"Light as a feather, stiff as a board . . . light as a feather, stiff as a board."
Karen is lying in a circle of candles with her arms crossed over her chest. Her friends are huddled around her, their heads bent low. One of the girls peeks with one eye to determine whether or not they're making progress. Karen is still earthbound.
"Damn it! What are we doing wrong?" the lead girl huffs.
"Maybe we need more candles," Karen mumbles.
"Shut up!" she snaps, "You're just distracted or something."
Karen sighs and sits up.
"I don't know, Trixie-"
"Use my witch name!" she barks.
Karen rolls her eyes.
"Fine. Maybe we should try something different, Ebony Deathcrow."
She scowls.
"God, you're so bad at witchcraft, Karen. How do you expect to be a proper conjurer if you can't even pay attention to the goddamn spell?"
Karen doesn't want to be a conjurer. She just wants to have a group of friends to hang out with. She's starting to regret her decision, now that everyone's into practical voodoo.
The girl who calls herself Ebony turns to a book that has been tea-stained to appear ancient and flips through it impatiently.
"There must be something we can do together . . ."
"What about Bloody Mary?" a girl with braces lisps.
"Shut up, Brittany! Stop trying to be cool! I know you stuff your bra!"
The girl covers her chest in embarrassment. Karen gives her a worried look, then clears her throat.
"Ebony, maybe we ought to try something light. Most of the spells you've suggested require coffin nails and black hens. Is there a section on how to conjure up . . . oh, I don't know . . . spiders or something?"
Everyone groans.
"You're so stupid, Karen!" Ebony barks, "This is why you don't have a witch name."
"It'd be better than the one you chose for me . . ." another girl mutters.
"SHUT UP, MOONMOON. NOBODY ASKED YOU!"
"Piss off!"
"GO HOME!"
The girl scowls and stands up, grabbing her coat from the bedpost.
"I was doing it ironically, anyway. Your party blows."
The girls watch her leave, then turn back to Ebony.
"What are we gonna do now?" Braces spits.
A girl with bad acne raises her hand.
"What about love spells?"
Karen perks up.
"Can I go first?"
The girls give a collective "ooh".
"Who's the lucky guy?" Acne teases.
"She's a girl."
The room falls silent. Karen's eyes go wide.
"No, I mean, it's my sister."
Realizing that this elaboration has only made her look worse, Karen sighs and holds her feet, rocking back and forth with crossed legs.
"I want my sister to like me. Next week is my dance recital, and I really want her to come."
"Dance recital?" Ebony snorts, "You're so preppy, Karen."
She shrinks away shyly.
"I've been practicing my Modern routine since September. I want to dedicate it to Claire."
Acne rolls her eyes.
"Karen, stop trying to impress your sister. She's never going to notice you."
"Yeah, she's so self-centered," Braces scoffs, causing Karen to cringe as she spits out her excessive S's.
"Claire's a dork," Ebony affirms, "My sister says that she's studying to be a scientist."
"So?" Karen growls somewhat defensively.
Ebony gives a cruel smirk.
"Everyone knows that girl-scientists are sluts."
Karen frowns, then stands up.
"You know what? Susie was right. Your party blows."
She reaches for the doorknob.
"Are you gonna go home and dance, Karen?" Ebony coos mockingly.
She turns around slowly.
"As a matter of fact, yes. My mom can afford dance lessons because, unlike you, I didn't blow my allowance on a nose job."
Karen storms out of the room and down the stairs. Ebony (Trixie) is home alone, so there's no one to stop her. Karen marches out the front door and crosses the road with a dignified air. She hopes that the girls are watching from the window.
Whooooooooo . . .
Karen gulps as a gust of wind whistles through the leafless trees. It's nighttime, so the streets are almost completely dark. Thankfully, it's not snowing. Even so, Karen can't help but feel that the weather isn't ideal. Dry leaves are blowing past her feet, and she doesn't have a coat to shield her from the chill. Perhaps her dramatic exit was a little premature.
Karen freezes when she sees a pair of headlight moving towards her. This is the kind of thing her mother warned her about. She's going to be attacked by a gang of teenage hooligans. They're going to drag her into the bushes and rip off her clothes. She's going to have to go to therapy sessions for the rest of her life and-
"Get in the car."
Karen sighs with relief.
"Claire. Thank god. I thought you were-"
"Get in the car!" she snaps.
Karen bites her lip, then waddles over to the passenger seat. When she's done up her seatbelt, Claire starts driving.
"How did you find me?" Karen asks.
"I saw Susie Morgan walking down the street. She told me you were doing witchcraft, so I decided to pick you up before you choked on essence of orange or something."
Karen looks down in shame.
"I'm sorry."
"You'd better be. I had to cancel my date because of you."
For a while, the car is silent. Gradually, though, a soft sniffling becomes audible. Claire frowns and turns to Karen.
"Are you crying?"
Karen whimpers and presses her face into her sister's shoulder. She tenses up at the unexpected contact.
"I'm sorry you missed your date," she quavers shrilly.
Claire's face softens.
"It's fine. What's important is that we get you home safely. We don't want to- SHIT!"
She slams her foot on the brake. The car stops inches away from a pedestrian. He stumbles backwards in surprise.
"Watch where you're going, cow!"
Claire presses down on the horn angrily.
"You're supposed to look both ways, you rat-faced moron!"
As the man jogs away, Claire exhales and places her forehead on the steering wheel.
"Jesus. What an idiot."
Karen shrugs.
"He was kind of hot, though."
Claire sighs.
"Yeah, but he seemed pretty stupid."
"How do you know?"
"I can sense these things. Look, forget about it. He's not important."
They continue their drive. Claire taps her fingers on the wheel anxiously, obviously shaken from the encounter. Karen bites her lip and fiddles with her blouse.
"I'm sorry."
Claire furrows her brow.
"Why? It's not your fault."
Karen looks out the window, not wanting to make eye contact with her sister.
"If you hadn't picked me up, you wouldn't have . . . you know . . . almost killed him."
Claire laughs.
"Oh, please! That's an exaggeration. Even if I hit him, he probably would have survived."
Karen nods slowly.
"It's a good thing you were able to stop in time. It must be fate."
Claire rolls her eyes.
"Yes, Karen. Destiny brought us together. That man was secretly my future husband."
Karen smiles sassily.
"You shouldn't tease."
Claire lifts her eyebrows.
"I'm being serious. What, you think he's too good for me?"
Karen shoves her playfully.
"You know that's not what I meant."
There is another silence, but it's a happy one. Karen exhales peacefully as they approach their own street. When they roll up the driveway, she undoes her seatbelt and gives Claire a hug.
"Thank you for coming to get me."
Claire smiles.
"No problem. That's what sisters are for, right?"