Eight

Finale

     "So you're out to bust a witch, huh?" Drew repeats, after we've finished explaining our situation.

     "Yes," I reply, "And before you say it's stupid, think about what we're offering you in return. You shouldn't want to walk away from this deal any more than we do."

     "I wasn't going to call it stupid," he says. "Actually, there was a similar situation in Kentucky last year."

     "We know!" Jamie exclaims. "This is the same teacher!"

     "So, what should we do?" I ask.

"Set a trap," Drew says simply. "Provoke her to use her magic, then catch her in the act. According to the story in Kentucky, she turned a kid into a mouse because he was chewing gum in class. If she was angered by that, then she's probably ready to zap someone at any second, which makes our job a lot easier."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Jamie interrupts. "Are you actually suggesting we sacrifice someone?!"

"No, way," he replies. "Of course we'll make them immune first."

"Wait," I exclaim. "You mean this whole time I could've been immune to her magic?! So I didn't have to be scared out of my mind this whole time!"

"Well, then you should've come to me earlier. Seventh graders don't know this stuff. Anyway, it's not exactly the most convenient of things."

"Why?" Jamie asks. "What do you have to do?"

"Wear an aluminum foil hat," Drew replies gravely.

My head snaps up and I glare at him. "Do you think this is funny?! Eight kids have died! I might be the next! Does that not concern you? Why do you have to make a joke out of this?!"

"Sarah, I'm serious! If she is a witch, as you say she is, then the only way to protect yourself from her physical transformation spells is to protect the area they target, or the brain, with a reflective substance that will prevent the spell from getting through."

"It makes sense," Jamie tells me. "I think we should go with it."

I sigh. "Okay. But how would we even have them wear a foil hat? Wouldn't that look a little suspicious?"

"Relax, Sarah," Drew says. "It doesn't have to be like the hats conspiracy theorists wear in the desert to protect themselves from the aliens. We're gonna be much more classy than that. We just need to line a baseball cap with foil, and no one will be able to tell."

"That's true. This could work."

"Wait," Jamie says, "Guys, hats aren't allowed in school."

"Darn it," I mutter. "I bet whoever made up that rule is working for her. Why else would hats not be allowed?"

"Don't worry," Drew replies. "Nobody enforces that rule except for the vice principal and really strict teachers. And you said this teacher is pretty cool, right? Or at least pretending to be."

"Okay cool. So now we just need someone willing to take the risk. But who do we know who would willingly anger a teacher?"

"Is there anyone rebellious in your class?"

"Yeah, but I don't think she'd be too keen to do what I ask her to."

"She will once she sees this." Drew holds up a shiny twenty dollar bill.

"We're going to bribe her?"

"Don't think of it like that. It's more like paying her to be herself, only directed at the target of our choice."