Hannah Blume and the Strapless Bra of Doom

The Curse

JC Penny would never know it, but they had made a terrible mistake with their newest employee. They had hired a witch.

If she had gotten along better with her coworkers, or even just had any real concern for caution or human lives, this wouldn't have been a problem. After all, witches are people too, albeit weird ones who channel the spirits to do their bidding, and they too require part time jobs in department stores to pay their phone bills. However, Tertia was not a cautious or caring witch, and eventually she was doomed to make a mistake. It started, as many tales of horror do, with employee benefits.

Technically speaking, they weren't allowed to reserve items for themselves, but no one at JC Penny had ever cared for that rule. Frequently, employees could be witnessed taking items from the racks and smuggling them back to the counter, to be purchased later with employee discounts.

Of all the people working in that store, one had a particularly bad habit of doing her shopping during store hours. Her name was Jessica Ribbon. She was a sweet, funny, kind hearted girl, and Tertia hated her. Her voice grated on her nerves. Her every move seemed discordant with the movement of the Universe. And one day, when she had learned the right curse, Tertia decided to get rid of her -yes, you see it coming - once and for all!

So one Friday afternoon, while Jessica was off returning clothes to their hangers, Tertia swiped one of her recent finds and headed for the back parking lot. There, she performed a ritual to curse the clothing item, a strapless bra, to strangle Jessica the next time she tried it on. There was smoke and chanting and wild hand gestures, and then the bra turned black, before slowly, slowly draining out into its natural white color. Tertia smiled giddily. She had done it! She hardly thought of the consequences - she had done her biggest spell yet! Filled with happy, self-congratulatory thoughts, she picked up the bra and carried it back inside, stashing it under the counter where Jessica had stored it originally.

A few minutes later, she was called off to help some one find a swim suit. She was still gone when Jessica returned with a shopper.

"I can check in the back," she was saying as she started typing into the computer, "but I don't think we have any more in that size. Does it have to be that brand in particular?"

"It was the only one she said felt comfortable, but that was in the wrong size." Jessica scanned the computer screened, her lips pursed.

"It's for her prom tomorrow," the shopper said. She had the distinct anxious look of a mother worrying about making her daughter happy. "She's wearing a strapless dress. If you don't have any, do you know of any other good brands?"

"Not really," Jessica said. She cleared her search on the computer, and ducked behind the counter. The woman leaned over slightly to see what she was doing. "I think I may have something back here," Jessica said. Her voice was muffled; her head was beneath a shelf, where she kept the private cache of clothes she intended to buy. She carefully pulled herself backwards from under it so she didn't hit her head, and brought a new white bra up to the counter. "That's the size you were looking for, right?"

The shopper peered at the tags. "Yes, that's Hannah's size. Thank you!"

"No problem." The shopper hurried back to the changing rooms, and Jessica went back under the counter to fold her stashed clothes.

Tertia watched Jessica carefully for days, hoping to be near her to see the spell work. As weeks passed, it became apparent that she hadn't worn the bra, and Tertia gave up on it.

You already know the story of the girl in the changing room, who died at prom the following night.

As for Tertia, she was fired from JC Penny. It had nothing to do with the bra. She was caught smoking in the ladies changing room.