The Witch Apprentice
Page 5
Boring sums and squiggly signs
Copy from her book into mine!
I never really know whether a spell is going to work or not. It’s a bit unreliable when you’re a beginner. But this time, it was instant. I felt power surge through my legs and out through my fingers. There was a flash of blue light, and numbers started to float off the workbook pages.
Yippee! I thought. It’s working!
The numbers hovered in the air. The 2s and 3s started bumping into each other while the 1s formed a line and marched up and down. The 0s tried to eat the 3s and then the 4s, so the 5s got scared and started whizzing about really fast. Meanwhile the 8s and 9s just wobbled on the spot.
Then, to my horror, the whole lot – including all the pluses and minuses – flew across the classroom and straight out of the window.
I ran to the window and stared after the tiny figures. They bounced and swirled away across the playground, over the trees, and disappeared from sight.
I looked back at the workbooks. They were both completely blank!
What was I going to tell Mary? I couldn’t tell her about the magic spell, of course, because she doesn’t know I’m a witch. (After all, no-one wants to be the class weirdo!)
I took what was left of her workbook and went to find her. She was sitting under the hazel tree in the playground.
‘Mary,’ I said. ‘I’m really sorry!’
‘Why?’ she said. ‘What have you done?’
‘I’m afraid I accidentally dropped your book out of the window,’ I lied. ‘And all the homework pages blew away.’
‘You WHAT!’ said Mary. ‘Oh, Anna! Now we’ll both get detention!’
And that’s exactly what happened. We were kept back after school, and Mrs Winkle marched us into detention. I was worried Mary might crack and tell Mrs Winkle what I’d done – but I should have known better. She’s loyal and she kept her lips zipped.
* * *
After half an hour of detention torture, Mrs Winkle took off her glasses, polished them, and stood up.
‘Home time!’ she said. ‘Mary, go and get the coats, please.’
Mary leapt out of her seat and raced out of 4B to the coat rack. Mrs Winkle fixed her eyes on me. I gulped.
‘Anna,’ she said. ‘I’d like a little word with you.’
‘Miss,’ I began. ‘If it’s about my maths …’
Mrs Winkle closed her eyes and held up a plump hand.
‘It’s not your maths that’s troubling me the most, Anna,’ she said. ‘Although you’re not exactly top of the class.’
‘Yes, Miss,’ I said.
Mrs Winkle’s voice dropped. She leaned so close to me that I could see the fine white hairs poking out of her nose.
‘It’s about your other work,’ she said. ‘Remember? Your other work?’
Ah, right, my other work. I wondered when we’d get round to it.
‘Miss,’ I whined. ‘I’ve been really busy, and it’s summer, and …’ I trailed off.
‘Excuses, excuses! It’s about time you started taking it seriously, young lady,’ said Mrs Winkle. Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘I know what really happened to your homework today. You were fooling about with magic and it went wrong!’
You see, Mrs Winkle knows all about me being a witch. And the reason she knows all about me is simple.
It’s because Mrs Winkle – head teacher of St Munchin’s, keen golfer, church bell-ringer, and well-respected figure in the community – is also a witch!
The Witch in the Woods by Marian Broderick, ISBN 978-1-84717-108-5
AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS
About the Author
MARIAN BRODERICK is a nasty lady who has written many unpleasant books for The O’Brien Press. She claims she isn’t a witch, but her kitchen is always full of green smoke, and she has been spotted dancing with cats in the moonlight. Her hobbies are polishing her warts, singing like a crow – and forcing little children to dig up her garden. If you see her, run away very fast!
‘ANNA THE WITCH’ BOOKS
THE WITCH APPRENTICE
THE WITCH IN THE WOODS
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,
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First published 2007
eBook ISBN: 978-1-84717-422-2
Text © copyright Marian Broderick 2007
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