stinky, unfiled nails into my boyfriend.â
âWhat?â Sophie almost rubbed her ears to make sure she was hearing correctly. âYou think Iâm trying to steal your boyfriend?â
â
Trying
being the operative word there.â Melissa gave an inelegant snort. âI mean, I know youâre no threat, but for some stupid reason he thinks that revolting piece of plastic that you insist on wearing around your neck is a lucky charm.â
âYes, but thatâs not my fault,â Sophie yelped. âAnd besidesââ
âDo I look like I care what you have to say?â Melissa cut her off before narrowing her eyes (honestly, she must practice in the mirror or something). âIâm just warning you that youâd better stay away from Ben. Oh, and while youâre at it, you can stay away from my brother, too. Do I make myself clear?â Then, without waiting for an answer, she sauntered off to where her look-alike best friends (Harvey liked to call them âthe Tait-botsâ) were waiting for her.
Sophie gulped. Out of all the things she had thought Melissa might be annoyed about, she certainly hadnât guessed that. The only problem was, despite what Jonathan said, she knew that no good could come from Melissa Taitâs trying to wage a vendetta against her. Which meant that if Sophie was going to have a perfect life, she would need to figure out a way to make peace with Jonathanâs (evil) sister. Luckily, she had magic on her side.
6
A S WELL AS BEING A VERY POSITIVE PERSON, SOPHIE was also a planner. Her dad had often told her that everything was easier when you had a good plan. However, despite spending her last two classes trying to come up with ways to stop Melissa Tait from hating her, she still had nothing. She let out a frustrated sigh, put her blank list into her backpack, and pushed her way to her locker. As she did so she caught sight of Jonathan Tait.
He was on the other side of the hallway with a sea of kids separating them, but the minute he saw her, he looked up and smiled. Sophie immediately put her hand up to her own so-straight-you-could-rule-lines-with-it hair and made a quick wish so that it suddenly had a bit more bounce and body. Then, once she felt it fluff up under her fingers, she returned his wave.
He held up a basketball as if to explain that he couldnât talk to her right now. Sophie gave him a goofy smile and then watched as he disappeared back into the crowd.
âAww, thatâs so cute.â Malik suddenly appeared nextto her. âBut seriously, can I please go now? Because if I have to stay in this cursed place for one moment longer, then Iâm pretty sure my brains will leak out all over the floor into a messy, slippery puddle, and innocent children might get hurt in the process. We must think of their safety.â
âDo you think thereâs any chance at all that you might be exaggerating?â Sophie said as she dumped her books off and shut her locker.
âNo.â Malik gave an adamant shake of his head. âI can assure you that Iâm underselling the situation, because seriously I had no idea that school could be so boring. So hereâs the deal, if you let me leave now, I could probably still catch an early show of
The Wizard of Oz
to listen to âSomewhere Over the Rainbow.â Then when Iâve got my va-va-voom back, we can do some more work on your transcendental conjuring.â
âIs he still trying to leave so that he and Eric can watch a touring production of
The Wizard of Oz
?â Kara asked as she and Harvey joined Sophie at her locker and the three of them headed toward the library. Sophie nodded her head.
âYes, but itâs not going to work since the last time he met up with Eric the Giant, he didnât come back for three days,â Sophie said as they reached the library and made their way over to the beanbags in the corner. As soon as they got there,
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