OMG… Is He Also a Witch Read online

  TO MY LITTLE WITCHES…

  Copyright © 2017 Talia Aikens-Nunez

  Cover and internal design © 2017 Central Avenue Marketing Ltd.

  Cover and Interior Illustrations: © 2017 Alicja Gil

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Central Avenue Publishing, an imprint of Central Avenue Marketing Ltd.

  www.centralavenuepublishing.com

  Published in Canada

  Printed in United States of America

  1. JUVENILE FICTION/Fantasy & Magic 2. JUVENILE FICTION / Girls & Women

  Lexile® measure: 520L

  CHAPTER 1

  BAM! April jolted awake and sat straight up. What was that noise? Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she hopped to her feet. She wiped her eyes and grabbed her glasses from the desk. She shuffled to the window and pressed her face against the glass, her eyes scanned back and forth. I can’t see anything. The fog was as thick as pancake syrup.

  She blinked her eyes. What is that? Standing at the end of her driveway was a figure. Is that an animal? It’s too big to be a squirrel. It’s not a deer. Squint. Focus. Is that a person? The figure moved. Her breath quickened, fogging up the window. Ugh! She used her hand to wipe the window so she could see outside.

  The wind whooshed. Leaves on the trees flipped and flapped in the October wind. Close to the ground, the fog thinned out like strands of cotton candy being pulled apart. The bottom of the figure became clearer. Black pants. The fog lifted a bit more. Black shirt. The fog still covered the face. April slowly slid the window up and carefully pressed her face against the screen. The shadowed, ghostly figure took a few steps forward. OMG…is that a boy? Why is he standing there? He was staring up at the large tree that stood next to her house. “Fall,” he commanded.

  A loud, cracking sound filled the night air. Her heart raced. Where’d he go? What’s he doing? I can’t see anything! She pushed up the screen to stick her head out of the window. She looked left. She looked right. Then she looked down at her father’s SUV, his ‘dream car.’ Mrs. Appleton would jokingly say, “Your dad loves that car more than he loves me!”

  Her eyes widened. Boom-boom, boom-boom, pounded her heart. Lit now by the motion light on the garage and the full moon, April could see her father’s car was crushed by the large branch that had hung over their driveway. Oh no! Dad will be so upset. Who was that? What should I do? Should I go tell Mom and Dad? Before she got to her feet to go get her parents, she remembered, Wait! I am a witch, I can fix this!

  She looked under her bed and saw her spell book, the Book of Magie, resting there. As a young witch who accidentally discovered that she has magical powers, she received the spell book from her trusted French-speaking friend, Eve, who moved here from New Orleans. Eve wasn’t a witch but her grandmother was. Her grand-mère, which is French for grandmother, owned the ancient French spell book when she was alive and then passed it on to Eve. Now that April had these powers, Eve believed the book was better off with April.

  April reached under her bed to touch the cover of the Book of Magie. Now that she had done a few successful spells and taken a French class, she was pretty good at reading the spells with some help from her French-English dictionary.

  She carefully slid out the heavy, leather-bound book and stared at it. This book is so cool, she thought as her finger ran down its brown cover and raised, braided trim. It reminded her of old books she’d seen at garage sales. The pages were as thin as tissue paper and she would read the spells when she was alone in her room.

  She turned on the small desk lamp then knelt back down on the floor. Carefully turning the pages, she thought, I know I saw something in here about repairing broken trees, plants and rocks. She took a deep breath in; the book released an old-library odor as she turned the pages. Here it is!

  At the top of a page halfway through the book was a spell with a pencil drawing of a tree split in half. She read the French title, Réparer. A spell ‘to repair’, perfect. She translated more of the spell as she read.

  Maintenir l’élément que vous essayez de réparer dans votre main.

  Hold the element that you are trying to fix in your hand. Huh, element? The pencil drawing showed a picture of a woman holding a small branch in her hand as she looked at the broken tree. Oh, I get it, hold something wooden to repair the tree and something metal to repair the car.

  I can’t get a branch from outside because the alarm beeps when the door is opened. I have to find something in here. Her eyes searched the dimly lit room. Everything was in its place. Her stuffed animals, clothes, the chandelier. That’s it! She spotted the three-foot-long walking stick made from a branch at camp last summer. It was squeezed between her stuffed animals and covered in pink glitter and streamers. She grabbed it, and continued to scan the room for something metal. Ah, yes. She spotted the metal cup engraved with her name: April Isabella Appleton. Holding the cup in her other hand, her eyes went back to the spell book.

  Repeat twice with your eyes closed:

  The tree is what I want to repair,

  Fixing the damage at which I stare.

  Heal the ruin, mend what I see,

  Cure all of the harm brought by the tree.

  She stood up and looked out the window. The haze still covered the crushed car. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and repeated the spell twice more:

  The tree is what I want to repair,

  Fixing the damage at which I stare.

  Heal the ruin, mend what I see,

  Cure all of the harm brought by the tree.

  The tree is what I want to repair,

  Fixing the damage at which I stare.

  Heal the ruin, mend what I see,

  Cure all of the harm brought by the tree.

  Tight knots formed in her stomach. Wiping her sweaty palms on her pajama pants, she cracked one eye open. She slowly opened her other eye and the tree was repaired. Perfect, it’s back to normal! Her father’s car sat under the branch, unharmed.

  April’s shoulders relaxed as she exhaled. Being a witch is pretty cool. I can stop people from hurting our things. Hmm, I wonder who that boy was? She put the Book of Magie back under her bed, making sure it was safe and secure. Climbing back into bed, she took a deep breath, but could not calm down. April flipped around to her other side. Who was that boy? Why would he do that? Her heart still beating hard, she took another deep breath.

  She closed her eyes but could not get the image of the boy out of her head. After an hour of flip-flopping and taking more deep breaths, she finally fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 2

  “OH NO!” Mr. Appleton yelled.

  April’s eyes popped open. Dad never yells. What’s going on?

  “Abbey! Abbey! Can you come down here?” Her father yelled up the stairs to April’s mother.

  Mrs. Appleton came to the top of the stairs.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” April’s mother asked.

  April’s stomach fell. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the window. She covered her eyes. Please say it was a dream. Please say it was a dream.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath for several moments. Hearing nothing, she slowly relaxed her face, dropped her arms and then opened her eyes. I fixed it. I know I did.

  April stood at
the window, squinting as the golden morning light poured through. Even though she was a witch, she was still pretty new at it. She thought about all the chaos that becoming a witch had caused in the past. She remembered her first spell of mistakenly turning her pestering brother, Austin, into a dog. Next, she remembered all the elephants that appeared in her town, causing destruction and mayhem, when all she wanted was to help them. Without the help of Eve and Grace, she would never have been able to undo either of those spells. Just when she thought she had better control of her powers, this happened. Did my spell not work? No. I saw the tree mended. Did someone undo my spell? Did someone steal the Book of Magie? All these questions made her head spin.

  She reached for her glasses on the desk and put them on. The lump in her throat grew. She looked under the bed, the book was still there. Phew, it’s safe! Daring a look out the window, she saw it. Her father’s dream car was crushed by a massive branch, the one she thought she repaired. She remembered that boy in black. How could he do this?

  “OMG… Is he also a witch?!”

  CHAPTER 3

  MR. APPLETON paced back and forth across the driveway. His cell phone was glued to his ear. From her window, April saw his arm waving, his face grew redder and redder with each minute that passed. Boy, he’s angry. I wish I could fix it again now. But, then I’d have to explain to them how I did that. Her stomach churned at that thought. Never mind.

  Well, he definitely can’t give me a ride to school today. I better hurry to get the bus. She threw on her clothes. Racing down the stairs, she grabbed her backpack. “Bye, Mom.”

  Mrs. Appleton stood at the kitchen sink as still as a statue. April realized her mom didn’t hear her. Mrs. Appleton held her cup of coffee and stared out the window at Mr. Appleton’s car. April stopped and looked out the same window. The roof of the car was completely caved in. The branch was longer than the length of the car. It lay across the flattened roof and deeply dented the hood. The bumper dangled off the front.

  April’s pulse quickened. Who was that boy? Why was he trying to cause such trouble? Gosh, I hope I didn’t cause this. She hated seeing her dad so upset and her mom so worried.

  “Bye, Mom,” April said louder.

  “Oh, sorry, honey.” Her mom came over to her, still wearing her bathrobe and slippers.

  “You have to take the bus today. Okay?” Mrs. Appleton asked.

  April nodded.

  “Have a good day at school, sweetie.” Mrs. Appleton kissed April on her forehead then glanced at the clock. It read 7:15am. “Oh, you better hurry. You have five minutes until the bus gets to the corner.”

  “I know. I’ll meet Grace there. Um, Mom?”

  “Yes?” Her mom raised one eyebrow.

  “Is Dad okay?”

  April’s mom stroked April’s cheek and smiled at her. “Well, Dad is safe. That’s the most important thing. He’s just angry right now. But, he’ll be fine.”

  “Dad love-love-loved that car!”

  “Yep, he always called it his ‘dream car’, didn’t he?” Mrs. Appleton’s smile faded. “But, we will get another. Insurance will pay for it.” A small grin appeared on her face.

  Her mother’s peaceful presence had a calming effect on April. She took a deep breath, looked down at the ground and said, “Okay.”

  Mrs. Appleton put her finger under April’s chin and lifted her daughter’s head to look her in the eye. “I can see that you’re worried. He’ll be fine. You know what I always say?”

  “There’s no space in your heart for fear.” Both April and her mom said this at the same time. Mrs. Appleton always had sayings she would teach April and Austin. April had no idea how her mom remembered all of those sayings. She would say things like: ‘Home is where the heart is,’ and, ‘A wise person makes her own decisions and doesn’t follow others,’ and ‘Logic will get you from A to Z, but imagination will get you everywhere.’

  Mrs. Appleton’s broad smile made April grin. She kissed April on the forehead. “Time to get to school. Go on to the bus stop, I want to mop this floor before I go to work.”

  April took a step toward the door.

  “Wait, don’t forget your house key.” Her mom picked the key off the hook next to the kitchen door that opened to the driveway. She slid it into April’s pocket and smiled at her. “Don’t lose it.”

  April smiled at her mom and walked out the door. As she ran down the driveway, she could hear her father’s agitated voice as he talked on the phone. “For crying out loud, can you please get a tow truck and a replacement car here? Please! I need to get to work.”

  April swallowed hard. She peered over her shoulder to look at her father.

  “Bye, Dad.”

  He stopped pacing and looked up. Seeing April, he forced a smile. “Bye, honey. No ride today.” He pointed to the crushed car. “But, I love you.”

  April smiled at him and pointed at the corner. “It’s okay. I’ll take the bus. I love you too.”

  Then her father said sternly into the cell phone, “Yes, I’m still here.”

  He continued walking back and forth.

  CHAPTER 4

  WHEN April reached the bus stop, Grace was already there. Grace was halfway through her word find book. Word games and brain teasers were her favorites.

  Grace stared at her book, feverishly circling words. “I saw your Dad having a bit of trouble this morning.”

  Since Grace lived next door to April, she always knew what was going on in her house. Not only had she been April’s best friend for a long time, she also helped get April out of trouble when her spells went awry.

  Grace, ever the detective, continued her interrogation. “I find it weird because there was some fog last night but no wind or storm.” Grace looked up at April and started tapping the pen against the book. “Is there something you would like to tell me?”

  “You really have to go into the FBI or CIA when you grow up. You’d be the best investigator,” April quipped.

  Grace gave a wide, Cheshire Cat grin. “Now, spill. What did you do?”

  April’s heart raced again. “I didn’t do anything. I promise.”

  Grace glared at April. “Really?”

  April cleared her throat. “But, I did see something.”

  The bus pulled up in front of the girls. They found seats next to Eve. As they sat down, Eve gave them a huge smile, her tan skin was almost glowing. Eve was so charming with her Cajun accent and outgoing personality. “The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. It’s a beautiful day. Right, girls?” She nearly sang the greeting.

  Grace scowled at her. It was funny to watch since Grace was not a morning person and it irritated her that Eve was always so cheerful this early in the day.

  “Sure, whatever,” Grace said with a pained look. “I have math first thing with mean old Mr. Malus.”

  The smile faded from Eve’s face. “Yeah, I have him after lunch. We have a test on fractions.”

  “Ugh, I really don’t like that guy. He’s only been here a month and I already can’t stand him.” Grace groaned.

  April agreed. “He always seems super creepy when he is hunched over his bowl of whatever he eats in the cafeteria at lunch.”

  All three girls giggled.

  “Hey, before we get to school I have to tell you what happened last night.” April motioned for the girls to huddle close. Both Eve and Grace knew all about April’s abilities. While they weren’t witches, they helped her before, and she knew she could trust them with all of her secrets.

  “I woke up in the middle of the night. There was rustling and a bang. I looked out the window. There was a boy standing at the end of the driveway. I think he made that huge branch fall on my dad’s car.”

  Eve gasped, “Mon Dieu!”

  Grace leaned in closer to April and whispered. “So, was it a ghost or are you saying there is another witch in our town besides you?”

  April gravely nodded her head.

  CHAPTER 5

  THE bus let
the girls off in front of the school. They walked up the steps to the front door. Typically, Mrs. Ramirez, the principal, greeted everyone as they came into school. Her cheerful face could always be found at the door for arrival and for dismissal. She was a sweet lady and wore clothes that reflected the season, like scarves with Valentine hearts on them, Easter Bunny leggings and ugly Christmas sweaters.

  Things seemed different this morning. Mrs. Ramirez’s usually neatly braided hair was pulled into a sloppy bun. She looked sweaty despite the cool morning air and she was missing her Halloween-themed clothing.

  “What’s wrong?” April asked as Mrs. Ramirez nervously picked at her nails.

  “Oh, nothing for you kids to worry about. Just a little problem with the heat.” Mrs. Ramirez looked down at the girls.

  As they walked through the door, there was a blast of extremely hot air. Instantly, beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.

  “I believe the classrooms are cooler. Just the hall and bathrooms are a bit warmer,” Mrs. Ramirez said.

  “A ‘bit’ warmer?” Eve gasped.

  “Why is it so hot?” Grace said, ballooning her shirt to cool herself off.

  “Well…,” Mrs. Ramirez started. She crinkled up her nose and seemed to be lost in thought. “Don’t worry, this heat thing should be fixed shortly.”

  Mrs. Ramirez looked over the girls’ heads out the large windows around the front doors of the school. “I am waiting for the repair people to arrive, any minute now.” Her eyes grew large. “I think I see them. Okay, girls, get to class.” Mrs. Ramirez darted out the doors waving at the team of workers walking toward the school.

  The girls walked down the hall to their classrooms. Eve looked at April with her lashes fluttering. “My eyes are so dry I think my eyelids will get stuck.”

  “OMG, sweat is going to start pouring off of me like Niagara Falls,” Grace said, disgusted.