OMG... Am I a Witch?! (8 page)

twenty-two

“Oh . . . uh . . .” Grace said. “Great. You got the chocolate milk.”

“Great!” Eve said.

“YEP!” April said with a smile. She placed the chocolate milk and cups on the dresser. “So . . . what am I not going to like?”

Grace leaned forward. “April?”

“Yes, Grace . . .” April raised one eyebrow as she looked at Grace.

“OK . . . you are not going to like the next step. But . . . uh . . . think about . . . getting Austin back to normal . . . ok?” Grace said, grinning.

“Now . . . go get a used piece of Austin's clothing,” Eve instructed.

April raised one eyebrow. She looked at the book, then back at Eve. “Why? His room is disgusting. And his clothes are even grosse
r
!”

“Well, the next step
is
a little gross.” Eve said, the pitch of her voice rising again. “It has to be a used article of clothing because it has his scent on it. Then, you have to cut three small squares off the used piece of clothing—”

April wrinkled up her nose. “You want me to actually touch his dirty clothes?”

“That's not the gross part,” Eve said, trying to smile.

“
Not
the gross part? What?”

“You have to mix the clothes into the drink—”

“Huh?” April tilted her head to the side.

“Well . . . you have to stir the used clothing into the chocolate milk,” Eve explained, “and then . . . you have to drink it.”

April's heart sank. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She looked at Austin under the bed.

His eyes look so sad. Ok, ok. I made this mess. I have to fix it. Just get it done!

“I'm doing this for you.” She took a deep breath then calmly stood up. “OK. I have to go to his room. I'll be right back . . .”

She tiptoed down the hall to Austin's room. She opened his door.
OMG, it smells like dirty feet in here. I can't believe I have to do this.

She looked at the piles of clothes on the floor.

What is the least gross thing in here? Eww. Not that.

She moved one of his socks with her foot.

I have to find something.

She saw a pair of pants.

Eww. Not those. I think those are grass stains from practice. The clock is ticking. Find something, find something.

She looked to the left and to the right. She scanned the entire room then—
BINGO!

Is this his winter hat? I think this is the only kinda clean thing in here.

She picked up the blue cotton hat and pushed it into her pocket. She quickly and quietly ran back down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind her.

“OK . . .” she said, breathing heavily. “I got it.”

“What did you get?” Grace asked.

April leaned over and put her hands on her knees. With her heart thumping, she pulled the hat out of her pocket.

“Catch your breath, April,” Eve said.

April closed her eyes. She inhaled then exhaled. “OK . . . I'm ready,” she said firmly.

“Ok. Mix the three hat squares with the chocolate milk,” Eve directed. “Stir it around before you drink.”

April looked at her bookshelf. On top of it was a cup with pens, pencils, markers, and a pair of scissors. As she cut three squares from the hat, Austin growled. “Oh, stop it! I'm sure there's another hat in that pigsty. Seriously, Austin, I am trying to fix this. Don't you want to be normal again?”

Grace looked at Austin, then back at April. “You know he can't answer you, right?”

April glared at Grace above the rim of her glasses. “He answers me . . . in his own way.”

She put the hat squares into the cup of chocolate milk. She slowly stirred it using her finger. The navy blue hat turned an icky grey. The mixture became soapy with little bubbles that grew bigger and bigger, increasing in size until they reached the very top of the cup.

“Wow. I think you just made a potion,” Grace said.

April's eyes stayed fixed on the cup. She grabbed her stomach. “This is the grossest thing in the whole world.”

“Sorry . . . but you have to . . . uh . . . drink ALL of it.” Eve gulped.

The blood rushed from April's face.

“I'm sorry, April. This is the hard part,” Eve said.

This is super gross.
He plays sports. He sweats . . . a lot.
Who knows how long this was on his floor? But, I have to do this. This is the only way to bring him back and to make sure my parents don't kill me.
She glanced at the clock.
OMG, it is 10:15. Mom and Dad will start to worry, or even worse—call Grace's parents.

April pinched her nose. She put the cup to her lips. She swallowed.

Don't puke, don't puke.

She swallowed again.

twenty-three

Oh no, I think I am going to puke.

April finished it, slammed the cup down on her desk, and burped loudly. “Oops . . . excuse me!” She covered her mouth. Eve and Grace laughed.

“What next? Do I have to go eat his dirty underwear now?”

“Don't be silly,” Eve giggled. “THAT was the grossest part. Now to step two . . .”

“I am scared to ask,” said April. “What is step two?”

Grace grinned. “This part may be fun!”

“I need you to pluck three hairs from Austin,” Eve replied.

April let out a huge breath. She reached under the bed and gently pulled him out. Putting him on the bed, she sat next to him. “OK, Austin.”

“Grrr . . .” Austin growled.

“Do you want to stay a dog?” He stopped. “I'll do it fast, k?”

Austin growled again.

“Austin, I'm sorry. I know you hate me. I'd hate me, too.” She looked down at him. She brushed her hand over his head and down his back. Then, she petted him again.

She held Austin down on the bed with one hand, and quickly pulled a strand of fur from his head.

“Arrr
r
!” He jumped straight up.

“Lie down, Austin,” April begged. “I have to get two more hairs from you for the spell.”

Austin scurried to the end of the bed. He jumped off. He ran in a circle. Looking dizzy, he slammed into the door.

BAM!
He flopped to the floor.

April and Eve laughed.

“Shhhh,” Grace giggled. “I don't know which looked more painful, the hair pulling or the head-on collision with the door.”

“What is going on? Are you okay?” April's mother yelled up the stairs.

Oh no. What should I do? I have to tell Mom something so she stays downstairs.

April picked up one of the empty cups and zoomed over to Austin. She scooped him up, placed him on the bed, and dropped the hair.

Crud! I lost it. Oh well.
The bed should be a little more comfortable to lie on while he wakes back up. Please let him be okay. I hope that didn't cause permanent damage.

She paused. She relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath.

Be calm. Act normal.

April went out the door to the stairs. “Hey Mom,” she said, smiling down at her mother at the bottom of the stairs. “Sorry about that. I . . . uh . . . dropped the empty cup.” She held it up to show her mom and flashed a wide smile. “That was great chocolate milk. Thank you!”

“I just wanted to make sure you are OK,” Mrs. Appleton said. “Call me if you girls need anything.”

April ran back into her room and shut the door. She leaned her back against it and looked at the clock.

It's already 10:30! Oh no, oh no
.

“You're right!” Eve was saying to Grace. “We could do super cool spells and stuff.”

“I know. Between April and your book we could—”

They stopped talking when they saw April.

Austin opened his eyes. He was trying to hold up his wobbly head but gave up, letting it flop back onto the bed. April sat down next to him.

“One . . . two . . . three.” She plucked three strands of fur from his body.

“Ar
r
! Ar
r
! Ar
r
!” Austin yelped.

“He's just a little mixed up right now,” Eve said. “He ran into the door super fast.”

“I got them!” April said.

twenty-four

“Eve, what do I do with these?” April asked.

“We're at the last step. Put him in the closet. Make sure the light is off in there.”

Austin lifted his head. His eyes bulged and wobbled from side to side.

“He looks a bit better,” laughed Grace. “We want him to come back in one piece.”

April picked him up and opened the closet.

“Make sure there's nothing on the ground,” said Eve, as she tried to crane her neck to look into the closet from her seated position.

April bent over. With her empty hand, she threw everything out of the closet that was on the floor. All of her shoes, a few purses, and a belt flew through the air.

Out of breath, she stood up straight. “Ok, what now? I'm tired.”

“I know. I'm getting tired just watching you,” Grace said. She and Eve laughed.

“Ha, ha. A joke from the girls who are just sitting there,” April said, pointing to them on the carpet.

“Sorry. We're almost done,” Eve said calmly.

April's glasses slid down her nose, which was damp with sweat. She pushed them back up.

She took three big breaths. “OK. I feel a little better.”

“Uh . . . April?” Eve asked quietly.

“Yes?”

“Can you wipe off the closet floor?” Eve asked.

“What!
Why?
” April said, sighing.

“Well, the spell says the floor should be clean. I don't want it to not work because of that small thing.”

“Fine.” April put Austin back on the bed. She placed the three hairs on her desk.

She ran back into the bathroom she and Austin shared. She grabbed the sponge her mom and dad used to clean the tub.
She turned on the water and rinsed it out. Adding a little soap, she ran back to her room and closed the door.

She fell to her knees and quickly wiped off the closet floor. She looked at the bottom of the sponge.

“Ewww. It's black.” She wrinkled her nose and threw the sponge behind her. It landed on top of one of the shoes she had just thrown out of the closet.

“It's clean now.” April collapsed onto her bed next to Austin.

Please, oh please, let that be it. Witch or no witch, I'm exhausted. Oh . . . look at poor Austin. He looks so . . . hopeless. OK, I can do this.

“Just a little bit longer, and this nightmare will be behind us,” April said to Austin.

“April,” Eve asked, “are you ready?”

“Heck yeah!” April sat up. Her heart was still thumping.

“Last step,” Eve said. “Yay! Put Austin on the closet floor. Close the door. Hold the hairs in your hand. Then say this:

“
Heaven, please help with the recent past,

To undo the spell that I just cast.

Please take this request as formal,

And turn my brother back to normal.
”