Love Spells and Other Disasters

by Angie Barrett

  “Luca’s here!” Arlo and a bunch of other guys come barreling into the room. “Hey man, you missed the best practice.”

  And that’s how it goes for the next twenty minutes. The guys are all talking about practice. Luca interjects here and there but otherwise seems content just sitting next to me, drinking his coffee. I like sitting here, too, being in his world.

  Abby has been chatting with some of the girls on the other side of the room, completely ignoring me. In fact, I’m the only girl sitting with the guys, listening to their banter. All the other girls are off doing other things. When she does finally walk our way, she makes eye contact with me for a few seconds before motioning to Del. “Sorry to interrupt the testosterone zone but we’ve got to go.”

  Del checks his phone. “Right. Social Committee.” He puts his mug on the side table and gets up.

  “How are things going with the Spring Fling planning?” Bella asks as she slips into the spot Del just left.

  “Oh, you know, trying to find a plan to be more inclusive.” Abby rolls her eyes. “We suggested formal attire only this year but that got nixed. The planning committee thinks that things have gotten a little carried away with the dress code lately. I just don’t think it’s right to let people come in ridiculous costumes, you know? There needs to be standards, don’t you think?” She shoots me a look. “I’m proposing seniors only for this year. Like a pre-prom, just for us.”

  Everyone nods except for Luca and me. I know she’s talking about Ethan and me and what we’d worn. I want to speak up but Luca beats me to it.

  “Oh, come on, Abby,” he says. “The Spring Fling is for everyone. Stop being such a snob about it.”

  Abby narrows her eyes, not at Luca but at me.

  “Personally, I like all the different ways people express themselves there,” he says anyway. “The outfits last year were awesome.” He squeezes my shoulder. “Maybe we should all wear something extravagant this year.” He leans closer so that his lips are at my ear. “You’re my date, right?”

  My heart trips over the image of Luca and me walking into the dance together, holding hands. “Yes, I’d love that.”

  He grins and kisses me on the cheek, and I melt like ice cream under the hot sun.

  Abby snorts and rolls her eyes again. “Oh, please. Gross.”

  Del grabs her around the waist. “My girl knows what she wants. I think making it a senior-only event is the way to go.”

  “Thanks, babe.” Abby smiles and waves. “Catch y’all later.” Then she points her finger at me. “And you better not be late. Our booth isn’t going to set itself up.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  I keep reminding myself that I owe Abby so that I don’t actually kill her while we’re setting up our booth. She’s very particular about the tissue paper flowers she’s made and insists that we’ll be using the peachy-pink squares of paper to create origami hearts after I write the spells inside. And by we, she means me, so I’m frantically trying to follow the demo video I’ve found to create the darn hearts without mangling them.

  Lunch is about to begin. We’ve had a couple of customers already but we’re expecting the crowds to come as soon as class lets out.

  Abby’s manic energy is a complete switch from her snark this morning. Maybe she got her way about the Spring Fling after all.

  She’s decorated our booth to look like a cherub vomited all over it. Pink and red hearts, two people kissing—hetero, of course, which is insulting as hell—and ribbons everywhere. A sign that says, Celebrate National Lover’s Day the Right Way and Take a Chance, Not Just a Glance!

  And Abby was worried about my rhyming.

  I’m over it almost immediately. I shift my spell-writing desk off to the side, partially hidden by the poster boards she’s set up, and wait for the orders to roll in.

  “Hey!” Luca comes up behind me and my day brightens, even though I just saw him a couple of hours ago. Just being around him makes all my grumbles go away.

  I slip behind the poster boards with him. He wraps his arms around me.

  “I missed you,” he says, his mouth buried into my neck. “English was brutal.”

  I swear, if auras were an actual thing, I’m sure mine would be sparkling like a disco ball right now. His warm breath against my neck feels amazing, but his words are like warm chocolate syrup on a stack of waffles. Delicious. “I missed you, too.”

  He pulls back and kisses me. Nothing raunchy, just a sweet kiss that’s over way sooner than I want, but we’re in pubic, soon to be surrounded by people.

  “You all set up here?”

  “Yep.”

  “Hey, Luca.” Abby pokes her head around the poster board. “You here for a crush spell?”

  I glare at her. She smirks back.

  “No thanks, I’ve got my crush right here.” He pulls me closer.

  “You better be nice to me, Abby, or I’m going to leave with Luca.” I smirk back. “There are no crush spells without me.” I know I sound snarky, but still…she deserves it.

  Luca chuckles and gives me a squeeze right as the bell rings. Abby’s eyes go wide, her face scrunches up, then she turns away. “You better get your butt in the chair because we’re open for business.”

  I sigh, deflating at the prospect of writing cursive for the next two hours.

  Luca smiles down at me. “Will I see you later?”

  “You’ll be at the house doing work, right?”

  “Yeah, I leave after third.” Because he’s doing a hybrid apprenticeship, co-op kind of deal, he’s getting credit for working with Mr. Columbus.

  “Hopefully you can take a break.” I smile. “I can show you the attic.”

  “Hmm.” He leans into me and gives me another kiss. Tender, full of promise. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  I giggle. That’s been happening a lot these days. It’s like my body is full of tiny, effervescent bubbles that make me want to giggle whenever he’s nearby.

  “I’ll see you.” He kisses me again, then pulls away.

  As I watch him walk away, I can’t help but sigh.

  That boy is so darn sweet…and he’s mine.

  …

  We run our business all through lunch, which is an hour, and then all through third period. That’s a long time to be writing crush spells for people. And we’re busy—like, there’s a line five-people deep at any given time. My hand hurts. Too much writing. Too many origami hearts. Abby has even had to take over folding the hearts once I’ve finished the spells because I just don’t have time to do both.

  The origami idea was worth it, though—I can see that now. Every customer gets all gushy over how cute they are, and as they walk through the crowd with one of our hearts in their hands, I know it’s bringing us more customers.

  Mr. Tremmel spent the first hour hovering around our booth. I think he was afraid that we were scamming people. But Abby has been making sure she tells every person who wants a love spell that it’s meant for entertainment purposes only, and also that their donation is for a good cause. He seemed to accept that and even gave a nod of approval when she corrected a couple of girls who were talking loudly about the guys they were about to cast a spell on.

  Abby can’t stop smiling. We’re making so much money that her reference letter has to be a sure thing by now.

  We’re so popular as a business that even the drama teacher, Ms. Black, comes for a spell. She’s sarcastic by nature but I can tell that she thinks it’s all a joke and that she’s indulging us for a good cause. I also think she’s hoping it’ll work. She looks like a lonely cat collector type of lady. Maybe her and Mr. Tremmel should be connecting.

  I don’t write the spell like that, though. Two teachers hooking up because of my spell would be super weird and kinda gross. I just write her out one of the general ones—there are a few that we’ve found in various books�
��which probably won’t work because it’s too vague. But she’s looking for a laugh so I pick one of the funny ones for her.

  We’re almost at the end of the period. The sales are slowing down. I haven’t eaten and I’m grumpy. Abby is still in full sales mode, doing her singsong catcalling that has worked all afternoon to get people to come and buy our stuff.

  “Your spell is defective,” Mel says a little too loudly as she comes up to the booth.

  Abby hushes her, swats her arm, and then drags her to the back of the booth where I’m just finishing with a customer. I look up at them, my eyes a little bleary from staring at the peachy-pink origami paper for the last two hours.

  Mel doesn’t look good. Her makeup is smudged, her eyes red, her hair is a mess. She’s wearing a tracksuit and not exactly a stylish one.

  “Andrew isn’t talking to me,” Mel whines.

  “What?” Abby gasps. “You had a great time with him on Friday, or at least it looked like you did.”

  “Yeah, I thought we did. We had a wonderful dinner at the country club, we came to Malcolm’s party, then we went back to his frat house, and, well, had a good time there, too.” She blushes. “But now he’s not returning my texts.”

  And this surprises you? I don’t say it, but come on—what was she expecting?

  That thought stops me cold. That could have been me if Luca was a different kind of guy. It could have been me feeling heartbroken and foolish and looking like I’ve balled my eyes out and haven’t slept for days.

  “Well, we did only write you a crush spell. Crushes don’t mean commitment.” As I say it, I see a weird look flash across Abby’s face.

  “What would you be willing to pay if we could give you a more powerful spell?” she asks.

  I frown at Abby. “What?”

  She’s not looking at me.

  “What would you be willing to pay?” Abby asks again.

  Mel shrugs. “I’ve got twenty in my locker.”

  “Deal.”

  Is she seriously extorting her friend? “Abby, what the—”

  She pulls her phone out. Flicks a few times, then turns it toward me.

  My mouth drops open. “Wait. That’s…”

  She took a picture of the spell book from the witch shop. The one we were basically forbidden from using.

  “We can give you a true love spell. Is that what you want?”

  “True love?” Mel sounds doubtful. “Like for real?”

  “Are you doubting Rowan’s ability to get you what you want?” Abby crosses her arms. “She got you your crush, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, but true love…isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

  “She can do it.”

  “The lady at the store said it’s a binding spell, though.” The words taste like disaster as they leave my mouth.

  “She was exaggerating.” Abby turns back to Mel. “This spell will make him fall in love with you so you’ll be the one calling the shots.”

  That’s not how the spell reads.

  Mel brightens. “Really?”

  “Yeah, totally. He’ll be eating out of your hand.”

  Mel nods along with Abby’s words. “That sounds like a great idea. Then, when I’m done with him, I can ignore his texts.”

  This sounds like a terrible idea.

  Abby squeezes her hand. “You’ll feel so empowered.”

  “I will!”

  “Do it.” Abby passes her phone to me. “And go get your twenty,” she says to Mel.

  I spread my fingers on her screen to make the image bigger. The spell is hard to read but not impossible. “Abby, I don’t think—”

  “So don’t think.” She looms over me. “Just do it for me, okay?”

  My gut twists like a pretzel. I need think this through. The lady at the candle shop warned us and I don’t think it was a warning made lightly.

  “Mr. Tremmel hasn’t agreed to write my referral yet. We need to make more money.”

  I’m sweating even though the prickly chill of panic spreads through my body. I think I’m going to be sick. “Abby, we have days to sell spells still. We can make more money with the crush spell. I just don’t feel—”

  “Rowan,” her voice is so shaky that it almost doesn’t sound like her. “You don’t understand.” She clears her throat like she’s trying to swallow a giant lump. Her eyes get swimmy, too. “I need this referral because I have to get a scholarship if I’m going to be able to go to my top school.”

  I frown. Abby’s family is richer than anyone I’ve ever known. “What about your mom? I thought you were—”

  “We have no money.” Abby brushes her thumb under her eye as if she’s catching a tear and I realize that this isn’t just her being dramatic. Her face is creased with worry lines I’ve never seen before, like her mask has slipped momentarily. “Not for school, anyway. Not anymore. She expects me to marry up and be her own personal bank.”

  Oh geez, it’s all an act. The designer clothes, the fancy car, the shopping trips…it’s an image she has to uphold. Now that I think about it, why would richer-than-God Abby Roxwell need to have a job at a lingerie store?

  “Abby, I’m sor—”

  “If you don’t write the spell, I’ll tell Luca about that time last year where you puked all over yourself in class,” she says, the mask back in place and all trace of vulnerability gone. “I’ll tell him how you cried in front of everyone.”

  She means it, but I don’t feel any rising panic. First of all, I am fairly confident that Luca won’t think I’m totally gross for getting sick and crying about it. He’s just too nice of a person to hold that against me. And second, because I know where her threat is coming from. Abby might have put her mask back on but she’s not hiding her desperation very well. I see it in her eyes, flashing at me like a warning light. The worry lines are still there. If I don’t help her, she’ll lash out. She’s like a wounded animal.

  Just as I had been that horrible day in class.

  My mom had convinced me to do one of her past-life regressions the night before. We’d been up late. I had a test in Advanced Math, and Abby just happened to be in that class with me.

  The past-life regression hadn’t amounted to much and my mom had been really disappointed but that night, once I’d finally fallen asleep, I had the worst nightmare about the night my father died. Even though I was too young to have actually remembered what happened, the nightmare seemed so real that I felt like I was there with him, in the car accident that had nearly decapitated my dad. I’d been a wreck when I woke up, but worse, it kept flashing in vivid detail right up until the moment I sat down to write my test and I just couldn’t take it anymore. My stomach was so twisted up that I heaved. All over myself. All over my table. All over the guy who sat across from me. And yeah, I’d cried like a baby. Balled, sobbed, made an absolute fool of myself.

  Ethan had been there, too. He’d gotten me home that day. The mess hadn’t freaked him out. He’d stayed with me, too. Made sure I was okay that night. Brought me my homework for the next few days while I wallowed in my bed, too mortified to return to school.

  I did eventually go back. I never told my mom what happened. She thought I was sick, like stomach bug sick. But Ethan knew and he kept me safe.

  And that’s why I know that no matter how Abby is treating me now, I have to help her. No one deserves to feel alone when they’re wounded, no matter what the cause is. “Okay, I’ll write the spell for Mel.”

  Abby holds my eyes for a heartbeat or three, then gives one of her curt nods. “Be quick about it. We don’t want Mel’s garbage mood influencing our customers.” She leaves her phone with me, then goes to the front of the booth to do her thing.

  I slump in my chair and rub my hand down my face. Ugh. It’s been a long day already and I’m feeling as drained as I do when I’ve been working on Mom�
�s fan mail.

  I glance at my phone sitting on the desk where I’ve been writing spells. I texted Ethan earlier but haven’t heard back from him, even though he promised to text me every hour. I know how exciting it is to have the attention of someone you never dreamed would give you the time of day. I get that he’s distracted and I’m happy for him that he’s got a new friend. If Malcolm and him are getting along so well, that’s great. But still. I frown down at my phone feeling sad. Things are getting super weird right now and I just want to talk to my best friend.

  I pick up my phone and text him. All ok? Having fun?

  My text sits there. Not being read. No bubbles to let me know he’s typing back.

  I lean forward so I can rest my head in my hands and close my eyes for a few seconds. My hand hurts. My eyes are sore. I’m exhausted. My whole body feels weighted down and I’d love to just curl up in a corner somewhere and take a nap.

  I don’t want to do this spell. I think it’s a mistake. But for the first time in all of the time I’ve known Abby, I believe I’ve seen a glimpse of the real person underneath the facade. I’m going to write the spell because she needs me to. Maybe I can tweak it so that it isn’t a bonding spell.

  I pull Abby’s phone closer, take another look at the spell.

  I cast this spell for someone kind,

  Forever will my true love bind.

  My mate will bring exquisite joy,

  And not succumb to playing coy.

  Give thy love and be true to me,

  Show affection for all to see.

  The spell itself might be simple but the instructions that come with it are complicated. Mel will have to use some of her blood to ignite it. She’ll have to do it at midnight. It’s not just what I write on paper, although it does say that the person casting can tweak the lines for personalization. Either way, it’s clear that it’s what she does with what I write that makes all the difference.