Charm

Chapter 1

For as long as anyone could remember, Claudie was and is batshit crazy. Seriously, her sanity has always been called into question ever since she moved to Oakwood.

Her first week of school she was accused of being a witch based solely on the fact that she was the only person in town to have ever watched Harry Potter. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but when you move to a small baptist town in east Texas just outside civilization, it's a big deal. There, watching a movie about witch craft is almost as bad as participating in it. It was only natural, when Claudie came in on her first day of the 3rd grade excited about the movie she had just seen the night before with her brother, that the town wouldn't take it too well.

Instantly kids accused her being a witch, and all would've been fine if she just confessed her sins right then in there instead "feigning innocence," as Hilly Barns put it. To make matters worse, when no one believed that Claudie was in fact not a witch, she fell to her knees and began to place curses on all the children. Of course she was just having a laugh at her peers ludicrous accusations, but soon enough kids started to claim they were bewitched and Claudie was forced to admit she was a indeed witch. Regardless of whether or not it was truthful, she was strong-armed into embracing the title of a witch in an effort to piece together what was left of her reputation. The parents believed that if she atoned for her sins she would be cleared.

Eventually she confessed, and it was rather theatrical. The confession was filled with lots of exclamations aimed toward the sky, or at the heavens, and every sentence began with "forgive me Jesus." All the while she kneeled, clutching tightly to her person a small baby Jesus (which I'm pretty sure she snatched from a random nativity scene) and with tears streaming down her face. The town ate it up and didn't seem to mind it was a blatant lie. After she did so, the matter was patched up quite nicely. Apart the whole having to claim to be something she wasn't. The whole thing was very Salem witch if you ask me.

Years later people would clear her name and realize she was just a mere mortal. However, she was still called a witch; mostly it was just used as a term of endearment toward her or to poke fun. She was popular nonetheless- despite her crazy streak.

Critics often said that people excused her inexcusable behavior on account of her being beautiful. While others who still believed in the witch theory, claimed she charmed everyone. Whichever theory is right she still lived a good life. She was well liked and beautiful, as well as smart,and funny, and kind, but she was also stubborn and... well... crazy.

Claudie had many admirers but she gave them all the cold shoulder. She had developed into quiet the ice queen. As a matter a fact there was only one boy who get any sort of reaction out of her: Benjamin Carthridge.

Benjamin was born and raised in Oakwood Texas. His life was boring and trivial, so imagine his excitement when he learned a new family was moving right across the street from him. Then picture him walking over to the new house, with the pretty mom who wore overalls, in order to introduce himself. However, imagine the overwhelming horror he was struck by when he realized the pretty woman had a very pretty daughter girl.

It was from that day forward that he decided to torment Claudie as if his life depended on it. He embarrassed and pranked her from the time the the sun rose to the time it set. He was relentless, of course he was too dense to understand exactly why he so desperately liked to prank Claudie, but everyone knew it was because he was smitten. Unfortunately it would take him years to realize his feelings for her, but he'd realize them too late. It'd only be until he drowned his sorrows in alcohol at Benny's that he'd see what he lost, but that's not until much later.