A ROYAL FLUSH

Time for my second private lesson with Mrs. Kettledrum! We sit face-to-face on our comfy chairs in her office again.

“Today we will talk about Emergency Spells,” Mrs. Kettledrum begins. “Heidi, have you given this any thought since our last lesson? Can you give me some examples of random emergencies, with the exception of injuries and illnesses?”

At this point in my magical career, I know that injuries and illnesses are in a different spell category altogether. Annabelle and Sunny are already pretty good at spells for healing. It is Annabelle’s gift, after all.

And Sunny can harness the power of the sun to heal people. One time she healed me—in a matter of moments—of a sprained ankle.

Hmmm. I forgot to think of some random emergencies. Oops! I’ll just have to come up with some right now.

Momo hops onto my lap and curls up.

As I pet Momo, the only random emergencies I can think of are things that have happened to me. But fortunately there are a lot of them.

“Breaking your mother’s favorite vase,” I start. Mrs. Kettledrum nods.

I continue. “Messing up a hair spell and having your hair grow without stopping.…”

She chuckles. “Great ones, Heidi!”

More emergencies bubble up in my head.

“Losing something, like the backpack charm I gave Hunter. Sucking up a cat toy in the vacuum cleaner. Or revealing a secret by accident.…”

Mrs. Kettledrum rests her hand on my shoulder to get me to stop. “Very good, Heidi! Those are all genuine emergencies—things that crop up more often than we care to admit.”

I nod vigorously.

“So, now you’ll begin to learn how to handle these little emergencies on the spot. Sometimes a witch just doesn’t have time to sit down and pore over the pages of the Book of Spells. In that case, the witch will need a Make-It-Snappy spell!”

Yes, this is exactly what I need! I think. Because I’m the absolute queen of everyday disasters!

Mrs. Kettledrum shifts her crossed legs.

“In any emergency, the first thing you should do is go over a quick mental checklist, like this:

“1. Stay calm. No matter how flustered or fearful you may feel, you must push these feelings aside. You can’t do anything when you’re freaking out.

“2. Ask yourself: ‘What is the safest thing to do in this circumstance?’ Also, if you need help, ask for it.

“3. Respond. Come up with an on-the-spot spell to meet the situation. Address every detail of the emergency in your spell. It’s vital to be specific.

“Does this make sense, Heidi?”

I nod, understanding. “Yes, it makes perfect sense!”

“Good!” Mrs. Kettledrum says. “So, now we’re going to create a mock emergency for you to handle.

“I want you to look into your backpack and find something—any object—and give it to me.”

Momo hops down as I hoist my backpack onto my lap.

I fish around for something to give Mrs. Kettledrum. I pull out my favorite cherry lip balm and hand it over.

“Perfect!” she says.

Mrs. Kettledrum waves her hand over my lip balm, and it disappears.

Wow, someday I want to be able to do that! I think.

“Okay, now I want you to bring the lip balm back, Heidi,” explains Mrs. Kettledrum. “What would do you do first?”

I press my finger on my chin.

“First, I’ll go through my checklist,” I say, and repeat the steps Mrs. Kettledrum just told me. “Once I’ve answered each question, I would come up with a spell on the spot.”

Mrs. Kettledrum smiles approvingly. “Very good, Heidi! Now quiet your thoughts and come up with a specific spell that might bring your lip balm back.”

I sit back in my chair and take a deep breath to quiet my thoughts. Then I close my eyes and think of an on-the-spot spell.

“Ready!” I say.

Mrs. Kettledrum nods. “Okay, now chant your spell out loud, Heidi.”

I chant my spell.

Lip balm, lip balm, hiding from me!

Come back! Come back!

On the count of three!

One! Two! three!

I open my eyes and hold out my hands, expecting my lip balm to reappear.

But it doesn’t. Sigh.

I look at Mrs. Kettledrum.

She raises one eyebrow.

“What do you think you did wrong, Heidi? What detail might be missing from your spell?”

I try to think of what might be missing from my spell. Did I miss an important detail?

“Oh, I know!” I shout.

Mrs. Kettledrum smiles when she sees I’m catching on. I sit back in my chair, shut my eyes, and chant my spell again.

CHERRY Lip balm—hiding from me!

Come back! Come back!

You belong to Heidi!

On the count of three!

One! Two! three!

Again, I hold out my hands.

SHA-ZING!

This time my lip balm reappears in my waiting hands.

Momo looks at me and barks her approval.

“That’s right, Momo! I did it!”

I hold the lip balm so Momo can see it. “Wow! That was so cool!”

Mrs. Kettledrum gives me a high five. “And that’s how it’s done, Heidi.

“Always remember to include every important detail in your spell. It’s the key to success. Very good job!”

I ruffle Momo’s fur because I can hardly contain my excitement.

“Yip! Yap! Yip!” Momo cheers.

I love magic! I think. I love this dog! I love my life!

“Okay, you two,” Mrs. Kettledrum says. “It’s time for lunch. Let’s meet again on Saturday afternoon at four o’clock.”

“Okay!” I say, flattening Momo’s ears back as I give her one last pat on the head before I go. Her brown eyes flash and her chubby body wiggle-waggles.

Momo is the world’s cutest dog, and I’m so glad she lives here at Broomsfield Academy, so I can give her lots of pets.

“Bye!” I call as I head out the door.

Momo yaps.

“See you later, Heidi!” Mrs. Kettledrum calls.

I skip all the way to lunch, which may sound kind of corny, but I’m feeling it!

As I go, I wonder if Isabelle will be at lunch today. And more important, will she still want to be my friend after the other day? Or will she go back to being shy and standoffish? Maybe she’s just one of those people who blows hot and cold, as my Aunt Trudy would say. I hope not.

I grab a hot turkey pita pocket at the sandwich station and a Granny Smith apple.

“Hi, Heidi!” Nick says cheerfully as I pass by his table. I say hi and smile, and Nick smiles back.

He just radiates niceness.

Did you ever look at someone and know in your gut that they are a nice person? That’s Nick! You can tell by looking at him that he is genuinely sweet and sincere.

But he’s sitting next to Melanie again today.

Merg!

Melanie waves at me, and it’s like she’s saying, Look! I’m sitting with your crush! I smile and nod to Melanie since I’m carrying a tray full of food. I also don’t want to appear jealous.

As if!

When I get to my table, Sunny scoots over and makes room for me between her and Isabelle. Hunter is, as always, on the other side of Isabelle. He is completely smitten with her.

And great news! Isabelle is acting totally friendly and outgoing again.

“Hey, Heidi!” she practically sings. “So sorry to rush you out of my room the other day. I got really frantic about my homework all of a sudden.”

I smile, because her words make me feel much better.

“No problem, Izzy! Homework makes us all a little frantic. So will you be participating in the logo contest? I can totally see you making amazing designs!”

Isabelle’s face lights up. “YES! I’ve been working on ideas nonstop. It’s so hard to commit to one design, but I’ll get there.”

Sunny jumps into the conversation. “I can’t decide which direction to go in either!”

I decide to tell them about Natalie’s survey.

“Last night an upperclassman came to our dorm and interviewed Melanie and me.

“She was going around surveying kids and asked all these great questions about how we see the school, how we want others to see it, and what would make the new logo stand out from the old one.

“The survey really makes you think about our logo’s purpose.”

Isabelle really loves the survey idea. “That is such a smart idea! And how cool that you got to talk to an upperclassman! Do you remember any of the questions that she asked? Maybe I’ll even ask some people for feedback on my designs.”

I polish my apple on my shirt. “For sure! I’ll try to remember as much as I can and write them down for you.”

Sunny taps my arm. “Would you share them with me, too?”

I chomp into my apple and nod. “Of course, Sunny!”

Isabelle taps my other arm.

Suddenly I feel like Miss Popularity!

I hope I can actually remember Natalie’s questions and help my friends.

“Heidi, will you come to my room after classes so I can show you some of my logo ideas?” Isabelle asks. “I’d love to see what you think.”

Sunny taps my foot under the table, and I can hear what she’s thinking. See, Heidi? Isabelle still wants you to be her friend. You should go!

I tap Sunny’s foot back, so she knows I read her thoughts.

“I’ll be there! And I’ll bring the list of questions,” I say to Isabelle. I already know her designs are going to be amazing.

And it’ll give me a chance to get to know her better, and maybe I’ll learn why she really wanted me to leave her room the other day.

I don’t want to be too nosy, but I still wonder what exactly happened. Maybe I will even be able to read her thoughts.

Later, after classes, I zip back to my dorm to sit and try to concentrate on the questions Natalie asked Melanie and me. I write down what I remember, and I write them down again on another piece of paper. I slip one of the copies under Sunny’s door in her dorm on the way to Isabelle’s. As I get closer to Dreamwood, I try to get into a peaceful, mind-reading zone. You can do this! I tell myself.

I hurry up the grand curving staircase and down the hall. The floorboards creak in front of Isabelle’s door.

She must’ve heard them because her door flies open before I even knock! Isabelle greets me with a tub full of red licorice sticks. YUM!

“Want some?” she asks.

“Sure!” I say, reaching into the jar and pulling out a stick of licorice.

I bite into it, and my mouth is filled with that fabulous fake cherry taste that I love. “Thanks, Izzy! Red licorice and gummy bears are my absolute favorite candies!”

Isabelle bites into a piece of licorice too. “If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, I’d choose red licorice!” she says. “Gummy bears would be a close second.”

We laugh, and I forget all about trying to read Isabelle’s thoughts.

Isabelle offers me a chair.

I grab another piece of licorice and sit down.

She plunks onto her footstool and picks up a pile of sketches. “Ready to see one of my logo ideas?”

I nod and blow into my licorice stick like it’s a straw. Isabelle laughs as she hands me one of her drawings. Before I take a look, I give her Natalie’s survey so she can read it later. Then I study the sketch, and my eyes nearly pop right out of my face.

“Heyyyy!” I cry. “That’s ME!”

Isabelle’s sketch shows me in a purple coat and matching hat. The hat has a logo on it—a bear, holding a broom, and sweeping.

Isabelle watches me as I look at her sketch. She is beaming with pride.

“So, what do you think?!” she asks.

I look up at Isabelle.

“I LOVE it! Is the logo one of your ideas for the contest?”

Isabelle nods proudly. “Yup! I’m going to draw more logos on things like pants, sweatshirts, and jackets, and get feedback from other friends too. The more feedback I can get, the better. Kind of like my own survey.”

Isabelle grabs both of her knees with her hands. “You know what, Heidi? I think fashion may be my destiny. I love dreaming up outfits that will look great on people. It makes me so happy!”

She sighs dreamily.

“Now I just need to learn to sew! It’s so tempting to use magic to whip up my fashion designs, but that would be kind of like cheating—you know?”

I laugh out loud, because I do know. It’s the story of my life!

“I have the same problem, Izzy! I have to stop myself from using magic at least three times a day, and I fail frequently.”

Little does Isabelle know, I planned to use my magical gift to read her mind today—a perfect example of using magic when I shouldn’t, to get something I want.

I snap out of my thoughts when I notice Isabelle studying my face.

Oh my gosh! Why is she looking at me that way?

Can she read minds too?!

I look back at her suspiciously. But it turns out I’m totally wrong. Isabelle is just sizing me up for more fashion designs!

“You should wear more hats, Heidi!” she says, clapping her hands together. “And you’re in luck because I just happen to have the perfect black hat for you.”

I scrunch up my face, like Hats? Really? “I’m not much of a hat person, Izzy. I don’t like the way they flatten my hair.”

Isabelle waves me off. “Hats say a lot about a person. They say you’re fashionable and cool, and they can also give you an air of mystery. And the best time to wear hats is when your hair might be a little flat already. You know, like on the day it needs washing.”

I laugh. Hats on bad hair days are a good thing, but usually I just give myself a magical wash and blowout. Way easier than shampooing or jamming a hat onto my head.

But giving myself a cool, chic look—now that could be a different story.

Isabelle springs off the footstool. “Be right back! I have to go to the bathroom. But go into my closet. There’s a box labeled ‘hats’ on the top shelf. You’ll find a black hat in there. Feel free to try it on!”

Isabelle dashes into the bathroom—her very own private bathroom, of course!

But the biggest shocker is that she’s letting me go into her closet unattended! It’s like she just gave me permission to snoop! I race to the closet and swing open the doors.