by Cassandra
“Yeah, sure. Pancakes would be nice,” Jessica said and wondered what the woman was up to. But since Ethel wouldn’t talk, she knew she had to take a different approach. “That’s an interesting outfit you have on, Grandma. What’s the special occasion? A burglary?”
“Ha,” Ethel said as she drew a pan from the kitchen cabinet. “You mind your business, girly. And there is nothing wrong with this outfit. Black happens to be a very figure-flattering color. You’ll see once you have some years and real curves on you.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Figure-flattering, huh? And who are you trying to make your figure flattering for at this time of the morning?”
Grandma Ethel turned and waved a wooden spoon in the air. “And what makes you think I did this for someone? Perhaps I simply wanted to look good for no reason at all. It’s not a crime.”
“Hmm. That’s an interesting choice of words.”
“You know,” Ethel said as she retrieved the flour. “I’m too old for you to give me the third degree.”
And you’re too old to lie like you are, she thought but knew better than to say that out loud.
“Now, instead of interrogating me, you need to get ready for tonight.”
Jessica sat at the kitchen table while Ethel mixed pancake flour in a large bowl. “What’s tonight?” she asked.
The old lady grinned. “Tonight, my dear, you’ll have your first spell lesson.”
Her face lit up. “Awesome! Even though it won’t really be my first spell.” She smirked and felt rather satisfied with herself. “I already know how to do reversal spells and convincing spells.”
Grandma Ethel pursed her lips, unimpressed as she stirred the pancake mix a little too forcefully. “Yeah, don’t remind me,” she said. “Anyway, this will be your first time to learn a spell the right way.”
She grinned and her face flushed slightly at her grandmother’s comment, but she was excited nonetheless.
Chapter Two
“Jessica!”
She jumped when she heard her name bellowed down the hall the second she stepped out of art class. In a flash, Ashley was in front of her, with Sara trailing behind her.
“Geez, you scared the crap out of me,” she said, turning toward her locker. Her brow furrowed when she noticed the distressed look on Ashley’s face. “What’s up?”
“I need a huge favor!”
“Uh oh.” Jessica sighed and looked at Sara for clues. “Is this something I’ll regret later?”
“No! Because we’re friends, and this should be something you’re all for. Especially since we have an extra ticket for you.”
She closed her locker once she’d retrieved her physics book. “Extra ticket?”
“Yes,” Ashley said and looped her arm through Jessica’s as they headed to class. Sara fell into step beside them. “Remember the concert I told you about?”
“Yeah…” Her eyes widened. “Hold up… You got tickets?”
Her friend added a skip to her walk. “Yep! Isn’t that awesome?”
“Yeah… So what’s the problem then? What do you need a favor for?”
“Because she talked back to her homeroom teacher and landed herself in detention,” Sara said and rolled her eyes.
“Are you kidding me?” Jessica frowned. “Why would you do something like that on the night of the concert? Come on, Ashley—”
“Hey, I said I needed a favor, not a lecture,” Ashley cut her off.
Jessica looked at her sideways and suddenly had an inkling about where the conversation was going.
“So,” Ashley began, “you and this hypnosis business… Do you think you can help me out?”
She sighed. “So that’s it, huh?”
“Come on! You can do it right?”
“I…” Her voice trailed off. After she had gotten herself out of detention using the convincing spell she’d learnt from her grandmother’s book, she had been somewhat flattered by the air of mystery that surrounded her afterward. She couldn’t deny getting a thrill out of being the talk of the school. And while people had requested her services, there was something different about a friend asking.
The last thing she wanted was for them to start using her for her powers. She now felt that perhaps she should have done more to shut down the rumors rather than enjoy the attention.
“Jessica?” Ashley said and a hint of uncertainty entered her voice. “You’ll do this for me, right? I mean—I got you a ticket. And I even got Kacey a ticket.”
Jessica felt her face flush slightly at the sound of Kacey’s name. They now reached their classroom, and the moment they stepped inside, he was right there and waved at them from across the room.
“Okay,” she said and tried to ignore the apprehension she felt. After all, she really did want to go to the concert. It would be loads of fun.
Ashley squealed and broke into a victory dance.
“Okay—I’ll to need you to never do that dance move ever again. Especially not tonight at the concert,” Sara teased.
“Shut up,” the other girl retorted as they took their seats beside each other.
Seconds later, Eric walked through the door. He nodded at them. “Hey, Jessica. Did you hear this genius over here landed herself in detention on tonight of all nights, when we’re supposed to go to the concert?”
“For your information, Eric,” Ashley said crossly, “Jessica will take care of that for me.”
He took a seat beside her and raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
“You guys—listen, don’t make a habit out of it. I’m not a parlor-trick,” Jessica said and squirmed in her seat.
Ashley swatted her on the arm. “Oh, don’t be so sensitive.”
Sara leaned forward with a wide grin. “Hey, Jessica—there’s still an extra ticket to spare. Why don’t you invite Chad?”
Eric rolled his eyes and glanced away as if he now regretted sitting with the girls.
“That’s right. You still haven’t properly introduced us to him yet,” Ashely chimed in. “This would be the perfect opportunity.”
“I don’t know…” She was well aware of the crush the girls had on Chad—just as she was well aware of his real age. While she knew he would never take them seriously, she felt it cruel to get their hopes up.
“Jessica! Why are you hiding him from us? Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two?” Ashely accused.
“I promise you, there is nothing like that going on between us,” she said and fought hard to keep herself from grimacing as she remembered the fact that Chad was only a few years shy of thirty years old.
He had, however, taken her to the witch’s academy. Considering he had played such a pivotal role in helping her figure out what she wanted to do with her new life as a witch-in-training, she honestly did owe the guy. Who knew? Maybe he liked concerts, and this would be the perfect way to thank him.
She pulled her cell phone from her backpack. “I’ll text and ask if he wants to come,” she said and Sara and Ashley cheered triumphantly—right at the most inopportune moment.
“Ahem.”
They all glanced up to see that their teacher had entered the room, and he clearly was not amused when he heard the disturbance Sara and Ashley had caused.
Ashley swore and covered her mouth with her hand. She cast a panicked look sideways at Jessica.
It looks like now is the time, Jessica thought and leapt up from her seat. “Mr. Randall?” she said and hurried forward. “Can I talk to you for a moment? It’s important.”
He glanced skeptically at her. “All right, Ms. Palmers,” he said in his serious drawl. “Step into the hallway.”
As she followed him out, she glanced quickly at Ashley and winked.
She squinted at her grandmother through the darkness. Jessica had practically run home from school, eager to have her first official lesson. Yet somehow, this wasn’t what she had expected.
“What?” Ethel eyed her granddaughter from the other side of the dining room t
able.
All the lights in the house had been turned off and all the curtains had been drawn to shut out any lingering sunlight. The mild fragrance of incense drifted through the air to set the mood, and before them, on the table, were two long candlesticks.
“So, this is all we’re doing?” she asked. “Lighting candles?”
“Well, what did you expect to do on your first lesson—raise the dead?” The old lady tightened her knit sweater around her body and rubbed her hands together. “Besides, this isn’t as simple as you think.”
“How difficult can it be to light a candle?” Jessica retorted. “It’s not even like it’s a necessary skill. If you can’t light a candle, there’s always your cell phone flashlight.”
Ethel rolled her eyes. “You kids and all your fancy gadgets. One of these days, when technology fails, you’ll all be the most useless bunch of flesh and bones around.”
“And I bet lighting a candle wouldn’t solve anything.”
“Girl, do you want this lesson or not?”
“I’m sorry. Yes, Grandma, I want the lesson.”
“All right then.” Her grandmother nodded. “Beginners gotta start somewhere. You know, other than whatever shenanigans you’ve been up to, missy.”
Jessica was glad it was dark enough to hide her blushing.
“Now, there are plenty of ways to light a candle,” Ethel continued, “but the way kids are initially taught is by chanting. You’ll find that for the most part, this is the easiest way to complete spells. It’s not always the most convenient, but when you’re new, it’s the simplest way. You can worry about more convenient ways once you’re more advanced.”
“Okay,” she said, although she was already excited about the prospect of one day being able to silently perform spells with a simple wave of her hand. Or a wiggle of her nose.
It was a relief though, to know that as a beginner, she’d primarily only learn chants. Considering everything she’d done so far, this type of learning—for something as simple as lighting candles, no less—should be a piece of cake.
“I want you to concentrate on your candlestick,” the old lady instructed. “Try to make everything else around you fade into the background. And once all you can see is the candle, envision a bright flame springing up from it.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“Once you’ve done that, you say, ‘Calling to the power of fire, come forward and come quick. Calling to the power of fire, light this candlestick.’”
Jessica grinned and thought the chant sounded more like a nursery rhyme than a spell. But when she noticed the stern look her grandma gave her, she wiped the smirk quickly from her face. “Sorry,” she apologized again.
“Watch me,” Grandma Ethel instructed. She demonstrated the procedure and a bright yellow flame flickered into existence.
“Cool,” Jessica said.
“Yes, cool. Now, your turn.”
She nodded, fixed her gaze on the candlestick, and stared at it until her eyes grew blurry. Focused, she took a deep breath and started the chant. “Calling on the power of fire. Come forward, come quick. Calling on the power of fire, light my candlestick.”
Nothing.
Her candlestick remained unlit on the table.
With an eyebrow raised, she looked at Grandma Ethel, who now was the one with a grin.
“Rule number one of witchcraft—never be too cocky. I told you it wasn’t as easy as you thought. You have to always be prepared for things to go wrong, especially on your first try. And it doesn’t matter how much potential you have or how skilled you already are.”
Jessica frowned. While she wanted to take comfort in her grandmother’s words, it was still irritating to know that she had managed to successfully magic detentions away but couldn’t light a stupid candle.
The old woman clapped her hands together loudly and snapped the girl out of her thoughts. “Try again.”
She sighed and prepared herself for another attempt. Yet, after she’d focused on the candlestick and uttered the chant again, she still didn’t produce a flame.
Her groan almost sounded pained. “What am I doing wrong?”
Grandma Ethel shrugged her shoulders, although there was a playful gleam in her eyes. “I guess you’d better keep practicing until you figure it out.”
“But I have a concert to go to tonight.”
“Well, you can practice until then. Let it be an incentive for you. If there’s a massive power outage and your cellphone suddenly dies, you want to be able to at least light a candle so that you and your friends can see your way out.
We’re parked outside! Come on out!
Jessica glanced at the text message and smiled. She hadn’t learned how to light a candle yet, but she felt fairly confident the concert wouldn’t have a power outage.
Hastily, she added the final touches to her concert outfit and studied herself in the mirror before she grabbed her cellphone and hurried down the stairs. Grandma Ethel was on the couch, watching her soaps as usual.
“Oooh, look at you, little miss fancy pantsy,” the old lady said. “Who’s going to this concert with you? That Kacey boy? Or do you hope to catch the eye of one of the band members?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Jessica rolled her eyes. “There’s a whole group of us going,” she said.
“Ha. So Kacey is going.” Cackling, Grandma Ethel stood from the couch and started for the window, obviously hoping to catch a glimpse of Kacey outside.
“Grandma, don’t,” she pleaded. “Besides, I’m riding with Sara, Ashley, and Eric. Kacey’s meeting us there so he’s not outside.”
Ethel tsked. “You know, in my day, when the boys were serious, they’d pick us up themselves. And they’d come to the door. None of this ‘I’ll meet you there’ nonsense you kids do. It’s so lazy and impersonal.”
Jessica grimaced. “Because we’re teenagers, Grandma. Nobody’s…serious about anything.”
Her grandmother waved her hand dismissively and sat once more to plop the nearest cat onto her lap. “Well, have fun. And I hope there are no power outages.”
She laughed and held her cell phone up. “Don’t worry. It’s fully charged.”
It took a moment to negotiate the cats between her and the front door, but she finally headed out and jogged down the porch. She smiled broadly as she reached Sara’s car. With Ashley in the passenger’s seat, she climbed into the backseat with Eric.
Sara and Ashely instantly began to whoop and cheer, clearly already excited.
“Do you mind saving all the screaming for when we actually get there?” Eric asked and shook his head. He gave Jessica a meek smile. “Anyway—how are you? You look nice.”
“Oooooh,” Ashley said as Sara cranked the engine and pulled off down the road. “Don’t let Kacey hear you talking to her like that.”
“Oh, shut up,” Jessica said. “Anyway, what time does the show start? Does he know when to meet us there?”
“Relax, Jess. Yes, your Prince Charming knows when and where to meet us,” Sara said, smirked, and gave her a glance through the rearview mirror.
Jessica kicked the back of her seat. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you guys it’s not like that.”
“Yeah. Whatever. Anyway, is Chad coming?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. I forgot about him, to be honest.” She checked her phone to make sure she hadn’t missed any messages from him. “He never texted me back. I guess we’ll have to see if he shows up.”
“Ugggh.” Sara groaned. “The suspense will kill me.”
Jessica laughed. With all the stress that came with witch training and demon fighting, a fun night out with friends was exactly what she needed.
Eric gave a low whistle once they arrived at the arena and saw the line they had to wait in for the concert. “Damn. I hope we make it inside before the show starts. Standing in this line could take all night.”
“Look at that one, though,” Ashley said and pointed. “It’s a lot shorter.
”
“Maybe that’s the VIP section or something,” Sara said.
A mischievous gleam formed in Ashley’s eyes. “There’s only one way to find out. Come on, guys.” She sashayed over toward the shorter line and the others trailed silently behind her.
A burly doorman with arms as big as tree trunks stood at the front. He fixed a stern gaze on the group when he saw them approach.
“Do you mind if we get in this line?” Ashley asked and batted her eyelashes.
“Are you twenty-one years old?” he asked in a gruff voice.
“Oh…”
“That’s what I thought. The line for you is that way.” He pointed a thick finger toward the long one they had tried to bypass.
“Nice try,” Eric muttered.
“Well, let’s get into it before it gets any longer,” Jessica said and tried to keep the mood from spoiling. “Has anyone seen Kacey yet, by the way?”
“What are you underaged losers doing here?” a voice taunted.
As one, Jessica, Ashley, Sara, and Eric turned around to find Debbie McCrow, Marie Sanchez, and Patricia Tony staring smugly back them.
“What the hell?” Ashley said.
Debbie, the ringleader, grinned and held up what was obviously a fake ID. “It sucks to be young teenagers and have to wait in such a long line. I hope you guys don’t miss the show…or can even see anything from your lousy seats. You know the best place to be is near the bar.” She winked as the line began to move forward.
“Now, Debbie,” Marie said, “you know they’re better off sitting in the back anyway. If the band saw those hideous outfits they have on, they’d be kicked out.”
The three girls laughed in unison.
Jessica could practically feel her friends fuming beside her. “If that’s the case,” she retorted, “you’d better hope they don’t put you out when they spot your hideous faces. They might think they’re staring at a bunch of witches or something.”
“Ha!” Ashley said and nodded smugly.
