W.H.O. Files: Potions in the Pizza

by Mikey Brooks

  “You know, I have to admit, this doesn’t look fishy at all,” Ethan whispered. “I’ve been looking around and nothing seems like it doesn’t belong in a kitchen. Where’re all the potion bottles and stuff?”

  Jax shrugged. They heard a clamor of pans behind them. They turned around to the wall, where a triple stainless steel sink sat. One of the sinks was filled to the brim with soapy bubbles. A figure was lifting pans and dunking them into the sink. Bubbles and water went everywhere. Ethan did a double take. The dishwasher was none other than Robbie Maser.

  Ethan cleared his throat, ready to say something to the bully, but he stopped when Robbie looked at them. If there was any doubt in Ethan’s mind that the lunch ladies were witches it was long gone. Robbie Maser’s eyes glowed a sickly green. Robbie looked past Ethan and Jax as if they were invisible, and went back to washing pans.

  “Here’s some more that need scrubbing,” Luna said, setting a pile of silver bowls next to the pans. Robbie nodded but said nothing. Luna looked up, catching Ethan and Jax staring. “Hi boys, I see you’ve met our dishwasher. He’s really lousy at it, but it keeps him out of trouble. Are you almost finished unloading the truck? I have some yummy brownies that are just begging to be sampled.”

  Ethan was at a loss for words. They’d discovered Robbie wasn’t a bullfrog or some other reptile. The lunch ladies had turned him into a dishwasher—some sort of zombie dishwasher. Although the punishment seemed fitting for the bully, Ethan wondered how long they’d kept him scrubbing dishes. He remembered them giggling as they mentioned having a dishwasher, as if it were some sort of practical joke to have someone under a spell like that. Did they let him go home at night? Did they even let him go to the bathroom?

  Something glinted, and Ethan’s eyes were drawn to something else. He stared at the platinum blonde witch in a sort of daze. He had just noticed her immaculate bun was held up with a long golden stick—a stick that looked a lot like a wand.

  Chapter Twenty: The Dark Sorcerer’s Daughter

  Miss LeBeau had seemed overly concerned with Emmy ever since she walked into class. Emmy tried to reassure her that she was fine, but Miss LeBeau treated her like a cracked china doll. The class went on as it normally did as Miss LeBeau answered questions about her travels throughout Europe. Emmy tried to listen but was lost in her thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about all the secrets she had unearthed.

  This is all Ethan’s fault. Had he just listened to me when I told him to stay out of the lair, I wouldn’t have tried to kill Papa Washington, and I wouldn’t have missed school yesterday. Emmy paused her thoughts when she realized she was complaining about missing school. Oh, no! I’ve turned into a school geek.

  “Emmy, are you all right?”

  Emmy refocused her eyes. Miss LeBeau was staring at her. Emmy gave a quick nod, trying to ignore the feeling of embarrassment. How long was I zoned out?

  Miss LeBeau answered her question. “The lunch bell rang a few minutes ago. Are you sure you’re feeling all right? I know you were ill yesterday—”

  “I’m fine,” Emmy lied, jumping up from her desk. She reached under her chair and pulled out her sack lunch. Miss LeBeau smiled, motioning toward the chair next to her desk. Emmy sat down.

  Miss LeBeau sipped from her water bottle before turning to Emmy. “The Halloween party is on Friday. Have you decided what you’re wearing?”

  “I’m still trying to decide. Hannah, Maddie, and Abby are all going as Cleopatra, but I want to be something different.”

  “I see your friends really enjoyed our discussion on the witch queen.”

  Emmy flinched at the word “witch.” She knew she better get used to hearing it. It was Halloween for crying out loud. Every other word she would hear for the next few days would be witch.

  “Emmy, are you okay?”

  Emmy didn’t know how to respond. She was tired of all the secrets and worried about her parents. All this talk about witches was confusing her. She wished she could talk to someone about it, but Hannah or Abigail would think she was crazy, and besides, she was part of the family secret. She hadn’t sworn an oath but her parents had, and she knew how they would feel if she said anything about it.

  Emmy shrugged and Miss LeBeau’s eyebrows lifted.

  “You know, Emmy, not all witches are bad.” Miss LeBeau’s voice was speaking soft, almost reverent. “There are some who have tried to do good in the world.”

  “I was told there is no such thing as a good witch. That all the good witches only appear in storybooks.”

  Miss LeBeau gave a slight smile. “Oh, chérie, even storybooks have a hint of truth to them. Can you imagine a soul that is incapable of doing good? Look at Cleopatra, for example. She was a great ruler. She was a wise and powerful witch, yet she did all she could to keep her people safe. She tried to align Egypt with Rome because she saw safety for her people under their protection. Yet, Rome would not accept her. There is always someone willing to paint an ugly image over the beauty of a witch.”

  “But Cleopatra was known for being beautiful. No one made her look ugly.”

  “Ah, mais le fait, but they did.” Miss LeBeau leaned in close and Emmy could smell her peppermint breath. “Emmy, do you recall what happened to Cleopatra?”

  Emmy thought back to the discussion they had on the witch queen. “She killed herself, right? She used some sort of snake?”

  “History tells us that she used an asp, a very poisonous Egyptian serpent. They said she did this rather than surrender to Rome. It sounds heroic but she was very powerful, she could have stopped Rome from taking over Egypt. I believe history painted an ugly image on the witch queen. I believe she was killed because the Romans discovered what she was. They made a good witch look bad by painting suicide upon her image.”

  “So Cleopatra was murdered? How do you know that?”

  “There are some, Emmy, who are privileged to know the history of witches—lost books as it were, detailing the true events of the past. Not all witches are bad, Emmy, just misunderstood.”

  Emmy nodded. What Miss LeBeau said made sense. Half of the time Emmy got into trouble it wasn’t her fault. People around her just misunderstood. Could witches be the same way? Emmy thought back to what she’d discovered about the W.H.O. The hunters used magic to break and capture witches, yet that went against what they fought for. It was all so confusing.

  “Emmy, you still look worried about something,” Miss LeBeau said. Emmy wanted to spill everything right then and there. She loved Miss LeBeau. She felt closer to her than any of her friends. Miss LeBeau had always been kind and honest, always wanting to help.

  “It’s nothing,” Emmy lied. She felt horrible for saying it, but she couldn’t tell Miss LeBeau the truth. The family secret wasn’t hers to tell. “I guess I’m just still trying to decide what to wear. I want to look special and different.”

  “You could always go as a ballerina,” Miss LeBeau offered with a smile. “I know how much you adore the ballet.”

  Emmy smiled at the idea. She could imagine herself in a pink tutu dancing around the gym floor while the kids dressed as monsters watched her every movement in awe. “I like that idea. Although, I don’t have a tutu.”

  “Ne tu inquiétez pas, don’t you worry. I have just the thing at home. I will bring it tomorrow and you can wear it for the party.”

  “What does it look like?” Emmy asked, excited.

  “I played the role of Odette in Swan Lake and I happen to have one of the costumes. I think it is about your size. I was much smaller then.”

  Emmy’s heart skipped a beat. She was going to be able to wear one of Miss LeBeau’s costumes—a costume that had been worn on a stage for a real ballet production! Emmy stood up, took first position, then spun in a pirouette. Miss LeBeau clapped. Emmy spun again.

  “I am so happy you are excited, chérie. You will look beautiful as the black swan.”

  Emmy stopped and looked at Miss LeBeau. “Bla
ck? I though Odette was a white swan?”

  “I am sorry, Emmy, I should have explained. The roles of Odette and Odile are traditionally played by the same dancer. The costume I have is Odile’s black tutu. Odile is the daughter of the dark sorcerer who enchants Odette into becoming a swan.”

  Emmy tried to erase the image of a twinkling white tutu and replace it with one of black. Suddenly, she felt her stomach cramp. An image flashed in her head. A memory from a dream? Emmy was in a field, surrounded by women in black dresses and robes. The full moon hung in the sky, bathing her in eerie light. Emmy was dressed in a black sparkling tutu standing in fifth position, her hands crowning her head, her arms framing her face.

  “Emmy?”

  The images vanished and Emmy felt light-headed. “I need to sit down.”

  “You should not have been spinning just after being sick.” Miss LeBeau helped her to a chair. “Drink some water, it will help.”

  “I’m fine, really,” Emmy said, embarrassed. “I’m not sick. I wasn’t sick. Mama J just had us all to stay home yesterday because none of us slept very well. I think I just wasn’t spotting like I should have when I did the pirouettes. I got dizzy.”

  “Yes, that is the first rule to the pirouette. I am surprised you forgot. You must be more careful so you do not fall over and break something. Let us finish our meal. I think the food will make you feel better.”

  “Thank you for letting me borrow your costume. I think even as Odile I’ll look amazing and a lot better than another Cleopatra.”

  “Emmy, you will look amazing. Perhaps I can steal you away during the party so I can watch you dance your routine in the costume? It will be my proudest moment.”

  “Really?” Emmy’s face beamed. “You think I’m ready to do the whole dance number?”

  “As long as you continue to practice, tu serai parfait, you’ll be perfect.”

  Emmy couldn’t hold back the giggle of delight as she tucked into her lunch. She could hardly wait. Halloween was going to be the greatest night of her life.

  Chapter Twenty-One: Attack of the Ninjas

  Ethan spotted Emmy coming out of her classroom and he raced over to her, excited to share what they’d found. “Em, we found out where the witches keep their wands,” he whispered as kids pushed past them in the hallway. “We need to have a team meeting.”

  “Team meeting?” she asked, sounding confused.

  “Yeah, you, me, and Jax. We have to discuss what we’re going to do now.”

  “I can’t have a meeting now. I have to go to rehearsal. Miss LeBeau wants my routine ready by Friday.” Emmy tried to sidestep him. Ethan pulled her back.

  “What are you talking about? Don’t you remember what Friday is?”

  “Duh? Halloween?” Emmy put her hands on her hips and for a split second she looked just like Mom. Ethan glared at her. “What? We can talk about this later. Besides, you and Jax have another mission to accomplish.”

  “Oh, yeah, what’s that?”

  “You’ve got to get costumes for the party.”

  “Emmy, are you coming, or what?” Madison called from down the hall.

  “I’ll be right there,” Emmy said. She turned back to Ethan and leaned in. “We’ll talk after Hannah’s mom drops me off. You have two things to accomplish before we talk. Get a costume and get Mama J to agree to be a chaperone at the party. We’ll break the witches then.”

  Emmy turned and ran down the hall, leaving Ethan angry. He didn’t understand why on earth she couldn’t put off her stupid dancing for one measly day. It was as if she didn’t care what these witches were capable of. If they could turn the biggest bully in school into some robot dishwasher, what could they do to the rest of them?

  “Dude, what’s wrong?” Jax asked. A few more kids pushed past them, heading out the main door. “Where’s Em?”

  “She’s staying to practice.” Ethan spit out the words like they were poison. Sometimes he hated his sister. She was so conceited. One day her selfishness was going to get her into trouble, and he knew he’d be there to point it out to her.

  “Did you tell her about the wands?”

  “I didn’t get a chance. She was too interested in her performance on Friday.” Ethan rolled his eyes and harrumphed. They pushed the school door open to a rainy afternoon. Oh great, as if it couldn’t get worse.

  ***

  “I like this one,” Mama J said, holding up a bright polka-dotted clown suit. “It’s cute and funny.”

  Yeah, funny-looking. Ethan couldn’t believe Mama J’s taste in Halloween costumes. It was like she thought they were toddlers or something. He was actually surprised they weren’t shopping in the little kid section. Oh, that’s too scary, too revealing, too grown-up . . .

  “What about this one?” Jax held up a mummy costume. It looked cool, but Ethan didn’t think it was practical for their mission with the witches. What if they grabbed hold of the gauze or something? After all, it comes with its own ropes. Even Robbie Maser, if he was still Robbie, could tie a kid to the flagpole wearing that. Ethan scrunched up his nose.

  Jax laughed. “I take that as a no then.”

  “You boys are too picky,” Mama J said, once again looking at bumble bee and ladybug costumes. “You know, when I was young we didn’t have fancy stores filled with all this Halloween stuff. We had to make our own.”

  “You made your own?” Jax asked.

  “Of course, baby.” Mama J ruffled Jax’s hair and put on her widest smile. “I went as a ghost, a witch, a candy bar. One year I dressed up as a nun. Never you mind why your grandmamma had black sheets—I never asked.”

  “We don’t have time to make our own costumes, Mama J,” Ethan said, half listening to what she was going off on. They needed something cool, yet easy to move in. They were witch hunters, after all.

  “What about a superhero? They have a whole wall full of them over here,” Jax called.

  “Just not any with capes. They’re a great way to get caught in a door.”

  “You could go as Elvis Presley,” Mama J offered, holding up a white costume trimmed in flashy gold sequins. “Elvis was so dreamy, and such a good dancer.”

  “I don’t have the complexion for Elvis,” Jax retorted, thumbing through some more costumes. “Besides, I can’t dance.”

  “That’s not what Emmy says,” Mama J giggled, holding out the Elvis costume again. “You could get double the usage out of this. Wear it for Halloween and the talent show.”

  Jax gave Ethan a look that was more of a cry for help. Ethan bit his bottom lip then turned to Mama J. “Uh . . . I think we’ll let Emmy handle what we’re wearing for the talent show. For all we know she has everything picked out already.”

  “And I don’t want to go as Elvis,” Jax added.

  Crestfallen, she put the Elvis costume back. “Have it your way then.”

  Ethan was thinking that maybe they should’ve had Mama J drop them off rather than come along. The Halloween store was crowded, and Ethan dreaded seeing some kid at school as Mama J held bunny costumes up to them. He was just about to give up and grab some random zombie costume when he saw the perfect outfit.

  “Hey, Jax, what about these?”

  Jax’s vacant expression was replaced by a smile. “I think those are awesome.”

  “Ninjas?” Mama J sounded like she would be promoting violence just by buying the costumes. “You sure you don’t want to keep looking around?”

  “Nope,” Ethan and Jax said in unison.

  “I guess we’re done here, then.” Mama J mumbled, hanging a puppy dog costume back up.

  Ethan smiled. “Not yet, we got to get your costume. You said you were chaperoning.”

  “Do the parents dress up too?”

  “Heck yeah,” Jax said. “Last year my teacher came dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein. She had to squat down just to get her hair through the door.”

  Now that picking out their costumes was over, Ethan
and Jax played with Mama J. They showed her all sorts of horrible costumes, from a hotdog to a belly dancer. In the end, she selected a 50s style poodle skirt and they left the Halloween store.

  Ethan couldn’t wait to get home to try on the ninja costume. He was kind of bummed that Emmy wasn’t there to shop with them. It would have been fun seeing the things she would have picked out. By the time they got back from shopping, Emmy had returned from rehearsal. Ethan could hear her up in the guest bedroom, dancing.

  “Let’s go show our costumes to Emmy,” he said, heading for the stairs.

  “I’ll be working on dinner if you kids need anything,” Mama J called.

  They ran up to Jax’s bedroom and stripped down. Ethan pulled open the plastic covering and pulled his costume out. The black, silky fabric felt soft and light. Ethan admired the intricate design on the trim before pulling it on. They admired each other’s different ninja poses. Ethan strapped his twin ninja swords to his back, and Jax twirled his sai in his hands. They looked awesome!

  Ethan pulled out his twin swords and waved them enthusiastically above his head. “Yeah, I feel like I can take down a witch wearing this.”

  “You do look pretty sick.” Jax smiled, admiring his weapons. He picked up one of the batons and ran his hand along the blade. “Did you know that real ninjas didn’t really use sai? Well, not until the ninja turtles started using them.”

  “Leave it to you to find a historical flaw in your costume. Come on, let’s go show Emmy.”

  ***

  Emmy just about had the dance routine down. She struggled a little toward the end because according to her book, she should be holding some sort of stick. The instructions didn’t say what it was but the diagram clearly showed the dancer holding it. Emmy opted for a ruler from her backpack. She’d ask Miss LeBeau about it later.

  She took first position and started over. Emmy moved her leg up into passé then spun in a pirouette. She used the small mirror on the wall as her marker. She would not allow herself to get dizzy. She flung her left leg out and then hopped onto her right. She lifted the ruler high in the air and pointed it above her head.