*Zoe threw her book bag on the floor and practically collapsed onto the bed. She'd done the deed last night, and she was still exhausted. Of course, she thought with a smile, that was how magic worked. It took a lot of energy. It was a law of the universe that you couldn't get something for nothing, and casting a single magical spell always seemed to sap her energy reserves for a day or two afterward. Of course, on the plus side, the feeling that she was dragging her ass meant that it had worked.
She vaguely wondered what would happen if her parents ever found out. Fortunately for her, they were completely in the dark. They assumed the attitude was part of the overall Goth persona that she'd taken on last year. Either that or they assumed she was depressed or on drugs like Jill and, she sometimes suspected Natalie were. Any of those alternatives were preferable to her parents learning the truth.
I mean, come on, she thought. What would they think if they knew their fourteen year old daughter were a practicing witch? They'd have her evaluated or some shit like that, and she really didn't feel like dealing with that. As she lay there in her bed, basking in the lingering afterglow of her magic, she thought about the weird experience she'd had the other night. It had happened just before she'd cast her magical spell. For just an instant, she had felt the sensation of being two people. It had almost been like déjà vu, but a little different. It had felt like being torn apart and reassembled at the most basic level.
For just a fraction of a second, she'd felt weird about her craft. It was almost like she'd never picked up a spell book in her life. It had only lasted a moment, and then she'd been okay, but it had been weird nonetheless. She was thinking about it when she heard a knock on the door. She sighed, and finally answered it.
"Come in," she said, doing her best to adopt the rather slouched posture that she used on her parents. Eventually, she thought with a quick smile, I'll be able to use magic to conceal well, my magic. She chuckled, but quickly reformed the perpetual frown as the door opened and her mom stepped in. She was holding the phone. She looked down at her daughter, an expression of mild contempt crossing her face.
"It's for you," she said, handing the phone down to Zoe, who took it.
"By the way," her mother said as she started making her way out of the room, "Have you seen Natalie? I don't think she's been home yet."
"What am I?" Zoe asked incredulously, "her keeper?"
Her mother shook her head and left the room. Zoe concentrated on the phone call now. "Hey Athena," she said.
"Did you do it?" she heard her friend ask eagerly.
"Yep," Zoe said, almost casually, trying to stave off the pride she was feeling in her work. "It's done."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely," Zoe said. "One hundred percent positive."
"Only I haven't seen her since yesterday " Athena sounded hesitant.
"Trust me," Zoe said, full of her typical confidence, "I did the curse, word for word from the text. I know it worked so stop worrying. We're teaching your sister a valuable lesson." Sometimes Athena could be such a worrywart.
"So, right now," her friends voice said softly, "She's a "
"Right now Athena, your sister Violet is probably more interested in chasing cars than chasing your boyfriends." Zoe smirked. That one had been pretty good.
"But once we've taught her a lesson we can change her back, right?" Athena sounded a little bit worried.
"Absolutely," Zoe said. Honestly, it was probably a flat out lie. The curse she'd used had been pretty strong. Then there had been the rather lightweight charms that she'd done afterward. Mostly they'd just been added to allay anybody's suspicions and make sure that nobody noticed what was going on. The curse itself was supposedly irreversible, but Zoe had been so eager to try it that she hadn't let that stop her. "Once we're satisfied she's learned her lesson, we'll change her back."
"Good," Athena said. "See you tomorrow." And she hung up. Zoe set the phone on her bed and let her mind wander again.*
**"Now, the rock works by merging realities. It takes your current reality, and merges it with one that matches your wish. This creates a hybrid reality." Malcolm
"Wait a minute? What the hell kind of reality exists out there where people can turn into dogs?" Natalie
"Magic exists J Natalie," he told me with a smile. "Your grandfather knew that " there was a pause, "but I'm not supposed to talk about him." Malcolm**
