The Goth Wotch
Issue 1: Not the Same Old Wotch
"Hey, Katie," Samanta "Wolfie" Wolf says to her approaching fellow redhead while leaning against the locker next to Katie's.
"Good morning, Wolfie," Katie McBride replies before starting to twist the knob on her locker.
"So, I've been thinking of joining the wrestling team," Wolfie tells her friend just as she opens the door. "I think it might be fun. Wanna come with me when I try out this evening?"
"Sorry, can't," the taller of the two redheads answers. "I told Cassie I'd help her watch Robin's brother tonight."
"She complains about babysitting all the time. Why does she do it anyway?"
"Her mom makes her. Thinks it'll teach her responsibility or something. Course, Cassie would probably do it anyway, just to see Robin for all of the 30 seconds he comes by whenever he walks Kirk over."
"That's true," Wolfie laughs before turning away from her best friend to see Cassie SinClair, their goth friend, quickly running by, looking panicked and out of breath while pressing an old leather-bound book to her chest with both arms crossed over it. The two look at each other, shrug, and begin to follow her.
Cassie runs into the library, running to the back table and lying the book down on the table before pulling a pencil out of her pocket and laying it onto the table. She opens the book to a page within it, then begins to repeat the particular phrase she's looking for.
"Levitatis!" she whispers urgently, "Levitatis! Levitat- ACK!" she begins to shout as the pencil begins to lift off of the table, but she manages to press her hands over her mouth before it becomes audible. At that time, both Katie and Wolfie run into the library just as the pencil falls back onto the desk. They rush back to where she is sitting and both take a seat.
"What's wrong with you?" Katie asks after sitting down.
"Yeah, you look like you've just seen a ghost, Cass," Wolfie adds in.
"You two are not going to believe this but. . . I was on my way to school this morning, right, when I saw this person wearing a cloak motioning for me to enter a dark alley where they were at. For some reason, I did, and there the person gave me this book and I felt a surge of energy entering me. The person then said, 'You shall take possession of the mantle of the Wotch- which is spelled with an 'o,' not an 'a,' and must master the art of Wotchcraft.' So I ran all the way here, and then I tried this spell and this pencil started floating!"
"Okay, is this the part where the guys come out of hiding with the cameras and say, 'Smile, you're on Candid Camera'?" Katie asks sarcastically.
"Maybe she's telling the truth," Wolfie says a bit nervously, which neither Katie nor Cassie finds odd due to paying too much attention to the current situation.
"It's not possible, Wolfie. There's no such thing as witches or ghosts or demons or werewolves or anything like that!"
As Cassie opens her mouth to add her two-cents, she notices a group of four people coming up from behind her two friends. Cassie points behind the two, drawing both to turn their heads to see four starters for the football team, the group of Aaron King, Leo Harper, Gene Smith, and Colin Starr.
"Well, if it isn't Wolfie," Leo says, "We've been hearing that you're thinking of trying out for the wrestling team, huh?"
"Wrestling is a man's sport," Colin says, "I guess we're gonna have to teachya that the hard way, huh?"
"Get away from he-" Katie starts, but is shoved down by Gene. Wolfie begins to back up from the four, but soon finds herself trapped in the corner as the four football players close in on her.
"Masculunus feminare nocrum unum!"
Wolfie gasps as the four football players standing in front of her turn into cheerleaders. Katie pulls herself off the ground and her jaw drops, as Cassie gives her a sort of "I told you so" look.
"Wolfie, it is up to you and you allow to raise the beacons of equality in sports with Tandy Gardens. To serve as that role model who all women use as their archetype of strength, their beacon in the night amongst a cold unfeeling world," the cheerleader formerly known as Aaron King says.
"Cassie, that was just. . . just amazing!" Katie says as her, Wolfie, and Cassie walk to school the next day, discussing the events of the day prior.
"You still hung up on that?" Cassie asks. "You kept repeating that every time the brat was out of the room last night too, remember?"
"Um. . . it's kind of hard not to be hung up on it," Wolfie points out.
"So, you guys will keep it a secret, right?"
"Of course," Wolfie says. "Don't worry, we've all got skeletons in our closet."
"Exactly."
As they walk away, two unseen figures follow behind and speak in unheard voices.
"That didn't take long. At this rate, we'll have that Wotch in no time," one of the voices, a female, remarks. "I think I might spend the day tripping people to celebrate."
"Our work isn't done yet. She's of no use to us until she's mastered her powers," the other voice, a male, answers.
"Eh, whatever. We've got the hard part done, so-"
"Not quite."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you think it will be harder to capture the most powerful witch in existence than it would have been to find her?"
". . . Well, either way, I'm going to trip people."