"Have a wonderful day!" Hilda called, waving merrily at the retreating figure of her teenage niece. That morning had been long and painful; the two sisters had to pry Sabrina from her bed, spray her with a garden hose, and force-feed her in order to get the reluctant teen ready for school.

The younger sister's smile slid off her face as she turned towards the elder. "She's still really hung up about this Detective job, isn't she?"

"Of course." Zelda stirred her morning coffee, blowing on it faintly. "How would you feel if you were informed that your immediate future was being controlled by the government?"

"Rebellious? Angsty? Ready to play some nasty practical jokes?" Hilda stretched her arms in a gesture reminiscent of a stand-up comedian. The younger of the two Spellman sisters was of medium height, with a stocky, curvy frame. Her round, friendly face was currently etched with a frown, her chipmunk cheeks puffed in a pout, and the twinkling baby-blue eyes clouded with distress.

Zelda firmly set the mug on the table. "It's not the right way to go, Hilda, and you know that," she said softly.

"But we can't just give in! It's Drell: let me reason with him! I'll-"

"Get nowhere fast, and end up causing more trouble than you intended." Zelda shot her younger sister a steadying look. "I know Drell as well as you do, and that man's too pigheaded and stubborn to give in to reason after he's made up his mind."

"But Zelly…" Hilda whined.

"We have no choice, Hilda. The only thing we can do is to bide our time."

"Whose time are we talking about?" Hilda grumbled, before moving into the living room for her morning soaps. "Ours, or Sabrina's?"

Ahh. Good old Westbridge High. I never thought I'd be here again. The miniscule lockers…the horrible food… the sadistic teachers…

"WHOO! It's great to be back!" Sabrina cheered in the middle of the hallway.

"Well, Miss Spellman, it's simply wonderful to see your enthusiasm for school piqued by your illness." The sarcastic tone grated on Sabrina's ears, informing her that the person standing about five feet away was one of the last people she'd ever want to talk to at quarter to eight on a Tuesday morning.

Then again, maybe chasing after ghosts isn't so bad, after all.

Sabrina's eyebrow twitched. "Good morning, Mr. Kraft."

Willard Kraft was a rather unhappy individual. Perhaps it was the result of a lonely childhood. Maybe his thwarted youthful dreams were to blame. Or, maybe he was a sadistic person who just really liked making people miserable.

Sabrina had always leaned towards the latter.

A mirthless smile stretched across the vice-principal's dour face; his eyes glinted behind the bifocals he constantly pushed up his skinny nose. "Unfortunately, it seems that your interest has not been sufficiently piqued to encourage you to attend school on time." With this, he whipped out his ever-present detention pad and began quickly scrawling.

The teenage witch opened her mouth to protest, but shut it quickly. If she hadn't learned Mr. Kraft's behavior by now, she never would. The man simply thrived on giving detentions to those who set just one toe out of line.

And there was no excuse; she'd purposely dawdled this morning getting ready, and then stopped at 7-11 for a real breakfast. Searching her mind for a plausible excuse, Sabrina hit upon the trustiest of all of them, and one that hadn't been used for a bit (couldn't overuse it, for sake of suspicion).

"I'm sorry I'm late, but Aunt Zelda wasn't sure if I was well enough to come to school today. She spent a half-hour on the phone with our family doctor this morning, just to make sure." She threw in a few coughs, for good measure.

Mr. Kraft's face softened for an instant; the man turned into a pile of gooey mush around Aunt Zelda, in an almost ridiculous fashion. Sabrina crossed her fingers, hoping he was in a sentimental mood this morning. "How such a lovely lady can have such a late niece is beyond me," he mumbled. A second later, the love-struck glaze left his eyes, and he cleared his throat, looking sheepish. "But that still doesn't excuse the fact. The school nurse or the office could have been notified."

With an exaggerated ripping motion, he tore off the slip and handed it to her. "I believe you know where the detention hall is."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, and sauntered off to class. It's not the first time I've been given detention, so no biggie…

"Now hurry it up, or I'll give you a two-hour Saturday detention, too!"

The blonde bolted for her classroom.

As she scribbled down notes about quadratic equations, Sabrina kept an eye on the clock above the classroom door. Class had ten minutes left before second period, and she felt as if she couldn't take any more waiting.

None of her friends were in first period algebra with her; none of her enemies, either. At this point, Sabrina was dying for even negative social stimulation.

Besides, after being chased by creepy monsters and ghosts, nearly being tossed into Hell, and fighting a psychopathic wizard, I'm more than ready to take on Libby. She'll be a piece of cake to deal with, after those spiders.

Sabrina allowed herself a grin as she pictured Libby's scowling face on a Poison Spider's body. I'd say that it definitely suits her.

A second image popped up next to the first; Harvey, cringing as the Libby-Spider stalked towards him, closer and closer, intent on having the young man for lunch. At the last minute, Sabrina heroically swung in on a chandelier, and squished the Libby-Spider with one majestic stomp of her black boots. Harvey pledged his undying love and admiration, with hearts in his eyes, as Sabrina carried him off into the sunset…

The bell suddenly rang, interrupting Mrs. Quick's cheerful monologue about the virtues of the quadratic formula, and Sabrina's bizarre daydream. The teacher blinked, confused, at the cheer that had gone up at the signal for the end of class, but managed to call out a homework assignment as the students jostled each other in a hurry to get out the door.

Sabrina hummed as she gathered her books and set out for her next class. Next period was going to be good.

Mr. Pool taught AP Biology during second period, which was quite possibly Sabrina's favorite class. Pool was one of her favorite teachers (his dry sarcasm was a welcome diversion from her relatively boring schedule), biology one of her favorite subjects, and both her sort-of-boyfriend and her best friend were in the class with her.

Sabrina beamed, thinking of bragging about her weekend to Harvey and Val. I explored a Gothic Louisiana mansion, met some really cool ghosts, and totally kicked this psycho warlock's butt…

She stopped short before the classroom door. Geez, I'm an idiot. I can't talk to them about it; same as my magic. It's not part of what they're supposed to believe… Besides, if Drell caught wind of her telling them, and then wiping their memories, she'd probably be a Spirit Detective until she was as old as Aunt Zelda…

Sabrina heaved a sigh as she clutched her books again and pushed open the door. I just wish I could talk to someone about it…I hate having to keep things from people. For once, I'd love somebody I could talk to about anything without getting in trouble…

Sabrina froze as she stepped over the threshold of the classroom. Harvey and Val were sitting at the lab table the three usually occupied, but…

Is it just me, or are they holding hands?

Sabrina shook her head, as if to clear their vision, and blinked. They weren't. Perhaps Val's hand had been next to Harvey's, and from where Sabrina had been standing, it just looked like their hands were touching.

That hand—er, had—to be it. Just a momentary trick of her imagination. Right?

Right… A tiny voice in her head snickered as Sabrina cheerfully made her way to her friends.

Val looked up from reviewing her notes, to see the blonde coming her way. "Sabrina! You're better! I was worried that your illness was worse than your aunt said…" Valerie Burkehead was a sweet-faced brunette with matching deep brown eyes. Her crimson lips were curved into a gentle smile as she patted the stool next to her, gesturing for her friend to sit down.

"Yeah," Harvey agreed. "Your Aunt Zelda wouldn't even let us in to see you, she said you got the stomach flu so bad." His black locks were more tousled than normal, and his blue eyes were as deep and sparkling as she remembered. Harvey looked genuinely concerned for her, and that made Sabrina's knees wobble for a second.

Harvey Kinkle was the second friend she'd made at Westbridge High, the first boy she'd ogled at the same place, the first she'd ever kissed, and definitely the cutest mortal boy she'd ever met. The two of them also enjoyed the most confusing relationship she'd ever seen, outside of those teen dramas she watched on the WB.

They were friends for the longest time, before they went out on Valentine's day sophomore year. And then they dated for a while, before her aunts and his parents thought they should slow it down and see other people. Then the whole Dashiell fiasco happened, and they were together for a while. And then Harvey went out with Libby's friend Morgan for a bit…

At the moment, they were in an awkward stage, not quite "on again," but not really "off again," either. How many dates did they usually go out on before they were "together," again? Val, per usual, was still single; the poor girl couldn't seem to find a guy interested in her. Sabrina made a mental note to try and find someone for Val so they could have a double-date for the weekend.

Of course, now that she was a Spirit Detective, her plans would probably be forever interrupted. If the dates she had with Harvey weren't crazy enough to begin with (running home due to some magical malady or spell gone awry didn't improve one's date), she'd have Drell and his stupid missions to deal with.

I guess I'll just have to have back-up plans, or get Drell to notify me in advance…

Cheered by the thought, she plopped onto the stool next to Val, grinning at her friend and winking at Harvey.

Was it her imagination, or did he look slightly…guilty?

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully; Libby had kept her snide and rude comments to a minimum, mostly because she was thoroughly discussing the college party she'd attended that weekend with Cee Cee and Jill, her equally shallow best friends.

Sabrina hummed as she scanned the lunch line for something edible. Eventually, deciding that the 'Tuesday Surprise' looked surprisingly disgusting, she grabbed a carton of milk, a banana, and a bag of chips. The blond girl glared at her lunch as she walked to her usual table in the lunchroom's 'no man's land.'

"It'll be amazing if I survive high school with the daily nutrients I need to grow," Sabrina announced as she sat down. "I've eaten fruit and chips how many days out of a week? No wonder I'm so short," she added glumly.

"Because of the sub-par cooking?" Val cocked an eyebrow as she stirred her mashed potatoes. "You get used to it, I guess."

"Well, I haven't." Sabrina glared at the lunch line. "It should be illegal to serve us that gelatinous, gooey, mushy, crap."

Val shrugged as she ate a forkful of potatoes. "Welcome to high school."

Sabrina sighed and ate another chip. Seeing Harvey in the lunch line, she waved him over. With an easygoing grin, he ambled over to the table. "Thanks, Sab. I'd never have found the table without your help," he teased, sliding in next to Val.

Sabrina playfully stuck out her tongue as they began to eat their lunches. They slid easily into the usual lunchroom banter—the girls sharing the latest hallway gossip, with Harvey rolling his eyes over his sandwich (and occasionally sharing some 'news' he'd heard in the locker room, since he wasn't as immune to gossip as he claimed), complaining about teachers and classes, discussing the latest movies or television shows, and trying to figure out just what the 'Tuesday Surprise' was really made of. (Val leaned toward heated mud and soy, while Harvey insisted it was pond scum and gorilla feet. Sabrina thought it remarkably resembled an anti-aging facial mask Aunt Hilda had once concocted.)

Happily slurping at her milk, Sabrina leaned back in her seat. She loved the fun, casual atmosphere of the cafeteria. That stupid case was over, Aunt Zelda was making seafood spaghetti for dinner, and Harvey had told her she looked cute in the pale-pink off-the-shoulder sweater she was wearing.

Life is truly good.

"Hey, you guys wanna go to the movies this weekend?" Sabrina offered. "My treat. We'll get smoothies and a ridiculously huge tub of popcorn, and…"

"I can't," Val cut in quickly. At the incredulous look Sabrina was giving her, she flushed as deep as the cherry-colored skirt she wore. "I…kind of have plans…"

Does she mean boy plans? Maybe her mom set her up with some co-worker's son again…poor Val.

"Well, if Val can't do it, what about coming with me, Harvey?" she offered. At the very least, they could throw popcorn at each other, and maybe hold hands.

Harvey offered her a sheepish grin. "No can do, Sabs. Sorry," he offered.

What? Both of them? Aw, man…

"Oh," she said in a tinier voice than she expected.

"How about a raincheck? Maybe the three of us can go out next weekend or something."

"Uh, yeah. Okay…"

Cheer up, Sabrina. It isn't the end of the world if both of them can't go with you to the movies… But…I wonder what they're doing…

Zelda was idly flipping through her Better Brooms and Cauldrons, the magazine for the at-home witch. At the moment, she was trying to find the gardening section—their small patch of henbane was not growing as well as it should, and she hoped to find a suitable remedy.

Salem, of course, was engaging in his most stressful activity of the day: watching a piece of lint slowly waft through the air.

Hilda was still at work; the younger of the two Spellman sisters taught violin lessons at the local music conservatory. Hopefully, she wouldn't come home today complaining about the spoiled brats forced into taking lessons by high-minded parents—who then took their frustrations out on the teacher.

The blonde sighed as she turned the page in her magazine. Everyone seemed upset today: Sabrina with going back to school, Hilda with going to work, the mailman with Zelda's refusal to date him, and Salem with the fact that nobody wanted to hear about his part in helping solve the mystery of the haunted Gracey mansion.

Nothing a good cup of coffee won't cure. Then again, maybe I'm becoming too addicted to caffeine…

Nah.

She put down her magazine and drifted into the kitchen, zapping up a pot of Irish coffee. Zelda gracefully sank into a chair, sipping her drink and staring out the door onto the back porch outside.

The yard it opened onto was normally a warm, verdant bed of vegetation, although now withered since the October chill had set in. A large lilac bush occupied one side, with hibiscus vines twining around the porch pillars and forming a screen of sorts as they climbed into the porch roof. A little garden path led to Zelda's personal picturesque herb garden, which was flanked on either side by flowerbeds.

Another path led from the sidewalk to the back porch, so it became Sabrina's favorite route to and from school; it meant quicker access to the kitchen, and, ultimately, snacks.

She should probably go and brew a cure for the common cold, Zelda decided, but she was much too comfortable here in her chair with her mug of coffee. She'd just wait and see how Sabrina's day went.

As an afterthought, Zelda pointed up a tray of brownies. Sabrina was normally voracious after a 'hard day's work' at school. That and Zelda didn't want anyone rooting through the fridge; they might discover a slice of raspberry cheesecake she'd hidden for herself…

Rapid footsteps on pavement announced her niece's arrival. Zelda brushed the thought of her secret snack away as she moved the brownies from the counter to the table.

Sabrina flung open the French doors, cheerfully tossing her backpack to the side. "I'm home from detention! Man, those look good…"

"How did your day go?" Zelda cheerfully asked as Sabrina tried to cram two brownies in her mouth at once.

"Waaay weird," Sabrina managed to get around a mouthful. She swallowed. "I was late again, and Kraft gave me detention. And Harv and Val were acting strange…"

Her aunt raised an eyebrow. "Strange?" Sabrina's human friends were the epitome of normalcy. For them to be acting strange meant either some sort of surprise party, or…well…

…something else.

"Yeah. I was talking about going to the movies," Sabrina informed her as she opened the refrigerator door, "and they both clammed up. Apparently, they both have something really important to do that they didn't feel like sharing. Is there any milk in here?"

Zelda hurriedly pointed up a glass on the countertop.

"Aaah." The fridge door closed, and Zelda's snack was safe. Until Hilda came home, anyway.

"Maybe it's something they feel is embarrassing, like a doctor's appointment, or a family outing," Zelda pointed out. "After all, you've cooked up enough excuses to warrant their suspicion."

Sabrina paused, staring at her glass of milk thoughtfully. "True."

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation," her aunt concluded, turning back to her coffee. She took a sip, and winced. Cold. How disgusting…

"You're probably right," Sabrina decided, placing her glass in the sink. "Maybe I really am just making a mountain out of a molehill…"

Although I slightly doubt it…

The teenage witch smiled, trying to shrug off her sudden thought. "I'm gonna go do homework. Call me for dinner, would ya?"

Zelda nodded, as she attempted to warm her coffee.

The teenager turned to the living room and jogged up the stairs to her bedroom. The curtains were open, and Salem was curled up asleep on the windowsill. Now able to relax, she plopped onto her bed and watch the sunbeams dance in lazy patterns on the wall.

…something just doesn't feel right. Who do I believe?

Yes, Sabrina is a science/math nerd. The book series state that she's an excellent science student, as well as very good at math (and most of the classes we see her in are math and science, interestingly enough). The "nerd" part was helpfully supplied by Libby.

Harvey does indeed look different in the comics/manga than the show. In the comics, he has black hair and blue eyes, is quite the pretty-boy, and plays for the basketball team. In the show, he's bigger, brawnier, with brown hair and eyes, and plays for the football team. I compromised on some things.

By the way…while this fic takes place during Sabrina's senior year at high school, our cast of characters is roughly the same as the show's second or third season (before the show got rid of most of the regular school cast; things weren't the same after that). That's why while it's senior year, there's no Dreama or Brad, and Libby, Val, and Mr. Kraft are still there. (Maybe Dreama and Brad will show up later? Who knows!)

On the show, Sabrina and Harvey do have a weird off-again, on-again relationship. Not so much the first season, but it gets more obvious during the third and fourth seasons. It carries over into this fic. The "Dashiell fiasco" Sabrina talks about refers to a teen warlock named Dashiell that she dated for a bit, before he and Harvey made her choose between the two of them. In the college episodes, he dated her roommate Morgan. Both Morgan and Libby are the snobby rich-girl type, so they seemed like ideal candidates to be friends.

Next Chapter: Sabrina finds that her doubts are, indeed, well-placed when a shocking event shakes her out of her complacency. Meanwhile, Shinji and Kenichi are in for a rocky time as Shinji reveals what happened in Drell's office…