fine, I’ll go, but if anyone is rude to me or I see something I don’t like at this party, we’re leaving.”
She squealed and gave me a hug. “Thank you! We are going to have such a blast!”
Something told me I’d be regretting this decision, but I bit my tongue and decided to hope for the best.
~~~
“So, how was your shopping experience?” asked my mom during dinner.
“It was okay,” I answered. “I also stopped by Megan’s on the way home and her mom Adele said to say ‘hi’.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, okay.”
“I didn’t know you even knew Megan’s mom.”
“I really don’t,” she answered and then stood up. “Does anyone want seconds on the casserole?”
“Uh, no thanks, mom,” I said, not really caring for the tofu surprise that night.
“Megan and her family are really weird,” said Kala.
“Megan seemed pretty nice,” I replied.
“Not very hungry tonight?” asked mom, pointing to my plate.
“Sorry,�
�� I said. “I’m just not into tofu, mom.”
“It’s so much healthier for you.”
“Mom, it’s gross,” I said.
She turned to Kala. “So, you actually managed to talk your sister into going to this party, huh?”
Kala’s eyes lit up. “Yes. I spoke to Mark and he’s picking us up around seven on Saturday. I’m so pumped.”
“Just make sure he gets you both home by midnight.”
“Midnight?” pouted Kala. “Nobody leaves a party by midnight. Besides, we’re eighteen now!”
“I don’t care. Your curfew is midnight until you graduate, then you can stay out later.”
“Fine,” mumbled Kala.
“And I want to meet Mark before he brings you girls to this party.”
Kala’s face looked stricken. “Oh, God, mom. Don’t make me drag him in here with all of the daycare stuff lying around. I’d die of total embarrassment if he walked into this place.”
My mom frowned. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed about my line of work. It’s the only way we can keep this place. If he’s turned off because of how or where you live, he’s definitely not worth seeing.”
Kala sighed. “Can’t you just meet him outside? I’m sure he’ll be in a hurry to get going, and it would only take a minute to talk to him anyway.”
Her eyes narrowed. “We’ll see. I’d rather him be the gentleman and come into the house to introduce himself.”
“It’s not the seventies or eighties, mom. Guys don’t do that anymore.”
“That’s the problem,” sighed my mom. “Nobody has manners anymore.”
“Especially Mark,” I said mumbled under my breath.
“What was that, Kendra?” mom asked.
“Nothing. Can I be excused?”
“Sure. Make sure you hit the sack earlier tonight so I don’t have to drag you out of bed again tomorrow,” she answered as I walked away from the dining room.
I hurried upstairs to my room and took out the bottle I’d purchased from “Secrets” and the note from Rebecca. The instructions said “one droplet only.”
I carefully opened the bottle and squeezed some into the dropper she’d given me.
“Bottoms up,” I whispered.
The potion was really bitter as it went down and I shuddered.
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