Gwen Doh Lynn

7: Firefly Magic

It was warm and gorgeous outside. The night sky was so clear and the stars actually looked like they were twinkling. In the tall grass at the edge of the huge yard, a few fireflies glowed on and off, on and off.

We threw our blankets down on the deck and flopped down to lay on our backs under the stars. "Soon the fireflies will be gone for the winter, too."

"Thanks for inviting me over," I said. The night had turned out to be so fun that I'd forgotten about the "tambourine incident" for a couple of hours. Now thoughts of how I'd have to go to school tomorrow and face Elspeth and Natalia started creeping back into my head.

"Well, we're best friends," Hazel said. "Right?"

I realized it was true. "Right," I said. Right. So... "I have to tell you something."

She rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow. "Okay."

I took a deep breath and stared at the stars. "I had some problems at my old school. Some..."—I made air quotes— 'outbursts.'"

"Like today?"

"Well, I never threw things at people before." I sighed. "In the old days, I probably would 've just thrown down my tambourine and stormed out of the room." It was weird talking about it now, when the stars were so pretty and everything felt so calm. "One time I broke my pencil in half and ran out of the classroom crying during a math test."

Hazel didn't say anything.

"I even have a therapist. I think my mom's worried that there's something wrong with me—like that I'm a little crazy." I could feel the tears pricking at my eyes.

"I don't know..." she said slowly. "Parents are pretty understanding about that kind of stuff. I mean, everyone knows teenagers have all sorts of drama like that. You're just having yours early maybe. My cousin's fourteen and she has meltdowns all the time, over the stupidest things, like having to wear sunscreen or getting her shoelaces wet. I even threw a crying fit last week because there was a hole in my favorite tights and I blamed my mom for putting them in the washing machine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She just rolled her eyes at me and told me there are bigger problems in the world. I was mad, but I got over it." She lay back down and looked up at the sky. "She was right."

"So, maybe my mom doesn't think I'm crazy?"

"I doubt it," she said. "Maybe you should just talk to her about it. Just, um, maybe don't tell her you have a talking cat." I smiled a little and Hazel laughed.

I know this sounds totally lame and sappy, but I suddenly felt so thankful to have her as a friend.

The magic rose in my chest. I felt it! It swirled out of me and rose into the air. I could actually see it. It was like a small galaxy floating up above me and slowly blowing away. "Woah," Hazel said.

"You see it, too?"

"What is it?" she said, with wonder in her voice.

"I think... it's my magic."

It grew fainter and disappeared. I sat up and looked around. It was there somewhere; I still felt it. I just couldn't control it or make it do anything, even though I tried to make it stay.

All of a sudden, a swarm of tiny lights rose up at the edge of the yard. Then the glittering cloud began to move toward us. It took me a moment to realize what it was.

"Fireflies!" Hazel exclaimed, sitting up next to me. "So many!"

They swirled and danced and blinked above us, as if they were putting on a performance just for us. My magic had done this!

"This is amazing," Hazel said, gazing upward. "How did you do it?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It just happened." If my magic could do this, what else could I do with more practice? "I'm not sure I really believed in it until right now."

Finally my magic had truly shown itself to me. I wasn't going to be content with half-heartedly trying to move balls of paper anymore. I was a witch. I could do more.