Life's A Witch

Chapter Two

"Whooooa, caught in a bad romance," I sang at the top of my lungs along with Lady Gaga. I was in my car jamming to the megamix playlist of the over-the-top pop singer that I'd created just for this trip. It was the perfect music to get a person in the mood for some spell casting.

After all, I'd known Gaga back when she was just plain Stefani Germanotta, a gangly teenager who liked to play the piano and put on productions of musicals at coven gatherings. It wasn't until she'd fully embraced her magical side that she really hit it big in the entertainment world. I mean, why else would people be okay with a young woman running around in the crazy outfits she wore?

Still, you gotta love a girl who uses her God-given talents.

The song ended as I pulled into the Hobbses' driveway, parking behind at least three other cars that were already lined up in a row.

Looks like I'm the last one here. Again.

I hated being late to anything, and according to the clock, I still had a minute until the meeting would start. Turning off the ignition, I swung the car door closed behind me and bounded up the front steps. Ringing the doorbell, I smoothed down my dress, ran a hand through my hair, and waited for someone to answer.

"Well, hello, Hadley!" Mrs. Hobbs said when she opened the door. She was pretty, in her early forties, maybe, and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black sweater. At first glance, she looked like your typical suburban mom. However, I knew better.

"Hi, Mrs. Hobbs!" I said politely, waiting for her to invite me in. When she stepped to the side, I joined her in the foyer.

"Everyone's already downstairs. Why don't you grab something to drink on your way? You know where everything is," she said before disappearing into the living room, where the TV was blaring.

"Thanks!" I shouted, rushing to the stairs and taking each step as fast as I could in my four-inch heels. When I'd made it down to the bottom safe and sound, I pushed open the door to the basement den and burst inside.

"I'm here! I'm here!" I yelled, scurrying to my usual spot on the windowsill.

"You heard the girl, let's get this party started!" said Fallon, sitting on a beanbag chair in the corner. I narrowed my eyes at him and made a face. He was kind of dorky looking and his body was a bit too puny for his head. But it was his out-of-control hair that really labeled him a grade-A nerd. If I didn't know Fallon personally, I'd probably gloss right over him walking down the hallway. But I did and he was a total thorn in my side.

"Nice to see you, too, Fallon," I said, glancing around the room at the other dozen or so kids. A quick search showed me that I was, indeed, the last to show. Did I mention that I hate being late? Even if it's just by a few minutes, my stomach starts to feel queasy. All the research I've done on influential people has said that it's actually good to make people wait for you. It's supposed to subconsciously make them think that your time is more valuable than theirs. Still, I'd always thought it just made a person seem irresponsible and rude. And I couldn't help but feel like everyone else in the coven felt the same way. They wouldn't say it, of course—well, maybe Fallon would—but I think it just gave them more of a reason to shy away from me.

I may have commanded my school, but here, I wasn't exactly the center of attention. Maybe it was because I wasn't the only extraordinary one in the room. Or because spell casting came easily to me, which meant I didn't have to work quite as hard as the others and didn't need to attend so many of our magic meetings to pass our spell tests. This gave the others more time to bond and left me sort of on the outside looking in. But I was too busy with all my commitments at school to hang around witch classes just to watch others try to catch up to where I was. And as of yet, I hadn't been able to find a spell that allowed me to be in two places at once. Until then, I'd just have to be okay with having the best of one world.