mean it, so I add, âDonât worry about it, okay? Weâre even. Iâm fine.â
She bursts into tears and throws her arms around me. âIâm so sorry, Lizzie! I canât imagine how horrible it must have been for you. So humiliating! And now, room 101? Waahhh.â
I feel awful, but I manage to pat her back. âItâs okay. Although room 101 really is horrible. Itâs like death in there.â
Rachel emits another sob, and I cringe. Jeez, whatâs up with that? I canât even rub it in about how much Iâm suffering? Sick. I sigh and say, âBut I only have to go there four more times.â
âStill,â Rachel sniffles, âI had to go there once. And the teacher in charge is such a turd...â She flinches. âI mean, thepoor old guy. I guess heâs been stuck down there forever.â
I get a little teary-eyed myself over Mr. Mean.
Ouch
! Okay, so itâs really Mr. Snead. I knew that. âFor sure, it must be awful for him being there every day. The smell down there is so disgusting.â
âMaybe,â Rachel says, âwe should get him a fan.â
âYeah! Or some flowers or incense or something.â I look at Stella. âYou know where to get incense, right?â
Stella grins. âFor sure. I might even have some in my backpack.â She starts digging around and comes up with a little cone-shaped lump.
âUm,â one of the watchers says, âI think weâre gonna go now.â
âYeah,â says another. âThis is, like, really weird.â
Rachel looks like I feel. Stricken. Together we say, âSorry!â
âReally,â I add, âwe didnât mean to bother you. Are you going to be all right?â
They stare at me. Slowly, they nod and start backing away. As they escape out the door, I hear one say, âMan! That was so totally freaky!â
I guess it was. Either that or magickal.
chapter twelve
Science class. Kyle. I walk in and look straight at him. He is so hot. But clearly, heâs also shallow. I mean, he gets turned off of Rachel because he hears a rumor about her? And now he canât even look at me because I had zits?
Or is that because he thinks Iâm a cheater? Rachel offered to tell everyone that she gave me the exam key, and I was tempted. But then I thought about how much that could hurt her, and I felt sick.I told her to forget it. I couldnât handle it. I have to protect myself, right?
Only then she said, âBut Lizzie, Iâll feel better if I tell the truth.â
Itâs all very confusing. Things were much simpler when we only cared about ourselves. Like Kyle. I look at him again, and I even feel sorry for him. Poor guy, it must be hard trying to keep up that image.
He glances up and catches my eye. I canât resist. I whip off the purple hat. His eyes widen. His mouth opens. And it doesnât hurt a bit because itâs not like heâs hurt. Heâs just shocked. I can do shock.
And then I remember that heâs going to look like an idiot for telling people about my zits and that might make him squirm. I feel queasy. I turn away and take a few deep breaths. I sit down in my seat, and Mandy plops down beside me.
âWhat do you think, Lizzie?â she asks.
Sheâs wearing a pink straw hat, a sweet little number with a curled brim. âOh, cute!â I say.
âThanks!â she says. âI got it at the mall like you said.â
Note to self: Do not make the mistake of casting an honesty spell. Things are complicated enough already.
A love spell though...I gaze at Kyle and wonder. But if I did that, and he fell in love with me, I couldnât take revenge and ditch him. I must think about that. Whew. My brain sure is getting a work-out lately.
âShould we do the lab, Lizzie?â Mandy asks.
Man.
More
brain stuff. âI guess. What do we have to do?â
It turns out to be quite easy. We have to
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