Melanie hops up from her chair and grabs a bottle from her tray of perfumes—most of which are her own original scents. Potions is her gift as a witch.

  “I’ve been working on some aromatherapy potions lately,” she says, changing the subject. “This pillow potion not only guarantees to bring you a sense of well-being, but it’ll also bring the sweetest sleep you’ve ever known.

  “I made it with a dreamy lavender oil, sweet tangerine, chamomile, almond, and ylang-ylang, not to mention a few magical taps of my wand. You want to try it?”

  I nod because this sounds like exactly what I need right now.

  “A peaceful night’s sleep before tomorrow’s field trip sounds really good,” I answer gratefully. “Let me wash up and put on my pj’s.” I get up and head to the bathroom.

  When I come out, the room has a soft glow. Melanie has turned off the overhead lights and placed a few of her battery-operated tea lights on my nightstand. The only other lights are the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling.

  “Sweet dreams await you, Heidi,” Melanie says soothingly. It feels like I’m at a fancy hotel, rather than in a dorm room.

  I giggle as I tuck my slippers beside my bed. A shower and clean pj’s have made me feel a whole lot better. Melanie spritzes my pillow with her magical potion. I crawl under my covers.

  “Mmm, it smells amazing!” I say as I breathe in the enchanting scent.

  Melanie smiles. “Doesn’t it?” she says proudly. “Night night, and don’t let the mean girls bite.”

  I give Melanie a look like, Really?

  She winks back.

  “Just joking,” Melanie says. “Don’t worry. You’ll get past this whole Jodi thing. I promise.”

  I roll onto my side. “Well, thanks for being such a good friend, Melanie.” That’s the last thing I remember till morning.

  * * *

  Warm ribbons of light cross my quilt in the morning. It’s a gorgeous day, and I feel well-rested.

  Melanie’s pillow potion has worked its magic, literally! I feel like me again, even though I haven’t forgotten about Jodi.

  At least I feel ready to face the day, and I can’t wait for our field trip.

  Three words: Good vibes only!

  Melanie hops out of bed and pulls our curtains all the way back. The room lights up.

  “Time to spring-ify our wardrobes!” she sings. “I’m going to wear a flirty flowered skirt and a lacy peasant top. I’ll finish it all off with some sweet perfume.

  “How about you, Heidi?”

  I roll out of bed and head for my closet to consider my spring outfit options.

  “Well, it may be time to break out my lavender jeans,” I announce, pulling them from the top shelf, along with a white gauzy tee. I slide my jean jacket off the hanger and lay my outfit on my bed.

  “Cuuuuuute!” Melanie approves.

  We get dressed, give ourselves magical lavender manis, and head out the door. I decide to just have a cereal bar to hold me over till social studies class. We’re making Danish pancakes in class today. Yum!

  * * *

  The rest of my morning flew by! I only have one more class to go before it’s time for the field trip.

  On the way to class, guess who I bump into?! Hint: it’s not Jodi.

  It’s my crush, Nick.

  Eeee!

  “Hey, Heidi,” Nick says, giving me a friendly nudge. “I’ve hardly seen you all week! How are you? I miss being at the same table.” He makes a cute pouty face.

  I sling my backpack over my shoulder, and we catch up a bit before, of course, he mentions Jodi.

  Growl!

  Nick thinks she’s so nice and friendly.

  Double growl.

  As we chat, I suddenly hear Jodi’s voice in my head again.

  Hey, Heidi, is that your BOYFRIEND?

  I whirl around and see Jodi and Isabelle walking down the path toward us.

  Oh no! Here comes trouble!

  What’s Jodi doing with Isabelle? Isabelle is MY friend.

  Oh no, I hope Jodi didn’t hear that.

  I wait for her reaction in my head, but I don’t hear anything—probably because she’s too busy running alongside Isabelle trying to catch up to us.

  “Who’s your friend, Heidi?” Jodi asks when they reach us, as if she didn’t know. They sit at the same table, for heaven’s sake! But I go along with her charade.

  “This is Nick,” I say with a dash of annoyance. “Nick, this is Jodi.”

  Nick smiles. “Hi, Jodi. We sit at the same table. Remember? Hope you’re liking Broomsfield.”

  Jodi bats her eyes and smiles back at him. “I know you sit at my table,” she says shyly. “I just wanted a formal intro. I love Broomsfield so far—thanks!”

  Nick nods, says goodbye to us, and takes off for his class. That’s when I remember that Jodi is in my social studies class.

  Merg it all! My peaceful morning has just taken a dive.

  Just rise above it, Heidi, I tell myself as we head for class. Isabelle and Jodi chitchat as we go. Jodi also talks to me in my head at the same time.

  Isabelle has no idea this is going on, of course.

  I can’t believe you like Nick, Jodi says, like he’s nothing special. Why would you like him? He’s not even in the School of Magic! He does have nice hair, though.

  I don’t dare look at Jodi because if I do, I might make a mean face. I have to defend Nick, so I send my thoughts on the matter right back at her.

  How dare you insult my crush, Jodi! Nick is so super-nice, but that’s something you obviously wouldn’t understand. Being a good person seems to be a stretch for you.

  And P.S. I would appreciate it if you would please keep your opinions to yourself.

  Then I bar my mind from Jodi’s thoughts again, and it works.

  Yes! I think I’m getting the hang of it! But I’m also mad that Jodi would try to make me doubt my crush.

  Jodi looks at me suspiciously. I know what she’s thinking without even reading her thoughts. She can’t believe I just locked her out of my head again.

  Ha! Take that! I say privately.

  When we get to social studies, I stay as far away from Jodi as possible. It’s time to make aebleskiver, Danish pancakes, to close our unit on Denmark. Jodi is not going to wreck this for me.

  Our teacher has set up five cooking stations. Each station has a mini-windmill and a Danish flag, which is a red flag with a white Nordic cross. There are also two cast-iron aebleskiver cooking pans on top of portable electric stovetop burners. These funky pans have seven little cup indentations, shaped like a tennis ball cut in half. There are bowls with batter, along with smaller bowls with toppings: powdered sugar, jelly, syrup, and whipped cream. And of course, there are ten pairs of silicone gloves for us to wear when working with the cooking pans. Isabelle is at my station. Jodi is at Hunter’s.

  The first thing we have to do is melt some butter in each of the wells in the pan. When the butter is all melted, we pour the batter into the wells. Isabelle and I take turns. Then we wait for the aebleskiver to cook.

  Dum-dee-dum-dum!

  “They’re puffing up!” Isabelle says, peeking under a pancake ball with some wooden tongs. “Ooo, it’s golden brown!”

  Isabelle and I turn the pancake balls over until they’re lightly browned all over. Then we gently place them into a bowl.

  We make another batch, and then it’s time to eat them. We sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each of our aebleskiver.

  Then we fill some dipping bowls with the jelly, maple syrup, and whipped cream.

  Hunter waves us over to his table. While I was working with Isabelle, I forgot that Jodi is his partner today.

  When Jodi sees me, she looks at me like, Not you again.

  If anyone should be looking at someone like that, it should be me looking at Jodi.

  She started all this hostility in the first place.

  “These pancake puffs are SO good,” Hunter exclaims, popping one covered in whipped cream into his mouth.

  “Sooo good,” Jodi emphasizes. “But Hunter might need some lessons on how to make them. A few landed on the floor….” She giggles, and so do Hunter and Isabelle. Not me, of course, because whatever.

  I dip a pancake ball into syrup and take a bite. Wow, these ARE good! They taste more like doughnuts than pancakes.

  Yum! As I chew, I notice the blades on the windmill begin to turn, but there’s no gust of wind in here.

  Uh-oh. Is Jodi using magic again?

  I look at her, and she pumps her eyebrows up and down. Oh my gosh, she IS making the windmill blades turn! The blades begin to spin faster and faster. Isabelle thinks it’s me.

  “Heidi,” she whispers. “Stop using magic in a non-magical class. You’ll get us all in trouble!

  I nudge Isabelle with my knee.

  “It’s not me,” I whisper back. “It’s Jodi.”

  I glare at Jodi. Cut it out, I think, hoping Jodi hears this one.

  She winks and plays dumb to everyone else at the table.

  Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough.

  I pick up my plate from the table and turn to leave. Jodi is not going to get me in trouble for her pranks. Isabelle looks at me with surprise. “Where are you going, Heidi?”

  I lean into Isabelle’s ear.

  “I’ll explain later,” I whisper, and without another word, I walk across the room and plant my plate on a table with non-magical kids. Jodi had better be smart enough not to do magic in front of this table. Mrs. Kettledrum would positively lose it if she found out.

  I, for one, would love to see Jodi get in trouble. Maybe she’d learn to settle down.

  The rest of the day through lunch is basically fine—other than me feeling grumpy. I hate to admit how much Jodi gets to me.

  You know what’s really maddening? After Jodi said all those mean things about Nick, she did nothing but flirt with him all through lunch.

  One word: rude!

  Well, at least we have the field trip to look forward to this afternoon. I’m still pretty excited about that.

  * * *

  The time has finally come!

  Sunny, Annabelle, and I board Mrs. Kettledrum’s bus together. Mr. Craftwood is on a second bus with the rest of the first-year students. As we walk down the aisle, I spy Jodi sitting with Melanie in the way back. They’re laughing and talking and acting all buddy-buddy.

  Jodi is definitely trying to become BFFs with Melanie.

  No sooner do I think this than Jodi bursts into my thoughts again.

  Of course I am trying to be Melanie’s bestie! Jodi admits freely. We have SO much in common! I’ve already got Isabelle on my side!

  Ugh, I think. Jodi was listening to my thoughts. I have to learn to be more careful. Meanwhile Jodi blathers on.

  I plan to wiggle my way into your whole inner circle of friends, Heidi, she says. When I’m done, you’ll be a total outcast—not to mention the number-two witch in our class. You’ll see!

  Jodi’s words terrify me. Is there something seriously wrong with her? Who would even say something like this? It’s so low!

  Well, I have a few words for Jodi too.

  My friends will never turn on me, Jodi, I tell her. If you tell them lies about me, they’ll never believe it because they know I’m a TRUE friend. Nothing you can say or do will hurt me!

  I want to believe what I’m saying so badly, but I’m really scared Jodi may have the power to turn my friends against me. I can’t let her have the upper hand. Melanie warned me about this.

  I look back at Jodi. She slits her eyes at me.

  Well, you’re right about one thing, Heidi. I DO have the upper hand, and it’s already clear that I can outsmart you at anything.

  Okay, that’s enough bullying for me, I think, slamming the door shut on Jodi’s insults. I can’t listen to her mean comments anymore.

  I wish I could tell Mrs. Kettledrum what’s going on, but she’s too busy managing all the students on our bus. Besides, if I tell, that will make me a tattletale, and then Jodi would actually have something on me.

  Sunny, Annabelle, and I sit together, and once my back is turned on Jodi, it’s much easier to ignore her. Sunny and Annabelle talk nonstop the whole way to the museum. After a while my smoldering anger gives way to giggles.

  There’s no way Jodi is going to steal my friends. Our bonds are too strong. Jodi’s words are nothing but empty threats, I tell myself.

  Besides I’m a cool, fun person, and there’s no way Jodi can take that or my friends away from me. I shove all the bad feelings into a closet way in the back of my brain.

  * * *

  We’ve arrived!

  A humongous blue whale model greets us as we walk into one of the halls at the American Natural History Museum. The skeleton is one hundred feet long!

  Wow, it’s hard to believe creatures this gigantic actually live in the ocean!

  Did you know that humans have only explored 5 percent of the ocean? That means there’s a whole 95 percent that’s totally unknown! I wonder what else waits to be discovered.

  The whale is arranged in a diving position, like it’s plunging after some food.

  Mrs. Kettledrum just told us blue whales are the largest animal to have ever lived! She also said a blue whale’s tongue weighs as much as a whole elephant.

  One word: hefty!

  Mrs. Kettledrum divides us into two groups. I’m in Mrs. K’s group, along with Annabelle, Sunny, Hunter, Isabelle, and Melanie.

  Jodi is in our group too.

  Argh!

  I wish Mrs. Kettledrum would clue in about the new girl. If she knew what was going on, she would’ve put Jodi in Mr. Craftwood’s group. At least Jodi is still glued to Melanie. We gather around Mrs. Kettledrum.

  “What would you like to see first—butterflies or dinosaurs?” our teacher asks.

  “Butterflies!” most of us shout, except Hunter. He yells, “Dinosaurs!”

  Butterflies win. We shuffle behind Mrs. Kettledrum, like a family of ducklings, all the way to the butterfly exhibit. Sunny leans against me, arm in arm, as we waddle along.

  “I hope a butterfly lands on me,” she whispers.

  I lean back on her arm.

  “I hope one lands on me, too!”

  Annabelle leans on my other arm.

  “I want a butterfly to land on me as well!”

  We giggle.

  I’m pretty sure we’ve just given new meaning to the term “social butterflies.”

  Ha!

  BUTTERFLY MAGNET

  Mrs. Kettledrum hands out disposable cameras so we can take pics in the museum—that’s because at Broomsfield Academy we’re not allowed to have our phones during the week. She also gives us a little talk before we go into the butterfly exhibit.

  “The museum keeps the vivarium very warm and humid for the butterflies. If you would prefer to observe the butterflies from outside, then you may stay out here with me. Your choice!”

  Everyone wants to go inside—that is, until we walk in the door.

  “It must be a million degrees in here!” Sunny exclaims.

  Annabelle points to a sign that says the temperature is 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity.

  One word: toasty!

  I tie my jean jacket around my waist.

  “Frizzy hair, here we come!” I say, patting the top of my head.

  Sunny laughs. “Mine’s frizzing already!”

  We giggle. I, for one, am going to do a de-frizzing spell as soon as we get back to school.

  Soon the beauty of the butterflies takes our minds off the steamy air.

  There are butterflies with tiger stripes, zigzags, curlicues, and polka dots, and

  they come in all different colors: pink, yellow, orange, turquoise, black, and white—you name it.

  The butterflies flit and fly among the flowers, plants, and tropical trees in the vivarium. Isabelle stops to snap a pic of Hunter with a black-and-white butterfly on top of his head.

  “That’s a keeper!” she says, laughing.

  Melanie, who is dressed like a flower garden, admires a butterfly that’s landed on her fingertip.

  The other thing that’s still stuck on Melanie is Jodi. But I’d rather have Jodi focus on Melanie than on me. That’s for sure!

  Little do I know, these will soon become famous last words because suddenly my classmates are all pointing at me and laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” I ask Sunny and Annabelle. They’re laughing too. “Seriously, what’s going on?” I ask again.

  My friends point at something above me. I look up to see a halo of butterflies circling my head.

  At first I think the butterflies are attracted to the perfume Melanie gave me, but then more butterflies begin to land all over my body.

  Before long I’m covered from head to toe in butterflies. I’ve become a butterfly magnet!

  And they tickle!

  I want to brush the butterflies off, but I don’t want to hurt them. So I don’t move!

  Snap!

  Click!

  Snap!

  Everyone is taking pictures of me!

  “Heidi, how are you doing this?” Sunny asks, marveling at my butterfly bodysuit. “You look like some kind of cool butterfly statue!”

  I shake my body in hopes that some of the butterflies will fall off.

  “I am not doing this!” I cry.

  Then I zoom in on Jodi. Her grin gives her away.

  She’s making this happen to me!

  STOP IT, JODI! I mentally shout at her.

  She laughs out loud.

  Oh my gosh, Heidi! You look positively dazzling in that real live butterfly costume! This is so much fun, don’t you think?!

  I don’t care what Jodi is saying right now. All these butterflies are making me feel claustrophobic.

  I’m beginning to panic when Mrs. Kettledrum walks into the butterfly vivarium to see what’s going on.

  “What’s all the fuss about?” she asks, looking around for answers.

  Zing! Jodi calls off the butterflies. They go back to fluttering around as though nothing happened.

  Of course, Mrs. Kettledrum doesn’t suspect Jodi of anything. Mrs. K zeroes in on me instead. Well, that figures. The one time I’m totally innocent!

 

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