by Lexi Connor
“And now,” came Madame Mel’s magically magnified voice, interrupting what B knew was going to be a super-duper lecture from her mom, “for the announcement of the winners!”
“Come on!” B said. “Let’s get inside to hear the results. Then I can explain everything.”
Trina, B, her mom, and Mr. Bishop scurried back inside the library. They took their seats just as Madame Mel unfolded the slip of purple parchment and read, “It is with great pleasure that I announce this year’s winner. Her singing spell and her dancing potion delighted us all. Please welcome the new Young Witch of the Year, Miss Katrina Lang!”
Trina gasped. B tackled her with a huge hug, then shooed her up and onto the stage.
Even Trina seemed nervous as she stood before the tall and imposing Madame Mel.
“May I see your bracelet, please, young lady?”
Trina held out her wrist with the silver bracelet given to every witch, that held charms representing milestones in their magical education. Trina’s carried a single charm from when she found her magic. Madame Mel chanted:
“Each young witch is a gift, full of untapped ability,
But talent we honor. It brings responsibility
To hold up your example, to lead and to teach.
This star represents how high you should reach.”
And there, on Trina’s charm bracelet, appeared a glittering silver star.
B felt her eyes grow wet. Trina deserved this award. B didn’t begrudge her that charm, not one single bit. She couldn’t be prouder of her talented, loyal friend.
“Don’t be upset with B, Mrs. Cicely,” Trina said afterward, in the lobby. “Jason Jameson tried to sabotage Dawn. B gave up her chance in the Young Witch Competition, and even donated her potion, to help Dawn with her costume after Jason dumped paint all over her.”
B’s mom’s expression changed. She grabbed B and squashed her close in a huge hug. “Did you really do that for your sister, B?” she said. “You were doing so well in the Young Witch Competition. But you gave it all up for Dawn? Oh, honey.”
B put her arms around her mother. For a minute, then, B realized just what she had given up. In the moment, she hadn’t even questioned what she needed to do for Dawn. Had she really been doing that well in the Young Witch Competition? Could she, maybe, have had a shot at winning? That potion of hers sure did have amazing results.
But it didn’t matter. B didn’t regret her choice one bit. Seeing Dawn’s spectacular last dance was worth everything.
“Good for you, B,” Mr. Bishop said. “But Madame Mel’s not too happy with you right now. It’s never happened before that someone didn’t show up when their name was called for the final potions round. I’ll go smooth things over with her.” He smiled. “If there’s one thing she hates, it’s foul play. She’ll be proud of you for thwarting Jason. And, incidentally, I’ll make sure the school principal hears about Jason’s antics tomorrow.”
After the hubbub at the M.R.S. had died down, B’s mom invited everyone back to their home for an impromptu party. “Butterscotch ripple cheesecake with homemade peach custard at our house!” she cried, and nobody needed a second invitation. Trina and her grandmother came, along with Mr. Bishop, and when they got there they found Dawn and Mr. Cicely waiting for them. Dawn wore a silk banner draped over her shoulder, announcing “You’ve Got It!” in gold letters.
After their mom had hugged Dawn about twenty times, she started serving up dessert, and Dawn sat down at the kitchen table next to B. Trina had insisted on telling everyone what B had done, and how much she’d sacrificed to help Dawn.
Dawn’s eyes were wide. “So you missed the potions round?”
B nodded. “It’s okay. It was worth it to see you dance so well. I am really proud of my superstar sister.”
Dawn threw her arms around B. “You’re the superstar,” Dawn said, starting to sound a little weepy. “I’m sorry I was so mad at you this week,” she whispered in B’s ear.
B hugged her back. “That’s okay.”
Their mom set plates of incredible dessert in front of both of them, but Dawn paid no attention to hers. “You may not have won the Young Witch Competition, but you’re the star in my book,” she said. “Here. I want you to have this. You deserve it.”
Dawn reached for her silver bracelet and removed her own star charm. She handed it to B.
B took the charm and stared at it. Only then did she realize that everyone else in the room was watching them. They burst into applause!
B hugged her sister again. “Thanks, Dawn.”
“Thank you,” Dawn said. “When it comes to being a great sister, You’ve Got It!”
Preview
Don’t miss any of the M-A-G-I-C!
B Magical #1: The Missing Magic
Now that Beatrix (known to her friends as B) is eleven, she should be able to cast spells, just like everyone else in her magical family. But no matter how hard she tries, B is still an ordinary girl.
Then one day at school, everything changes. B discovers that there’s more than one kind of spelling — and that the F-U-N is just beginning!
B Magical #2: The Trouble with Secrets
Beatrix (B for short) loves her new magic lessons. But when the circus comes to town, along with a “witch” named Enchantress Le Fay, B is put to the test. B is sure Le Fay isn’t a real witch, but when she puts a hex on B’s best friend, George, bad things really happen.
B needs to act fast — before George and the whole witching community get into real T-R-O-U-B-L-E!
B Magical #3: The Runaway Spell
Now that B’s best friend, George, knows that she’s a witch, he wants to see what she can do. And with the big championship soccer game coming up, George asks for B’s magical help — can she make him play like his favorite soccer star, the Italian Zebra?
But B’s spell takes a wild turn, and soon George is more zebra than boy! Can she make his tails and ears V-A-N-I-S-H before the big game?
B Magical #4: The Cat-Astrophe
Beatrix and her best friend, George, are excited when a new girl joins their class at school. Trina seems nice, but she also seems to have a lot of secrets. When strange things start happening whenever B and George are around Trina, B can’t help but wonder — could the new girl be a witch, too? And maybe even … a secret pop S-T-A-R?
B Magical #5: The Chocolate Meltdown
Beatrix loves that her dad works at Enchanted Chocolates — after all, who wouldn’t like free candy and special tours of a chocolate factory?
But something goes terribly wrong with the new batch of chocolate-covered fruit. All the witches who try the candy lose their ability to enchant! Can B whip up a solution, or could this spell the E-N-D of the magic?
POISON APPLE BOOKS
THRILLING. BONE-CHILLING.
THESE BOOKS HAVE BITE!
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Julie Berry
About the Author
LEXI CONNOR loves word searches, crosswords, and word puzzles. When she was younger, she won her county bee and traveled to the regional competition, where, in a moment of extreme stage fright, she misspelled “C-E-M-E-T-E-R-Y.” She lives with her black cat named Abbey in Massachusetts.
Copyright
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Working Partners Limited, Stanley House, St. Chad’s Place, London WC1X 9HH, United Kingdom.
Copyright © 2010 by Working Partners Ltd. Series created by Working Partners Ltd., London All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. SCHOLASTIC, APPLE PAPERBACKS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Cover art by Tuesday Mourning
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
First printin
g, November 2010
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-34614-6
