Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series (14 page)

She found him in the wings, kneeling on the floor, packing his magic trunk; a pet carrier with the rabbit inside was nearby. She clapped as she approached him and said, “Well done! You were magnificent.”

He stood and hugged her. “Thanks, Gramma. Everything worked out great, didn’t it?”

She disengaged from their embrace but took his hand. “I wanted you to win. I know you didn’t want to, but I did.”

“It’s fine. Fred and Rollie need the money more than I do, and it wouldn’t be right, anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because, if you think about it, most of my talent is from sheer luck because I was born with it. Fred and Rollie got all theirs from plain old hard work. They deserved to win.”

“You’ve worked hard, too.”

“Not like they have. And I wanted to use a little real magic tonight, and the oath wouldn’t have let me win because there’s prize money. I can’t make money off of my magic.”

“You probably could if you really tried.”

“I don’t think so. The oath has a power all its own. It would intervene, somehow, I’m sure.”

“Well, I still think you’re the best.” She kissed his cheek. “Have you seen Fred?”

“The last I saw, she was still posing for pictures with the other winners.”

“Oh well.” She let go of his hand. “Tell Fred and Rollie to stop by your house later. We’re having a little celebration.”

“I think Rollie’s got plans, but I’ll tell him.”

“I made brownies.”

“In that case, I’m sure he’ll come.”

* * *

She couldn’t feel him every night, but tonight she could. It was like playing a game of Marco Polo in a pool, swimming underwater with her eyes closed, feeling for Jamie’s current. Only Fred’s eyes were closed because she was sleeping.

I found him!

She opened her eyes in her dream and found she was sitting next to Jamie on the edge of the stage at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. The hall was deserted and they faced a sea of empty red seats. “Hey,” he said. “Long time no see.”

Fred laughed. “Maybe three whole hours. Did you miss me?”

“I hardly got to see you at all tonight. You were always surrounded by swarms of people.”

She patted her hair. “That’s what happens when you become
famous
.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

She put her arms around his neck and twisted her mouth into a half smile. “Jamie…thank you.”

One of his eyebrows drew down. “For what?”

“For letting me win.”

“I did not let you win.”

“Yes you did. You could’ve done some magic that would’ve blown everybody minds, but you didn’t. You held back so I could win.”

“I didn’t hold back. I tried.”

“Come
on
…the magic rings trick? My dad could probably do that. But I have to admit the rabbit bit was pretty funny.”

“I was afraid it would be too funny and I’d show up Rollie.”

“See? You did hold back.”

“Not really. I couldn’t be funnier than him no matter what.”

“No.” She patted his back. “But you did try to let me win. Admit it.”

“Fred, I don’t think anybody could’ve beaten you tonight. You were on
fire
.” He touched her shoulder with one finger and then shook it. “
Sssst
.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yeah. My dad said that the camera crew seemed to think so, too. He said they really honed in on you.”

“In that case, I’d better start practicing my signature for autographs.”

“And I can say I knew you when you were a nobody.”

“I’ll never admit it to that.” She rubbed his back. “I’m going to let you go back to your regular dreams now. Don’t forget you’re taking me and Melanie to the mall in the afternoon.”

“But we’re not telling her about the magic until we talk to our parents, right?”

“We’ll see.”

Chapter 13

Jamie walked down the church steps with Fred, but she wouldn’t hold his hand; her eyes were narrow and her mouth had a stubborn set.
She’s not too happy with me right now
, he knew. His parents, her parents, Gramma, Aunt Connie, and Uncle Ray were already waiting outside on the wide walkway.

“Where should we go to talk?” Carl said when Jamie and Fred joined them.

“Over here.” Jamie led them across the church lawn to a spot far enough away from anyone else to be overheard.

Larry smirked. “Hey Jamie, isn’t this the spot where Fred burned you up for setting the minister on fire?”

“Don’t remind me.”
Fred looks like she wants to burn me up right now
. He remembered years ago when he’d accidentally ignited the minister’s robe one Sunday with his magic. Fred lit in to him later, demanding that he keep his magic under control, while their families watched from afar.

They stopped on the grass and formed a tight circle. Gramma said, “So what’s this all about?”

Jamie took a deep breath and a quick glance at Fred before saying, “Fred wants to tell Melanie about our magic.”

“Why?” Lisa said.

Fred crossed her arms. “Because she’s gotten to be a really good friend now, and I think she should know, just in case I forget and say something I shouldn’t.”

“But she’s not family, Honey.”

“I know, but if she takes the oath, it won’t matter if she overhears anything, because the magic won’t let her tell anybody.”

Gramma looked doubtful. “Does that mean that all of us should get all of our friends to take the oath? That could end up being an awful lot of people.”

A little cloud of doubt crossed Fred’s face. “Well…we could just tell our closest friends.”

“That’s still a lot,” Rachel said. “Once we tell Sophie, that’ll be twelve family members.” She looked at Carl. “Have you decided if you want to tell your parents or not?”

He shook his head. “Maybe someday, but not now.”

Lisa put her hand on Fred’s arm. “Honey, let’s think about this.” Fred started to object, but Lisa continued, “We’re not saying no, just…not right now. Let’s not rush into it.”

“All right,” Fred said, but her expression said otherwise. As they walked to their cars, she looked at Jamie.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She shot him an angry look and walked off with her parents.

He stared at her back and thought,
Guess she’s not riding home with me
.

* * *

Later, Jamie leaned against his car door and checked his watch.
Maybe they’re not coming. Good. I hate going to the mall.
A door slammed nearby, and he looked catty-cornered across the street to see Fred and Melanie hopping down Fred’s front steps.
Here they come. Wonder if Fred’s still mad at me
. She caught his eye and waved.
Maybe not.

As he watched them approach, he couldn’t help thinking,
This won’t be so bad. I’m going to the mall with the two prettiest girls in school…maybe in all of Hendersonville.
When they both smiled at him at the same time, he recast his opinion.
Maybe the prettiest anywhere.

They sure are different, though
. Fred’s skin was fair; her thick red hair blazed in the sun, flowing behind her like a mane. Her emerald eyes could flash warnings of an approaching storm when she was angry, but now they sparkled like a trill on the topmost keys of a piano.

Melanie was a little shorter and slimmer, with tanned skin and long, straight, golden-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Her brown eyes were as soft and warm as a deer’s. Her face was friendly when she smiled, with deep dimples that could charm honey from a bee.

Jamie had often seen boys at school stare at both of them when they walked by.

No,
he realized,
this won’t be bad at all.

The girls weren’t two steps onto his driveway before Fred stopped. “I forgot my phone.” She turned and said over her shoulder, “I’ll be right back!” and ran toward her house.

Jamie and Melanie were alone together for the first time since Bryce’s party, the night of the kiss.
Hurry, Fred
.

“Hey Jamie,” Melanie said, standing at the end of his car. “You were great last night at the show.”

He had to clear his throat and swallow before he could manage a weak, “Thanks.”

“I wanted you to win, too. I was pulling for Fred, but I thought you were really good.”

“I didn’t want to win.” His palms suddenly felt sweaty even though it was a cool autumn afternoon. “Fred and Rollie could use the money.” He cleared his throat again. “For college. They’re not poor or anything.”
That sounded dumb
.

“That’s nice.” She looked around Jamie’s yard, then brushed the fingertips of one hand lightly across the trunk of the car. “I never got a chance to apologize about the party. About kissing you and everything.”

“That’s okay, it’s no —”

“No, I want you to know that I’m not usually like that.” She looked at her hand on the car for a moment. “Well, actually I’m
never
like that. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me.”

“Forget about it.” He poked a front tire with the toe of his sneaker. “In fact, if you hadn’t kissed me, I might not’ve ever gotten around to telling Fred I loved her.”

“Yes you would’ve. It was inevitable, to hear Fred tell it.”

He gave a nervous laugh and looked across the street to see Fred skipping down her steps again, phone in hand. “Yeah. Probably.”

* * *

It was nearly sundown by the time Jamie dropped Fred and Melanie off at Fred’s house.

“Do you want to come in for a little bit?” Fred asked as they walked up her driveway and Jamie drove off.

Melanie shook her head. “My mom’s on her way. Let’s wait on your stoop ’till she gets here.”

The two girls sat on the brick steps and dropped their shopping bags beside them. Fred said, “That was fun. We should do it again sometime.”

“Jamie seemed to loosen up after he figured out I wasn’t going to bite him,” Melanie said.

“Or kiss him.”

Melanie laughed. “That’s the first time I’ve ever hung out with him. You two are a lot of fun together. You’re an interesting couple.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well….” Melanie’s face grew thoughtful. “I know you’ve only been dating a few weeks, but you seem like you’ve been together for a long time. Almost like a married couple or something.”

“We’ve been best friends since we were little. I know him better than anybody, even Rollie.”

“No, I mean you fuss, kinda, like…I dunno.”

“You mean I’m bossy, and Jamie doesn’t like it.”

“I didn’t mean that, but…like when you tried to get Jamie to buy that pair of pants, and he didn’t want them, but you pushed him pretty hard to anyway.” She gave a quick nod. “But he didn’t buy them. He’s no pushover, is he?”

“No.” Fred took a deep breath and exhaled between tightened lips. “You see, here’s my problem. I
so
want Jamie to be happy, but I can’t help but tell him what to do half the time, which he doesn’t like, so then he’s
not
happy.” She sighed and stared at her feet. “And I have to fight that all the time.” She looked at Melanie. “But I’m working on it. My mom says I’m getting better.”

“I don’t think you’re bossy. I just think you have a strong personality.”

“That’s a nice way of saying bossy.”

“Don’t let it bother you. Everybody has problems.”

“Right. Like
you
do, with your perfect face and your perfect hair and your cheerleader friends, and —”

“Fred, I don’t have very many friends. That’s
my
problem.” She shook her head slowly. “It’s hard for me to make friends, and I don’t know why.” Her eyebrows drew down. “Am I such a bad person?”

Huh?
It took Fred a moment to collect her wits. “No, you’re a really nice person. I…I thought you had lots of friends. What about all the other cheerleaders?”

“Most of them are kinda shallow. Well, Tanisha’s not, but she has her own little circle of friends. And the other kids in my classes won’t hardly talk to me.”

“That’s because they’re too intimidated by your looks. You’re in all advanced classes, and I know from experience that a lot of those girls are nerdy and they probably think you don’t want to have anything to do with them.”

“That’s not true! If they’d only give me a chance, I’d —”

“They can’t help it. It’s a self-esteem problem.”

Melanie opened her mouth as if she were going to say more about it, but didn’t. She sighed instead and looked across the street at Jamie’s house. “I don’t have
any
friends that are boys.”

“That’s because most of them are too scared to talk to you.”

“And the ones that do are jerks, like that guy Logan.”

“Is Michael a jerk?”

“No, he’s normal, like Jamie.”

“There’s nobody like Jamie.”

Melanie chuckled. “Or you.” She glanced up and said, “My mom’s here. Give me a hug before I go.” She stood and picked up her bags, but paused for a moment. “Fred, I’m glad you’re my friend now.”

“Me, too, Melanie.”

“Do you think there’s a chance Jamie will be my friend, too?”

“Oh yeah, especially if I tell him to.” They giggled together, and Fred said, “You know that’s a joke, right?”

Melanie winked at her and went to her mother’s car.

* * *

Jamie heard his name in the crowded hall and turned to see Bryce slam his locker and hurry toward him, weaving his way through passing students as he came.

“I heard about the big talent show,” Bryce said when he reached him. “Sorry you didn’t win.”

Jamie shrugged. “The competition was fierce.”

“Yeah, but that’s cool that Fred and Rollie won. When are the regionals?”

“Late December. They’re in Atlanta.”

“We should get a group of kids together and go. That’d be fun.” They strolled through the mob. “Hey, did you get a call from the coach at Duke?”

“Was I supposed to?”

“You didn’t get a call this weekend?”

Jamie shook his head, and Bryce’s face hardened. “I shoulda’ known something was up,” he said.

Jamie stopped in the middle of the hall. “What are you talking about?”