Moon White: Color Me Enchanted with Bonus Content

“I
AM
NOT
EVIL
,” I
SAY QUIETLY, TRYING TO KEEP MY VOICE CALM FOR THE SAKE
of those listening to what should have remained a private conversation. We’re sitting in the cafeteria with about five hundred other kids at the moment, and I do not get why my
best
friend wants to go here right now.

“How can you say that, Heather?” she persists.
“You want to become a witch!”

I try not to glare at her. “Come on, Lucy,” I say in a light voice. “Don’t show off your ignorance to everyone.”

“You’re calling
me
ignorant? You’re the one who decided to become a witch.”

“Lighten up,” I tell her. “And quit going on about the witch stuff, okay?”

“Fine. What would you call it then?”

I smile at Chelsea Klein. She’s sitting next to Lucy and actually seems fairly interested in the strange twist our conversation just took. “I simply mentioned that I’m reading a book about Wicca,” I say to Lucy. “No big deal, okay? That does not mean I’m becoming a witch.”

Chelsea nods. “Yeah, lighten up, Lucy.”

Lucy turns and glares at Chelsea now. “So are you saying that
you think it’s okay if Heather does become a witch?”

Chelsea just laughs.

“I’m serious,” says Lucy. “I mean, you’re a Christian too, Chelsea. At least I thought you were. Anyway, you used to go to youth group.” Lucy frowns now, as if she’s not sure what she’s stepped into.

“What’s your point?” asks Chelsea.

“My point is, do you think it’s okay for Heather to be dabbling in witchcraft?”

“Dabbling in witchcraft?”
I repeat. “Lucy, why are you making this into something that it’s not?”

“Because I’m seriously worried about you, Heather.” She shakes her head like she thinks I’m totally hopeless. “I mean, you spend a couple of weeks in the British Isles, you start letting your step-mom read her tarot cards to you, and then you start doing all these strange things.”

“What strange things?” I ask.

“Well, how about this whole vegan thing?” Lucy rolls her eyes. “Like just a couple months ago, your favorite food was pepperoni pizza, and now you won’t even touch a milkshake. What’s up with that?”

“So now you want to tell me what I should and shouldn’t eat?”

“That’s not what I mean.” She frowns and looks frustrated. “I’ve been trying to act like I’m cool with it, although I really don’t get what your problem with dairy products is. I mean we’re talking about milk, right?”

“I already tried to explain to you about how I’m concerned with the inhumane treatment of dairy cows, but you wouldn’t even — ”

“Whatever!” Lucy holds up her hands.

“You should be a little more tolerant, Lucy,” says Chelsea.

“Yeah,” agrees Kendall, pointing to her brown-bag lunch. “I
happen to be a vegetarian myself. And I’ve been thinking about converting over to vegan too. You have a problem with that
,
Lucy?”

“Maybe you want to make yourself captain of the food police,” teases Chelsea between bites of chicken Caesar salad. “The CFP.”

“I wasn’t even talking about food to start with,” Lucy protests. “I mean, seriously, I don’t care what you guys eat. I think that was just Heather’s little smoke screen. I
was
talking about
Wicca
and
witchcraft
and the disturbing fact that Heather is becoming a witch.”

“And I told you that’s not what’s going on,” I say, still trying to maintain some composure here. I just don’t get why Lucy is acting like this. Why can’t she just chill for once? Just because I go to church with her occasionally doesn’t mean I believe the exact same things that she does. Can’t she accept that? “For like the tenth time, reading about Wicca does
not
make me a witch.”

“Look, Heather.” Lucy sounds really irritated now. “Pastor Hamilton says if it
walks
like a duck and
talks
like a duck, you can be pretty sure that it’s a duck. Okay?”

This actually makes me laugh. “Fine, Lucy,” I tell her. “I can walk like a duck and I can talk like a duck, but that still does not make me a duck.
Okay?
”

Lucy looks slightly stumped now, and Chelsea and Kendall both applaud. “Well said,” says Kendall.

“Thank you,” I say, grinning over my little victory. But Lucy looks like she’s about to explode, or maybe implode. And despite myself, I feel a little sorry for her. I wish I could make her understand. After all, she is my best friend. And she’s always there for me when I need her. Or rather she used to be. Suddenly I’m not so sure. I wonder if it’s possible to outgrow some friends. Maybe the time comes when you have to cut your losses and move on. Still, I really
do like Lucy. We’ve been friends since seventh grade, back when my mom got sick and died. Lucy reached out to me when I felt totally lost and alone. And I really don’t want to lose her friendship. Maybe I just need to help her understand that Wicca is no big deal. Still, I hadn’t planned on having a conversation like this in public.

“Listen, Lucy.” I use my most patient voice. “I think the problem is that you don’t really understand what Wicca is and what it’s not — ”

“I know that it’s witchcraft, Heather. And Pastor Hamilton taught a class about the occult last year, and Wicca was part of that, and I know that people who are into Wicca also worship Satan and practice magic and — ”

“That’s not true,” I protest. “Wiccans don’t even
believe
in Satan. How could we worship something we don’t believe in?”

“So you do admit that you’re a Wiccan then?” says Lucy with a triumphant look in her eye, like she’s caught me in the act.

“Maybe I am,” I tell her, ready to give up. Have it her way. What’s the point?

She looks at Chelsea then Kendall. “See, I told you she’s becoming a witch.”

I just sigh and start packing up the remains of my barely touched lunch.

“Well, she’s a nice witch,” says Chelsea sympathetically.

“Hey, can you put a spell on Marcus Abrams for me?” teases Kendall. “Or maybe just whip me up some kind of love potion that I can sneak into his Snapple?”

“Yeah, right.” Why do I even try? “You guys just really don’t get it.”

“Then explain it to us,” says Kendall, leaning forward like she’s really interested.

“I would,” I tell her, glancing at Lucy, “if I could manage to get out a complete sentence without being interrupted.”

“Fine,” says Lucy. “Explain away. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

I study her for a moment, still trying to figure out why she seems so angry at me. “Well,” I begin slowly, “for one thing Wicca has a lot to do with nature and the seasons and the sun and the moon and the stars. It actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. And it’s about doing good, not evil, and it’s a very ancient religion. It’s been around for about 30,000 years — ”