Worst Love Spell Ever!, page 4
Fingers crossed that she finds out Hunter is not right for her.
And toes crossed that I find out he IS right for me.
The girl sitting in front of Hunter, Sophie Rodriguez, asks if she can make her hair shorter with a spell. Mrs. Kettledrum tells Sophie it’s more practical to get a real haircut, because this spell is temporary too. Then Hunter leans over his table and taps Sophie on the shoulder.
“I like your long hair, Sophie! Don’t cut it!” he whispers, but it’s loud enough so we can all hear it. Sophie turns around and smiles at Hunter. Her face turns pink.
And if my face could turn green, it would be green with jealousy, of course.
Why does every girl at Broomsfield Academy like Hunter McCann?!
Sheesh!
But then I realize something. Hunter’s comment has revealed valuable new information! He likes long hair! Hmmm, I wonder. If I had long hair, would Hunter notice ME?
I open my booklet with renewed interest. Maybe there’s a spell in here for long hair.…
The bell rings, so I’ll have to continue my search later. I close my booklet. Suddenly the title changes to Advanced Theoretical Equations in Astrophysics. We all look up at Mrs. Kettledrum, and she smiles. “No, you all didn’t just become scientists,” she says. “I just like to ensure that non-magical students don’t take an interest in our reading material!”
Ha! Mrs. Kettledrum thinks of everything. Makes sense. As we file out of class, I accidentally brush against Hunter’s arm.
Kaboom! My inner sparkler explodes into fireworks. And the best part? Hunter is looking right at me! Okay, I have his attention, so now to take action FOR REAL.
Four words: Go for it, Heidi!
“Hey, Hunter, you wanna get ice cream?”
Hunter’s face lights up. “Always!”
I break into a smile, because it IS a great idea—that is, until Hunter asks Isabelle, Sophie, Melanie, and Tate to join us.
And they all say YES, of course.
Merg-a-roni!
Well, so much for taking action, but I definitely get an A for effort.
5 THE SECRET LOFT
After ice cream with Hunter and the entire world, I decide to go to the library for a while to work on my sense poem.
Annabelle and Sunny said they would meet me there. Annabelle needs to study for a social studies quiz, and Sunny wants to read up on spells.
Annabelle and Sunny are already in the library when I arrive. They both smile and wave me over to their table.
“I keep messing up my incantations,” Sunny wails, but quietly because this is the library after all. (An incantation, in case you didn’t know, is the words you have to say out loud in a magic spell.)
Annabelle pats Sunny’s back soothingly. “It just takes a little practice,” she says. “I know you’re going to get it, Sunny!”
I agree. “Sometimes it helps me remember if I make the words rhyme a little bit,” I tell her.
Sunny looks surprised. “I can do that?” she asks. “Make the words rhyme? I thought I couldn’t change them at all!”
I nod. “As long as the meaning stays exactly the same, you can change the words a little bit. It’s right there in chapter one of our spells book.”
Sunny smacks her forehead. “How could I have forgotten that? I think that will help me a lot. Thanks, Heidi!”
“And speaking of poems…,” I say. “I still have to pick an emotion for my sense poem. Maybe love?”
Both Sunny and Annabelle groan. “Enough with your crush already!” Annabelle says. “Can’t you write about something else?”
“Well…” I hesitate. What else can I write about? “Things have been so confusing lately,” I say.
“Write about that!” Sunny suggests. “Write about what confusion is like.”
“Confusion… looks like wiggly worms,” I begin.
“Ew!” Sunny and Annabelle say together.
I laugh. “Okay, how about wiggly spaghetti instead?”
“Much better,” Sunny says approvingly.
“I love spaghetti!” Annabelle says.
Annabelle and Sunny return to their work, and I keep thinking.
What would confusion taste like? I wonder. It should be a bunch of different things.
It tastes like sweet-and-sour candy.
It smells like when my mom sprays on too much perfume.
It sounds like an alarm clock buzzing.
It feels like an itchy sweater.
It makes me anxious.
It isn’t the happiest poem, I think. But it’s kind of what I am feeling right now. I just cannot write a happy poem when I’m not feeling it!
After Sunny, Annabelle, and I finish our work and go our separate ways, I decide to see what Hunter is up to. Maybe it’s not the coolest thing in the world, but it would be great to bump into Hunter any way I can, and if that means waiting by the window in the lobby of my dorm, watching for Hunter to walk by on his way to the Barn for dinner, then so be it.
My plan is to casually skip down the front steps and be like, Wow, Hunter, fancy seeing YOU here! Then we can walk to dinner together and maybe even sit next to each other.
I’m surprised Melanie hasn’t thought of this. Following him isn’t exactly flirting, but it is a tactic.
Eee! Here comes Hunter now!
Remember, Heidi, act normal!
I barrel out the door and skippity-hop down the steps like the most un-hung-up, carefree girl in the world. That’s ME!
Then I watch a bunch of other boys catch up to Hunter. Oh no! Now he’s walking with THEM! I fade to a safe distance.
One word: uncool!
As I walk behind the boys, I check out Hunter’s outfit. He must have changed after dripping ice cream onto his shirt earlier.
How come when I do something like that I look like a total mess, but when Hunter does it, he makes it look like the most adorable thing to ever happen in the world?
He’s wearing dark gray jersey-knit shorts and a long-sleeved cream-colored Henley shirt. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear long pants. I wonder what he’s going to do when it starts to get cold.
I follow the boys to the Barn, but they don’t go in the main door. They enter a side door.
Interesting.
I follow them inside. It’s a long hallway, and it looks like it turns toward the cafeteria at the other end. I wait for the boys to turn the corner.
Then I hear Hunter’s voice.
“Hey! I left my backpack by the picnic tables!” he says. “Be right back.”
Oh no! Hunter is HEADED this way!
I panic and look for a place to hide. The only thing in the hallway is a vending machine. I run and press myself against the wall beside the vending machine. I try to make myself as hidden as possible standing right up against the machine. I grab on to a metal bar behind the vending machine to hold myself in place.
But as soon as I pull on the metal bar, it moves toward me, like I triggered a lever, and the vending machine slides away from me.
Whoa!
I fall backward into an opening in the wall.
Then the vending machine slides back into place.
Clunk!
I hear Hunter’s sneakers slap the floor as he runs by.
Whoa, where am I? I wonder as I scramble to my feet. I see some natural light coming from above.
I’m standing inside an old stairwell!
I have to find out what’s up the stairs! The splintery wood creaks as I climb. The stairs turn and I go up another flight, and then another. When I get to the top, I gasp.
Oh! My! Gosh!
It’s a HAYLOFT!
It must be part of the original barn from the 1800s!
The floor is still covered in hay, and there are some undisturbed hay bales stacked like pillows of giant shredded wheat against one wall. There’s even a hay bale chute in one corner, and four cow-milking stools on the floor.
I breathe in the warm musty smell of the hayloft. It feels like I’ve stepped back in time!
I have to show this place to Sunny and Annabelle.
Maybe we can use it as a secret hideout to hold meetings and have private conversations! No more whispering about crushes and roommates.
It’s perfect!
I creak back down the wooden stairs. I hope I can get the vending machine to slide over again!
In the dim light I spy the lever and pull on it. Again the vending machine slides to one side. I step into the hall, and the vending machine rolls back into place. There’s nobody around so I dash down the hall to the cafeteria.
Hunter is sitting with Isabelle, Melanie, and Tate again. That’s what I get for being late. But it’s okay. I can’t wait to share my discovery with Sunny and Annabelle.
“Hey, Heidi!” Sunny says. “Come get some tacos with us!”
I follow Sunny and Annabelle to the taco bar. I pick up a taco shell and fill it. “You are NOT going to believe the secret I’ve just uncovered.”
Sunny sprinkles lettuce onto her taco and hands the tongs to Annabelle. They lean in closer.
“WHAT secret?!” Sunny asks.
I look around to make sure nobody’s listening. “I have to show you because you won’t believe it unless you see it. It’s SO cool!”
Sunny and Annabelle look at each other and then back at me.
“Can you show us after dinner?” Sunny asks.
I nod as I fill a second taco shell. “Let’s wait until everyone’s gone, and then I’ll take you there.”
We finish our tacos and wait for everyone else to leave the table. I wish I could follow Hunter, but right now the secret room is more important.
My friends follow me down the long hallway. I stop in front of the vending machine.
“Are we stopping for snacks?” Sunny asks.
I shake my head.
“Nope. Watch this.”
I push my back against the wall and slide my arm behind the vending machine. I find the secret lever and pull on it. The vending machine rolls aside like it did before.
My friends gasp.
“Hurry,” I say, ushering them in. The vending machine slides shut behind us.
I start to walk up the stairs. “Just follow me.”
When we get to the top of the stairs, I jump onto a hay bale and stretch my arms over my head, like Ta-da! “So what do you think?”
Sunny and Annabelle look around in wonder.
“This place is SO cool, Heidi!” Annabelle says.
Sunny perches on a milking stool. “It’s udder-ly amazing!”
We all giggle.
“How did you find it?” asks Annabelle.
I tell them about following Hunter and how I almost got caught. “I hid by the vending machine, and that’s when I accidentally triggered the lever and stumbled onto the secret hayloft.”
Sunny shakes her head. “You’re wild, Heidi Heckelbeck. And I LOVE it!”
I smile slyly. “The best part is that now we have a secret place to hold private conversations. It’s our Secret Loft! What do you think?”
Sunny and Annabelle each slap me a high five.
“Let’s have our first private conversation right now!” I say. “We can start with what’s going on with my CRUSH!”
I lean in close to Sunny and Annabelle, but I don’t whisper. I don’t have to. “It seems like forever ago, but this morning I saw the inside of Hunter’s room!”
My friends’ mouths drop open. “NO WAY!” Annabelle half shouts.
I nod. “Yup, and Melanie saw it too. We used the dance flyers as an excuse to go to Hunter’s dorm, and then we were talking to Hunter outside his room!”
“Well, what’s his room like?” Annabelle asks.
I picture Hunter’s room in my mind. “It’s totally amazing, like he is! It has a baseball and California theme. He also has the CUTEST teddy bear on his pillow, named Bear-Z. So now I know more about him.
“Oh! Plus, in class today I also learned that he likes LONG hair.”
Annabelle tilts her head to one side.
“What’s so great about that?”
My eyes bug out. “Is that all you can say, Annabelle? I call this valuable information!”
Sunny raises an eyebrow. “But, Heidi, your hair isn’t long or short—so why does it matter?”
I throw my hands into the air in frustration.
“Come on. Keep up! I’m going to find a spell for gorgeous long hair!”
Annabelle slants her eyebrows.
“Seriously, Heidi? A spell for long hair?”
I roll my eyes. “What’s so bad about that? And maybe I can talk to him about baseball, too.”
Sunny leans on the hay bale beside me. “And what do you know about baseball, Heidi?”
“I played it once,” I say. “And I actually hit the ball well. I hit a home run!”
“Really?” Annabelle says. “That’s great!”
“But then I ran the bases the wrong way and it didn’t count,” I admit.
I sigh, because all my ideas are getting shot down. “But maybe there’s a spell called Learn Everything There Is to Know about Baseball in Five Minutes?”
My friends laugh.
“Or maybe there’s a spell that can make me a baseball star!” I suggest.
Annabelle frowns. “Heidi, stop thinking so much about what Hunter likes and ask yourself, what does Hunter like about YOU?”
My shoulders droop. “Probably nothing.”
Sunny gives me an earnest look. “Heidi, you’re one of the most fun people I know! Let Hunter get to know the real you!”
I stare at my sneakers. “You don’t get it,” I say. “Isabelle and Melanie are already after Hunter, and maybe Sophie, too.
“If I don’t do something drastic, he’ll NEVER notice me!”
Annabelle pats my knee. “Witchcraft isn’t the answer to everything, Heidi. Remember, you’re wonderful just the way you are.”
That’s easy for her to say, but if I’m so wonderful, then why doesn’t Hunter want to go out with me?
And I mean, me alone.
I invited him out for ice cream, and he said yes—but then invited a bunch of other kids too.
And let’s be real: What’s the point of being a witch if you can’t use a little magic to help you?
I’ve already stooped to following Hunter around. But I haven’t stooped to magic…
yet.
6 BUBBLE, BUBBLE! POTION TROUBLE!
The time has finally come for drastic measures.
If I’m going to win over Hunter, then I have to be bold.
Why is it that when you’re crazy about someone, it makes you act a little crazy too? I wonder if Melanie feels the same way.
Tonight we’re working on our spells and potions homework in our room.
Melanie is making a love potion.
“This potion will make Hunter attracted only to me,” she brags. “Not Isabelle. Or anyone else—just ME.”
I want to cover my ears because I can’t stand to hear this. Melanie’s words feel like daggers in my heart.
I know she’s not trying to be mean, because she still has no idea I like Hunter too.
I rally and put on a good show. “A love potion is a great idea, Melanie! And since you’re an expert in potions, I’m sure you won’t attract flies or mosquitoes by accident.”
Melanie laughs. “You are so weird sometimes, Heidi.”
I grin. “It’s part of my charm.”
But secretly I’m already scheming about how to mess up her potion.
I’ll have to wait till she makes it first, of course. So for now I’ll look for a spell for long hair.
I open my Elementary Spells and Potions booklet and return to the chapter “Potions of Attraction, Beauty, and Love.”
I find potions for Soft Dewy Skin, Magnificent Makeup, Pleasant Perfumes, and then this one: Luscious Locks.
Bingo! This sounds promising!
I skim the section. It has potions for dry hair, oily hair, split ends, trendy hairstyles; and then I find just the one: Magical Hair Growth.
Let’s GO!
I read over the potion.
Magical Hair Growth
This simple potion will make your locks long, luscious, and oh so silky! Simply mix the ingredients together, wash your hair as normal, and apply the potion. Chant the following spell.
Ingredients
4 strands of your hair
3 full teaspoons baby oil
5 chocolate chips, crushed
2 pinches of salt
BEAUTIFUL WITCH WITH HAIR NOT LONG—
MAKE MY LOCKS FLOW, GROW SO STRONG.
APPLY THIS POTION TO A WET HEAD OF HAIR.
THEN WATCH ALL MY FRIENDS SMILE AND STARE.
To reverse the spell, close your eyes, place your hands on top of your head, and chant the following.
HURRY! HURRY! GIVE ME STRENGTH!
MAKE MY HAIR ITS NORMAL LENGTH!
Note: When your hair is the perfect length, twirl and do a hop. Spell lasts up to nine hours!
I actually have all the ingredients!
I scoot to the bathroom and grab baby oil, and then I go into my top desk drawer and pick out a couple of salt packets I took from the cafeteria in case I ever needed them.
I also grab some chocolate chip cookies on my dresser from lunch. I carefully pluck out five chips from the cookies, place them on a paper plate, and smoosh them with my thumb.
I stop and look over Melanie’s shoulder to see how her potion is going. She has everything laid out on her desk. Her desktop is lit with battery-operated tea lights that glow and flicker.
Three words: Cool and witchy.
“How’s it going?” I ask as I study her potion ingredients.
She has a dish of rose petals, a bear-shaped jar of honey, a cinnamon stick, rose tea, pink glitter, and a piece of paper with Hunter’s name on it. There’s also an empty heart-shaped perfume bottle, and a funnel to transfer the potion into the bottle.
