“Sorry I bothered you,” I called. “Bye.” I turned my bike around and started pedaling rapidly toward home.
I was embarrassed that I’d said such a stupid thing to a total stranger. But mainly I was disappointed.
I really had expected the strange woman to be there.
Where else could she be? I asked myself.
I remembered that I had shown her the way to Madison Road. Maybe, I decided, I will get lucky and run into her there.
It was a real long shot. But I was desperate.
I turned my bike around and made my way to Madison. The wind had picked up, and my face began to feel cold and raw. I was riding against the wind, and the sharp cold was making my eyes water.
Even through the blur, I could see that the woman was not hanging around on Madison, waiting for me to show up.
Two mangy brown mutts trotted side by side across the street, their heads bowed against the wind. They were the only living creatures I saw.
I rode slowly back and forth a few times, my eyes searching the rambling old houses of the neighborhood.
A total waste of time.
I was completely frozen. My ears and nose tingled with numbness. My watering eyes sent cold tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Give up, Sam,” I instructed myself aloud.
The sky darkened. The storm clouds hovered low above the shivering trees.
Feeling miserable and defeated, I turned and headed for home. I was pedaling furiously down the center of the street, trying to keep my bike upright in the gusting wind.
I stopped when Judith’s house came into view. It was a long, low, redwood ranch-style house, set back from the street on a wide, sloping front lawn.
Maybe I’ll stop for a minute and see how Judith is doing, I decided.
It’ll give me a chance to get warm, too, I thought. I reached up a hand and felt my nose. Totally numb.
Shivering, I rode up the driveway and lowered my bike to the ground. Then, trying to rub some feeling into my poor nose, I jogged up the walk and rang the bell.
Mrs. Bellwood seemed very surprised to see a visitor. I told her who I was and that I just happened to be riding by. “How is Judith feeling?” I asked, shivering.
“About the same,” she replied with a worried sigh. She had Judith’s green eyes, but her hair was nearly entirely gray.
She led me into the hallway, which felt toasty and warm. The house smelled of roasting chicken. I suddenly realized I was hungry.
“Judith! You have a visitor!” Mrs. Bellwood shouted up the stairs.
I heard a weak reply, but couldn’t make out the words.
“Go on up,” Judith’s mother said, putting a hand on the shoulder of my coat. “You look so cold,” she added, shaking her head. “Be careful, dear. You don’t want to get sick, too.”
I climbed the stairs and found Judith’s room at the end of the hall. I hesitated at the doorway and peered in.
The room was dimly lit. I could see Judith lying in bed, on top of the quilt, her head propped up on several pillows. Books and magazines and a couple of school notebooks were scattered over the bed. But Judith wasn’t reading. She was just staring straight ahead.
“Stork?” she cried, seeing me in the doorway.
I entered the room, forcing a smile to my face. “How are you feeling?” I asked softly.
“What are you doing here?” she asked coldly. Her voice was hoarse.
“I—I was riding my bike, and—” I stammered, staying by the door. I was startled by her anger.
“Riding your bike? In this cold?” With great effort, she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Leaning against the headboard, she glared at me suspiciously.
“I just wondered how you were,” I muttered.
“Why don’t you just fly away, Byrd!” she growled nastily.
“Huh?”
“You are a witch—aren’t you!” she accused.
I couldn’t believe she was saying these things. I was stunned. Shocked! It was no joke. I could see clearly that she was serious!
“You did cast a spell on us. I know it!”
“Judith—please,” I cried. “What are you saying?”
“We did a unit on witches in social studies last year,” she said in her hoarse voice. “We studied spells and things.”
“That’s crazy!” I insisted.
“You were jealous of me, Sam. Of me and Anna and everyone else,” Judith accused.
“So?” I cried angrily.
“So, all of a sudden all the girls on the team feel weak and sick. Except for you, Sam. You feel fine—right?”
“Judith, listen to me—” I pleaded.
“You’re a witch, Sam!” she screamed, her weak voice breaking. She started to cough.
“Judith, you’re talking like a crazy person,” I insisted. “I’m not a witch. How could I be a witch? I’m sorry you’re sick. Really, I am. But—”
“You’re a witch! You’re a witch!” Judith chanted, her voice a shrill whisper. “I’ve talked to all the girls. They all agree. You’re a witch. A witch!”
I was so furious, I thought I’d explode. I had my hands balled into tight fists. My head was throbbing.
Judith had been talking to all the other girls, spreading this story that I was a witch. How could she do such a crazy thing?
“A witch! You’re a witch!” she continued to chant.
I was so upset, I totally lost it. “Judith—” I shrieked. “I never would have done it to you if you hadn’t been so horrible to me!”
I realized immediately that I’d made a terrible mistake.
I had just admitted to her that I was responsible for her being sick.
I had just blurted out that I was a witch!
But I was so furious, I didn’t care.
“I knew it!” Judith croaked in her hoarse voice, her green eyes glowing excitedly, pointing an accusing finger at me.
“What’s going on here? What’s all the shouting?” Judith’s mother appeared in the room, her eyes flashing back and forth between Judith and me.
“She’s a witch! A witch!” Judith screamed.
“Judith—your voice! Stop!” Mrs. Bellwood cried, running to the bed. She turned back to me. “I think Judith is delirious. She—she’s saying such crazy things. Please don’t pay attention. She—”
“She’s a witch! She admitted it! She’s a witch!” Judith shrieked.
“Judith—please. Please, you have to calm down. You have to save your strength,” Mrs. Bellwood pleaded.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go now,” I said sharply.
I darted out of the room, ran down the stairs, and out of the house as fast as I could.
“A witch! A witch!” Judith’s hoarse chant followed me out.
I was so angry, so hurt, so humiliated, I felt about to explode. “I wish Judith would disappear!” I screamed. “I really do!”
“Very well. That shall be your second wish,” said a voice behind me.
I spun around to see the strange woman standing at the side of the house, her long, black hair fluttering behind her in the gusting wind. She held the glowing red ball high. Her eyes glowed as red as the ball.
“I shall cancel your first wish,” she said in her shaky, old lady’s voice. “And I shall grant your second.”
17
“No—wait!” I cried.
The woman smiled and pulled her shawl over her head.
“Wait! I didn’t mean it!” I cried, running toward her. “I didn’t know you were there. Wait—OW!”
My foot caught on a loose stone in the walk, and I stumbled. I hit my knees hard. The pain shot up through my entire body.
When I looked up, she was gone.
After dinner, Ron agreed to play basketball out back. But it was too cold and windy. A light snow had started to fall.
We settled for Ping-Pong in the basement.
Ping-Pong games in our basement are always difficult. For one thing, the ceiling is so low, the ball
is always hitting it and bouncing crazily away. Also, Punkin has a bad habit of chasing after the ball and biting holes in it.
Ping-Pong is the only sport I’m good at. I have a really tricky serve, and I’m good at slamming the ball down my opponent’s throat. I can usually beat Ron two games out of three.
But tonight he could see my heart wasn’t in it.
“What’s up?” he asked as we batted the ball softly back and forth. His dark eyes peered into mine from behind his black-framed glasses.
I decided I had to tell him about Clarissa, and her red crystal ball, and the three wishes. I was so desperate to tell someone.
“I helped this strange woman a few days ago,” I blurted out. “And she granted me three wishes. I made a wish, and now all the girls on my basketball team are going to die!”
Ron dropped his paddle onto the table. His mouth dropped open. “What an amazing coincidence!” he cried.
“Huh?” I gaped at him.
“I met my fairy godmother yesterday!” Ron exclaimed. “She promised to make me the richest person in the world, and she’s going to give me a solid gold Mercedes with a swimming pool in the back!”
He burst out laughing. He just thinks he’s such a riot.
“Aaaaagh!” I let out an angry, frustrated groan.
Then I tossed my paddle at him and ran upstairs to my room.
I slammed the bedroom door behind me and began to pace back and forth, my arms crossed tightly in front of me.
I kept telling myself that I had to calm down, that it wasn’t good to be this stressed out. But of course, telling yourself to calm down doesn’t do any good. It only makes you more tense.
I decided I had to do something to occupy my mind, to keep myself from thinking about Judith, and Clarissa, and the new wish I had accidentally made.
My second wish.
“It’s not fair!” I cried aloud, still pacing.
After all, I didn’t know I was making a second wish. That woman tricked me! She appeared out of nowhere—and tricked me!
I stopped in front of my mirror and fiddled with my hair. I have very fine, light blonde hair. It’s so fine, there isn’t much I can do with it. I usually tie it in a ponytail on the right side of my head. It’s a style I saw on a model that looked a little like me in Seventeen.
Just to keep my hands busy, I tried doing something else with my hair. Studying myself in the mirror, I tried sweeping it straight back. Then I tried parting it in the middle and letting it fall over my ears. It looked really lame.
The activity wasn’t helping. It wasn’t taking my mind off Judith at all. I pulled it back into the same old ponytail. Then I brushed it for a while, tossed down the brush with a sigh, and returned to pacing.
My big question, of course, was: Had my wish come true?
Had I caused Judith to disappear?
As much as I hated Judith, I certainly didn’t want to be responsible for making her disappear forever.
With a loud moan, I tossed myself down on my bed. What should I do? I asked myself. I had to know if the wish had come true.
I decided to call her house.
I wouldn’t talk to her. I’d just call her house and see if she was still around.
I wouldn’t even tell them who was calling.
I looked up Judith’s number in the school directory. I didn’t know it by heart. I had only called it once before.
My hand was shaking as I reached for the phone on my desk. I punched in her phone number.
It took me three tries. I kept making mistakes.
I was really scared. I felt as if my stomach were tied in a knot and my heart had jumped up into my throat.
The phone rang. One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Had she disappeared?
18
Four rings.
No answer.
“She’s gone,” I murmured aloud, a chill running down my back.
Before the fifth ring could begin, I heard a clicking sound. Someone had picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
Judith!
“Hello? Who is this?” she demanded.
I slammed the receiver down.
My heart was pounding. My hands were ice-cold.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Judith was there. She was definitely there. She hadn’t vanished from the face of the earth.
And, I realized her voice had returned to normal.
She didn’t sound hoarse or weak. She sounded as nasty as ever.
What did this mean? I jumped to my feet and began to pace back and forth, trying to figure it all out.
Of course, I couldn’t figure it out.
I only knew that the second wish hadn’t been granted.
Feeling a little relieved, I went to bed and quickly fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
I opened one eye, then the other. Pale morning sunlight was shining through my bedroom window. With a sleepy groan, I pushed down the covers and started to sit up.
My eye went to the clock above my desk and I gasped.
Nearly ten after eight?
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Yes. Ten after eight.
“Huh?” I cried, trying to clear the sleep from my voice. Mom wakes me every morning at seven so I can get to school by eight-thirty.
What happened?
There was no way I’d be on time now.
“Hey—Mom!” I shouted. “Mom!” I jumped out of bed. My long legs got tangled up in the covers, and I nearly fell over.
Great way to start the day—with a typical Samantha klutz move!
“Hey, Mom—” I shouted out the bedroom door. “What happened? I’m late!”
Not hearing a reply, I pulled off my nightshirt and quickly searched through the closet for some clean clothes to wear. Today was Friday, laundry day. So I was down to the bottom of the pile.
“Hey, Mom? Ron? Anybody up?”
Dad leaves the house for work every morning at seven. Usually I hear him moving around. This morning I hadn’t heard a sound.
I pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a pale green sweater. Then I brushed my hair, staring at my still-sleepy face in the mirror.
“Anybody up?” I shouted. “How come no one woke me today? It’s not a holiday—is it?”
I listened carefully as I tugged on my Doc Martens.
No radio on down in the kitchen. How weird, I thought. Mom has that radio tuned to the all-news station every morning. We fight about it every morning. She wants news, and I want music.
But today I couldn’t hear a sound down there.
What’s going on?
“Hey—I’m going to have to skip breakfast!” I shouted down the stairs. “I’m late.”
No reply.
I took one last look in the mirror, brushed a strand of hair off my forehead, and hurried out into the hall.
My brother’s room is next door to mine. His door was closed.
Uh-oh, Ron, I thought. Did you sleep late, too?
I pounded on the door. “Ron? Ron, are you awake?”
Silence.
“Ron?” I pushed open the door. His room was dark, except for the pale light from the window. The bed was made.
Had Ron already left? Why had he made his bed? It would be the first time in his life he ever did!
“Hey, Mom!” Confused, I hurried down the stairs. Halfway down, I stumbled and nearly fell. Klutz Move Number Two. Pretty good for so early in the morning.
“What’s going on down here? Is it the weekend? Did I sleep through Friday?”
The kitchen was empty. No Mom. No Ron. No breakfast.
Did they have to go somewhere early? I checked the refrigerator for a note.
Nothing.
Puzzled, I glanced at the clock. Nearly eight-thirty. I was already late for school.
Why didn’t anyone wake me up? Why were they all gone so early in the morning?
I pinched myself. I really did. I thought maybe I was dreaming.
But no such luck.
“Hey—anyone?” I called. My voice rang through the empty house.
I ran to the front closet to get my coat. I had to get to school. I was sure this mystery would be cleared up later.
I quickly pulled on my coat and ran upstairs for my backpack. My stomach was grumbling and growling. I was used to at least a glass of juice and a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
Oh, well, I thought, I’ll buy an extra big lunch.
A few seconds later, I headed out the front door and around to the side to the garage to get my bike. I pulled up the garage door—and stopped.
I froze, staring into the garage.
My dad’s car. It was still in the garage.
He hadn’t left for work.
So where was everyone?
19
Back in my house I phoned my dad’s office. The phone rang and rang, and no one answered.
I checked the kitchen again for a message from Mom or Dad. But I couldn’t find a thing.
Glancing at the kitchen clock, I saw that I was already twenty minutes late for school. I needed a late excuse note, but there was no one to write it for me.
I hurried back outside to get my bike. Better late than never, I thought. I wasn’t exactly frightened. I was just puzzled.
I’ll call Mom or Dad at lunchtime and find out where everyone went this morning, I told myself. As I pedaled to school, I began to feel a little angry. They could’ve at least told me they were leaving early!
There were no cars on the street, and no kids on bikes. I guessed that everyone was already at school or work or wherever people go in the morning. I got to school in record time.
Leaving my bike in the bike rack, I adjusted my backpack on my shoulders and ran into the school. The halls were dark and empty. My footsteps echoed loudly on the hard floor.
I dropped my coat into my locker. When I slammed the locker door, it sounded like an explosion in the empty hallway.
The halls are kind of creepy when they’re this empty, I thought. I jogged to my classroom, which was just a few doors down from my locker.
“My mom forgot to wake me, so I overslept.”
That was the excuse I’d planned to give Sharon as soon as I entered. I mean, it wasn’t just an excuse. It was the truth.