by Isobel Bird
“You don’t seem to care who you run into—or over—do you?” Terri said. “As long as you get what you want.”
“Look,” said Kate. “I’m sorry I ran into you, but it was an accident.”
“I suppose what happened with Scott was an accident, too,” Terri said.
Kate looked into Terri’s angry face. The older girl was taller than she was, and Kate didn’t want any kind of confrontation.
“I’m sorry Scott changed his m-mind about going to the d-dance with you,” Kate stammered. “But it’s not my fault.”
“Oh, yeah?” said another girl, behind Terri. “And I suppose it isn’t your fault that my boyfriend keeps asking me why I can’t be more like you.”
“I don’t even know who your boyfriend is,” Kate said.
The girl laughed. “Little Miss Innocent. Right. Look, I don’t know what you think you’re up to, but we’ve had just about enough of it.”
Kate looked around at the girls. They seemed to be circling her, and she felt trapped. They’re like the mobs that burned the witches, Kate thought suddenly. They were angry, and she was the person they were angry at.
“But I didn’t do anything!” Kate said. She knew she was going to cry if they kept it up, and she didn’t want to do that.
“I saw you talking to my boyfriend,” another girl said. She stood in front of Kate, her eyes flashing. “It was obvious you were flirting with him.”
“He was talking to me,” Kate said helplessly. “I can’t stop people from talking to me.”
The girl put her finger in front of Kate’s face. “You just stay away from what doesn’t belong to you, got it?”
Kate felt the circle of girls closing in on her. Her heart was racing, and her mouth was dry. She wanted to tell them she was innocent of all the things they were accusing her of, but she couldn’t. She knew that no matter what she said, they wouldn’t believe her.
“I don’t know what you did to make Scott change his mind,” Terri said, emphasizing the word, “but don’t think he’s going to be with you for long. Once he sees what kind of girl you are, he’ll drop you so fast you won’t know what to do.”
Kate felt the first tears forming in her eyes, and she tried to hold them back. She’d never felt so awful in her life. All she wanted to do was run away and hide, to be somewhere where people weren’t yelling at her.
“In the meantime, try to keep your hands off everyone else,” a girl said.
Kate couldn’t take any more. Rushing forward, she pushed her way through the crowd of girls and ran down the stairs. She could hear them laughing at her as she stumbled and almost fell, her books scattering on the steps. She grabbed them and fled, just wanting to get away from the cruel voices.
The tears she’d been holding back came out now, flowing hot and wet down her cheeks as she started to sob. Everything was going wrong, and she didn’t know how to stop it. She’d just wanted to be happy. Why was everything out of control?
She ran until she came to the library. Classes had started, and she had no intention of going into her math class looking the way she did. The library looked deserted, so she pushed open the doors and went inside. She walked to the end of the rows of books and turned into the aisle between two shelves. Slumping to the floor, she put her head in her hands and cried.
Her whole body shook as all of the anxiety and unhappiness poured out of her. Her life was a mess, and she didn’t know what she could do to fix it. She couldn’t help it that all of the boys were paying attention to her. She couldn’t help it if her good grade had ruined things for the rest of the class. She couldn’t help it if Scott wanted to take her to the Valentine’s Day dance. So why did she feel like she was being punished for doing something wrong?
She wiped her eyes and looked around. She noticed that she happened to be sitting in the row of books where she’d found the book of spells.
I wish I’d never seen that book, she thought. That’s what caused all these problems in the first place.
She knew it was the spells she’d done that were making things go wrong. But she didn’t know why they weren’t working correctly. She’d done everything the way the book said to. Well, mostly the way the book said to. She had to admit that she’d improvised a little bit. Still, she didn’t think she’d done anything to make things turn out as badly as they had.
She wished she knew someone else who knew something about magic. If only she had someone she could talk to about what was going on, things would be better. Her friends were definitely out. They probably weren’t even speaking to her. She couldn’t talk to her parents. They would think she was nuts. There was nobody.
Maybe there is, she thought. After all, she had checked the book out. Maybe someone else had checked it out at some point, too. And maybe that person had done some of the spells. If she could find out who it was, she might be able to get some help figuring out where she’d gone wrong. But how could she find out who else had checked the book out?
She had an idea. Standing up, she straightened her clothes and fixed her hair. She hoped her crying hadn’t made her look too awful. Her plan depended upon her looking totally normal. She took a few deep breaths, then walked up to the circulation desk and smiled at the librarian behind the counter. She was relieved it wasn’t a student worker, who probably would have been someone who was mad at her for one reason or another.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“I hope so,” Kate said. “I checked out a book last week for one of my classes, and I found a personal letter in it. But without a name,” she added quickly, trying not to think about how much sense she wasn’t making. “I think whoever checked it out before I did must have left it in there as a bookmark or something, and I wanted to return it.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you,” the librarian said. “Most people probably wouldn’t have bothered.”
“I know I wouldn’t want to lose a piece of personal correspondence,” Kate said innocently. “Is there any way for you to tell me who signed the book out last?”
“What’s the title of the book?” the woman asked.
Kate told her, trying not to sound self-conscious about having checked out a book of spells. But if the librarian thought it was strange, she didn’t let on. She turned to the file of circulation cards and pulled open a drawer. Flipping through them, she paused and pulled one out. She turned back to Kate and held it out to her.
“There you go,” she said.
Kate took the card and looked at it. The most recent name on the card was her own. Above it there was another one. In fact, the same name was written on the seven lines above Kate’s. The same person had checked the book out repeatedly.
And that person was Annie Crandall.
CHAPTER 6
Kate stared at the circulation card. Annie Crandall? She couldn’t believe it. No-nonsense Annie, who lived for science, had repeatedly checked out a book about witchcraft. Why? Kate looked at the name again, wondering if perhaps she’d read it incorrectly. But there it was, written seven times in the librarian’s precise handwriting. Annie Crandall had checked the book out for almost two months straight.
Kate realized that the librarian was staring at her. She handed the card back and smiled.
“Thanks a lot,” she said. “I’ll make sure that girl gets her letter back.”
The librarian returned the card to the circulation file, and Kate walked away. She was still having a hard time accepting the fact that Annie had been reading the book. Annie seemed like such a logical type. Kate couldn’t picture her lighting candles and saying spells. She was just too, well, normal for things like that.
I wonder if that’s how she does so well in chemistry, Kate thought as she left the library. It would certainly explain why Annie was always at the top of the class. Kate remembered the look Annie had given her when Miss Blackwood had announced her grade, and she wondered what Annie would say if she knew Kate was using magic, too.
Still, Kate didn
’t know how she was going to approach Annie for help. She’d never really even spoken to her. She didn’t want to just walk up and say, “Hey, tried any spells lately?” If Annie had been reading the book for some other reason, she might think Kate was crazy. Everyone already apparently thought she was up to no good; she didn’t need it getting out that she was playing around with witchcraft as well.
But she definitely needed to figure out what was going on, and Annie seemed to be the only person who might be able to help her. She checked her watch and saw that her next class would be starting in a few minutes.
Kate thought through the rest of her day. She had art and English next. Annie wasn’t in either of those classes, so the earliest Kate might run into her would be at lunch. She tried to remember whether or not she and Annie had the same lunch period. She couldn’t remember ever having seen her in the cafeteria. Then again, she thought, she’d never looked for her before.
She tried to keep a low profile for her next two classes. For one thing, she didn’t want to run into Terri Fletcher or any of her friends. Besides, she could tell by the way that people shot glances at her in the halls that she was still public enemy number one among a good portion of the student body.
Worst of all, she had to avoid Scott. She knew things would get even worse if people saw them together, at least for the moment, so she tried to stay away from him. After art, when she saw him walking down the hall toward her, she ducked down the stairs before he could catch up. And she almost ran into him again outside her English class, where he’d gone to look for her, but she managed to hide in the girls’ room until he had to leave for his own class. She knew he would be confused about her behavior, but she couldn’t risk causing a scene. Not until she sorted out a few things.
After English class was over, she raced to the cafeteria. Scott would be there shortly, as would her friends, and she didn’t want to run into any of them. She just wanted to find Annie. But as she scanned the tables and the food service line, she didn’t see her anywhere. She was just about to give up and go spend the period in the library when she noticed someone tucked into a corner of the cafeteria. Her back was to Kate, but Kate recognized the single long braid that fell down the girl’s back. It was Annie. She was all alone, and there was a book open in front of her. Before she could lose her nerve, Kate walked over to the table.
“Hi,” she said, not sure of how to proceed.
Annie looked up. She was eating an apple and had just taken a bite. She looked at Kate and then looked around with a confused expression.
“Are you talking to me?” she asked doubtfully.
Kate nodded. “Yeah,” she said, suddenly incredibly nervous. “I’m . . . um . . . Kate.”
“I know who you are,” Annie said. She didn’t sound either pleased or annoyed.
“I guess you do,” Kate said nervously. “Look, I know we don’t know each other very well—”
“We don’t know each other at all,” Annie said, interrupting.
Kate paused. “No, I guess we don’t,” she said. “Not technically, anyway.” She stopped, unsure of what to say next.
Annie took another bite of her apple and munched on it. She stared at Kate, waiting for her to say something. When Kate didn’t, Annie looked away. “I guess I should get back to my book,” she said.
“Book,” Kate said, suddenly remembering why she had come to talk to Annie in the first place. “That’s what it was. I want to talk to you about a book.”
Annie looked up. “A book?” she said. “You want to talk to me about a book?”
Kate looked around. The cafeteria was filling up. Already some of Scott’s friends had settled into their usual table, and she knew that he would be coming in soon. A few tables away, she saw some of the girls who had confronted her earlier watching her. One of them, the one who had stuck her finger in Kate’s face, said something to another girl and they all laughed meanly. Kate felt her face flush with embarrassment.
“Are you okay?” Annie asked her. “You look kind of sick.”
Kate sat down in the chair next to Annie. “I’m okay,” she said. “Well, I’m not okay, but I’m not sick. I just have a problem. One I think you might be able to help me with.”
“Me?” said Annie. “What can I do?”
“You checked a book out of the library,” Kate said.
Annie shrugged. “I check a lot of books out of the library,” she said. “So what?”
“Well, you checked this one out seven times in a row,” Kate continued.
An uneasy look passed over Annie’s face for a moment and she looked away. When she looked back, she seemed fine again. “Seven times?” she said. “I don’t remember doing that.”
“Well, you did,” Kate said. Then she brought her voice down to a whisper. “The book is called Spells and Charms for the Modern Witch. Does that sound familiar?”
Annie put her apple core into her lunch bag and rolled up the bag. “I don’t really remember,” she said. “Maybe I did. Maybe I needed it for a class or something.” She started to get up.
Kate grabbed her arm. Annie looked startled.
“For two months straight?” Kate said, looking up at Annie.
Annie glanced around the room. Kate was afraid the other girl was going to run away from her, and she gripped Annie’s arm more tightly.
“Please,” she said. “I need to know. Did you do anything with that book?”
“Maybe I read it,” Annie said. “I don’t really remember.”
“But did you try any of it?” Kate asked.
“I really have to go,” Annie said. “I have to study for a test.”
“Why not just do a spell?” Kate said. “Isn’t that how you get all your other grades?”
Annie glared at Kate as if she’d been slapped.
“Let go of me,” she snapped. She jerked her arm out of Kate’s grasp and walked away quickly, hugging her books to her chest.
Oh, great, Kate thought. I just went and insulted the one person who might be able to help me. Getting up, she walked after Annie, who had disappeared through the cafeteria doors.
When Kate exited the cafeteria, she saw Annie at the end of the hall. Running quickly, she caught up with the retreating girl.
“I’m sorry,” she said, walking beside Annie, who refused to look at her. “I don’t know who else to ask. Your name was on the checkout card for the book.”
Annie stopped and turned to look at Kate. “What do you want?” she said. “And why do you think I can help you just because I checked some stupid book out of the library?”
Annie’s face was red, and she almost looked as if she were about to start crying.
“You did try some of the spells, didn’t you?” Kate said suddenly. Something about the way Annie was reacting made her sure that she had.
Before Annie could answer, Scott appeared from around the corner. When he saw Kate, he waved and started toward them. “Hey,” he called. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Kate groaned. “We don’t have much time,” she said to Annie. “I need your help. If you know anything about the stuff in that book, you’ve got to tell me.”
Scott was getting closer. Annie looked at him, then at Kate. She opened her mouth and closed it again.
“Please,” Kate said. “Just tell me.”
Annie sighed. “Come to my house after school,” she said. “We’ll talk. I’m at Thirty-nine Ash Lane.”
“The street just past the college library?” Kate asked.
Annie nodded. “Come at three-thirty,” she said.
Kate would have to skip basketball practice to go to Annie’s house, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to spending an hour and a half with Tara and Jessica right then anyway. She’d make up some excuse for Coach Saliers. She looked into Annie’s eyes. “Thanks,” she said.
Annie smiled slightly. “Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “I didn’t say there was anything I could do.”
She turned and walk
ed away as Scott caught up with them.
“Where have you been all day?” he asked Kate. “It’s like you’re avoiding me or something.”
Kate tried to sound happy to see him, but she was worried that someone might see them. As she and Scott walked down the hall, she kept glancing around for signs of trouble. When Scott reached for her hand, she dropped her books and busied herself picking them up.
“What’s gotten into you?” Scott asked as he helped her.
“Nothing,” Kate said. “I guess I’m just nervous about the dance and all.”
“Nervous?” Scott said. “Don’t be nervous.” He put his arm around her and continued walking. “The dance is going to be great, especially with you on my arm.”
Kate had waited a long time to have Scott say something like that to her. She wanted to enjoy it. But ever since the incident with the other girls, she had felt like all eyes were on her. And sure enough, as she and Scott walked past the cafeteria doors, they swung open and Terri Fletcher walked out with one of her friends. When they saw Scott and Kate, they stopped talking and just stared.
“Hi, Scott,” Terri said icily, but Scott didn’t seem to notice the tone in her voice.
“Hey,” he said. “How’s it going?”
Terri’s face pinched up. She turned and rushed down the hallway, away from them.
“Nice going,” her friend said to Scott. Then, as she passed them, she said so only Kate could hear her, “You’d better watch your step.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t go to the dance together,” Kate said to Scott after the girl was gone. “It seems to be causing a lot of trouble.”
Scott hugged her close. “Don’t you worry about them,” he said. “They’re just jealous because you snagged me.”
For a moment, Kate felt the warm joy of being with the boy of her dreams flow over her again. Maybe Scott was right. Maybe everything would be all right. Maybe she was just overreacting to things.
“Besides,” Scott said, “I have a big surprise for you.”
