SABRINA, THE TEENAGE GIANT
by BFF
This is a Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "summer" story, showing what might have happened in between seasons of the TV series (when episodes never took place). This occurred during the summer of 1997, after the first season when Sabrina completed her sophomore year at Westbridge High School.
The Sabrina characters are property of Archie Comics and Hartbreak Films.
CHAPTER 1: School's Out For Summer
Sabrina Spellman put down her pen and subtly glanced at her classmates, who unlike her had yet to complete their final geometry exams. Knowing the perils of hubris, she looked over her test one last time, making certain her answers were correct. In her mind, they were.
This was her last scheduled test of her sophomore year, and the morning of the last day of classes. At midday, she would go to the library to be assigned a book of classic literature to read over the summer. This year, students would draw lots, and already the joke throughout the halls was the booby prize would be "War & Peace." After that, final report cards would be handed out, and barring a complete flop in geometry, Sabrina would receive an A in every class but phys ed, where she was content to get a B-minus. She might be a witch in her first year of training, but she was no jock.
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Zelda Spellman sighed as the traffic jam continued on Commonwealth Avenue, glancing at the tightly sealed container in the passenger seat. Alongside it, under cover for protection from the sun, were a tangerine and a stalk of celery. But they weren't Zelda's mid-morning snack.
The fruit and vegetable were each twice their usual size, not (directly) the result of her magic, but of science. Zelda had been working with Dr. Horace Mumford, a botany professor at Boston University, on a formula to accelerate plant growth to increase crop production and decrease world hunger. Researching on her own at home the night before while sister Hilda was up in New Hampshire with friends, Zelda discreetly used magic to get from point A to B along the way, but was able to retrace her steps and discover a non-magical way to get there. The resulting formula was complex, at least 40 pages, but wholly within the parameters of mortal science. While further research needed to be done on such altered plants, not to mention getting approval from the Department of Agriculture and other agencies, this promised to revolutionize farming...and make Zelda and Horace wealthy along the way.
But that was the last thing – well, almost – on her idealistic mind as she slowly neared the BU campus...
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The bell rang, and Sabrina handed the exam to her teacher before leaving the room. The year's last lunch awaited in the cafeteria, followed by the summer book lottery. In the hall, she saw her good friend Jenny, and waved her over.
"So, what book do you think you'll be assigned?" Sabrina asked.
Jenny shook her head. "I'm not participating," she replied. "I won't be here this fall. My family's moving – my dad just got a teaching job in Iowa."
Sabrina's disappointment was evident, especially since she knew what it was like to change locales and schools, even before her parents divorced and sent her to live with her aunts.
"That's quite a bit away from here," she said, knowing that as a witch she could pop herself to Iowa in seconds...though it probably would be tough explaining her sudden presence to a mortal. Consequently, she thought, any subsequent reunion probably shouldn't be spontaneous. "I'll miss you, Jenny." The two hugged in sympathy. "You will keep in touch."
Jenny nodded. "Probably through letters. Long-distance calls are so expensive." She looked at her watch. "I've gotta be going. I'm getting my report card early, then heading home to pack."
"Take care."
What a bummer, Sabrina thought. But that didn't last long, for soon she ran into her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle. "Hey, Sab, you ace your tests?"
Sabrina smiled. "Think so. And you?"
"Mostly B-pluses." For Harvey, that was pretty good, as his work ethic compensated for any inherent academic deficiencies. That, and his genuine niceness, was enough for Sabrina.
"I'm looking forward to hanging out with you all summer, maybe go to a movie or two. Even a ballgame if you can get tickets."
"Not happening this summer," he replied as they headed towards the cafeteria. "And no, it's not you. My dad's sending me to all sorts of sports camps – baseball, football, wrestling, hockey – and in fact, I start at a baseball camp in Maine tomorrow. I won't be back till late August."
"Aren't those expensive?"
"He made deals with camp organizers to fumigate their homes in return for my admission. It should be fun, I guess, but I sometimes think dad is just trying to find something I'm good at." Sabrina nodded in empathy; Harvey was a second-stringer in all the sports he played, but no one ever questioned his enthusiasm despite his limited abilities.
"As long as you enjoy doing it," she said. "That's the important thing."
"Oh, I know that," he said, writing down the camp's address for her. "But I will miss you."
"Same here," Sabrina replied as they entered the cafeteria. "One postcard a week is all I ask. Preferably ones with silly pictures."
They continued their conversation over lunch, only to be interrupted by obnoxious cheerleader Libby Chessler, who apparently had a little interest in Harvey even though he hardly seemed her upwardly mobile type. "Bonjour, Harvey...et vous, freak," she said.
Sabrina was used to Libby's insults by now, and while she still couldn't stand her, she remembered what Hilda had once told her: "Time is the best revenge." In other words, let's see how things stand at the 20-year reunion.
"Hello, Libby," Harvey innocently said. "What's with the French?"
"Oh, mama, papa, et moi will be summering in our vacation house in Quebec, as I relax and prepare for another strenuous year of cheerleading."
Sabrina was all set to zing Libby one, but decided discretion was the greater part of valor and took the high road instead. "Well, have a great time up there. At least you'll save on air conditioning. See you at the book lottery."
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"Here's the formula, the paper – and the results," Zelda said to Horace, carefully pulling the double-sized tangerine and celery stalk from a bag.
"That tangerine is larger than an orange!" he said in surprise. "Remarkable."
"I think you will be pleased with what I discovered last night," she said, taking the formula from the bag and placing it on a table in his office. However, the top of the container had become loose, so when she put it on the table, several drops of the clear formula splashed in the air and landed on her tongue, as well as his open mouth about three feet away.
"Tastes kind of tangy," Horace said, licking his lips. "Sort of citrusy."
"We better wash out our mouths in case there are any effects. This could be toxic," Zelda nervously said, hurrying to the sink – almost breaking her high heel in the process – and rinsing. What if the formula makes people grow as well as plants, she feared. Fortunately, she felt no sensation whatsoever, and no changes happened to either scientist.
"Sounds like you've been watching too many bad sci-fi movies lately," he quipped after similarly rinsing. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not mutating."
"Just erring on the side of caution," she explained as they sat down to go over her paper.
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The students gathered for the book lottery. Each of the rising juniors' six classes would be assigned one of 30 works of literature to read over the summer; when classes returned to session after Labor Day, they were to hand in a 10-page, typewritten report.
As luck would have it, both Harvey and Libby were to be in Sabrina's English class that fall. Since students chose books in alphabetical order of their last names, Libby Chessler was among the first to draw lots. She pulled out a slip from a barrel and discovered her assignment was "1984" by George Orwell. "Ah, that was ancient history, 13 years ago!" she protested, to Sabrina's hidden glee. "I was in pre-school!"
A few students later, Harvey made his selection, which turned out to be "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He showed the book to Sabrina once he returned to his seat.
"Did you know Fitzgerald's wife was named Zelda, like my aunt?" Sabrina said, trying to strike up small talk.
"Maybe your aunt was named for her," Harvey answered.
"Maybe," Sabrina said, not letting on that was highly unlikely, since her aunt was well over 600 years old.
Eventually, it was Sabrina's turn. She reached into the barrel, eyes closed – there weren't very many slips left – pulled one out, and opened her eyes. Her assignment was "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, and within seconds, the school's assistant librarian handed her the hardcover novel. "This is the non-bowdlerized version," she quietly told Sabrina. "Don't let the school board know."
Sabrina shrugged. So this was her summer reading.
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"I think we may be on to something here," Dr. Mumford told Zelda as she left with half of the formula, placed inside a transparent, covered plastic cup; the rest was to be stored in his lab refrigerator. "It's going to take a while, so we need to be patient."
"I agree," Zelda said as she straightened out her demure dark blue dress. "I'm going to do some additional research at home."
On the drive back to Westbridge, she heaved a sigh of relief that no effects had resulted to either herself or to Horace when they inadvertently consumed the formula. It appears completely safe, she thought. Nobel Prize, here we come.
When she came home about 12:30, she saw Salem on the kitchen table. "Any calls?" she asked the cat.
"No, ma'am," he replied. "Not that I would answer them anyway. Especially since I was too busy watching 'Live With Regis & Kathie Lee.' "
"At least you saved me from having to check the answering machine."
The black cat smiled. "Now pardon me, but I'm going upstairs to catch some zzz's atop the hamper."
"Fine – but don't claw any laundry," Zelda said as Salem scampered off the table and raced to the stairwell.
With that, Zelda brought out the formula, removed the top from the cup, and placed it on the dining room table where she kept her lab equipment.
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The books selected, the students' last duty as sophomores was to return to their homerooms and be handed their final report cards, in envelopes they were not allowed to open until after leaving their classrooms.
Complying with district policy, Sabrina waited until she was in the hallway to learn her grades, which resulted in a discreet cry of "woo-hoo." It was what she expected, and more – A's in English, Spanish, science, social studies and geometry, and a B, not a B-minus, in gym. Nice to see they don't grade on physical ability, she thought.
Feeling exuberant, she strolled to the pay phone and called home, crossing her fingers that Aunt Zelda – or even Aunt Hilda – was back. Sure enough, the former picked up the phone.
"Great news, Aunt Zelda! Five A's and one B, in P.E., of course."
Zelda beamed. "How wonderful! Can I see the report card?"
"When I get home? Sure." Sabrina paused. "Oh, I know what you're talking about." She discreetly placed the report card between herself and the phone, shielded it from any passerby's sight, and pointed. A second later, the card was in Zelda's left hand.
"Hilda and I are so proud of you," the aunt said after seeing the card. "It's amazing to watch our niece grow up before our very eyes. To commemorate this, we have a special gift lined up for you."
"That's great! I look forward to it. Oh, by the way, I was assigned a book to read over the summer – 'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathan Swift."
"Fascinating reading," Zelda replied with a lilt in her voice; Sabrina guessed she probably knew Swift well several hundred years ago. From conversations with her aunt, Sabrina sensed that Zelda knew everybody.
"Anyway, I don't want to miss the school bus," Sabrina said, glancing at her watch. "See you when I get home."
"Okay, Sabrina," Zelda said, hanging up. She glanced at the report card again, pointed at it, and framed it...but that wasn't Sabrina's gift. That was hidden in her bedroom closet – a CD boombox she and Hilda had each chipped in $30 towards a few days ago.
Sabrina reached her bus, but just as she was to board she heard her science teacher, Eugene Pool, from behind her. "Have a splendid summer, Sabrina," he said. "It was great having you as a student, and I'll see you in the fall." She turned around and waved at the teacher, then in the same motion boarded the bus.