Third Time Charmed

Enter the Witch (Part 1)

Groaning internally, Piper pinched the bridge of her nose. She was getting one of her headaches. After helping save her from becoming a Fury, Paige had stopped by the house a few times and expressed a desire to learn more about the craft. So, Piper had taken the girl under her wing. She was regretting that now.

Peering through her seldom-worn reading glasses at the quiz she had devised in preparation for Paige's latest lesson, Piper asked her next question, "After mixing your potions, what's the best method to preserve unused sea slugs for future use: A, pickle them, B, sugar them, C, smoke them, D, freeze dry them?"

Sitting across the kitchen table, sucking on a lollipop, Paige responded, "Well, now, you see, if I had extra sea slugs, I'd let those little suckers go right on back to the ocean."

"D, Freeze dry them is the correct answer," said Piper, holding back a reprimand.

"I was going to guess that," Paige assured her.

"Why are you guessing at all?" Piper questioned snippily.

"To pass?"

Feeling her frustration getting the best of her, Piper pulled off her glasses. "Paige, this isn't like trig, you know," she chastised. "It's not like you're never going to use it again. If you blow a potion, innocent people could die. Did you study at all for this test?"

"Well, I started to last night," Paige admitted, "but a friend from work came over, and she knew this bouncer at this club and... I'm sorry."

Piper sighed. What she wouldn't give to go to a club and chill out with some friends. The closest she could manage right now was a trip to P3 to work with the husband she was barely communicating with. "It's okay. I was single...once. Why don't you study tonight?"

"I can't. I have a guy coming over here and we're going out."

"Here? What's wrong with your place?"

"Uh, this place is slightly more impressive than mine."

"Uh-huh," said Piper, her patience wearing thin. "Look, Paige, I really, really want to be the cool big sister, but this is ridiculous. You have no priorities."

"That is not true," Paige asserted, but she didn't dare tell Piper everything. Sure, she was interested in learning about witchcraft, but that had just been an excuse to get her foot in the door of Halliwell Manor. When she stopped by the house, she had done so intending to get to know her new sisters, but when she and Piper started talking, there was this moment of panic, a worry in the back of her mind that they wouldn't have anything else in common.

So, here she was, sitting exams like she was back in school. "I've left work to come here and study twice now," she said. "That's why I have to go out tonight. The boss's son is in town for the weekend."

"And you think showing him a good time is going to improve your career standing?" Piper questioned.

"Well, yeah," said Paige, popping her sucker back into her mouth.

Piper felt like she wasn't getting through to the girl, so she gave tough love a try, "Okay, listen to me very carefully. There is nothing more important than learning your craft right now. We could be attacked at any moment."

"Then why am I stuck here reading?" Paige challenged. "Shouldn't I be out there hunting demons, like Prue?"

Piper cocked an eyebrow. Did she really just say that? It was like Paige was trying to parent-trap her or something. "Err, no, you shouldn't," said Piper definitively, "and neither should Prue! Trust me, we get quite enough demons around here without seeking them out."