The Fourth Witch

Three-Hundred Years Later

  "Poor Thackery Binx, no one knew what became of him those three-hundred years ago," Miss Olin the history teacher told us.

"And so, the Sanderson Sisters were hanged by the Salem townsfolk. Now, there are those who say that on Halloween night a black cat still guards the old Sanderson house, warning off anyone who might make the witches come back to life!" Miss Olin told us. Suddenly, she tossed a black streamer towards a girl in the front row, making everyone scream. I had to laugh, it was funny how people still spoke of my aunts, but no one could know that someone from that time was in the classroom with them.

"Give me a break," Max grumbled. Miss Olin looked amused, "Aha, we seem to have a skeptic in our midst. Mr. Dennison, would you care to give us your California laid-back tie-dye point of view?"

The class giggled at her joke, and I did as well. Max could be pretty uptight when he wanted to be.

"Okay," he took the challenge. I knew he was trying to gain the attention of Allison Watts. "Granted, you people in Salem are in to black cats and witches, and stuff." "Stuff?" the history teacher asked. "Everyone knows Halloween was invented by the candy company, it's a conspiracy." he shared. I looked at him like he had just come from an alien planet as everyone laughed.

"It just so happens that Halloween is based on an ancient feast called All Hallow's Eve. It's the one night of the year when the spirits of the dead can return to earth," Allison debated.
Everyone began clapping for her along with Miss Olin, "Well said, Allison."

Just then, Max got up from his desk with a slip of paper in his hand, and he approached Allison, "In case Jimi Hendrix shows up tonight, here's my number," he flirted and gave her his phone number.

  Everyone in the classroom began to laugh and whoop. I looked at Max and shook my head, "Nice try, Casanova."

"Hey, it was worth a shot," he shrugged.

History was the last class of the day, and I was more than ready to go home, I was staying at the group home for teens since I was an orphan. They told me I was allowed to stay there until I was eighteen, and since I lost my ability to age, I was going to be there for a while.

  While I was walking my bike to the trail, I saw Max talking to Allison, and I was amused. He reminded me of Romeo trying hard to win the affections of Juliet when they met at the ball for the first time.

        My love story was tragic, just like Romeo and Juliet, only my Romeo was ripped away from me by my aunts. I accepted that I was doomed to remain alone for the rest of my existence; that was my punishment from the witches for defying them.

"Hey Destiny!" Max called, he was riding his bike to meet me. I smiled, "Hey Romeo, I see you've returned from your romantic conquest." I teased. "Haha," Max grinned. "Do you want to go to the diner before we head home, my treat." I offered. "Sure, I'll race you there!" he started speeding away on his bike. "No fair!" I laughed and pedaled as fast as I could.

  The two of us were riding our bikes down the trail, and through the old Salem cemetery. Even though it had been three-hundred years since the events on Halloween, it still gave me the creeps.

  The cemetery was about to become even more of my least favorite place when Jay and Ernie popped up from behind one of the headstones.

"Halt!"

Max and I skidded to a halt on our bikes, and I was dreading what was about to happen next. "Who are you?" Jay asked. "I'm Max, I just moved here," Max replied. "From where?" the guy asked. "Los Angeles," he replied. Jay and Ernie just stared at him stupidly, and I was confused as to how two boys could be so stupid.

"LA," he said. "Oh, dude." Jay nodded approvingly. "Tubular," Ernie said, mocking him. "I'm Jay, this is Ernie." Jay introduced himself and his friend. Ernie suddenly grabbed him by the jacket and yanked him to his level, "How many times do I gotta tell you? My name ain't Ernie no more, it's Ice."

  Jay remembered and reintroduced him, "This is Ice," he turned around and pointed to the letters spelling the word Ice shaved on the back of his head.

"Real creative," I said with sarcasm. "Nobody asked you, witch." Jay waved off my comment. Even the dumb bullies knew about my being a descendant of the Sanderson Sisters. The boys faced Max again, "So, let's have a butt." "No, thanks, I don't smoke." Max said awkwardly.
"They're very health conscious in Los Angeles." Ernie said like he was revealing important information.

"You got any cash? Hollywood?" Jay asked. "No," Max snapped. "Gee, we don't get any smokes from you, we don't get any cash. What am I supposed to do with my afternoon?"

"Maybe you could learn to breathe through your nose," Max said, he was getting irritated with their antics and so was I.

Jay and I started laughing at Max's comment until we couldn't breathe, but when Ernie glared at him, he quickly looked at the ground admiring Max's new Nike shoes.

"Whoa, check out the cross trainers!" "Cool, let me try them on." Ernie threatened. Max struggled to pedal away, but the two boys grabbed the handlebars of his bike, trapping him.

I tried to stop them from taking his shoes, but I got shoved to the ground during the struggle. The only time I had ever used my magic for something other than good was to get back at Jay and Ernie. I summoned a bunch of spiders from under the headstones to scare them until they ran away, stumbling over their feet!

I laughed at their misery, but it stopped when I saw Max with a solemn expression on his face. Likewise, I immediately felt sorry for him. He already dealt with the move from California, but now he was dealing with bullies.

"I am so sorry, they're awful," I was apologizing profusely. We continued on with our plans to get something to eat at the diner. We shared a plate of fries.
"It's not your fault," he assured. "I guess it's bad luck coming to haunt me," he shrugged. "You don't have bad luck, things will get better. Just give Salem a chance, it's really a great place to live," I told him.
"Really?" Max asked. "Yes," I replied.
He looked like he got an idea, "Would you want to come with me trick or treating tonight? I have to take my little sister around and it would be nice to have someone my own age with me."
I grinned, "I would love to!"

I was excited to go trick or treating with him. It would be fun.