But then Zoe's mom saw something that caught her eye, causing her to not finish her sentence. It was on top of the pile of gothic magazines that were stashed underneath her daughter's bed. She reached under and grabbed it.
It was a leather-bound book that looked very old, although the pages looked a bit newer, less frayed. She opened it up and saw her daughter's handwriting on the inside cover:
*Athena -
Happy Birthday
- Zoe*
The book must have been a present for her daughter's friend.
She was about to put the book back, but then she got curious. She opened it to the middle of the book, to see what it was about, but all she saw was pages full of incomprehensible archaic phrases. To her they all looked like random symbols. Something besides that, though, that she found strange was that all the words were handwritten. How many books nowadays were like that? This book must have been old. Really old.
"I wish I could understand this." The talisman grew warm in her hand, but she didn't notice because she suddenly could read the words in the book. And not only that, but she could also understand what they all meant.
It was a spell book. A book about witchcraft.
She dropped the book in sudden surprise and backed out of her daughter's room. She knew there was something strange about her friend Athena, but she never realized that she was into witchcraft. And how was it possible that she could suddenly read that archaic language?
She shut Zoe's bedroom door and ran downstairs. She was distraught. She didn't know what to do with the knowledge she had gained.
Then, all of a sudden, the doorbell rang.
Without thinking too much, she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. Outside was Athena.
"Jane, you've gotta help me," she pleaded.
Does this girl have no respect for authority at all? Jane thought, referring to the fact that Athena called her by her first name.
Athena didn't wait to be allowed in, she just marched past Jane and into the house. Then Athena turned around and faced her. "I know this is going to sound weird, but Zoe has this magic talisman that can grant wishes and ... Jane? Are you okay?"
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because ... you're part of the coven and I trust you?"
"Coven?" What was she talking about?
"Jane, are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"What coven?"
"Our coven." She could see that Jane wasn't understanding, which scared her. "We're witches, remember?"
Jane backed away. "I'm not a witch."
"What are you talking about? Of course you are."
What was this girl saying? She wasn't a witch. She ... Jane stopped when she saw her reflection in the hallway mirror. It was the first time she looked at herself since she made her wish to understand the spell book. Her hair looked dry and unruly, with strands draping over her face. It was still brown in color, but it fell past her shoulders. Her complexion was pale and her make-up was dark, consisting of dark eyeliner and black polished nails. And her blouse and capri pants were gone, replaced with a black full-length lace dress, which definitely gave her that certain "witch" look. She was so distraught over what happened in Zoe's room that she didn't even notice that she had changed.
"See?" Athena said, noticing that Jane was looking at her reflection. "You're a witch. Just like me."
