Gwen Doh Lynn

3: Not a Witch

I hurried to school, avoiding puddles. I had worn my good tennis shoes and I was trying to not get them wet.

I half-expected to see dead spiders floating in the puddles, but everything was normal. Normal mud puddles in front of normal houses on a normal sidewalk. I passed a yard with a little dog in it. A normal dog who didn't talk to me, even when I said hello.

I pushed aside my worries about being crazy. Today was going to be a stellar, normal day, I could feel it! I would keep my head down, do my schoolwork, avoid talking to other kids—especially Hazel—and basically try to fit in until I could make some friends. No big deal.

I was feeling pretty good about all this normal-ness, and not really paying attention to where I was going, when at the edge of the schoolyard I almost bumped smack into Hazel. She was wearing knee high rainbow-striped rain boots, a black dress, and was jumping through a series of puddles on the blacktop.

"Hey! You almost splashed me," I said.

She stopped. "What've you got against splashing?" she asked. "It's fun."

For Kindergarteners maybe. "I don't want my clothes all dirty." That was all I needed, for Elspeth and Natalia to see me in clothes with muddy water stains. They'd probably say it was toilet poop-water or something.

She shrugged, but stopped splashing. We started walking together which was kind of unavoidable because we were going to the same place. Maybe I should ask her about the spider-rain, or if she really had cast a spell on Natalia in the lunchroom.

"So," she said, skipping unnecessarily, but avoiding puddles at least. "How was the first night after your first day at a new school?"

I decided to just go for it and see what she said. I could just pretend I was joking.

"It rained spiders on my house."

Hazel just kept hopping, and looked up in the air like she was thinking. Then she said, "Hm. That's kinda weird."

We had almost crossed the basketball court area by now, even though Hazel's hopping was making us extra slow. "Ya think?"

She didn't seem to react to sarcasm. "Why'd you make that happen?"

"I didn't!" I exclaimed, totally shocked. "Did you? You're the witch, supposedly."

We stopped by the side door of the school. "What makes you say that?"

Seriously?

A group of boys ran by, shoving each other and laughing. "Hey!" one of them said too-loudly on purpose. "There's the witchy witch and her new pilgrim friend!"

Great. Word of my new nickname had apparently spread.

"Point taken," Hazel said, twirling one of her dark braids and smirking. It didn't seem to bother her to be called names either. "Even if I am a witch," she said, leaning against the building and pulling out a pack of gum, "why would I make it rain spiders on your house? I like you."

I noticed she didn't actually deny being a witch, but I couldn't tell if she was admitting it either. She held out a stick of gum to me. I said no, thank you.

"I thought it was a little mean, though," she continued, "when you made Natalia fall in the cafeteria. But I guess she kinda had it coming." She shrugged.

What? I glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby listening. The other kids were all pouring off the buses and crowding toward the front door. "I didn't make her fall!" I said. "I wasn't even near her." What was Hazel's problem? "You're the one who cast a spell on her!"