by Molly Snow
BeSwitched
Molly Snow
Copyright Molly Snow 2011
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
The Black Cats’ Curse
Running from your witch
And crossing paths with a lonesome soul
Causes a bodily switch
That’s how you’ll pay the toll
Dear Reader,
BeSwitched is the first tale in The BeSwitched Series. Check out the sequels—BeSwitched Witch and Royally BeSwitched.
Raves:
“BeSwitched is a fun fairytale. It's not only an excellent read, but teaches some life lessons along the way.”
—Samantha LaSparta, Antioch Press
“It’s clear just how much you love your characters. It shows in your books. You gave them life, you let them grow, and you let them shine or even make their own mistakes. And authors who do that are simply awesome.”
—Mauie, The Traveling Reader
“These books are becoming highly addictive!”
—Heather, Buried in Books
“Wittingly charming and full of humor [BeSwitched Witch] is a must read!”
—Cricket, Little Library Muse
Chapter 1
Surla licked the padding to a front paw with her pink Velcro tongue. She was sitting comfortably on a winding mahogany stairway, cleaning herself after devouring another fat rat.
Click… click… click… click… Surla heard the echo of Idis’s black leather boots against the floors of the Victorian mansion.
“Stay out of my way!” The witch swooshed a broom’s old bristles at the back of the cat.
“Me-ow!” Surla ran and leaped to the living room’s front windowsill, where pale green paint was peeling and cool air filtered in from the ajar window. Her velvety tail slinked around her little body as she peered past the porch to a quaint home across the street.
As she sat, she thought, tracing back through the three hundred years of knowing Idis. Almost every memory was horrible. She tried hard to think of a really happy time, but she couldn’t. From the very moment she was taken from her mother as a kitten, and handed over to Idis as a gift from the coven at the witch’s Lucky Thirteenth Birthday Bash, Surla had been mistreated.
The old witch’s temper was becoming harder to handle. Her face was even becoming worse to look at. Wildly flaming red hair framed green eyes that seemed to glow just a bit. Surla wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but it definitely seemed like her beak nose was growing with time. The only good aspect of her appearance was that she could pass for thirty-five with a lean body and smooth skin, while her sister Gretchen appeared at least three times as old.
Surla’s pondering stopped immediately when she spotted the white and fluffy kitty from across the street coming outside in the arms of its elderly owner. The old lady steadied herself with a free hand to sit down on the porch’s high-back, maple rocking-chair. The cat nuzzled against her crocheted shawl. Faint words trailed to Surla’s ears as the owner spoke lovingly to her pet. “You are a good kitty, Diamond. A very good kitty.” A knobby hand stroked Diamond’s little chin and the chair began to rock.
Idis could sense Surla’s envy as she was able to many times before. After taking off a boot and clipping a couple dingy toenails on a green velvet couch, she called for her cat’s attention. “Help me make a fire, you lazy beast! I’m cold!”
Surla narrowed her yellow eyes in anger. She was angry because no matter what the weather, it never satisfied Idis. She’s even cold on a fresh October afternoon like today. Surla watched the gold and yellow leaves and how they would pile together along the street and then suddenly blow away into their separate journeys.
Now it may sound as if Idis has more power over Surla, but that’s not true when it comes to magic; Surla has more power. The witch just merely recites a rhyme while it is the cat’s job to cast the spell. That’s why you never see a witch without its “familiar” close by.
“Well?!” Idis widened her green eyes in frustration. “Get over here! What are you waiting for?”
Surla glanced at her, then back at the open window. “I don’t need you,” she spoke, like all black cats can do.
“So, you are dreaming about leaving again?” Idis stood, pulled down her short, black dress and grabbed for the broom. “This will teach you a lesson!” She aimed to whack Surla, but missed.
Automatically, the cat jumped through the opening in the window and over a Hydrangea bush with tremendous speed.
“Get back here, you dreadful beast!” Idis’s head poked through the window in rage. “Remember the Black Cats’ Curse! If you cross a human’s path!” She drew in her head and slammed down the window. The bang echoed across the neighborhood, causing Diamond to leap out of her owner’s arms, fur standing straight up.
Surla ran without stopping, without looking back for even a second, through the empty streets. FREEDOMMM, in her mind she screamed in silly delight. AT LAST, FREEDOM!
At that moment, Cathy, an extremely shy teenage girl with brown hair and a navy blue cardigan sweater, was walking with her head down, hoping to get further and further from the three biggest snobs from school. This was a constant routine of hers almost every day. Living in the same neighborhood as them made it so they had to take the same way home. Cathy always tried to detract as much attention away from herself as possible, but it was never possible with Tiffany, Chrissy, and Lisa around.
Much whispering could be heard. Tiffany, the ravishing blonde, was the first to say an out-loud rude comment about Cathy, as usual. “Look at how she dresses.”
“It’s awful,” Lisa, with long black hair, remarked. “She doesn’t even wear makeup. I bet her mommy says she’s still too young.”
The third girl, Chrissy, with a brunette bob hair-do, responded hesitantly, “Actually, you guys, she doesn’t look so bad.”
“What planet are you from?” Tiffany shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder about you, Chrissy.”
Sometimes I wonder about her, too. Cathy remembered back to last year, her Sophomore year at Washington High. One day while Cathy was eating some french fries alone in the cafeteria, the snobs were sitting a table away with their jock boyfriends they had at the time. Tiffany stirred up a conversation about the Chess Club’s president, Dwayne Dorksky, being a perfect match for Cathy. After that, a rumor was spread that the two were going together as boyfriend-girlfriend. Cathy was so embarrassed that whenever Dwayne passed by, her face would turn bright pink. Dwayne took that as a signal of blushing, so it wasn’t hard for Tiffany to persuade him to ask Cathy out on a date. Being nice, Cathy slowly accepted. Months passed where Dwayne’s long, gangly legs followed her everywhere around school as he attempted to flirt and hold her books. The whole saga finally ended when Chrissy told him it wasn’t Cathy who was interested in him, but Jane Farnklestein, the Science Club treasurer; which was true. What a relief that was. And Dwayne and Jane have been together ever since, all thanks to Chrissy.
It wasn’t a minute longer when the sound of a roaring engine caught Cathy’s attention. A red sports car was nearing the girls from behind. Shiny chrome reflected sunlight, making Cathy squint.
Slowly it came to a stop next to the snobs. When the driver’s side window rolled down, Cathy saw Craig Nelson, the guy she had been crushing over for
two years straight.
Sure there were plenty of cute guys attending Washington High, but maybe what made Craig so alluring was how unattainable he seemed to Cathy. The people who hung around him were everything she wanted to be: popular, good-looking, and sought after for many dates. He is just a year older than me, a Senior. That’s a good thing, Cathy thought, because maybe someday Craig will get to know me and maybe like me for some crazy reason.
“Tiffany, do you and Lisa need a ride home?” His blond hair was blowing back slightly from the wind as he smiled.
Chrissy looked at her two friends, disappointed he didn’t mention her. Tiffany saw this and turned back to Craig. “Can Chrissy get a ride home, too? She just lives a couple houses down from me.” Her voice was sweet and syrupy, so how could he say no?
“I guess there’s room.” His voice was smooth.
Cathy wished it was her he stopped for, but knew that was never actually going to happen, so she continued walking. At least Tiffany won’t be behind me anymore.
“I’m sorry, Craig,” Tiffany said, placing her bag in the back seat. “If Chrissy didn’t come with us, then she could’ve been stuck walking with her.” She pointed to Cathy.
Cathy felt angry and hopeless. What can I do about it? Nothing. The car fiercely sped around the corner, almost running into a tired black cat.
“Poor thing!” She jogged over to it as it sat there frozen, shocked. “Are you al-” Cathy couldn’t finish her sentence. A weird sensation flowed through her body, making her unable to speak. She stared at the cat who sat hallow-eyed. Cathy was afraid. Why can’t I move? Then, the feeling left and she was looking up at herself.
“Idis warned me of this.” Cathy saw her own lips move, and heard her own voice speak.
“What? What just happened?” Cathy felt small and looked down, spotting fur and paws. “I’m a cat!”
“Shhh!” Surla, now in Cathy’s body, said. “Calm down. You don’t want anyone to hear you.”
“To hear me? But I’m a cat—how can I talk? But I hear myself talk. What is going on?!” She got frantic and wiggled her tail in amazement. “Am I dreaming? Did I fall and knock myself out cold in the middle of the street?” Her new yellow eyes opened wide. “What if someone from school sees me laying in the middle of the road…” She shook from fear. “Or even worse—I could get run over!”
“Shhhh!” Surla picked her up in her arms. “You are not going to get run over. I know this looks unreal, but it’s true. You aren’t dreaming. We crossed paths and now we’re switched.”
“What do you mean? It can’t be!” But she looked into her own, former, icy blue eyes and knew something about it was true. “It feels so real.”
“It is real…”
“Are you telling me that the saying ‘It’s bad luck to cross paths with a black cat’ is true?”
“Yes, well, with a witch’s black cat.”
“A witch’s black cat!”
“Shhhhh!” Surla glanced around, hoping no one was in earshot. It was a quiet community full of old homes.
Cathy lowered her voice finally. “How do we fix this?”
“By finding Idis’s Spellbook.”
“Idis is your witch, I suppose.” Cathy was sure she was in some episode of The Twilight Zone. “Well, let’s go get the book.”
“No!” Surla was more afraid of seeing Idis than to be human the rest of her life.
“No? No?” Cathy jumped out of Surla’s hold. “What are you talking about? We need to!”
“Not yet, anyway.” Surla’s new forehead wrinkled. “I’m sorry, it’s just that my life is so terrible. We can’t switch back until we know it’s safe. Who knows what Idis will do to me if she finds me? She could really put me in danger. Please!” She knelt down to Cathy. “You don’t understand how it is to live with a witch.”
“This is crazy. Completely crazy.”
“Listen to me. There is nothing else we can do about it. Do you really want to put us both in danger? It might take a little while, but we’ll get through this.”
With Surla’s reasoning, Cathy calmed down, knowing there wasn’t anything they could do about the situation at the moment. “This is just so weird. Are you sure I’m not dreaming?”
Surla laughed, showing a pretty smile. “I guess this would seem weird for a human. Trust me, though, everything will be back to normal before you know it.”
“Normal for me isn’t so wonderful.” She thought of how lonely her last couple years had been since her cousin moved away.
“Why do you say that?” Surla reached carefully for her taken-over cat body, to bring her safely to the sidewalk, and with fright Cathy’s new black ears flattened back for the first time.
“The fact is…,” she sighed, and continued, “that my life is a total bore! I’ll probably be nineteen before I get a boyfriend and as far as Craig Nelson goes, I’ll probably never get him.”
“Who’s Craig?”
“He was in the car that almost ran you over.” Her tail twitched. “He was driving.”
“Why didn’t he give you a ride?”
“Me?” Cathy looked down. “I’m not popular enough. Craig doesn’t even know I exist.”
“Well, I don’t know why.” Her new fingers combed through her hair. “You have very silky hair. I’m sure I can get him to notice you.”
“Oh no!” She remembered something else. “What do we do when we get to my house? My mom’s expecting me soon.”
“It’s simple. I pretend I’m you and ask if I can have you as a pet.”
“Purrfect,” Cathy practiced.
“And when’s dinner?” Surla licked her lips. “I’ve been starving for another fat rat.”
“Disgusting!” Cathy said. “You are not going to ever put some nasty rodent into my mouth. You are human now, so you eat human food. Now, follow me.” She headed in the direction of her house.
As soon as they reached the small, yellow home, with a peach tree in front, they headed into the garage from a side door. Inside, they quietly discussed their plan. “I only live with my mom.” Cathy sat on the washing machine. “My parents divorced a few years ago.”
“So, you weren’t raised with a litter of brothers and sisters?” Surla worked at buttoning her cardigan sweater with a little difficulty.
“Uh… no.”
“Neither was I. At least, from what I remember.” She smiled. “There is this one cat I call ‘cousin,’ but he is really annoying.”
“I have a cousin, but she lives in Kentucky.” Cathy paused. “But, anyway, you better hurry and get inside. Just watch some TV, and then at dinnertime bring up the idea of having me as a pet. She is most happy while she’s eating.”
“So am I.” Surla laughed. “This will be simple. A dog could even do this.” She headed to the door to the kitchen.
“Don’t turn out the lights,” Cathy said fast. “It’s bad enough I have to stay in here so long with spiders who knows where.”
