Books for Girls - WITCH SCHOOL - Books 2-6: Book 1 is FREE!

by Katrina Kahler

  'Are you okay?' Gerty stepped back and walked alongside Charlotte.

  'Yes thanks, I'm just tired,' she forced a smile.

  'You'll sleep better tonight, I'm sure of it.'

  'Thanks Gerty, I'm sure I will,' she replied, not wanting to admit that falling asleep easily was what she was afraid of.

  As soon as they stepped into the hall for breakfast Charlotte felt like she'd been transported back into her nightmare. Sitting at their table was a pretty girl with long blonde hair; it was Margaret. No one was sitting near her, but this didn't stop the rest of the students in the room from glaring over at her as they gossiped about her.

  'What is she doing in my seat?' Alice grunted.

  'Maybe she forgot that it was your seat Alice, she hasn't been at this Academy in a while,' Gerty said.

  'As if,' Stef snorted. 'Margaret is many things but stupid is not one of them.'

  'What do we do now?' Charlotte said, trying to hide the upset in her voice.

  Margaret looked up from her breakfast and gave them an enthusiastic wave.

  'It looks like we're going over there,' Stef gave an over-the-top wave back, before she grabbed Charlotte and Alice's arms and dragged them forwards.

  'Hi,' Margaret smiled, as they sat down next to her.

  'Hi,' Gerty said.

  'Yeah hi,' Stef muttered.

  'So you're back for good then?' Gerty asked, as she grabbed some berries off the plant in the middle of the table and put them into her bowl.

  'Yes I am,' Margaret smiled back at her. 'I just hope there's no hard feelings between us, I would like a fresh start and it would be really good if we could all be friends.'

  'Sure,' Gerty said.

  ‘We'll see,' Stef rolled her eyes.

  'You're in my seat,' Alice muttered.

  'What was that Alice?' Margaret asked.

  'Nothing,' she blushed as she looked into her bowl.

  'I'm surprised you didn't sit with Demi,' Stef glanced over at the table where Demi and Destiny were sitting opposite each other, lost in conversation together.

  'It appears that she's moved on,' Margaret gritted her teeth. 'Not to worry, as I said before, I'd love it if we could all be friends,' she smiled. 'What do you think Charlotte?'

  Charlotte's eyes grew wide in horror. She didn't want to be friends with Margaret, she didn't want to be anywhere near her. This was the girl who nearly got her expelled and then turned her into a cockroach. She knew that there was absolutely no way that they'd ever be friends.

  'I know that I was horrible to you before and I'm truly sorry about that. I just wanted to fit in and I thought that acting how I did would be the way to do that. I know that was daft and I was a cow, but I do want to be friends with you, if you'll forgive me?'

  Charlotte didn't know how to respond but she knew that she needed to say something, as all of the girls around the table were staring at her.

  'Sure,' she muttered, before she scooped up a huge spoonful of cereal and put it into her mouth so that she had an excuse not to say anything else.

  'Great, I'm sure we'll soon all be the best of friends,' Margaret gleamed, the hint of a smirk on her face.

  'So Margaret, you don't plan to be flipping burgers in your future?' Alice chimed.

  Stef gave her an unimpressed look, before she kicked her under the table.

  'Ow,' Alice groaned.

  'No Alice, I don't,' Margaret held her smile. 'I plan to work hard and get good results so that I can have a successful career as a witch. Perhaps one day I will be running this Academy.'

  An awkward silence fell across the table and Charlotte chewed on the side of her lip. She wanted to finish her breakfast and to get out of there, as being around nice Margaret was making her feel uneasy.

  'I better get going, I'll see you in class,' Margaret gave them a wave as she stood up and left the room.

  'Do you think we somehow fell into Charlotte's nightmare?' Stef said.

  ‘I was beginning to think that I hadn't woken up,' Charlotte said and Stef leaned over and pinched her arm.

  'Ow,' Charlotte uttered. 'Oh no, I'm awake.'

  'It sucks to be us,' Stef sighed.

  'Maybe Margaret meant what she said,' Gerty said.

  'Gerty, I love how you always see the good in every situation but I fail to believe there is any good in Margaret,' Stef added.

  'If she wanted to be nice she wouldn't have sat in my seat, she did that on purpose,' Alice said.

  'We definitely need to be wary of her,' Stef looked at Charlotte and she nodded.

  Charlotte remained quiet as they left the hall and headed towards their first class of the day. When Charlotte had appeared at their Save the Princess party she'd hoped that this had been a one-off visit. None of them had spoken to her then, not even Demi who'd run off into the Academy after seeing her.

  No one wanted Margaret back, they'd all been getting on well together and the atmosphere was far better without her around. She was back though and it appeared that she wasn't going anywhere. Still, Charlotte knew that however overly friendly Margaret acted that it was highly unlikely that she meant it.

  They walked into potions class to a waving Margaret sitting on a seat on the row behind them.

  'At least she's not sitting in my seat this time,' Alice said, as she walked over to the front row.

  'This is getting old,' Stef groaned. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,' she grinned, as she waved back at Margaret.

  When Charlotte had been five a girl had pushed her over in the playground and she'd grazed her knee. When Charlotte had told her mom what had happened she'd told her that tomorrow she should go up to the girl and ask her to play because no one was all bad. Charlotte didn't imagine that the girl could ever have been nice but she decided to do as her mom said, so the next day she went up to the girl and asked her to play. The girl didn't scowl or shove her over, instead she smiled. After that the two of them became friends and the grazed knee incident was never mentioned again.

  As uneasy as Charlotte felt about Margaret's return she knew that she was here to stay and that she would just have to accept this. Maybe if she gave Margaret a chance then she would surprise her, after-all no one could be all bad, could they?

  ***

  The next few weeks passed by in a blur of potions, lessons and books. The other students no longer stared and gossiped at Margaret as they passed her in the hallways or saw her at meal time. The routine of Academy life carried on and with it Margaret mainly kept to herself and remained friendly towards them. Charlotte was still wary of her but hoped that the nasty version of Margaret was gone for good.

  All the first year girls were sitting on rows of seats in the great hall talking loudly amongst themselves. They had been instructed to all meet there, dressed in clothes suitable for the outdoors. Molly stood on the stage in front of them, her blonde hair pinned up into a neat bun and her wand gripped tightly in her right hand.

  'What do you think we're here for?' Gerty asked, as she sat in-between Charlotte and Stef.

  'I dunno,' Stef shrugged. 'I hope it's something good, like another school dance or something.'

  'That'd be good Stef but there's only first years here and we aren't dressed for that,' Charlotte said.

  'Maybe they're telling each year individually and they have another treat lined up for us afterwards, something happening outside?' Gerty said.

  'Silentium,' Molly flicked out her wand.

  Stef was moving her mouth to speak but no words came out. She exchanged looks with Charlotte and Gerty before she looked up at Molly. No one else in the room was able to talk besides Molly, however much they moved their mouths.

  'That's better,' Molly smiled. 'You're probably wondering why you've all been called here? Miss Moffat is on her way here to tell you herself. All I can say is that you're all going to like it.'

  Charlotte turned to face Gerty, she was about to ask her what she thought it would be? But as she opened her mouth to speak she
remembered Molly's spell and closed her mouth.

  The doors to the great hall swung open and Miss Moffat flew over the girls’ heads on her broomstick. The girls looked up at her, transfixed by her every move. Their gazes followed her over to the stage where she landed next to Molly.

  She stepped off her broom and with a click of her fingers made it float above her head.

  'Hello first years,' she said, as she looked around the room. I have some exciting news for you, today there will be a picnic and a scavenger hunt with the first year boys from Alexander's College.'

  Gerty and Charlotte exchanged excited looks before they looked back at Miss Moffat.

  'Silence, how very odd. I was expecting far more excitement than that.'

  'Oh,' Molly lifted up her wand and muttered out a spell as she gave it a quick flick.

  The hall instantly filled with excited cheers and giggles.

  'That's more like it,' Miss Moffat grinned at Molly. 'You will all be in groups of three and at the picnic you will be joined by a group of three boys. You can choose who you would like to be in a group with, so please, go ahead and pick,' she gestured across the room.

  Gerty, Stef and Charlotte instantly grabbed each other's hands and the three of them giggled excitedly.

  'This is so amazing,' Gerty said.

  'I can't wait,' Stef said.

  Alice burst into tears that reddened her cheeks. Charlotte looked from Alice to Stef and Gerty before she chewed on the side of her lip.

  Stef looked directly at Charlotte and shook her head but Charlotte ignored this.

  'It's okay Alice, you can take my place,' Charlotte reluctantly stood up.

  Alice wiped her nose onto the back of her cardigan sleeve and beamed as she took Charlotte's seat.

  'Do you think we could have a group of four?' Gerty said.

  'I doubt it,' Stef huffed as she crossed her arms. 'Besides, we had a great group of three a minute ago.'

  'It's fine Stef, I'll just join another group,' Charlotte said.

  'You shouldn't have too,' Stef muttered.

  'Right girls, if any of you aren't in a group of three please step out to the front,' Molly said.

  Charlotte moved past the other girls and walked out to the front, along with a girl called Cindy, who gave an awkward smile to Charlotte before she pulled on one of her brown-haired pigtails. Charlotte was wondering how it would work if there were only two of them left, when she heard footsteps coming from behind her and turned to see Margaret walking towards the front.

  'Great, you three can make a group,' Molly smirked.

  'I can't wait,' Margaret looked at Charlotte, her smile forced.

  Charlotte gave a faint smile back, knowing that she was stuck in this group now so she had no choice but to get on with it. She thought about Charlie and how she'd hopefully be able to see him soon and her smile grew wider.

  'It's so great that the three of us are in a group together, I can't wait to get there. I hope the boys in our group will be cute, do you think they will? I hope we win the scavenger hunt, what do you think the prize will be?' Cindy spluttered out. 'This is so exciting, we are so lucky to be in a group together and I cannot wait,' she said without pausing.

  Charlotte smiled at Cindy but Margaret just rolled her eyes and looked away.

  Chapter Two

  They had followed Molly on their broomsticks until the Academy was out of sight. This was the furthest that most of the girls had even flown before and they felt a mixture of excitement and nerves. Charlotte made sure to keep a strong grip on her broomstick and not to sway too much.

  Eventually Molly began to descend and signaled for them to copy her, as she swooped down towards a mass of green. They all landed relatively smoothly, apart from Alice who landed too abruptly and fell head first onto the grass. She instantly stood up and brushed down her grass-stained tights.

  Behind Molly were different colored blankets that were spread out across the park. Charlotte looked around for the boys but they hadn't arrived yet.

  'It appears as though we are here first. Please can each group go and sit on one of the blankets and await the boys,' Molly said.

  Gerty and Stef gave Charlotte a wave as they walked over to a white blanket with blue and red polka dots on it. Charlotte wanted to sit on the blanket next to them but Margaret had walked straight past it.

  'This one, purple is my favorite color,' Margaret smirked, as she knelt down on a dark purple and black squared blanket.

  'I like purple too,' Cindy said, as she sat down next to Margaret.

  'Great,' Margaret said snidely.

  Charlotte looked back at Stef, Gerty and Alice who were only just visible from across the park, before she reluctantly sat down on the blanket.

  There was a woven picnic basket in the middle off the blanket. Cindy opened it and took out a handful of chips, shoving them one-at-a-time into her mouth.

  Margaret pulled the basket towards her and swung back the lid, revealing a basket full of savoury foods and fancy cakes. She picked up a slice of pizza and nibbled on the end of it, before she pulled an empty mug out of it. She picked up her wand and was about to use it…but before she could a sweet smelling liquid bubbled up in the mug, complete with whipped cream and mini marshmallows on top of it.

  'Is that hot chocolate? That's so cool,' Cindy pulled on one of her pigtails before she yanked the basket away from Margaret.

  'I've not finished with it yet,' Margaret snapped, as she snatched the basket back.

  Charlotte looked over at Gerty, Stef and Alice longingly. She imagined Stef stuffing her mouth with cakes as Alice made some comment about how they weren't as good as the cakes she had handmade for her back home, whilst claiming all the strawberry-iced ones.

  When Margaret and Cindy had both taken what they wanted from the basket, Charlotte took out a yellow-iced cake and a mug. She watched as it filled itself up and then blew on it before she took a sip. The milky taste of chocolate filled her mouth and for a couple of seconds she forgot where she was. That was until Margaret sniggered at something Cindy said and the realization hit Charlotte…she was in the park waiting for Charlie but she wasn't sitting with her friends. Instead she was sitting with a girl who tried too hard to impress others and a girl who had turned her into a cockroach.

  There was a flash of light, so bright, that Charlotte shielded her face with her arms. She cautiously lowered her arm and looked out across the park. The bright light had vanished but the boys had arrived.

  'Look, they're here, they're here,' Cindy grabbed onto Charlotte's arm.

  'Yes they are,' she forced a smile, as she gently tried to pull her arm free.

  They all peered excitedly over at the boys and Charlotte scanned her eyes over them until she found a cute boy with brown hair and wide eyes.

  The boys went off in different directions and joined the girls on their blankets. Charlotte saw a group of boys sit down on Stef, Gerty and Alice's blanket and she could tell from his neat black hair that one of them was Benjamin, the boy that Alice liked. Charlotte could just make out that Nick, the boy that Stef liked was also sitting with them and she hoped that Gerty would get on with the other boy.

  Charlotte felt herself tense up as a group of three boys walked towards their blanket. She kept a smile on her face, although she tried not to make eye-contact with the boys as she didn't want them to sit with them, instead she wanted Charlie to see her and come over.

  Charlie spotted Charlotte and smiled over at her as he gave her a wave. She gave him a wave back and Margaret saw the exchange between them both and couldn't hide her smirk. The group of boys were nearly at the blanket now and on seeing this Charlie weaved his way around the blankets and over to theirs, his wand raised and he was just about to cast a spell but Margaret beat him to it.

  'Cadent,' Margaret discreetly flicked her wand at the nearest boy from the group of three that were heading towards their blanket. The boy slipped backwards and caused the two boys behind him to tumble too, like
standing dominoes.

  Charlie whizzed past the fallen boys and quickly knelt down next to Charlotte.

  'Hi,' he smiled at her.

  'Hi,' she smiled back.

  'Hey, we were clearly going to sit with them,' one of the fallen boys said, as he stood up and glared at Charlie.