“Hey! Whoa! Wow, you’re really messed up, huh?”
The voice sounds human. It even sounds friendly. I crack open an eye, and there’s a girl standing over me.
“Should I call an ambulance?” she asks.
“An ambulance?” I croak.
“Yeah. You don’t look like you’re bleeding or broken or anything, but your face is all red and swollen. Do you have allergies? Did you eat something bad?” Her face is puckered with concern, but I recognize her.
I mutter, “You’re that new kid from next door.”
“Yup. I’m Stella.” She tilts her head to one side and smiles. The sunlight flashes off her braces and practically blinds me. She adds, “You’re Lizzie, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, what’s wrong?” she asks.
I sit up and squint at her. “Have you been spying on me?”
“Uh, no. But I heard you crying and I climbed the tree by the fence to see what was wrong. You’re not physically injured though, are you?”
I heave a sigh and say, “You wouldn’t understand.”
She plops down on the lawn and says, “Try me.”
I look at her and think this is incredibly weird because she’s incredibly weird. She’s not the sort of person I’d normally ever talk to. I’ve seen her around a few times since she moved in next door, but one look at her was all I needed to know she wasn’t my type. I mean, the kid dresses like a Raggedy Ann doll. She’s so thin she looks like a collection of twigs. And her hair! It’s this wild mass of black curls that frizz around her head like an alien life-form.
But I start talking. I tell her everything that happened to me, and she listens. Really listens. When I’m done talking, I feel better but also a little worried. Is talking to someone like her yet another sign that life as I’ve known it is over?
“Sounds like that Rachel girl is really mean,” Stella says. “Why would she do something like that to you?”
“I don’t know,” I sniff. “But I’ll tell you this. She’s going to pay. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll get her back.”
Stella grins. I blink to avoid the flash off the metal, but it doesn’t happen this time. She looks at me sideways and says, “I know what you need.”
“You do?” I ask.
“Oh yeah.” She nods. In that gesture I find some hope. Her nod is so certain.
“You need to work a little magick,” she says.
I stare at her. “Magick? You’re making fun of me?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that.” She shakes her head. “I’m totally serious. I know some magick. My baba has been teaching me.”
I roll my eyes. “Your baba? What’s that?”
“My grandmother,” Stella says. “She’s from the old country and she knows plenty.”
“You are serious, aren’t you?” I ask. “I mean, you actually believe in this stuff?”
“For sure I believe it. I’ve seen it work.” Stella frowns and bends her head to pluck at the grass. “Although, I’m not really supposed to tell just anyone about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she says, “it’s sort of a family secret. Well, maybe not just for blood family, but for those who have respect. It’s not a game.”
Of all the things Stella might have said, this bit about secrets and respect sounds convincing. “So you’re saying that if I learn how to do this, I could get back at Rachel?”
Stella nods her head vigorously. “I know the perfect revenge spell.”
Perfect revenge. The words waft into my steamed brain like a cool breeze. Ahh. The dreary darkness of misery parts to make way for hope. I start to imagine things. A wart on Rachel’s nose—a giant fuzzy wart. And tufts of hair growing out of her ears. Oh, and what about armpits that pour smelly sweat? I’m just warming up when Stella cuts in.
“You’ll have to learn a few basics first. The revenge spell is tricky.”
“Tricky?” I ask. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she says, “whatever you send out magickally, will come back on you threefold.”
“Say what?” I ask.
“It’s like this.” Stella hesitates, then begins to twirl a tuft of hair in her finger. No wonder it looks like an alien life-form. The twirling is intense. “When you work magick you’re working with the power of nature. It’s like shaping or bending the energy to your will. But before you draw power from the source, you need to align with it. Does this sound complicated?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Darn,” she says. “There’s a lot to explain. It’s hard to know where to start.”
I’m getting suspicious. I think Stella is just making this up. I mean, how hard can it be if she does it? “Why don’t you give me an example? Or better yet, a demonstration.”
She laughs. “You want to see me vanish or something?”
“No.” Although now that she’s mentioned it...“I just want you to keep it simple. Isn’t there some kindergarten magick you can show me?”
“Hmmm,” she says. “All right. How about this. I’ll teach you an easy spell, and when you’re ready, you can try it yourself.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay, here goes.” Stella sits up straight and says, “Repeat after me. On the count of one, the spell’s begun.”
“On the count of one, the spell’s begun.” I get a teensy little tingle in my spine.
“On the count of two, let the magick ring true.”
I repeat that, and the hair on my arms stands up.
“On the count of three, the magick is me.”
As I repeat the last line, I feel a definite vibe. “Wow. Now what?”
“Well,” Stella says, “that’s a simple incantation. What you do is think of something you want to have happen. You get the idea firmly in your head. Maybe you light a candle. Then you say the words and picture the thing you want to happen.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “And then it happens?”
“Maybe not right away,” she says. “Magick works in its own time. You have to be patient.”
I’m about to tell her that sucks when I hear my mom’s car pull up to the house. “Oh no,” I moan.
“What?” Stella asks.
“I think the principal was going to call my mom at work. I’m in for it now.”
Stella shakes her head. “Won’t your mother believe you when you explain?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Guess I’ll find out.”
“I better go,” Stella says. “But there are some important things about the magick I haven’t finished explaining. Maybe I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Later.”