Freakiest Trip Ever!, page 1
To my readers:
You are magical.
Love,
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
I know two things that can make a classroom full of magical middle schoolers go completely bonkers.
The first day of spring and a teacher being late for class.
It’s like a recipe for total madness.
My aunt Trudy calls it “double whammy.”
That’s what’s happening right now in my potions class. Everyone has legit lost it—even me!
“Let’s get some AIR in here!” I shout, thrusting open the windows and letting spring swirl into our classroom.
Ahhhhh.
The fresh breeze blows away months of dusty, closed-in winter air.
It also triggers some of the kids to shoot rubber bands and fly paper airplanes.
Snap! Swoosh! Doink!
Others hide behind chairs, laughing, dodging, and squealing.
Wow, it feels good to cut loose.
My friend Hunter McCann only adds to the wackiness. He brought a prank sound machine to class. He got it in a care package from his aunt.
He’s pressing all the buttons, making one kooky sound after another. A blasting air horn, hideous laughter, squealing tires, shattering glass, and LOTS of really gross—but funny—bathroom noises.
We shriek with laughter.
Sophie Rodriguez laughs so hard, she falls off her chair.
Kabonk!
On the other side of the room, there are two kids hanging from the doorframe trying to see who can do more pull-ups.
As for my friends Isabelle and Melanie, they’re crumpling up notebook paper and shooting them into our teacher Mrs. Kettledrum’s wastebasket.
This is when Mrs. Kettledrum walks into the classroom.
Nobody even notices her, except for the boys doing pull-ups on the doorframe because they’re blocking her way. Poor Mrs. Kettledrum does her best to get our attention.
“Class!
“Class!
“CLA-A-A-SS!”
Nobody hears her over the hubbub, though I’m vaguely aware of Mrs. K’s dog, Momo, barking somewhere in a galaxy light-years away. Soon our teacher has to resort to stronger means to get our attention.
OMGosh! What is that deafening sound? It’s like we’re inside a big bell.
We clap our hands over our ears. Then the room falls silent except for the tickity-tick of a pencil falling onto the floor.
“Well, that’s MUCH better!” Mrs. Kettledrum exclaims, shaking her head. “My goodness! I’ve never seen such a dreadful case of spring fever!”
Momo hops onto Mrs. K’s chair and barks sharply to echo our teacher’s dismay.
We quickly take our seats without a word. By now the whole class has already moved on to something else. Something much more interesting than spring fever.
Mrs. Kettledrum has not only arrived late…
She’s not alone.
There, standing beside our teacher, is a new girl.
I size her up in a millisecond.
She has straight chocolate-brown hair that falls halfway down her back and a thick curtain of bangs. Freckles smatter her perfectly upturned nose and cheeks.
Adorable.
Her eyes are a sparkling emerald green, outlined with dark feathery lashes. She’s wearing a medium-wash denim skirt and a navy-and-oat-striped crocheted top.
My kind of outfit.
She’s super-pretty and trendy—someone Melanie would definitely glom on to, which leads to my next question.
Who IS this girl?
What’s she doing here?
Could she be Mrs. Kettledrum’s niece? I doubt it. She’s probably a visiting student.
Or maybe she’s a new student starting today?
Why would Broomsfield Academy bring in a new student so close to the end of the year?
I look around the room to see what my classmates are thinking. They look like they’re wondering the same thing as me.
“Okay, now that everyone has settled down,” Mrs. Kettledrum begins, “I want to first remind you that Friday is our field trip to the American Natural History Museum.”
We cheer our approval, though we hardly need reminding. We’ve been looking forward to this field trip for weeks.
What we really want to know is, who is this mystery girl?
But Mrs. K tells us more about the class trip.
“This field trip has such special meaning for me,” she says, pressing one hand to her heart.
“Each year I take my first-year magical students to this museum. It’s so important to get out into the world and learn about a different kind of magic—the magic of science and the natural world. I know you’re all going to love it! We’ll depart for the museum after lunch on Friday.”
Then our favorite teacher clasps her hands together and finally addresses the stranger standing beside her.
“Our field trip is also perfect timing for our new student!”
My heart skips a beat when she says “new student.” Wow, this girl IS starting now….
Mrs. Kettledrum rests one hand gently on the new girl’s shoulder.
“Attention, everyone!” our teacher says. “I’m happy to introduce your new classmate, Jodi Thompson.”
Jodi smiles and seems exceptionally comfortable with all of us staring at her. It’s like we’re her adoring fans.
One word: confident.
Mrs. Kettledrum tells us a little bit about the new girl.
“Jodi has moved here all the way from Canada,” our teacher tells us. “I’m proud to share that Jodi is also a very gifted witch, who was at the top of her magic classes at her former school. Please let’s all give Jodi a warm welcome to Broomsfield Academy….”
We clap courteously to make Jodi feel welcome.
I know this may sound weird, but the new girl already makes me feel a smidge uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure it’s because Mrs. Kettledrum called her a very gifted witch.
It triggered a feeling of jealousy inside me.
How ridiculous is that?
I push those thoughts away.
The funny thing is, as soon as I think this, Jodi looks directly at me and smiles.
But it’s not just any smile; it’s a knowing smile.
I squirm in my chair.
Whoa, it’s almost as if Jodi just read my mind!
Now, that really IS ridiculous. There’s no way Jodi can read my thoughts.
Right when I think that, Jodi smiles at me again and raises her eyebrow.
Wait, did she actually hear what I was thinking?
I’m so caught off guard, I gasp loudly. The sound draws attention, so I cough to cover it up. But I must have coughed too loudly because Mrs. Kettledrum calls on me.
Eek!
“Is everything all right, Heidi?”
I quickly cover my mouth and pretend to clear my throat.
“Um, yes! I’m fine, Mrs. Kettledrum!” I say awkwardly. “Just had a little something caught in my throat.” I grab my neck and clear my throat again to make my cover-up seem more believable.
Mrs. Kettledrum seems to buy it, but not Jodi. She just openly smirked at me!
I turn around to see if Jodi could possibly be looking at somebody else, but there’s no mistaking it. She’s definitely smirking at me.
Okay, what is going on right now?!
Suddenly everything seems strangely out of control.
I tap Melanie, who’s sitting next to me, on the arm. She looks at me like, What?
I give her a forceful look and nod slightly toward Jodi as if to say, Do you notice anything weird about the new girl?
Melanie shakes her head, totally clueless. She doesn’t get what I’m trying to say, or what’s going on, at all.
I huff.
Well, whatever IS going on, it’s not good.
Something’s definitely off. I can feel it.
Why would I be getting totally creepy vibes from this new girl? I don’t even know her!
All I know is, she’s a very gifted witch from Canada, who seems to be singling me out. What’s the deal?
This is freaking me out.
Did she really just read my thoughts? Or was it my imagination?
One word: chilling.
USE YOUR NOODLE
Buzz of the new girl spreads across campus like wildfire. It’s as if everyone wants to know her.
And I mean everyone!
It also appears that being new is the secret to popularity. All my classmates want to get to know Jodi, but I don’t.
It’s not because she’s suddenly more popular than I am. I’m keeping a side-eye view on this whole new-girl situation.
I have yet to tell anyone about the weird vibes I’ve been getting from Jodi, but I won’t be able to keep this to myself forever. At some point, I’ll have to unload—or explode.
By dinnertime I’m starving. Feeling out of sorts has given me a whopper of an appetite, though it could be because I only had three red licorice sticks for lunch.
Oops!
I do have some good news! Jodi has not been assigned to my table.
Phew! At least I don’t have to deal with her at mealtimes this week.
The other good news is that Hunter, Annabelle, and Sunny are at my table.
Yay!
But there’s some bad news too. My crush, Nick, is at Jodi’s table.
Argh!
She’d better not flirt with my crush.
Two words: Paws off!
Thankfully, Jodi momentarily slips my
I love Pasta Night! It means we get to build our own pasta bowls.
Yum!
Melanie, Isabelle, Hunter, and I slide our trays in front of the pasta station.
“Look at all the pasta-bilities!” Hunter jokes.
Izzy shoves Hunter.
“Oh, STOP it!” she exclaims at his noodle pun.
We all burst out laughing, and Izzy keeps the fun going.
“Everyone, what type of noodle are you?” she asks.
Melanie narrows her eyebrows.
“What do you mean?” she questions.
Isabelle giggles.
“I mean, what’s the pasta shape that best describes your personality?” she asks.
Suddenly we look at the pasta choices with new interest. Hmmm, if I were pasta, what would I be? I wonder.
It takes me all of two seconds to figure out my choice. I’m definitely spiral pasta because as usual, my life is spiraling out of control.
I decide to keep this to myself. Besides, Melanie goes first anyway.
“I’m ANGEL-hair pasta,” she says dramatically. “That’s because of my halo of blond hair.” Then she flips her blond ponytail with the back of her hand.
“Is that so?” Izzy comments with a dash of snark-asm. “Does ‘angelic’ really describe your character?”
We all laugh—even Melanie because she may look like an angel, but she doesn’t always act like one.
Melanie shrugs and turns to Hunter. “So, what type of noodle are you, Prince Charming?”
Hunter rolls his eyes at Melanie as he examines the dishes full of different kinds of pasta.
“Well, my swag is no secret,” he jokes. “That must mean I’m bow-tie pasta. Anyone who can wear a bow tie has to be fearless and confident, and, well, that pretty much sums me up.”
We roll our eyes and agree that bow-tie pasta definitely describes Hunter to a tee.
After that, Melanie takes it upon herself to dole out the rest of our noodle personalities—that’s because she loves to be in charge.
No surprise there!
“Okay, if Isabelle and Hunter were a noodle together, then they’d have to be spaghetti because spaghetti is the romantic pasta,” Melanie says.
Then she explains how in the movie Lady and the Tramp the two would eat opposite ends of the same piece of spaghetti and wind up with locked lips.
“Woooooo!” Melanie and I croon at the same time.
Isabelle’s cheeks turn pink, but Hunter just laughs it off.
Then Melanie moves on to me.
Oh no, here we go….
“Heidi, you’re the spiral pasta because you’re kooky, fun, and totally unpredictable.”
I make a silly face because she’s right, but I still keep the part about me being a spiraling, out-of-control noodlehead to myself.
Instead I decide to give Melanie my take on her noodle type.
“Well, Melanie, you may be angel-hair pasta, but you’re also ravioli because you’re so full of surprises!”
We all crack up, and that’s when we notice that the kids behind us in line are getting annoyed and want us to hurry up.
We scoop some noodles into our bowls and top them with sauce and grated cheese before scurrying back to our assigned tables.
Yum!
When I get to my table, I plunk down beside Sunny and Annabelle. They’re already halfway through their meals. Before I dig in, I sneak a glance at Jodi’s table, which is the next one over from ours.
Melanie and Nick are both talking to Jodi a mile a minute.
Ugh.
I wish Nick wouldn’t talk to Jodi. It makes me feel so blah!
Sunny nudges me, and I snap out of my thoughts.
“Heidi, have you met the new girl?” she asks innocently—not knowing I’ve been stressing about the new girl all day.
“Her name is Jodi and she’s sooo nice,” Sunny goes on. “She even offered to help me carry a bunch of sweatshirts to the lost and found in between classes. So sweet, right? She was also super-chatty and upbeat, too—our kind of person.”
Annabelle nods in total agreement.
“Yeah, I bumped into Jodi at the bookstore,” she adds, “and she complimented my outfit and my English accent. She even bought me some sour gummy worms—for absolutely no reason—when we were checking out. That was so BEYOND!”
My shoulders automatically slump because I feel like I’m caught in a raging storm of positivity, and this makes me feel like a total merg-a-saurus.
“What’s the matter, Heidi?” Sunny asks, noticing my grumpy face and slouchy posture.
I stab a pasta spiral with my fork and sigh.
“Well, if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t have the same happy experience with Jodi that you guys did.”
Sunny and Annabelle look at each other like, Whoa, what does she mean by THAT?
“Well, how did she act around you, Heidi?” Annabelle asks. “She was in your potions class, right? Did Mrs. Kettledrum have to slow down so Jodi could catch up?”
I shake my head. “Nope, exactly the opposite.”
Annabelle gives me another curious look, so I explain how the new girl is a star witch.
“Jodi had no problem keeping up in class,” I go on. “It turns out she was at the top of her magic classes at her old school in Canada. I think she probably came here because she needed more of a challenge….”
Annabelle tilts her head and looks at me thoughtfully. “Wow, Heidi, she sounds a lot like you!”
Annabelle’s comment makes me swallow wrong, and I start coughing. I cough so much that my eyes water. My friends look worried.
“Heidi, are you okay?” Sunny asks. “Try drinking something.”
I sip some water and try to recover from my coughing fit.
“I’m fine,” I say, still sputtering a little. “I do have something else on my mind.” I motion for my friends to scootch closer. Their chairs clump across the floor as they huddle nearer to me.
“Okay, I’m not one hundred percent sure,” I whisper to them. “But I think Jodi may have read my mind in class today.”
Sunny and Annabelle lean back in surprise.
“Wow, that’s SO cool!” Sunny exclaims.
Cool? I think. How could Sunny think this is cool? This is NOT cool.
It’s TERRIBLE.
Sometimes Sunny is so positive, it can be annoying.
“What’s cool about it?” I whisper angrily. “I find it totally unnerving and freaky.”
Sunny and Annabelle both stare at me in disbelief. Clearly neither one of them has heard the terrifying news flash I just shared. Just the opposite!
Annabelle leans in closer. “Think about it, Heidi,” she whispers. “You and Jodi could have entire conversations without having to say a single word out loud!” she says. “That sounds pretty cool, if you ask me.”
I give her a major eye roll.
“But reading minds is my gift,” I say defensively. “I don’t want to share my gift with somebody else. End of story.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know they sound selfish, and maybe even a tad babyish, but that’s the way I feel.
“You’re overreacting, Heidi,” Sunny assures me. “You need to give Jodi more of a chance. To be honest, I’m more afraid that you’ll become besties with her, and then you’ll forget all about us!”
Annabelle nods.
Wow, all this friend love feels good, and who knows, maybe they are right. I could be overreacting a little. But one thing’s for sure, I’d never ditch Sunny and Annabelle for Jodi. No way!
“That would never happen!” I reassure my friends. Then Annabelle nudges me.
“Hey, look,” she whispers, nodding toward Jodi’s table. “Melanie has already become besties with Jodi, so I guess none of us has to worry.”
I glance at the new girl’s table. Melanie is still gabbing nonstop with Jodi. Nick is listening to both of them intently.
Ugh, I can’t watch.
“Well, all I can say is that Jodi had better not move in on my crush!” I tell my friends.
Sunny and Annabelle laugh.
“Like that would ever happen!” Annabelle says pretty convincingly. “Nick only has eyes for you, Heidi, and I don’t see that changing.”
Sunny agrees 100 percent. Their vote of confidence helps tame my loopy jealousy.
My friends really are the best! I dig back into my pasta with more gusto.
Besides, why SHOULD I worry about Jodi being able to read minds? It could actually be fun to have someone to exchange thoughts with! For the first time since potions class, I feel more relaxed.
