The Trouble With Spells by Lacey Weatherford Page B

made my way
down the entire flowerbed until it was completely brought back to life.
    “I’ve seen
enough,” Grandma said. “It’s clear she has good control over her powers.”
    “But I don’t
really know what I’m doing or how I’m doing it,” I complained.
    “Maybe not
consciously,” Vance pointed out. “But you do in here.” He pointed to my head. “That’s
what matters. The rest will follow.”
    “You two are the
experts,” I said, slumping into a lawn chair. “Now what?”
    “I think you just
need to practice things on your own and see what you can find out about
yourself. Each witch’s magic is different from the next one. Just like people
have different physical features, witches and warlocks all have unique powers
that are individual to them. You’ll need to experiment and find out what yours
are. I’ll continue to tutor you on the different herbs we have and what we can
use them for. They’ll help to supplement your natural magic.” Grandma paused a
second. “I also think I’ll give you a little homework assignment. I want you to
write your own spell for something in your Book of Shadows.”
    “But I don’t know
anything about writing spells,” I reminded her.
    “Spells are all
individual to the witch or the warlock too. It can be anything you want it to
be. Just think about it carefully and then follow your heart and your
instincts,” she explained. “I just want to see what you’ll come up with.”
    “All right,” I
said, both a little nervous and excited.
    “You two had
better get going. It’s almost supper time,” Grandma said, looking at her watch.
    We followed her
back into the house and through to the front door.
    “Thanks for
everything, Grandma.” I gave her a hug.
    “It’s my
pleasure.” She squeezed me tightly.
    “Thanks for
letting me come too,” Vance added as we stepped out the door.
    “Anytime, Vance,”
she replied with a smile.
    Grandma stood on
the porch watching us while we both walked out to our bikes.
    “Guess I’ll see
you tomorrow,” Vance said, casting a quick glance at Grandma, and I knew he
wanted to kiss me goodbye but having her watching was making him nervous.
    I reached up and
gave him a quick peck on the lips, even though she was there, lingering for
just a moment to enjoy the feel of his lips pressing back against mine.
    “I’m glad you
came,” I said as the breeze stirred up my hair and blew it across my face.
    Vance reached out
tenderly and tucked the wayward strands behind my ear.
    “Me too.” He moved
away to get onto his motorcycle.
    He waited for me
to get my helmet on and start my scooter. Then he gestured for me to go first. I
was surprised when he followed me home, waving to me as he continued on past
our driveway.
    I parked in the
garage and then went into the house. My mom was working again this evening, and
Dad had gone off to another “sales meeting,” whatever that meant.
    I popped a bag of
popcorn,poured it into a bowl, and carried it up to my room.
    Jinx was snoozing
happily on the bed when I entered. I tried to be quiet, but she still woke up
and did her lazy cat stretch before coming over to greet me with a soft meow
and a nuzzle.
    I told her all
about my afternoon, and she listened with rapt attention to me. I thought I
could almost sense she was proud of me, which seemed ridiculous when I thought
about it.
    I settled
cross-legged on the bed and decided to work on the spell assignment Grandma had
given me. I calmed my emotions for a few seconds before looking over to my
desk, seeing my Book of Shadows lying there. I reached out toward the book with
my palms open and mentally commanded the book to come to me. It lifted easily
and settled into my outstretched hands.
    Next, I managed to
conjure up a pencil I couldn’t see, but I knew was in my book bag. That was
exciting for me. Everything else I’d done previously revolved around things I
could physically see.
    I wrote all these
things down in the book, and then