Chapter Two

In which I meet a meet a toad and learn of magic

          “Huh?”

          Samuel stood over my bed shaking me. 

          “I’m awake!  I’m awake!  What do you want?”

          He grinned dirty blonde hair flooding his face, “Breakfast time!”

          I was about to ask him how he got permission from me (when I was asleep) to come in, but he had already scrambled out of the room. 

          I put on a plain white tank top with a cropped black jacket and a short black skirt.  I brushed my hair and braided it.  It reached my waist.

          “You got some long hair, girly!”

          I jumped at least fifteen feet in the air.

          That was NOT my brother!

          “Who said that?”  I didn’t see any one except… “A toad!”

          “Not any toad, one of the housekeepers.  But it’s just the usual problem: boys fighting.  They’ve got no aim these days, eh girly?”

          “I wouldn’t know.”  My voice squeaked so… squeakily that I don’t think the toad understood me.  I mean, what would you do if a toad told you it was a housekeeper and that your hair was long?

          “What’s wrong with you?  Can’t you reverse the spell for me?  It’d be a real joy to be human again!”

          “I.. I.. I..”

          “Just wave your hand and say,

‘Poor enchanted little thing,

Your life seems to be horribly torn,

You must have had a sorry day,

Turn back the way that you were born!’”

          I stared at her, “You expect me to do ‘magic’?”

          Then the toad did an extraordinary thing: it smiled.  If you have ever seen a toad smile, you must agree that toads are not meant to smile and they should really stick to croaking.

          After the “housekeeper” helped me memorize it, I finally decided to try it.  It wasn’t going to work, I thought, but what the heck, I was talking to a toad.

“Poor enchanted little thing,

Your life seems to be horribly torn,

You must have had a sorry day,

Turn back the way that you were born!”

          Instantly the toad grew into an extremely large toad, then got skinnier and began to take on a more human shape.  The housekeeper was a Hispanic woman in her fifties, I guessed, as the woman’s transformation was completed.

          “Thank you, girly!”  She started to say, but she was interrupted by a walkie talkie that was attached to her skirt.

          “Nurse Sheryl, a snake morph bit a rabbit morph in the South Tower on Leopard Lane in the seventh graders’ girl’s bathroom.  She was only a Scarlet King Snake, but it was a sensitive dwarf rabbit – this one needs immediate attention.  Ah!  Keep off her Buffy!  You’re a hurt rabbit not a monster truck!”

          We both stared at the walkie talkie and burst out laughing.  My laugh was crazy and confused: I had no idea about this “morph stuff” and was still shocked I did magic!  Magic!  Like ESP! Extrasensory Perception!  I did the IMPOSSIBLE!  Then Sheryl got on from somewhere else.

          “I won’t have any monster-truck-bunnies around here!  I’m coming over.”

          We laughed some more (Although I looked more faint than amused) and soon Mistress Toad, the housekeeper’s new nickname, was back to her cleaning and I on my journey to the “mess hall.”

“Are you lost?”  A man – no a boy’s – voice echoed down the corridor bouncing off the walls.

          I jumped.  People pop up in the weirdest places!  “Um, yes.  Do you happen to know where the–”

          “Mess hall?”

          The boy was hidden by a large shadow that covered half of the corridor.

          I stared. “I guess that’s what it’s called – how did you know?”

          “All the students go there in the morning, plus the mess hall moves.  That’s why the doors are enchanted.”  The boy finally stepped into the light.  He had messy blonde-brown hair, electric blue eyes, and was wearing a black cloak with a diamond star on it.

          He looked me up and down then said, “Robes, you have not?”

          I glared at him, “Okay Yoda,” he blushed, “I have no freaking idea about what you people are talking about!”

          “This is the Academy for Morphing Witches and Warlocks, run by Mimmy,” he snapped.  Then softer, “I don’t believe I heard your name, but I believe you may know me as Remberence?”

          “Nightmare,” I told him.  “AKA Luella, though I prefer something else.  Too fancy.”

          “Can I call you Ella?  You can call me Remberence.  Don’t even try ‘Remmy.’”

          “Alright,” I said, walking toward him, “Now how do you work enchanted doors?”

Too much magic.  It had to be a dream… a nightmare.

          “OUCH!”

          Remberence glanced at me.

          “I pinched myself.”  Now it was my turn to be embarrassed.

          He began to feel around the 18^th wooden door.  The first one on the hall he called Dragon Pass.   “Ah, I guess we don’t need an enchanted door this time.”

          He muttered something and the door clicked, unlocking.  He gave me a try-out-the-door look so I reached for the knob, twisted and the door swung open to show…

          An outdoor lunch area.  With thousands of black-robed kids.  The girls with diamond moon-crescents and the boys with diamond stars.  They were all of different races, sizes, and ages, none wearing a hat, all of them wearing black robes and black flip-flops.  I stared at them, Identical.  And then I fainted.

          “I’m not doing CPR.  You have to, you killed her.”

          “Did not!  She fainted.”

          “Why, on Earth, would she faint?!  Explain that!”

          “Why don’t you ask her when she wakes up?! ”

          “She’s dead, dude, I’m telling you.  I’m just saving ya time, just bury her!”

          “Guys stop it!  She’s fine.  As a matter a fact, she just opened her eyes.  And no, David, she’s not a zombie.”

          “Prove it.” 

          A red-haired, green-eyed, freckled girl pointed at me and an Indian boy argued about zombies.  Next to them, Remberence looked down at me with a crooked smile.  He rolled his eyes toward David.  Remberence must have caught me and laid me on the ground because I didn’t feel like I bumped my head or something from the stone a few feet away.

          “Are you okay?”  The redhead held out a hand, I took it, and she pulled me up, my back covered with dirt and grass.

          “Why can’t I have a lonely-old-knitting-lady-grandma for once?  For ONCE?!” 

The Zombie kid muttered something that sounded like, “Temper, temper,” but I didn’t care.  Why should I?

I don’t believe anything that’s happening.  It’s not a nightmare… so…

          “Okay you got me!  I should’ve known my parents would do this to their children.  I’ve been fooled, punk’d whatever you want to call it!”  I raised my arms and waved them wildly.  Remberence lifted an eyebrow and the redhead giggled.

The Indian boy nodded, “A zombie for sure.”

The redhead shoved him playfully and told me, “This isn’t some reality show.  It’s real life magic.”

“Magic isn’t real!  Izzit?”  I began to sway like a drunk.

Remberence held me straight, grinning, “Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”  Once I was stable he let go.  “We have to take you to Mimmy,” he reached for my wrist but missed and touched my hand.  He blushed and I felt my ears get hot.  He grasped my wrist this time, “Our lunch time’s over and we’re gonna get it!  Everyone else has left already.”  The lunch area was empty.  Except for a very out of place tumbleweed.

“Oh… Snap.  I forgot.  Gadgets!”  The redhead began to head toward a large wooden door at the end of the little picnic area, the door looking very misplaced in the middle of a stone wall, like the tumbleweed, I thought.  “I’m Scarlett, this is David zombie-boy, and that’s…” She slowed down, “Remberence.” 

Her pace quickened again, “I have Gadgets after lunch!  Mr. Ursine is so gonna kill me.”

The emerald grass thickened until no dirt could be seen and the dull blue picnic tables seemed to melt behind us.  The door was closer now but we were a few meters away.

“Ha ha!  Celly has Charms!”  David pranced around like a two-year-old.

“Well you have Mrs. Bovine!”  Scarlett pointed out crossly.  “Office!”  We had finally reached the door and when Scarlett exclaimed our destination the door swung open to show a small room.  The walls and flooring were golden, pure gold, without any designs.  The room was round and filled with the stench of incense.  Mimmy sat at a gold desk, staring at a piece of paper, muttering something about “flunking a pirahana” and “it’s gonna hurt both of ’em.” 

David began to cough, “Ugh… that stuff stinks!”

Instantly the incense smell dispersed and the room turned to a light purple all over.  Purple lush carpet grew beneath our feet and the walls were decorated with purple tropical flowers.  The air smelled of lavender and the gold desk turned from gold to the lightest purple color in the room.

“Remberence!” Somebody yelled and I felt a pair of sturdy hands rest on my shoulders.

          “Ya know…” I heard David say, “She faints a lot.”

          Once again my ears opened first.

          “Well, at least she didn’ run like her brot’er did,” an unfamiliar female voice added.  “Nay, he ain’t slow ad all!”

          “Ran where?”  I sat up.

          “Ah, the sleeper’s come around.”

          A black girl sat next to David.  She sat very straight and important-like and she had her arm around David.  There was a strange, exotic beauty to her with her silver circlet complete with three gems cut so they seemed to be the same rock, hanging down over her forehead.  A ruby, a pure lava stone, and a white or yellow stone, I couldn’t tell.  Her dark black hair was in a loose braid, hair spilling over one of her dark brown, almond shaped eyes.

          Her hands slid into her lap. “Your brot’er ran to who knows where.  Aye, the kid can run.  He looked more like a cheetah, not a swallow.”  When she saw my face crinkle with worry she added, “We got our best out looking for him.”  She seemed to drop her accent.

          I looked around the room.  It was a corridor, lit by a few simple torches.  The walls were gray bricks, but there were no dusty cobwebs, which surprised me somewhat.  The ceiling was high and the floor was just smooth gray stone.  The walls curved into the ceiling and the tunnel of a hallway seemed never-ending.

“Oh!” David pulled out a slip of paper.  “Mimmy wanted you to get your schedule, but your classes won’t start for a while – lucky!  Remberence is gonna tutor you until you’re up to the 8^th grade then you can start using the schedule.  It shouldn’t be hard.  You don’t learn much in the elementary grades; your magic is too weak.  In 7 days, a week, you should be done.  One grade a day, all day.”

The girl grinned, “Good luck with that!  By the way, I’m Danica – you can call me Dani.”

I stared blankly. “M-m-magic…?  No way dude… I dunno how da do it. Nuh, uh,” I shook my head, “I wanna learn… too hard.”

“Too bad.” Dani smiled gently at me, “Just feel around a door, and if you feel a pulse, almost, simply say your destination and imagine the word or the place in your head.  You can find people too.  Think of the person’s name, job, or look and the door will appear as close as it can get to the person.  But the enchanted doors can only take you where there is a wall. That’s why we can’t get to your brother.  He’s hiding in a huge meadow.    You can’t even see its end.  There isn’t a wide tree near him that can hold a door.

“Go find Remberence and use the door.  It’s good practice.”  Danica pushed me down the hall until we reached a plain wooden door.

I felt around the rim and found it was surprisingly smooth.  I also found a slow pulse.

“Why don’t you say where you want to go, normal door or not?  What’s Remberence’s real name?  And why am I learning magic?”  I wasn’t going anywhere until I had my questions answered.

“Well,” David began with a sigh, “If the door isn’t enchanted, and you try to magic it, it’ll explode.  The door will absorb the magic, but it can’t control or use it.  Then… boom! “You’re learning magic because you are one of the few people with magic in you and you’re of the famous “el” line.”

“What “L” line?” I interrupted.

“You know… you all have an ‘e’ and ‘l’ in your names.  Duh.”

I thought for a moment… Luella, Samuel, Zella, Tranelle… all “el”s alright.  All of them pronounced “L.”  Creepy.

“Wait,” I said suddenly, “My older sister is named Cimorene.”

“Cimorene Skyflame!?”  David cried.

“Yeah… heard of her?”

Dani replied excitedly, “She’s the only magice that used her curse for gain!”

“What curse?”  I said, confused.

“When your sister was born, she was cursed to always follow an important magic event, no matter what year or what place or dimension.”

“I’m sure,” I muttered. 

“What’s Remberence’s real name?”  A change of subject.  I had to know.

“We don’t know anymore than you know,” Danica said truthfully.

“Yeah,” David added, “Only Lettuce knows.”

“Lettuce?!” I cried, incredulous.  “Does that mean I should question a piece of lettuce?! ‘What is Remberence’s real name? SPEAK VEGETABLE!’”

Danica laughed, “He means Scarlett.  And shouldn’t you be, you know, magicking the door?”

“Right.” I looked straight ahead, at the doorknob.  I can do it!  I told myself encouragingly.  Yeah, right.  Well hey, remember Mistress Toad?

Yes, yes, my magic self snapped at the optimistic and pessimistic Luellas. 

Focus all your power on the door. 

Remberence.

I felt a rush of wind that simply wasn’t there.  It didn’t blow through my hair or hit my face like a gust, but I felt it clear and strong.

I felt Danica and David’s eyes boring through me.

I grasped the knob.  It was wooden but some how cold.  So cold.  Ice cold.  I twisted and pulled and the door open.  It creaked loudly.

Then suddenly – “Whoa!”  The door sucked me through.

“– Oh, hey.” 

I looked around.  All I saw was white.  My eyes refused to adjust to the bright light.

When I could see, I noticed I was in a small room with plain brown walls and carpet.  Two brown squishy looking chairs faced each other, a round wooden table in between them.  Remberence was laying on a brown loveseat, listening to “Where is the Love?” on a (no surprise) brown radio.  And he was attempting to sing along while reading The Riddles of Epsilon.

“Did Dave and Dani tell you I’m your new teacher?”  He asked me looking up from his book.

“Yeah.”

I hopped onto the arm of the sofa and began to sing along after an awkward silence.

“You’re a good singer,” he told me, after about five verses.

I smiled then lied, “Ditto.”

“Thanks.”

He looked at me and I saw something flash in his eyes.  Was it admiration?  Nothing?  Was it…

He must have seen recognition in my eyes because immediately he shoved a small silver ball he protruded from out of nowhere in my face, “Try to take it apart.  Do whatever you can to break it.  Smash it, crush it, smother it, destroy it if you have to.  If you just crack it, it doesn’t count.”

I took the ball and felt it.  It was cold, metallic, and smooth.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

Witchcraft

Chapter One

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five