17-year-old witch Ellie Flores attends high school in Beverly Hills, California. Although Ellie is a direct descendent of witches, she promised to stay away from witchcraft after her mother swore off magic years ago. But when her best friend Riley g...
After school, I take my usual five-minute walk home. As I near my house, I spot my mom in the front yard watering her garden in her white sundress. Her long blonde hair peeks out of her big floppy sun hat. Just by looking at her, you would never guess she is a witch. I sometimes wonder what the neighbors would think if they knew.
"Hey, Mom!" I call out to her once I'm within hearing distance.
"Hey, Ellie. How was school?" she replies, as she turns to me smiling.
"It was good. I got an A on my essay."
"That's great, Ellie! I'm so proud of you!"
"Thanks, Mom!"
I turn to my house and take the steps up to my front porch. As I open the front door and step into my house, the cool air hits my face and I immediately relax. I drop my backpack onto the foyer floor and head to the kitchen for a snack.
As I grab an apple from the fridge, my eye catches the baker's cabinet sitting on the other side of the room. The old piece of furniture has been in the family for generations. My mom said it once held potions inside a small village shop. These days, she uses it to store all of her "untouchables" inside, like pendulums, wands, and the spellbook.
As I think about the spellbook inside the cabinet, my mind goes back to Riley. I felt so bad for her today when she got her grade back from the essay she had worked so hard on. She had been looking forward to taking that trip to Cancun. A trip would have been a good opportunity to get her mind off her breakup with Logan. I really wish I knew a spell that could make that trip happen for her. I consider this for a minute. It's not like it would hurt anyone if I only take a quick peek inside the spellbook.
I glance out the window at my mom who is still watering her garden. I walk over to the cabinet and force the bottom drawer open, lying my eyes upon my mom's old spellbook. It's covered with old cobwebs and dust, tucked away where it always has been, never to be used.
I slowly pick it up. It's heavier than I expected. I open the book and quickly scan its pages. I don't see anything in the spellbook that says it can change a grade on an essay or make a canceled trip happen.
About midway through, I come across a love potion. My eyes grow wide. I wonder if this love potion even works. That sounds too good to be true.
I hear mom open the front door and step into the foyer, so I quickly tuck the spellbook back in its drawer.
Mom walks into the kitchen as I sit myself down at the table. I bite into my apple.
"Don't fill up. I'm going to hop in the shower and then I'll start dinner. Any requests?" She asks me as she hangs her floppy hat on the back of the kitchen chair.
"Anything sounds good to me."
"Chinese takeout it is then!" She says and we both laugh.
I watch mom as she turns down the hall and into her room. My shoulders relax. I don't think she suspects anything.
As I hear her bathroom door close shut, I run over to the cabinet and pull the spellbook back out. I grab my backpack out of the foyer and climb the stairs up to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.
Mom will freak if she realizes the spellbook is missing. She never opens that drawer anyway. It's probably safe in here for a few days, then I will return it.
I flip open the spellbook again to scan the rest of its pages. Still, I see nothing that could change Riley's grade on her essay or make her Cancun trip happen.
I flip back over to the love potion. I think back to Riley's breakup with Logan earlier this year. They had been together a little over a year and were inseparable. One day, seemingly out of the blue, Logan came up to her before class and ended things. She was devastated. She cried for a week. They haven't spoken since, so she never found out why he abruptly ended things. Logan is a jerk.
What am I thinking? Logan doesn't deserve Riley. She is too good for him. I slam the spellbook shut and tuck it between my mattress and box spring. I'll put it back in its drawer next time mom steps out of the house.
Just then I hear a knock on my window. I turn around and see Kyle on the other side smiling at me. I walk over and open it, letting him crawl through.
"Hey, Ell!" He says as he hops down onto my floor.
The crawling through my window thing started a week or so after my dad died. He was always coming over trying to cheer me up. Sometimes he would just come over to sit with me in silence, so I wouldn't be alone. I think it was less awkward for him at the time to enter through my window than it was to encounter my grieving mother.
"Hey, Kyle. How was your day?"
"Uneventful. I guess that's homeschool for ya." He says as he plops himself down at the end of my bed.
I have always envied Kyle's homeschool lifestyle. Compared to Beverly Hills High, homeschooling sounds like a dream. No drama. No mean girls. No boys who are jerks.
"How about you?" He asks.
"My day was fine. It was pretty rough for Riley though. She got her essay score back. Her Cancun trip isn't going to happen this year."
Kyle's shoulders drop at the news. We were both rooting for her.
"Man, that sucks." He replies, as his hand lands over the lump on my mattress.
"What's this?" He says, pulling out the book I had just tucked away.
"It's my mom's old spellbook. Put it back. I'm not even supposed to have."
"Why do you have it then?" He says as he opens the book to look at the first page.
"I don't know. I was just curious." I say as I take it from him, before tucking it inside my basket of stuffed animals.
"You weren't planning on casting any spells, were you?" He asks, curiously.
"No. I mean, I thought about it. But I don't even know how."
Just then my mom walks into the room. "Hey, Kyle. You want to stay for Chinese?"
"Sure, Mrs. Flores. That sounds great!"
She winks and cracks the door as she walks out.
"Look, I'm not planning on actually casting any spells, so don't get excited. I'm not even supposed to have the book. Mom would kill me if she found out. I'm going to put it back later when she isn't around."
"Got it. If you change your mind and try a spell, let me know. I want to be here to see it." He says, laughing.
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