There is nothing more exciting than getting to stay at Jade's house. Ever since she and her grandpa moved here from Hawaii, dad has let me stay over at their house while he has to leave for important business. The thing is, Rose and Dave live in their town too. So every once in a while I get to spend an entire week, or even two weeks, with my three best friends without worrying about the video feed lagging or the wifi cutting out. Nothing can go wrong!
Oh no, I jinxed it, now something will go wrong unless I can unjinx myself. I what was it, jinxed until you give someone a coke? All I have is pepsi, but maybe that counts? No, it was knock on wood I think, and the table looked like wood. It was plastic but who cares! Horrible luck crises from being jinxed averted. I sat patiently in the little airport food stand near baggage claim, waiting for a familiar face.
A hand was on my shoulder, and I was spun around to see Jade smiling goofily at me, giving me a big hug. "You're here! Oh, Rose came with me to pick you up 'cause Ms. Lalonde is giving us a lift. Come on." She grabbed my suitcase, racing off across the terminal and making me run after her to catch up. I could see the disapproving stares as the two of us ran by unattended by an adult, but I was more concerned with how Jade was stupidly faster than me. She waited for me before walking out the door.
Ms. Lalonde smirked, hat over her face a bit in what was unusually sunny weather, Rose in all black in what was probably another passive-aggressive war. Jade hauled my suitcase into the back of the convertible before heading into the car, excitedly looking over to see if I was getting in. Rose wasn't exactly the hug type, so she just gave me a soft smile. "I must say it is nice to see you once again John. Do get in the car though so we can proceed with our pleasant evening."
I hopped into the car, taking the back seat next to Jade and putting my backpack at my feet. It was always pretty cool to watch the trees pass by, heading down the road toward Jade's house. The home was walking distance from the beach, something that always made for a exciting afternoon and the wharf was not too far away either. Houses came into view and at the edge of the little outcrop of buildings was Jade's house.
The tree in the front yard was had it's branches trying to reach in the second story window and Bec was already at the front window, staring out at us with his tail whipping the curtains back and forth. Bec wasn't the kind of dog to bark, rather if he liked you he would sit there next to you quietly or he hated you and gave a ten second warning growl before snapping at your heels. I'm glad he doesn't hate me, but Jade has this horrible habit of feeding the stray dogs, which is actually how she found Bec. The dog opened the door for us before excitedly sniffing at Jade and the rest of us.
I dragged in my suitcase, Ms. Lalonde leaving once Rose had hopped out with her bag. We headed inside, Mr. Harley snoozing away. I know since Jade's grandpa is technically my great uncle, but the adventurous old man who refused to just sit back until his hip gave up always seemed so different from Nana that I couldn't believe they were related much less siblings. We began the troubling task of sneaking unnoticed past him and up the stairs, hoping he stayed asleep as we lugged the heavy bag up the staircase. Bec followed behind us slowly, watching us with a happy pant.
As soon as we had gotten into Jade's room she closed the door slowly behind her. "What do you guys want to do now?"
"We could practice our magic act for the talent show, although I believe John would want to participate in that case."
"You guys are doing a magic act? What tricks do you have up your sleeves?"
"So far, just card tricks and a bouquet of flowers jammed into a fake wand."
"I think all wands are fake Rose." Jade smirked. "Especially if they're in a cheese magic kit!"
"How do wizards cast spells then?"
"With their hands? I don't know. Hey John, do you have any tricks you can suggest?" Jade looked over expectantly, Rose digging through her duffel bag.
"There is the trick with the handkerchief and you make it disappear. I don't have my stuff on me to show you though." I was lying of course, pulling the handkerchief from the little compartment I had hid it under my fake thumb, which I had had on for almost an hour no to show my new trick to everyone. Jade looked excited, but Rose had missed it still digging in her duffel bag. "I think it's a pretty cool trick."
"That is! Did you see it Rose?"
"I have a magic trick I've been practicing as well." She pulled a thick black tome from her bag, the pages flipped to the bookmark. The words looked hand written and the book was rough around the edges with fading yellow pages. Across the top was a smudged ink picture that sort of looked like someone, but also not, the title across the page eligible cursive. "I think that I might have a trick worthy of usage."
"Is this going to be like the last trick where you tried getting water to turn into something else? If it is grandpa will kill me for getting water everywhere."
"No water tricks, I promise. I was wondering if you could do it, maybe you could get it to work?"
"I guess if it isn't anything too crazy it's worth a try." Jade looked over at the book. "What do you have to do?"
"It says light candles around the subject in question and mark them with this brew." Rose flipped back a few pages. "I actually made some and tried it on Dave, but nothing happened."
Jade's eyes scanned the page, and she just nodded. "Hm... Who to try it on..." They both looked over to me.
"I can't see why not! What do I do?"
"Just sit there..." Jade sat me in the middle of the room, racing off before returning with candles. As Rose set the candles up Jade dug out her magic trick sheet, tossing it over me the moment the candles were lit. "Don't move okay?" She started muttering something and while there wasn't really suspense, I felt my nose start to itch. The fabric was really itch when you have to stay under here so long. Jade's voice stopped, a light tap on my head. The fabric scrunched over me and everything is unbearably itchy. "John! Oh god, are you there?"
"I'm here, what are you freaking out over?" The sheet was pulled off of me so quickly it felt like it knocked me over. For one, Rose and Jade suddenly were gigantic. Actually, the whole room was giant, I could easily see under the furniture. They both just stared at me without a word, both of them wide eyed although Jade was covering her mouth. "Did I shrink or did you guys grow?"
"John, I'm so sorry!" Jade looked to Rose. "I didn't think it would work! What do we do?"
"I don't believe I can recall a section going over how to undo this."
"Rose we can't leave him like this!"
"Wait, what's going on? I'm tiny forever?" They both looked back to me.
"John, um, I hate to say this..." Jade paused, like she was trying to figure out how to say it," we, I mean I, I sort of... turned you into a rabbit." The last words were a rush I almost didn't catch, and I immediately look down to spot furry black paws.
"You turned me into a rabbit?!" I spun around, barely able to spot my new little tail over my shoulder, and as far as I can tell all my fur is black. My paws flopped my ears down so I could see them and yup, they were black too. My paws went up to my face, relieved I had my glasses at least. I bounced around frantically in circles, and as it turns out I really am a rabbit. "What am I going to do? Why did I agree to this!"
"John!" Jade picked me up, my legs still kicking. "Oh, you're really soft."
"I am?"
"Yeah. Your the softest bunny I've ever touched. I wonder what breed you are."
"Maybe I'm just really soft- we are getting off topic here! How long am I going to be stuck like this?!"
"No clue." Jade held me in one arm, flipping through the book with the other hand. "Uh... Oh no... I'm not finding any ways." She handed me to Rose before flipping through the book hurriedly. She went over the book a few times, all the while Rose was petting my fur like that was supposed to keep me calm. Jade closed the book, taking a deep breath. "John, I promise that Rose and I will be looking for a way to change you back."
"You mean you don't have a way to change me back?"
"I'm really sorry! I didn't think it would actually work." She looked over to Rose. "I thought you said you tried it on Dave and it didn't work!"
"You must be magically skilled, like a witch perhaps?"
"So let me get this straight. Jade is a witch, I'm stuck as a rabbit, and you're obsessed with spell books and the occult?"
Rose nodded. "Although, by around noon tomorrow we will know Dave's stand in all this."
"Wait, I have to message him! I haven't done it yet." I bounced to the ground and over towards the door only to hear a low growl. I looked to see Bec's jaws grab me, although his grip loosened as Jade started yelling at him, a moment later he dropped me on the floor with drool dripping off of me.
Jade picked me up quickly. "No Bec! John is a friend, not food." Bec sighed, actually sighed, before sitting calmly before Jade. "I'm going to lower you down so he can sniff you, alright? He usually hunts rabbits and might have not recognized you."
"In that case leave me in the air."
"John human?" Bec questioned.
"Bec just talked to me."
"What?!"
"John human, why are you a rabbit? I thought maybe you were a tasty snack for everyone."
"What's he saying John?"
"He says he recognizes me now and wants to know why I'm a tasty snack."
"Bec, I turned him into a rabbit. Please don't eat him!"
"Miss Jade... You have my word."
"What's all this racket?" The stairs creaked as Mr. Harley made his way to the second floor. "I'm all ears over why Bec is in a st- Is that a rabbit?"
"Yes..."
"Here we go." He gently took me from Jade's hands, a hand supporting my hind legs. "Handsome little fellow, but he is covered in drool." He pulled out a cloth from his pocket, gently wiping the drool off. "There we go. Why is he here by the way? And where's John."
"I accidentally turned John into a rabbit. You're holding him right now."
"My stars! Good thing we aren't having rabbit, am I right John?"
"You guys eat rabbits?!"
"Well, yes. We don't waste anything we hunt, and several times we've caught rabbits. Bec's personal favorite to help me hunt are rabbits, so I'm not surprised he tried to take a snap at you. No worries though, you are perfectly safe here while we can figure out how to get you back to normal. Although I would suggest not going outside."
"But the beach."
"Not unless you want hypothermia. Going in water is dangerous to rabbits, especially the cold ocean."
"Grandpa, we were going to visit Dave tomorrow. There has to be a way to take him with us!"
"If you insist on taking him, I think we might still have one of Bec's puppy collars and his carrier." He slowly made his way down the hall, opening a door in the middle of the hall and flicking on a light. Old things, guns, and a few boxes of holiday decorations cluttered the room. "Let's see. I know it's around here somewhere." He set me down on a shelf before continuing to look around through boxes and on shelves. I still smelled like Bec's drool when a thought hit me. I could smell Bec, so does that mean I could track his smell?
I in fact can't really track, but if I go up to a box I know if he touched it. I sniffed three boxes before finding one that smelled like Bec. I couldn't get it open though. "What are you up to there John?"
"This box sort of smells like Bec."
"I guess there is point in checking." Mr. Harley opened the box, and inside was Bec's old stuff and some of Jade's baby blankets. "And here I was checking the wrong places. Let's see... Here it is." It was a tiny collar, but unlike Bec's usual collars it was bright yellow. He put it around my neck and it fit, moving the box he picked up a pet carrier that I couldn't imagine Bec ever fitting into.
"Bec used to fit in that?"
"We thought he was a small dog at first, but we were wrong. If you guys take public transit, John has to go in the carrier. On a leash when walking around in public, because those are the pet laws. I know you're not a pet, but law enforcement might be baffled by a talking rabbit boy."
"Isn't there a tag on this collar?"
"It doesn't say Bec on it, just Jade's cell number incase Bec had gotten lost and his old rabies tag. I'll get the rabies tag off." He carefully removed the second tag, setting it down on the shelf. "I don't suggest going outside though. It's a dangerous place for rabbits. As for you young lady," he turned to Jade," why did you turn him into a rabbit of all things?"
"I didn't think it would work, much less make him a rabbit!"
"Spells aren't funny business! You should have thought this through before transforming your cousin into this furry little bunny. Actually, he's a bit on the larger size for rabbits, but still."
"You say this like magic is normal."
"So you're a witch, and my mother was a bitter old bat of a witch, it's not exactly surprising."
Rose slowly leaned over to Jade. "You're a wizard Harley."
"Now is not the time for Harry Potter references! John is stuck as a rabbit." Jade sighed.
"What does that make me? Am I Dudley now? Being the non magical cousin sucks!"
"You might be magical." Mr. Harley stated. "We just have no clue since you haven't tried anything that is actual magic."
"Darn it." Jinx wins again.