Chapter 3: The Acceptance
(This chapter is where things really begin to kick off. I won't spoil exactly how here though. Instead, I'll just let you read on...)
When Ned Flanders awoke that morning, he was expecting the same daily routine he experienced every dawn the Lord blessed him with. Morning prayer, brushing his teeth, a swimsuit-clad shower, another round of brushing his teeth, treating himself to some black coffee and cooking breakfast for his sons. And all these things, he experienced the same as always. However, as he set the stove to warm up and stood outside his window, he was greeted with an rather unusual surprise, one that caused him to spit out his coffee.
In his garden, where those accursed yet adorable moles had eaten his precious petunias, (At least as far as he was concerned,) the flowers were back in full bloom, the morning dew glistening on their dark red petals.
"Well I'll be a mule in the manger," Ned laughed. "My petunias seemed to have made like Jesus and resurr-Diddly-ected." He set down his coffee mug and set his hands together in prayer. "Lord, once again you have proved your compassion in the most unusual of ways. Thank you for such a wonderful miracle!"
Ned picked his coffee mug up and went to brew himself another cup, blissfully unaware of Homer peeking over the fence, watching him with a judgemental glare. "What the heck is Stupid Flanders so happy about?" He asked himself as he looked over the fence. "What could possibly-"
He gasped in terror as he noticed the petunias alive and well in his neighbor's garden.
"Oh my God!" He shouted. "The flowers are back!" He began to whimper. "H-How is that possible? How could this be happening!?" He fell to his knees and cried out to the sky. "Why God!? Why have you brought this cruel fate upon your humble servant!? Whhhhhy!"
Marge listened from the kitchen as her husband continue to scream, her two kids eating cereal behind her. "Oh dear! Homer sounds so upset!" She turned to her children. "What do you suppose that's all about?"
"I dunno. Maybe he stubbed his toe?" Bart suggested through a mouthful of Krusty-O's. Both he and Marge straightened up as they heard Lisa giggle to herself. They both turned to the girl who continued to giggle even as she noticed them staring at her.
"Lisa, are you feeling alright?" Marge asked.
"Yeah, you hardly laugh at anything that isn't Itchy & Scratchy." Bart added.
"It's...It's nothing." Lisa waved her hand. "I was just remembering this humorous anecdote I heard from one of the other brainy kids at school-
"Already lost interest." Bart said as he popped another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. Marge smelled smoke and panicked as she realized her husband's eggs were burning, thus she turned back to the stove at once. Once the attention was off of her, Lisa's giggle turned into a sly chuckle. She looked down at her right leg where a fresh bandage lay. It still amazed her how she was able to bring back all of Mr. Flander's garden with only a few drops of blood.
She ate another spoonful of her cereal, content with her first magical good deed of the day, as Homer continued to scream outside.
"Oooh," Marge cooed sadly as she lifted her limp houseplant in her palm. She had bought it about a month ago after reading about their various health benefits and had done her best to take care of it. But between Homer constantly hiding his snacks in the pot and Snowball II's numerous attempts to eat it, the poor thing hardly stood a chance in the Simpson's household. Marge had found it while going about her usual rounds cleaning the house and sighed as she slipped her hand away from beneath the deceased plant. "I'm sorry little one," She said as she got up. "Guess I better bury you in the backyard now. Now, where did Homer put the plant funeral shovel?"
As Marge walked out of the living room to search for the shovel, Lisa poked her head in from the kitchen. She had been listening in while getting herself a snack and as her gaze trailed over to the dead plant, she couldn't help but feel pity for her mother's plight. "Poor Mom," She looked up at her hands, thinking back to the plant resurrection spell she had mastered last night. She smiled. "Well, one more couldn't hurt."
She went back into the kitchen, got herself a toothpick and returned to the living room. She walked up to the plant, made sure no one was watching and pricked herself with the toothpick. Once she was bleeding, she made a line of red along the side of the plant while imbuing it with her intention to resuscitate it. Once she removed her hand, she uttered a delighted sigh as she watched the plant slowly rise up, its darken pallor lightening with each inch it rose. It was fully erect when Lisa heard her mother's footsteps returning from the stairs.
"Uh oh!" Lisa retreated back to the kitchen and watched from the doorway as Marge returned to the plant.
"Alright, little buddy." She said sadly with her eyes still fixed on the light blue plastic shovel in her hand. "I guess it's time to say good-bye...ah!" Marge uttered a squeak of surprise as she noticed her plant alive and well. "What the!?" She scratched her head. "How the!?" She looked at her shovel and shrugged. "Guess I made a mistake." She tossed the shovel away and hummed to herself happily as she went back to her cleaning. Lisa uttered a soft giggle as she watched the scene unfold and returned to the kitchen for that snack.
Good deeds are hungry work after all.
After spending yet another day at school and taking some down time at the public library, (Totally not reading up on witchcraft) Lisa looked forward to some rest and relaxation in her room until supper time. Her bike already in the garage, Lisa stretched as she walked up the stairs toward her room. She opened the door, switched on the light...
...and screamed at the top of her lungs as a large rubber spider smacked against her face.
The startled girl lost her footing and fell on her bottom with a thud. Groaning in pain and agitation, Lisa rubbed her lower back as she looked back up at the yellow and black rubber monstrosity that hung from her doorway by a white string. Her agitation turned to indignation at her brother's laughter howled from her right. She turned to see him poking his head out from his room, chuckling that same annoying way he always did when someone fell victim to one of his childish pranks.
"Got you, Lis!" He said through his laughter. "You should have seen the look on your face!"
"A fake spider, Bart! Really?" Lisa shouted. "Of all the unoriginal, immature-"
"Sorry Lis! Can't hear ya. My ears are still ringing from the shock waves your butt made when it hit the floor!" Bart's laughter intensified as he retreated back to the safety of his room and closed the door. This guffawing lowered to a snicker as he made his way to his bed, kicked off his shoes and jumped on top, grabbing the Radioactive Man comic he had set aside from himself. "That was great!" He complimented himself. "Now to reward myself with a good old-fashioned comic." He uttered a sigh of content as he opened up the comic and started scanning the pages.
Not even five seconds into his reading, however, a large shadow loomed over him. As Bart was too preoccupied with the comic, his initial reaction was simple annoyance, not even bothering to look up at the new arrival. "Hey buddy, do you mind? You're kinda in my light." Bart waited a few seconds for the shadow to budge and when it didn't, he got angry and finally tore himself away from the comic pages. "Hey buddy, I said-"
Bart's annoyance and anger turned to surprise and fear in a fraction of a second for standing before him, four of its legs raised over him and its two jaws dripping with steaming venom, was a giant, hairy, hissing spider.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Bart screamed loud enough to cause his very lips to tremble. Still screaming, the boy threw away the comic, jumped off the bed and burst out of his door. "Mom! Get the giant can of bug spray! Quick!" Bart called out as he ran past his sister's room. So caught up in his fear was Bart that he failed to notice his sister laying at the doorway, holding her sides tightly as she laughed her ass off.
"Ahaha!" Lisa wiped a tear from her eye as Bart vanished down the stairs. "Illusion magic! You gotta love it!"
It was a starry Saturday evening for the Simpsons, the kind Homer considered perfect for a outdoor barbecue, mostly because the Flanders were out visiting family and thus couldn't be invited. The table had been set up, the food gathered and the grill pilfered from Ned Flander's garage. (Poor Ned had forgotten about the spare key he had given Homer to house-sit for him all those years ago, Homer spent that night at home watching football.)
"Alright!" Homer said as he opened up the grill and poured the lighter fluid, the giant chef's hat adorning his head almost falling off. "Let's get grilling."
"Oh Homie!" Marge murmured. "I really wish you wouldn't go overboard with the lighter fluid."
"Oh come on, Marge!" Homer said as he threw the empty bottle away and pulled out a lighter. "What's the point of having a barbecue if you can't taste the heat and the meat? Has King of the Hill taught you nothing?" Homer pointed the lighter toward the grill and pressed the switch which produced nothing more than an empty click. "What the?" Homer shook the lighter and tried again, only to get the same result. "Come on, you stupid-" Homer slapped the lighter a few times and tried again. Another empty click. He growled and shouted "Why you little-" while slamming the lighter against the edge of the grill.
"Homer, stop!" Marge pleaded as Bart laughed.
"Come on!" Homer growled as he once again failed to light the grill. Fed up with the useless lighter, he brought it to his face to glare at it, unaware of his finger resting on the switch. "Why won't you work, you lousy piece of-"
*FWOOOSH!*
Homer screamed as the lighter ignited his chef's hat. Dropping the lighter, he began to run around in circles. knocking over the ice chest which contained only his six-pack of Duff. Marge screamed as well as she watched her husband run recklessly and dashed from the table to fetch the broom. Bart started laughing so hard he fell from his seat and rolled on the floor, hugging his sides while Maggie, content with playing with her Play-D'oh!, ignored the chaos going on around her. As for Lisa, she found herself in deep consideration of her next move.
"I want to help but this would be a great opportunity of preventing the eating of meat." She thought. She watched as Homer ran close to her and Bart, taking a break from his pointless running and screaming to notice his boy laughing at him. "Why you! I'll teach you to laugh at your father suffering the consequences of his actions!" With this, Homer grabbed Bart by the throat and lifted him up, strangling him even as the fire spread to his back. It was around this time that Marge came back with the broom and witnessed the entire scene.
"Darn it, Homer! What have I told you about strangling Bart while on fire!?" Marge said as she started to beat the broom over Homer's head, both to put the fire out and to get him to let go of Bart. Maggie looked up from the green and pink mess of Play-D'oh! she had made on the table and cooed with delight at the chaos before her, clapping her hands as if cheering on a Broadway show.
"Then again, I was really looking forward to Dad's surprisingly good grilled carrots." Lisa thought with a sigh. She made sure every member of her family was distracted and looked toward the grill. She pointed her open palm toward it and whispered: "To burn my enemies to ash and coal, I now conjure fire born from my soul!" At once, a small but bright fireball shot from Lisa's hand and landed right on the grill. It phased through the metal bars to the charcoal below and ignited it, rising over the metal as a roaring flame. The sudden emergence of this flame stole the attention of the entire family, the last embers on Homer's body already at death's door.
"I did it!" Homer let go of Bart and patted the rest of the fires away before making his way to the grill. "Let's get grilling!"
The rest of family, Lisa included for appearance's sake, exchanged glances of confusion before shrugging and seating themselves back at the table, eagerly awaiting their fire-roasted food.
Everything, from Homer's four-patty supreme to Lisa's grilled carrots, seemed to taste better than usual.
Lisa was laying on her bed on a Sunday evening, shoes off and one leg pulled over the other. There was a pair of headphones in her ears connected to her slightly outdated Mypod as it lay besides her, her elevated foot moving up and down to the rhythm of the jazz playing from it. She was relaxed, far more relaxed than she had ever felt before, even when having done this exact same activity countless times in the past. It was as if nothing could hurt her as she was now, nothing could strip away her happiness as easily as it used to. Not her bullies at school, not her brother and his childish pranks, not even the fact that her father was currently hosting a rather noisy poker game with his bar buddies down in the basement due to a termite infestation at Moe's.
"Alright!" Moe's voice rang through to her room. "Which one of you turned my peeping parakeet against me!? Barney, I'm looking at you!"
Lisa uttered a sigh of content as she looked up at her hand, making sure no one was watching her.
"With water and wind now churned, I now call upon Winter's burn."
A small formation of ice grew from her palm in the visage of her late idol Bleeding Gums Murphy, the cold sensation hardly bothering her. She giggled happily to herself as she watched the light glisten off Murphy's smile.
"I still can't believe it." She thought. "Only a few weeks of nightly practices and I'm already skilled enough to make the ice take any shape I wish without so much as a word! It won't be long before I've thoroughly mastered every spell in Neoma's Grimoire!" Lisa sat up in her bed, her eyes still fixed on the small statue on her hand which was already starting to drip. She sighed longingly as she stared into her late mentor's eyes. "Oh Murphy, I can't help but wish you were still here with us. If you could see what I could do-"
Lisa stopped herself as rationality and reason reared their ugly heads in her mind, the full ramifications of her words hitting her like a slap in the face.
"What am I saying? You wouldn't believe me and even if you did, you'd probably just be afraid. Most adults would."
She thought back to her rather unpleasant talk with Reverend Lovejoy.
"No, I can't ever let anyone know about the Grimoire. For my sake and for Neoma's!" For the briefest of moments, Lisa allowed a flare of anger within her soul. What gave these people the right to decide such wonderful magic was unnatural, especially when most of them engaged in a religion built on miracles themselves? Why? Why? Lisa was brought out of her mild fury by the sensation of water trickling down her arm and noticed the statue beginning to melt. She sighed.
"It sure would be nice, though." She thought. "To find some like-minded girls and form a new coven, a new sisterhood! Maybe if there were more of us, we could make the world see the error of its ways! Make them see that magic is nothing to be afraid of."
Lisa watched sadly as the statue leaned to the left and fell off her hand, smashing into a small puddle of slush next to her bed.
"Oh well, what's one more unattainable fantasy to escape to?" Lisa turned to her stomach and laid her face against her bed as the blues continued to blare in her ears. As the volume was all the way up, she didn't hear Moe cock his shotgun in the basement.
"Alright, I know one of yous has been eating the poker chips when no one's looking! Now either fess up or everyone's washing it down with lead!"
The following day's afternoon found Lisa at recess, sitting in her usual spot beneath the large oak tree that towered over the playing equipment. All around her kids played and screamed yet she remained perfectly focused on her book, the first in the Angelica Button series. (Becoming a real witch had whet Lisa's appetite for the series so she decided to start it over once more.) She was just about to get to the part where Angelica discovered her own magical destiny when she heard a familiar if unfriendly voice shout: "Someone call Willie! There's a ugly yellow shrub next to that tree!"
Lisa sighed as she knew what was coming next and decided to get it over it. She turned to the jungle gym where Janey Powell played with the Mackleberry Twins. Lisa's former friend was sitting right at the very top of the gym as she noticed Lisa look her way, prompting her to utter a fake gasp. "Oh my God! It moved!" She and the twins burst into hysterical fits of laughter, the twins at either side of the gym.
Lisa groaned and rolled her eyes as she returned her attention to her book. "Stupid Janey! Stupid Sherri and Terri! Bet they wouldn't tease me if they knew what I was really capable of!" Lisa felt a brief flash of horror and disgust in herself and shook her head. "What am I thinking? I can't taint this gift of magic by using it for petty revenge! Besides, if anyone else found out..."
Lisa didn't want to finish that thought.
"Just let it go, Lisa. No amount of bullying is worth exposing your secret. None whatsoever."
No sooner had Lisa finished this thought that another shout rang out throughout the playground, this one shrill and terrified. She turned toward the direction of the sound just in time to see Allison Taylor getting pushed to the ground by Francine Rhenquist. The force was enough to kick up a bit of dust which settled back down on Allison's clothes and hair. There was a book in her hand like Lisa's which flew a few feet away from her as she was pushed. None of the other kids seemed to notice Allison's dilemma, preoccupied with their own games or, in the case of Martin Prince getting shoved into a trash can, their own bullying.
"Oh no!" Lisa thought as she moved her hand to her mouth. "Looks like Francine is out of juvie again! Oh when will they learn!?"
Allison groaned as she rubbed her head. She stared up at Francine with scared and pleading eyes, her voice shaky. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you stink like nerd!" Francine screamed in reply, her eyes more like a feral animals than a child's
"That's...the most stupidest reason for bullying I ever heard." Allison replied quietly. "What are you, a Fox writer?" She looked over to her book and tried to crawl toward it, only for Francine to kick her in the stomach. As Allison lay on the ground, holding herself in pain and fighting back tears, Francine grabbed the book for herself and looked over it.
"There's not even any pictures in this stupid thing!" She commented as she looked back to her victim. "Only a giant nerd could like something like this."
"Please!" Allison held out her hand. "That books due back at the library today! I was just about to finish it!"
"Oh this book's finished alright!" Francine replied as she grabbed the book with both hands and held it in front of Allison. "Better return it...to Hell!" With this and using all her might, she pulled the book apart with a sickening rip, a trail of torn paper falling before the teary-eyed Allison.
Lisa gasped in horror before the fury in her heart returned. "Alright, that's it! This time Francine has taken things too far! I have to tell the teacher!" She turned to find the adult that had been stuck with recess duty, only to deflate as she noticed Miss Hoover standing before the school entrance, playing a mobile game on her phone with a completely bored expression on her face. Past experiences told Lisa that she would receive no help from the motivationless teacher, only a light reprimand for bothering her at best and a sentence to spend the rest of recess in the classroom at worst. Lisa looked around desperately for any other adults to come help but their were none, they were all busy with other duties at the moment, leaving Lisa alone to witness Francine's continued torment of Allison.
"Why are all the adults in this school completely useless!?" Lisa thought. "Oh this is bad! What should I do!? What can I do!? What...can...I...do?"
Lisa found herself looking down at her hand again, a hand which, along with its partner, had been casting spells continuously for the past few weeks.
"No! I can't!" Lisa thought. "I can't reveal my secret! Especially in such a public place! Otherwise-"
Before Lisa could finish that thought, she heard a horrible gasping noise and had to fight the urge to scream as she witnessed Francine left up Allison by the throat. The fellow bookworm kicked Francine in the stomach and grabbed at her arms, both effort proving to be quite useless against the bully's girth. "P-Please...stop..." She whined, tears streaming down her face.
"Ha! We're gonna play a new game!" Francine replied with a wide grin. "It's called Pop Goes The Smurf! You lose once you turn blue!" The bully continued to laugh maniacally as Allison struggled desperately in her grasp.
Lisa felt sick to her stomach as she watched the display unfold. Adding to this sickness was the fact that, despite so many kids around and within earshot, no one was bothering to lend a hand. She looked back to the jungle gym where Janey and the Mackleberry Twins had turned around. It was clear from the quiet whispers in which they spoke and their refusal to turn their heads as Allison cried that they were deliberately ignoring the situation, choosing their own convenience over helping a fellow student. This sight of cowardice made Lisa's blood boil.
"I don't believe this! Instead of trying to help, everyone's just turning a blind eye to this! What is wrong with people!?"
It was in that moment of frustration and disappointment in her own species, however, that a thought came to Lisa.
"Wait a minute! If everyone's looking away..." She looked around to ensure this was the case and smiled to herself. "Then maybe I have a chance!"
Lisa got up and hid behind her tree, shifting her head side to side to make sure no eyes were on her. For once, her invisibility among the student body of Springfield Elementary would work to her advantage. "Ok, no one's watching and I know just what to do!" Lisa peeked out from behind the tree, watching as Francine continued to relish in Allison's suffering. "But I better make it quick!"
Lisa took a deep breath, clearing out all of her anger before she engaged her magic. Then she raised her hand and moved it around as if she were swishing an invisible glass of water. In reality, she was invoking the spirit of Air to gather in her palm. "Howling winds and storms astray, I now conjure Air to blow my troubles away!" With this, Lisa shoved her hand toward Francine, her hair blowing back as a small but fierce gust of wind suddenly erupted from her palm. It flew toward Francine and blew through her, throwing her hair over her eye and lifting her dress upward.
"Huh?"
Feeling the hem of her dress lifting up, the blushing bully let go of Allison to push it back down. As the wind died down and she struggled to get the hair out of her eyes, Allison took her chance and crawled back to her feet, fleeing as soon as she could.
"Hey!" Francine barked once she noticed her prey escaping. "Get back here!" With a angry, almost animalistic growl, Francine charged after the bookworm.
"Oh no you don't!" Lisa whispered as she pointed her hand toward the ground between Allison and Francine. "O hear me, my dear Forest King! Lend me the aid of your green offspring!"
At once, a root emerged from the ground and twisted over itself before laying back down on the grass. Francine took no notice of the root and tripped over it in her haste to capture Allison. She landed in a convenient mud puddle nearby, one that Bart was just about to jump in and roll around in.
"Hey!" He complained. "It's my turn to play Pig on the Farm!"
Bart wasn't the only one who notice Francine take a nose-dive into the mud. All eyes turned to the bully as she lifted her head up from the mud, her face completely covered. "Uh...what..." Francine coughed as a bit of mud fell into her mouth and spit it out. She started to wipe the mud away from her face, hearing a strange sound surrounding her. Once her dazed mind had recovered and she had removed the last of the mud from her face, he saw that it was a gathering of other kids, pointing and laughing at her as she sat in the puddle.
"Haw haw!" Nelson joined in. "You got humbled!"
Tearing up from the humiliation, Francine covered her eyes and ran off, certain to not show her face around the playground for at least the next few days. Behind the crowd, resting against the swing set, Allison breathed in and out, her hand on her chest. Part of her was still trying to proces what the heck just happened, as grateful as she was for it.
Lisa smiled to herself as she set her hand down and ducked behind the tree.
"I...I did it!" She thought with elation. "I defeated a bully using my newfound magical powers! I'm like the budding protagonist of a children's adventure book!" Lisa's elation ceased as she remembered all the books she had read of this exact situation happening and the repercussions that followed. "Oh no! I hope I didn't just somehow start the conflict of the next act!" Lisa then shook her head. "What am I thinking? This is real life! Not fiction! Things don't happen as neatly cut and planned as that." Suddenly, the bell rang. "Oh! That's the bell! Time for the next act...of class that is...man, that was bad."
Lisa headed for the school entrance, blissfully unaware that the next challenge of her magical journey had in fact reared its head. It came in the form of the young girl sitting on the jungle gym, the girl that had just so happened to look back as Lisa unleashed her wind spell...
Allison let out a sigh of regret as she made her way to the library. It was her favorite room in the entire school, the only place that seemed to be unaffected by the constant budget cuts and Bart Simpson's destructive pranks. She loved going in there to read, study or even just to enjoy the mandated peace and quiet.
This particular trip to the library, however, was one of sorrow, not joy.
Thanks to Francine, she would be unable to return the book she was to bring back today. In her hands was a hand-written letter of apology to the library as well as the money she would have had to pay for the late fee. She hoped it would be enough to clear her conscious to the point that she could check out books again in the near future.
She pushed the doors open and searched for an adult to hand the letter and money to. When she found none, she walked up to the main desk and placed them there.
With a sigh, she turned to leave the library. She was just about to step through the doors when she heard whispering to her right. Normally, this would be of no concern to the young bookworm as whispering was as natural in a library as bird singing was in a city park. But there was something familiar about this whispering, like she knew the voices involved. It didn't take her long to realize where she remembered them as well as why they surprised her so:
Janey Powell and the Mackleberry Twins, three girls under a self-imposed no library policy.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Allison tiptoed after the sound of the voices which led her to the edge of a bookshelf. Peeking over the bookshelf, Allison spotted the three girls in the midst of quite an unusual conversation.
"Forgive me for being blunt, Janey but I think you're going coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs!" Sherri said as she twirled her finger at her head.
"Yeah!" Terri agreed.
"Look, I know how it sounds but it's the truth!" Janey replied. "Lisa Simpson has magical powers!"
"Lisa?" Allison thought. Ever since the diorama incident, she hadn't spoken much to the girl with whom she shared many traits. Finding out that she was unpopular because of said traits didn't help matters.
"Yeah right! And our Mom's dating Radioactive Man!" Sherri replied sarcastically.
"She is!?" Terri asked in shock, prompting Sherri to facepalm.
"Guys, I'm telling you the truth!" Janey continued. "Lisa used magical powers to save that nerd Allison at recess today! She made the wind blow up Francine's dress and then tripped her into that mud puddle with a root! I saw it all!"
Allison fought the urge to gasp. "Lisa...saved me?" She thought back to recess, remembering how sudden and confusing it seemed, the wind suddenly picking up out of nowhere only to settle back down. And there was certainly no root in sight when Allison made her way back to the school as the bell rang. Of course, as smart a girl as she was, Allison felt tempted to scoff at the thought of magic. And yet, could anything else explain what happened?
So caught up in her thoughts was Allison, that she failed to notice herself leaning in for a better listen. So much, in fact, that she lost her footing and fell over with a thud, alerting Janey and the twins to her presence.
"Ah! It's Allison!" Janey pointed at the bookworm.
"Have you been spying on us!?" Sherri asked in a accusatory tone.
"You were, weren't you!?" Terri backed her sister up.
"I...uh..." Allison tried to explain herself as she got back up. As soon as she was on her feet, however, Janey grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against the wall, causing the twins to gasp. "Ow! W-What are you doing!?"
"Don't play dumb!" Janey shouted. "You were clearly sent by Lisa to spy on us, right! I bet you're her familiar, aren't you! Just like Renfield!"
"Um...Renfield helped Dracula who was a vampire, not a witch." Allison corrected, earning her another shove against the wall.
"Oh so Lisa's a vampire too?" Janey asked. "Just how many more secrets are you keeping from us? Huh? Huh?"
Sherri and Terri exchanged a look of quiet awkwardness.
"Janey, please!" Allison pleaded as she grabbed the other girl's hands. "I swear I'm not Lisa's familiar! I'm not Lisa's anything! I just happened to overhear your conversation because you guys suck at whispering! I swear!"
The tension in Janey's body decreased as she considered Allison's words. She looked to Sherri and Terri who shrugged in response. After a few moments, Janey let Allison go and backed off, allowing the bookworm to dust herself off and fix her hair. "Thank you."
"Well, since you've already eavesdropped on us, you might as well earn your keep in this conversation." Sherri said.
"Yeah, and you're just as brainy as Lisa so tell us, what do you make of all this magic nonsense?"
Allison thought for a moment as Janey crossed her arms. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, magic is just science that hasn't been thoroughly tested yet so I can't really say I believe Lisa's a witch."
"Oh come on!" Janey called out. "How do you explain Lisa saving you from a four-star beating?"
"N-Nobody saved me!" Allison rose her hands up. "It was just a lucky gust of wind and a lucky root! That's all!" In the back of her mind, Allison wanted to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there was something else at play at recess. Exactly why, she couldn't put her finger on. Childish wonder? A chance to rekindle her friendship with Lisa? The admittedly exciting possibility that maybe, just maybe, magic did exist in some way, shape and form? Nonetheless, her rational side ran supreme and thus, she continued to deny it.
"Maybe you just think you saw Lisa make the wind with her hand," Sherri suggested.
"Yeah," Terri agreed.
"I know what I saw!" Janey defended. "Lisa made the wind! Lisa made the root! Lisa's a witch!"
Sherri and Terri exchanged another awkward glance. "How would a dork like Lisa even get magical powers in the first place?" The former asked.
"Maybe she made a deal with the Devil or something!" Janey suggested. "Nerds are always doing that to be cool."
"Hey!" Allison shouted in a offended tone.
"Look, I don't care what you guys think!" Janey continued. "I know Lisa's a witch and I'll prove it!"
"How?"
"Umm..." Janey trailed off and pondered her next words for a moment. "Uhh...we'll force a confession out of her somehow! Just like they did in the old days!" Janey walked up to the books behind Sherri and Terri and started frantically searching through them. "There's gotta be a book about that somewhere!"
"I'm not so sure about this, Janey." Sherri said as she scratched the back of her head.
"Yeah," Terri agreed. "I mean if Lisa really is a witch, what's to stop her from turning us all into frogs or something?"
"Yuck!" Sherri gagged.
"That's exactly why we have to confront her now, before her power grows too powerful!" Janey replied as she continued to toss books away from the shelf, one of them clocking Allison on the head.
"Ow!"
As Allison rubbed her head, Janey's eyes fell on the exact book she was looking for. "Gotcha!" She smiled as she pulled it from the shelf and studied the cover.
101 Signs The Weirdo in your Village is a Witch read the title.
Janey turned to Allison and pointed at her. "And you're coming with us!"
"Huh? Why? I already told you I'm not Lisa's familiar!"
"That may be so but she had to have saved you for some reason!" Janey argued. "Maybe she's planning to bewitch you into turning to the dark side."
"Or planning to put a horrible curse on you." Sherri suggested.
"If she hasn't already." Terri added.
"Helping us might be the only way to save yourself!" Janey said as she walked up to Allison. "Plus, we need a nerdy kid to tell us what the bigger words mean so what do you say?" She offered the book to Allison, clearly wanting her to do the heavy reading.
Allison thought for a moment. "I'd really rather not let Lisa get hurt over some silly superstition. If nothing else, if I help them, I can at least prevent things from going south." She gulped. "I hope." She sighed and took the book from Janey. "Alright, but we handle this with gentleness and care. Remember, this is the modern age so Lisa gets to actually explain herself first. Deal?"
Janey rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Just get reading."
The girls all sat down on the floor, Janey and the twins sitting before Allison as she laid the book on her crossed legs and started to read.
Lisa jumped as the final bell of the school day rang, the book nearly falling from her hands. She clasped it between her hands in time and set it down on the table. She watched as all the other students herded out of Miss Hoover's classroom. The teacher herself was already starting up another round of her mobile game, a stack of ungraded worksheets laying on her desk.
Lisa sighed, slid the book in her backpack and threw it over her shoulders. She waved a farewell to Miss Hoover and followed the rest of the class out the door. As she walked through the hallway, her gaze shifting to the other students as they talked, emptied their lockers or shoved each other inside them, she couldn't help but feel a sinking sensation in her chest. It was as if she had done something wrong and was going to be caught and exposed as the prep any moment now. It had been this way ever since recess and while Lisa tried to assure herself these feelings were unfounded, they refused to budge so much as an inch.
"No one saw me! I made sure nobody was looking! No one saw me!" Lisa thought. "Right?"
She shook her head.
"Calm yourself, girl! You're letting your anxiety get the better of you again. There's nothing to be afraid of. I mean, this is Springfield Elementary we're talking about. If there's anything this school actually excels at, it's ignoring the brainy kids!"
She felt this feeling alleviate a little as she noticed the front door before her.
"It'll be okay, Lisa." She mentally told herself. "No one saw you! No one knows your secret! You're completely safe!"
Lisa smiled, pushed the doors open...
...and was greeted by the sight of Allison Taylor, Janey Powell and the Mackleberry Twins standing before her, arms crossed and gazes judgmental
"Hi Lisa," Janey greeted with the same tone of false friendliness she usually spoke in when teasing Lisa. "Mind if we have a little chat?"
Lisa's heart went into overdrive. Sweat coated over her face and skin and her body began to tremble. As for her mind, it relayed to itself a single but firm message.
"YOU DAMN LIAR!"
(Oh dear! It seems our little Lisa is in quite the pickle! How will she ever get out of this one? You won't have to wait too long to find out as the next sabbat, Ostara, is in March. So until then, thanks for reading, please leave a review and DO NOT place your handles in it as I will not commission you any money and have a safe and happy Imbolc! Blessed Be!)