Parties & Potions #4 (27 page)

You Never Know

I need to do something, but what? I need to return her to the way she was before I messed her up. She needs to be Wendaline again.

I close my eyes, focus on her, and think with all my might:

As I say it, I realize it’s the truth. I miss her long hair. I miss calling her Wendaline. I miss her crazy outfits. She is who she is, and she should be proud. I’m the one who should be ashamed.

A rush of cold flows through me, and I cover my flame so it stays lit.

It works. In front of the entire witch world, Wendaline’s hair grows all the way down to her waist. Her nails go from pink to black, and her makeup gets darker. The colors of her dress get richer, her train gets longer, and her whole being seems to sparkle.

All thousand people in the audience gasp.

She seems as startled as everyone else, and looks around for an explanation. I wink.

“Thank you,” she mouths.

“I’m sorry, Wendaline,” I mouth back.

“Julio vamity,”
she says again, loud and clear.

“Julio vamity,”
we repeat, the excitement building.

“Cirella bapretty!”
she finishes, smiling. She knows this is it. We know it is too.

“CirelL bapretty!”
we call out, our voices united.

Abrakazam! The cauldron bursts into flame.

We all whoop and cheer.

I toss my hat into the air, and everyone follows.

I ask my dad to dance the first song with me, and he happily accepts. I try to teach him the surky We get all the moves wrong, but it doesn’t matter. “I’m so proud of you,” he tells me, and my spirit soars.

The singer is Robert Crowne. Twice in two weeks! How lucky am I? Not that luck has much to do with it. It’s all about magic. He must be enchanted. Or maybe he’s a warlock!

There’s a huge meal, but who can eat at a time like this? Instead, all of us witch kids (and friends of witch kids) dance our butts off and have a blast.

The only thorn in my side is that I have to talk to my cousin Liana. When I return to my table for a quick water break, she slinks up beside me.

“You’ve become quite the witch socialite, haven’t you?” she asks, flicking her long glossy hair off her shoulder.

“Not exactly,” I say.

“Where’s your boyfriend? He couldn’t make it?”

“We broke up,” I tell her.

“Really?” she asks. “He dumped you?”

“No!”

“You dumped him? I thought you really liked him.”

“I do.”

“Then why did you break up?”

An excellent question, brought to you by Liana. One I don’t have a ready answer for. “Well—” I begin.

“Hey,” she interrupts in typical Liana fashion, “are you friends with Adam Morren?”

“Yeah,” I say warily.

“Will you introduce me? He’s hot.”

“Um …” He might not be the guy for me, but that doesn’t mean I’m fixing him up with my evil cousin. No way. “I don’t think so.” Without waiting for a reply, I spin around and head back to the dance floor.

Now where did everyone go? My dad and Jennifer are dancing and my mom and Lex are talking with a couple. Old friends? The guy looks familiar. Do I know his son?

No! It’s the guy from the album! Jefferson Tyler! Ha! Small witch world, I guess.

Smiling, I head off to find everyone else. I push through the dance floor and spot Miri and Corey. Miri’s arms are wrapped around his neck, and they’re looking at each other very seriously And then—

“Omigod, he’s going to kiss her!” I practically scream, and then clamp my hand over my mouth. Not that they can hear over the music.

I watch transfixed as Corey presses his lips against hers. Oh. My. God. It’s happening! It’s happening! I want to rush over to congratulate her, but I restrain myself. ’Cause that would be weird. I’m feeling a bit creepy for watching but I can’t turn away! But her mouth is open! They’re French kissing!

She seems to be remembering everything I taught her. Okay. I’ll stop watching now.

Look away. Look. Away.

I turn around in search of someone else to talk to. And that’s when I see something equally shocking. No, more shocking. The most shocking thing I’ve ever seen. The red hair. The turned-up nose.

Could it be?

No.

But it is. “Melissa?” I ask unbelievingly.

My archnemesis turns to face me. She’s looking stunning in a long black ball gown. “I thought it was you up there,” she grumbles.

“What… what are you doing here?” She’s a witch? My intuition rocks. Didn’t I ask Miri if she was a witch? I knew it! Kind of.

“Not having my Sam, obviously.” She crosses her arms. “This sucks. Why do you get everything?”

“Me? What are you talking about?” This is the girl who stole my best friend and repeatedly tries to steal my boy-friend. I mean, my ex-boyfriend.

“What … who … why are you here?” I can’t wrap my brain around seeing her.

“The triplets are my cousins,” she says.

“Are you a witch too?” I ask.

“No,” she snaps. “Not yet. My mom’s a witch. My dad’s a warlock. My two older sisters are witches. But me? Not a magical bone in my body, apparently. Even my boyfriend, Jona, is a warlock.”

Boyfriend? “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. I thought…” My voice trails off.

“That I was still after Raf? No way. Raf was just a fling. Jona is the real thing. We met this summer. He’s the cutest. He’s here.” She stands on her tiptoes and looks around. “Somewhere.”

“I can’t believe it,” I say, still stunned.

“You can’t believe what?”

“Everything,” I say with a laugh.

“Yeah, well, believe it. Here I am. A wannabe witch.”

After a whole year of hating her, I suddenly feel bad. “You never know,” I say. “I bet your powers will kick in soon.”

“I’ve been saying that for the last three years. I even signed up for Samsorta lessons this year in case, but I didn’t qualify…. I’m going to be the oldest witch to get her powers in the history of the world.”

So she’s the one who tried to fake it! I surprise myself by putting my arm on her shoulder. “You won’t be. I know you won’t be.” Now I know why she’s always scowling.

“You do?” she asks eagerly. “How?”

“Call it intuition.” Sure, I’m usually wrong, but whatev.

For the first time ever, she smiles at me. “Thanks, Rachel. You have no idea how much it sucks waiting for your powers to kick in.”

Hee hee.

She makes a move to leave but I hold on to her arm. “Wait, Melissa? Quick question?”

“What?”

“Did you ever tell Jewel?”

“Tell Jewel what?”

“About your powers. Or lack of powers. About all this,” I clarify.

“No way,” she calls out, and disappears into the crowd.

Ironic. Jewel dumped me for Melissa, yet she doesn’t even know who Melissa really is.

And now Jewel is at home by herself, while Tammy, my
new
best friend, is here with me, having the time of her life. Now, that’s karma.

Smiling to myself, I make my way back to my friends. I spot the triplets; Viv and her cute but kind of greasy-looking norlock boyfriend, Zach; Karin and her also super-handsome boyfriend, Harvey; Fitch; Rodge; Adam; and Tammy. Except for Zach, who’s in a seersucker suit, the group are all looking handsome in black tuxes.

Wait. Adam is dancing with Tammy. How did that happen?

“Hi!” Tammy exclaims when she sees me. “I was looking for you, but I found Viv and Zach.” I had introduced Viv and Tammy earlier in the night and they’d hit it off. Then she leans into me and whispers, “And this guy is
so
cute. I’ve been dancing with him for like ten minutes. Do you know him?”

“That’s Adam,” I say, and wiggle my eyebrows.

“Oh God! I’m sorry. I had no idea,” she squeals. “I won’t dance with him again, I promise!”

“No, don’t worry at all,” I tell her, fully meaning it. “Dance with him as much as you want. He’s a great guy. Just not for me.”

She shakes her head.

“Dance with him!” I order. “I insist. My cousin is after him, and I’d much, much, much rather see him with you than with her.”

She shakes her head again.

“Adam,” I holler.

He turns. “Rachel,” he says with a smile. “Congrats.”

“Thank you,” I say. “I want you to meet my very good friend Tammy, and I want you guys to keep dancing. Because you’re two of my favorite people, and I think you guys would make a great couple.”

They both turn bright red.

All right, maybe that was T.M.I. “Just enjoy yourselves, kids!” I say.

“Okay,” he says, and gives me a mock salute.

I feel a tug on my arm, and it’s Miri and Corey, finally up for air, both smiling.

“We did it!” I holler, giving her a high five. Then I add in a low voice, “And I saw you kissing.”

“Finally,” she tells me. She gives me a hug. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For everything. For doing the Samsorta for me. For being the best big sister ever.”

“No, you’re the best sister ever,” I say in the baby voice.

“No, you!” she says in hers.

Then Crowne launches into the Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and the crowd goes wild.

Trick or Treat

The party lasts until two. All the old people (my dad, Jennifer, Mom, Lex—basically everyone over thirty) have called it a night, and now it’s just the kids. (“Are you sure you don’t mind if we go?” Jennifer asked before she left. “Are you positive? Whatever you want, girls, tell me! I’ll do it!”) But when the gravestones start shifting back to their original positions, we know it’s time.

“Where to now?” Karin asks. “We need an after-party.”

“How about the Halloween parade in the East Village?” Miri says. “That should be starting around now.”

“Oh, fun!” everyone cheers.

So we zap ourselves back to New York and find ourselves a spot on Sixth Avenue. With our hats back on, we fit right in. We cheer for all the people in costume as they pass us by: the devils, angels, hamburgers, buildings, cartoon characters. All these people, coming out in honor of our Samsorta, without even realizing it!

“Having fun?” I ask Tammy, slinging my arm through hers.

“The best time ever,” she says and gives me the scuba okay sign with her fingers. Her nose is bright red from the cold.

“And Adam?” I say. I’ve been noticing the way he looks at her. Like he’s bewitched.

“He
is
cute,” she says. “But I will never speak to him again if you care about him even in the slightest.”

“Tammy, nothing would make me happier than seeing you two together,” I tell her. “If only Raf and I were still together, we could witch-double!”

“Do you miss him?” Tammy asks me.

“More than anything,” I say.

She turns away from the parade and faces me. “Then let’s go,” she says.

“Where?”

“You know,” she says.

“I do?” I ask. But then I realize. I do.

“Whip out that battery,” she orders. “It’s time to get Raf back.”

I nod. It
is
time to get Raf back. “I think we can walk. School is only a few blocks away.”

“Oh, come on,” she says with a glint in her eye. “The batteries are fun!”

Frankenstein parades by us. “I hope I haven’t created a monster,” I say.

The school gym is decorated like a haunted house. There are skeleton cutouts pasted to the door, and the fog machine is on full blast inside.

When we pay the entrance ticket, Kat throws her arms around us. “I’m so glad you made it! I thought you weren’t coming! Wow, you guys look gorgeous! And you brought so many people! You’re the best!”

I hadn’t been planning on dragging along the whole gang, but it’s harder to shake a group of witches and war-locks than you’d think.

I sniff something familiar. “You smell great! Like … what is that?”

“My new perfume! I just picked it up a few hours ago! What do you think? It’s supposed to smell like Paris!”

Interesting. Could that be our Sam
giftoro?
It’s no Grand Canyon, but it sure is fun. “It’s magical,” I say. I look around. “Is Raf here?”

“He left,” she says, and gives me a knowing look. “He didn’t seem to be having too much fun.”

“He left?” I repeat.

“Just two seconds ago,” she says. “He’s probably just around the corner.”

I take off. I have to find him. I have to tell him. Tonight.

I run down the street and spot him about to turn the corner. I know it’s him because I can still see the avoiding spell. “Raf!” I scream. He’s wearing another new leather jacket, this one with funky green stitching. A Raf original, I’m guessing.

He turns around and sees me.

I’m too far away to read the expression on his face, but I don’t stop running until I reach him. “Raf,” I say, out of breath.

“Hey,” he says, but I can’t read his eyes.

Up close I see that under his funky new jacket, he’s wearing all yellow. He’s mustard. Mustard without his ketchup.

“I need to talk to you,” I say.

He looks at the ground. “About the other guy?”

“There’s no other guy,” I say, shaking my head. “There never was. I mean, he exists. I just never had feelings for him.”

“But then why did you break up with me?” His eyes are filled with confusion. His beautiful brown eyes.

Here it is. The real moment of truth. But I need him to know. Sure, he might get freaked out. He might get scared. But I have to try. I have to give him a chance to
get
me. I take both his hands. He looks back up at me. And I jump right in. “I know what I’m about to say sounds crazy. But just listen. I’m a witch. My mother is a witch. My sister is a witch. And I don’t mean dressed like a witch, which I am. Kind of. I mean an actual witch with magical powers.” The words are pouring out fast, but I want—no, I need—to get them all out. “And at first I was going to tell you. But then, see, I told my dad, and he freaked out. Didn’t talk to me for a week. So then I decided that I wasn’t going to tell you. Ever. But then I decided that you deserve more than that. We deserved more than that. So I broke up with you. And told you I was with Adam. When it had nothing to do with Adam. He’s just a warlock friend—a friend who might be hooking up with Tammy as we speak, actually. But anyway”

I stop to judge his expression, but he’s still just staring. He hasn’t let go of my hands, though. That’s a good sign, right? Of course, he could be frozen in shock. I take a breath and continue. “See, my dad got over it, and I hope you can too. Because I love you. I really truly do. See?” I point to my necklace. “I’m still wearing your heart. I’m also wearing a broom charm that I got, because my magic is also important to me. You both are. But anyway. I love you. And I hope that you still love me. I know you probably need proof, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to turn your outfit red.” I take a breath. “Are you ready?”

He still hasn’t let go of my hands. He nods.

I chant:

Okay, I know that mentioning death might freak him out, but the only other option was “Like single becomes wed,” and that definitely would have sent him running. Hello, he’s a teenage boy.

(And no matter what happens, I’m adding my color spells to the spell book tonight. It’s only fair that I share my spell brilliance with the world, no?)

A rush of cold, and zap!

His pants and shirt quiver and then darken to red. His jaw drops.

“Crazy, huh?”

He nods. Closes his mouth. He still hasn’t let go of my hands.

“Raf? You still with me?”

He nods again, looking dazed.

“And I just want to tell you again how much I love you,” I add. “ ’Cause I do.”

He opens his mouth again.

“Yes?” I say, my heart thumping.

“I think I might be in shock,” he says, “and I know I need time to absorb everything you just said. But all I keep thinking is,
She loves me!”

My heart soars. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He looks back down at his outfit. “Although I might have some questions for you tomorrow.”

But he doesn’t have any questions for me now. And that’s good, because it’s time to kiss and make up.

“Wait,” I say suddenly. “I have a question for
you.
What is Raf short for?”

“Raphael,” he says.

“Raphael,” I repeat. “I like it.”

I lean in for my kiss. Kiss 132.

Instead of standing in the middle of the street, we decide to pop in at the dance. And by
pop,
I mean open the door. I can show him spells tomorrow. I can give him more info then too. Tonight we should just enjoy. (I’m assuming he doesn’t need to know the whole “I once put a spell on your brother because I thought it was you” part right away, right?)

When we walk in, I see that my whole gang is still here. Dancing.

“More witches?” he asks, taking in the other heliotrope dresses and hats.

I nod.

“Cool,” he says.

Cool! He said
cool!
That’s another good sign, right?

Ribbit.

What was that? I look around.

Ribbit.

Wendaline grabs me by the arm. “Rachel,” she murmurs. “I may have done something bad.”

“What?” I ask, turning to her.

Ribbit.

“Well, Cassandra was here, and as soon as she saw us, she started in again. You know, chanting my name. And you’re not going to believe what she was dressed as! The evil witch from
The Wizard of Oz
! With a big fake nose and a black hat and a black cloak! I tried to ignore her but then I saw her bugging Tammy! And I know you wanted me to keep magic out of school, but—”

“Wendaline, forget what I said. Honestly. You be you. Do magic, don’t do magic, Appear, disappear … do what-ever you want.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” She raises her hand and shows me a frog on it. A frog in an all-black mini witch’s outfit.

Ribbit.

“ ’Cause I kind of snapped. I’ll turn her back after the dance. It’s all good. And I’m keeping her in my hand so she doesn’t get stepped on.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. I think back to the frog Cassandra put in Wendaline’s locker. “If anyone deserved to be turned into a frog, it was Cassandra.”

She smiles. “I’m glad you feel that way. But I should warn you—I think she knows I’m a witch now.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” I say. “I can’t imagine she’s going to give you any more problems.”

The frog hops out of her hand, and Wendaline chases through the room after it.

So Cassandra knows. And Tammy knows. And Raf knows. Will other people find out too? What will they think? Will they be afraid of me? Shun me? Or think it’s cool?

“I’m guessing Wendaline is a witch too?” Raf asks, put-ting his arm around me.

“You’d have to ask her,” I say. Witch honor and all that.

“But she’s chasing after a frog. Did that frog used to be a person?”

“It’s all good,” I tell him, leading him to the dance floor. “I’ll explain everything tomorrow. Tonight, we dance.”

He pulls me against him. And we’re swaying, back and forth. We’re dancing.
We’re dancing.
Wahoo! It took almost a year, but my number one wish—to dance with Raf at a school social—has finally come true. And I didn’t even need to use a spell.

I just needed to be my charming self.

Halfway through the song, Raf asks, “Can you just tell me
who
Wendaline turned into a frog?”

“I think it was her boyfriend,” I joke. “So you better be nice to me.”

He laughs. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Of course I’m kidding!” I plant kiss number 133 on his lips. “I’m one hundred percent kidding.”

Er, maybe ninety-nine percent.

You never know, right?