“Nooooooooooooo! My life has ended!” This is me, Nicole. Right now I am freaking out because I just established that I am even more of a freak than usual. In high school I drop my books all the time, I can’t participate in gym for my life or someone will get hurt, I always say the most random and awkward things, and to top it all off I just so happen to be really small. Although, running I can do. My short legs can carry me far and my head is at the finish line three feet before my toes.

The freak part started this morning. Since I was at my bus stop, a brilliant blue butterfly started to follow me around. First, I was thinking wow! This is really cool. I guess I’m special or something. After third period it started to get annoying. I was looking for it all the time, trying to make sure it wasn’t squashed or trampled. By gym I was just plain irritated. Basketball, a sport that requires lots of bouncing balls, also requires me having to look out for one infuriating butterfly. When I found it, it was in my face.

It followed me around for the rest of the day. It even followed me onto the bus. Great, I guess it wants to go home too. I got to my apartment and tried to outrun it to my room. No such luck. I was really aggravated so I figured I’d read. Maybe twenty minutes or so later I started to notice something strange. Out of the corner of my eye I see the butterfly actually changing its shape! The brilliant blue wings start to flatten to squares, and then it starts to lengthen out into the shape of a stick. One that’s blue anyway. I went towards it thinking about the poor butterfly and how strange that was, when my mom burst in. She started to say things like did I miss it, and then she saw the stick and said darn. That is when she says it. “Welcome to Witch hood!”

If my life were a movie, that would be right when the sunny, blue, cloudless sky darkens and the lightning flashes. Duh duh duhhhhhhhhhh! I was thinking huh? Are you senile? I look at the stick and then I look at my mom; then I look again. My mom comes and sits next to me on the floor.

“Since I was ten years old I have had magical powers. Grammy had them too. I thought they might skip a generation so you and your sister wouldn’t feel like freaks and when you were ten I thought they had. I was wrong. Last week, your sixteenth birthday the witch republic sent a notification that it would happen today.

“What?”

“Here, think of something that you have always wanted to do.”

“I don’t know, but I still think your loco.” I said twirling my finger by my temples.

“I expected that, but um let’s see… what hair color have you always wanted?”

“Ooh, I know! Pink!”

“Okay so I want you to hold your wand to your hair.”

“Stick!”

“Okay, hold the stick to your head and I’ll tell you what to say. Most spells that you make up are rhymes. So what rhymes with pink? Oh link. So repeat after me: From link to link my hair shall be pink.” I did, and when I finished a gust of cold air came and my mom started to laugh hysterically. I went to the bathroom and there it was; solid proof. My normal flat brown hair was puffy flamingo pink! I looked like a poodle.

“Change it back!” I screamed, not needing to, for it was a fairly small apartment.

“Only you can do that.” So I started to try these so called “spells” in my head. Then I came up with one. I pointed the stick/wand at my head and shouted:

“With this frown my hair will turn brown!” The cold air comes back and I see in the mirror my hair turning from pink back to my plain brown. That’s when reality sets in and I start to scream my head off. I am a freak! After a good five minutes of a combination between screaming and crying I start to think more. If someone is mean POOF, you’re a piñata, ZAP you’re dust, or even BLASTOFF! You’re on your way to space… strapped to a rocket ship! I think I am going to like this. I go back to my room and my mom hands me a book. She said it was a witch manual or spell book. She said that spells were written down to help me out. I scanned through the book and it was literally two feet deep! Some spells required cauldrons and potions, some ingredients needed were toad skin and frog warts. I shuddered at the thought. For the next couple of days I felt really insecure. I felt like everyone knew about the wand. It was just plain scary. Everyday I would come home, my mom and I would practice. My little sister Jill was fascinated by the things we would do. I would levitate something and she’d give me an ovation, or make some potion and the whole time she’d be saying “go Nicole, go Nicole.” As if she was at a soccer game. One day I was levitating four apples trying and failing to juggle them (I could do it with three!) when Jill says:

“Mommy, is it possible for Nicole to fly a broom?” My mom hesitated.

“Well technically but…”



“What!” We exploded. “Teach us! Teach us!”

“Okay but you have to wear helmets.” Great, so we get to do something as cool as this and we have to wear dorky helmets! I decided Jill could come too, after all she thought of it. So it’s twelve o’ clock at night, me and Jill are in my room. My mom told us that only old fashioned witches used brooms. Now they use vacuums, their a lot faster! How cool is that? But what is with the cleaning tools? I guess they want really fresh air. My mother said that all I had to do was levitate the vacuum. Me and Jill get on the vacuum and from there on it was fantastic. We saw the whole city of Manhattan from a birds eye view. We even got take out! Shhhhhh! I guess I don’t need a car anymore either. At times it is scary on the broom, being so high up and all; but it’s oh so fun. I have a feeling that being a witch will be WAY better than I thought!