Pointy Hats and Witchy Cats

by Addison Creek

  Jonathan’s murder hadn’t been solved. Ethel was still in the crosshairs. This celebration should have been for her, not for me. That’s all I could think of as the stylists worked on me and Bethel and the rest of them cavorted around as if we were already at a party.

  Once the stylists had helped me with my crystal-covered dress, I had a moment alone in my room. I stared into the mirror, not really recognizing the girl who stared back. My makeup had been done perfectly. I had a gray smoky eye with a dash of purple sparkle as a reference to the suit I’d been wearing earlier. Lucky had also painted my nails a bright purple. She said she’d been a nail technician in another life, and she did them perfectly.

  Now that I had a moment of peace and quiet, I wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I just waited. My hair was pulled up into some fancy curly thing. I didn’t know the name of the design, but I knew it looked good.

  Eventually there was a gentle knock on the door and I called for whoever it was to come in. My grandmother entered with a big smile, holding a small box.

  “You look beautiful,” she said.

  “Thank you, but I don’t feel beautiful. I wish that Ethel could be here,” I sighed.

  Bethel frowned. “She’ll be here soon, and we’ll figure this out. I promise. This is the first step. She’ll be home soon.”

  “I don’t know how I got such a cool sister. I’ve never been cool,” I said.

  “We are all cool in our own way,” she said. Then she pulled a chair up next to me, sat down, and held the box out to me. “This is for you. I think your mother would have wanted you to have it.”

  “Another pen?” I asked her with a smile.

  Carefully I took the ornate box and flipped it open. Inside it was a necklace with witch shoes hanging at the end. The shoes were simple. Their only decoration was that the heel was made of jade-colored rhinestones. The shoes were small and delicate, much smaller than the shoes I currently wore around my neck.

  I found myself smiling. “They’re pretty. Where are they from?” I asked.

  I reached out and touched the necklace gently as my grandmother said, “They were your mother’s. Her first pair after she passed her own witch examination. We were all so proud of her. As the years went on, witch shoes got fancier. Your mother was wearing a cheap pair when she died. She had just left prison and she didn’t want to appear as if she owned anything nice. Of course, her first night out I tried to convince her to wear something flashy. Selfishly, now I’m glad she didn’t wear any of the jewelry. It’s a little piece of her that I still have, and I wouldn’t have had it otherwise.”

  My grandmother’s necklace was a hat instead of shoes. I remembered seeing it when I’d first arrived. A witch could have any of the three: hat, shoes, cape.

  I felt sad as I pondered what it meant that she wouldn’t have had the nice necklace I held in my hands if it had been blown up like my mother was. But Bethel quickly brought me back to the present.

  She pursed her lips and stared at me. “You don’t think you just become a witch, do you? It takes work. It takes practice and hard work. You can’t just twiddle your fingers and be a member of the coven; that would be altogether too easy. No, you have to be confirmed. There are rules and regulations to such things. Some people don’t have the right temperament, some people are good at one thing and not another. You have to be a well-rounded witch. All of this is very important. I’m surprised that you don’t realize that by now. You have a long way to go before you become one of us,” she explained.

  “There will be a ceremony tonight to make me all official and stuff,” I said.

  “Yes, there will be. That’s why we already had your clothes made, and the family is supposed to provide this necklace. This means you can come and go into Twinkleford without being stopped. It’s your new passport. It means you belong here,” she confirmed.

  “Is there a reason you’re saying this to me now?” I tried to keep my voice light, but I knew my hands were trembling.

  “I got word that one of you didn’t pass,” she said quietly. “One of you will not join the coven.”

  “Who?” I whispered, although I had a sinking feeling in my heart that I already knew.

  “Glory,” she said.

  As my breath caught, my grandmother patted my shoulder. “Keep it together,” she murmured.

  I nodded slowly. If it were Hannah or Taylor I would care, but I knew it wasn’t.

  The shoes on my old necklace were so large that they didn’t even fit into the box. I put my new necklace on and smiled. My mother had worn this for years. Now we were as close as could be.

  “Are you ready?” my grandmother asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. I straightened my shoulders. “Let’s go.”

  As we made our way down the porch stairs, I wondered how we were going to get back to the dance hall. Now that we were all in fancy dresses and high heels, it didn’t make much sense for us to walk along the road and then take the trolley. As with every other aspect of my examination, my grandmother had already thought of this one.

  Our very own trolley was waiting for us outside. As was fitting, it was purple.

  The ride was quick until we got closer to the dance hall. There were paranormals everywhere, most of them simply lining the streets. When some of them caught a glimpse of us they yelled and waved.

  “This is a really big deal,” said Lowe, belaboring the obvious as we drove along. “Another generation of witches has passed the test. The town’s foundation is based on us. Without us, the town wouldn’t be here. This is a very important day, and everybody’s excited that all of the students passed. It doesn’t happen every year, but that’s why we’re always given three chances.”

  I nodded as if I understood, but my eyes were watching the townsfolk. The sun had just started to drop lower toward the horizon. It was still a while until sunset, but the light was changing. It was a beautiful evening for a dance.

  After we were escorted off the trolley, everything happened very quickly. I found myself being whisked away by France, who was delighted at my success and told me so. Taken by surprise, I turned to see Lowe and Bethel waving, Lowe madly and Bethel with more reserve. All I could do was wave back. I knew that Bethel expected me to straighten my shoulders and just get on with it, so I did.

  “I didn’t think I’d pass,” I said to France.

  He just kept smiling for a minute, then he said, “Everyone is gathering upstairs. That’s where all the girls are. I’ll just take you up there so the ceremony can begin.

  “Didn’t I get the weather wrong for tomorrow?” I asked him.

  “I can’t tell you what you got wrong and what you didn’t. The point is that we made a collective decision to pass you. You performed all the tasks we asked of you flawlessly,” he explained.

  “Well, I guess that’s good to hear,” I grumbled under my breath.

  Before we went upstairs, I caught a glimpse inside the dance hall. The space had been transformed.

  Never had I understood the wonders of magic so well as in this moment. What had been a long wooden structure, entirely uninteresting, had changed into the steps of a palace. One of the long sides of the dance hall had been opened to reveal a beautiful courtyard. A long set of stairs had appeared so that the new witches could make a grand entrance from a balcony on the second floor.

  The hall was already chock full of townsfolk, their anticipation wafting out on the hum of their voices.

  The witches who were joining the coven were to make a grand entrance on a balcony overlooking the dance floor—with our dates, then we would walk down the grand staircase and make our way outside for the initiation ceremony. After that would come the ball.

  I held my breath as I got to the top of the side stairs and found most of my fellow students already waiting. Taylor and Hannah were whispering in front of the doors while Kelly and Jackie lingered behind them, already relegated to second rate status.

  I felt clumsy in my clothe
s. The shoes were uncomfortable and so difficult to walk in that I thought I must look like an ogre clomping around. Meanwhile, Hannah and Taylor were graceful as usual, both dressed in gowns decorated with crystals and sparkles. Taylor’s was a blush pink, while Hannah’s was an incredibly light green. They were the kind of witches who turned heads, while I was the kind of witch who was liable to trip if I walked too fast.

  I walked past Hannah and Taylor with as much dignity as I could muster and joined my friends, neither of whom looked happy.

  “Did you hear about Glory?” Jackie whispered. I nodded. My throat felt tight.

  “It’s awful,” said Kelly. “She barely did anything wrong. I just don’t understand it.”

  As we whispered, I shifted on the plush carpet so that the double doors with their white and gold handles were in front of me. I hadn’t been down to this end of the upstairs when I’d come to Jonathan’s office, so it was all new to me. I could still hear the murmur of voices from the dance hall, with soft music playing in the background and the smell of delicious food already reaching my nostrils. This was a celebration, and Glory wasn’t here to see it.

  “Get in line!” scolded Ms. Mallon, who had just come bustling into the corridor. She walked so close to us that we were forced to step into line. “The dates are here. I expect all of you to do this class proud!”

  My heart sank as I saw four men—not five—strolling in behind Ms. Mallon. One was a gangly guy who went to stand with Kelly; she had told me that he was one of her brother’s friends. Another was Gill, who went to stand with Jackie.

  Then there were Taylor and Hannah’s dates, both of whom were really good-looking guys, the kind of guys who, I was sure, would have turned Bailey’s head had she been here. Neither of them looked especially pleasant, so much so that Hannah sniffed at the one who went to stand next to her and would barely look at him.

  I was standing in the middle of the line, trying to cope with the fact that there was no sign of Quinn.

  “Don’t you have a date?” Taylor asked, stooping to acknowledge my existence again.

  “He’s coming,” I said, jutting my chin out.

  Taylor smirked. “Liar.” Then she laughed and turned away before I could argue with her.

  “Is your date coming?” Jackie whispered to me.

  “I thought that he was,” I whispered back. Quinn and I weren’t truly friends, but I had spend enough time with him in a variety of circumstances to know that he wasn’t malicious. I also knew he wouldn’t miss an attempt to interrogate me about my sister if he got the chance, but that had nothing to do with whether he was going to show up to escort me tonight, as promised.

  Ms. Mallon was speaking with Hannah as the soon-to-be witch continued to ignore her date. When she finished with Hannah, her eyes scanned down the line, sharpening when they came to me. She excused herself and came marching toward me.

  “Where is your date? Everyone else has one. We are ready to begin. The ceremony must start on time!”

  I swallowed hard. Under all the pretty clothes and makeup I felt fear. “Sorry. I know he’s late. He was supposed to be here by now.”

  She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Very well. Just stand at the back of the line, please. If he doesn’t show up, you are to go in last. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  Kelly and Jackie gave me sympathetic looks as I made my way to stand behind them. Then they got absorbed in speaking with their dates, and my mind wandered to what was about to happen.

  Would becoming a witch hurt? That was something I probably should have asked Bethel, but it was too late now. I didn’t think it would, but magic had surprised me before. I wished Ethel were here. I still didn’t know my sister at all, but I had a feeling she would be reveling the ceremony of this event. In the thick of it, so to speak.

  “Let’s get going,” said Hannah, turning to look at me with a gaze of sly challenge on her face.

  I couldn’t prevent my eyes from filling up with a plea, which only caused her smile to widen. She stepped forward with a triumphant smile, and the large white doors were thrown open. Slowly our small line started moving forward. I took a deep breath and tried to accept the fact that Quinn wasn’t coming.

  Loud cheers erupted when the dance hall crowd saw Hannah emerging onto the balcony. She walked through the big doorway into sparkles and rainbows. As the cheering got louder, Taylor gave Hannah just enough time to lap up the attention before she followed her friend, to even more acclaim. After that it was Jackie’s turn. From the back I couldn’t see my friend’s expression, but I was certain she was nervous. The applause didn’t stop, but it was decidedly calmer once Hannah and Taylor had had their turn.

  After Jackie came Kelly. As she reached the doorway she glanced back at me and gave me a sympathetic look. Still alone, I would have to walk out onto the biggest stage I had ever seen by myself.

  Like Jackie and Kelly, I moved forward at a snail’s pace. They had been trying to buy me moments in case Quinn was racing to get there, but I could wait no longer. Disappointment seeped into my bones as I faced the fact that he wasn’t coming. Why he would have lied, I didn’t know; all I knew was that he hadn’t come. A gulf opened in my stomach and made me realize, at last, how much I had wanted him to be present.

  As I was about to reach the doors and walk through them, a flash of white at my arm made me glance sideways.

  Quinn was here!

  He was dressed all in white, his hair thick and wavy as always and his cheeks slightly pink. My heart filled with delight at the sight of him.

  He smiled at me and I stared back, dumbstruck. As his eyes lingered, I felt warmth creep up from my belly to settle in my face. Of all the times to be nervous and embarrassed!

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said quickly. “Congratulations. You look amazing.”

  “I didn’t think you were going to come,” I whispered back.

  Only a few seconds now!

  I rested my hand gently on Quinn’s outstretched arm. We made quite the pair.

  “I said I’d be here, so here I am. I’m a merman of my word,” he said with a wink. His lame joke was so unexpected that it made me forget some of my nerves. The tightness drained from my chest and I found myself laughing out loud as we walked through the doors and into the dance hall.

  Below us was a sea of townsfolk. Most of the town of Twinkleford had packed into the hall, or at least that’s what it felt like. The blur of faces staring up at us ran the range from vampires to fairies and back again. There was no way I was going to be able to tell one person from another.

  A wave of murmurs went around the room as we appeared. My first thought was that people must think I looked ridiculous, but Quinn didn’t react at all. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it. As he led me down the grand staircase, all I hoped was that my ill-fitting shoes would stay on my feet until I was safely off the stairs.

  I could see my fellow students and the queen Witch herself waiting at the bottom, watching us descend. I couldn’t for the life of me understand the look in the queen’s eyes.

  “This way,” she said when we had finally joined the rest.

  Despite the fact that I knew the Carlisles didn’t like me, I couldn’t understand the undercurrents. Hannah was glaring at me with what looked, underneath the makeup, like rage. The same was true for Taylor, only she did better job of schooling her features into a superficially bland and bored mask.

  Utterly confused, I stumbled away from Quinn and followed the other debutant candidates.

  “How did you get him to bring you?” hissed Jackie desperately. I didn’t know where the Carlisle queen was leading us, but we were walking through a sort of aisle that had formed as the other guests made way for us to pass.

  “Bethel asked him and he said yes,” I replied. What was the big deal?

  “That’s it? She didn’t have to pay him or anything like that?” she said.

  I gasped. “What are you talking about? Are you saying I
couldn’t get someone to bring me unless he was paid?” That hurt.

  Jackie realized what she had said and quickly backtracked. “I’m saying that just about every family in Twinkleford has wanted Quinn to escort their daughter at one point or another, and it’s never happened until now. Hannah asked him months ago.”

  I stopped dead so suddenly that Jackie bumped into my back. I started moving again with a muttered apology.

  “I really can’t see the two of them together,” I murmured, trying to regain some sense of equilibrium.

  “Who can you see with Hannah?” whispered Jackie back.

  “An ice king,” I said immediately.

  “I suppose,” conceded Jackie. Then she shrugged. “Look, the point is that he’s been saying no for years. Everyone wants to be escorted by the only merman to walk the face of the earth, but he’s never even attended one of these celebrations before. He always just sends his lieutenant Joy to do security in his place.”

  “Why do you think he said yes for Bethel, then?” I whispered as we emerged outside into a beautiful courtyard with a water fountain sparkling in the middle. It was so lovely and calming that even in my consternation I found myself smiling. Whatever reply Jackie was about to make was drowned out by the call for the ceremony to begin.

  In the sudden silence, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I was about to become a member of the Twinkleford Coven. I was about to become a witch.

  The Carlisle queen motioned for us to gather around the fountain. No one said a word. Some guests had stayed behind in the dance hall, but others were assembling in the courtyard. They had fallen silent as we began the ritual, but now the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching.

  Just as I reached the edge of the fountain, I saw motion behind me. Coven witches materialized from the crowd, wearing black capes with green trim. Their hoods were up and their eyes cast down. They surrounded the five students who were about to become witches, including me, and I suddenly felt hemmed in. Quinn was behind me somewhere, but I didn’t dare look.