wstory1

"Miss Connolly Miss Connolly Miss Connolly Miss Connolly Miss Connolly Miss Connolly�"
"Colleen stop, I'm listening!" Miss Connolly demanded.
"Guess what?"
"I can't just tell me!"
"I finished, see?" I declared as I held up my drawing.
"Shade that in around there a little more." She said, and without question I walked back to my seat and started shading it in more.
I was shading when the whole room went silent, "Miss Connolly?" I said looking up. She was in her 'office' and no one else, besides me, was moving.
"Mary?" I pushed at her and she fell over, "Oops, sorry about that!" I sat in my chair again and heard moving in the 'office'. "Miss Connolly?" I shouted.
Next I heard a bunch of things crashing to the floor. I got out of my seat and walked in to find Miss Connolly picking up a mirror a big book and a long black stick.
Miss Connolly's look was that of a person who was totally surprised and confused. "Colleen?" she choked out.
"What's the matter?" I asked. "And why is everyone else but you and I not moving?"
"You're not frozen!" she proclaimed.
"Yeah we established that already but why?"
"I don't know!" she said flipping through the pages of the large book n her hands. "The book says that that spell is supposed to freeze anyone that is normal which can only mean one thing�" she trailed off.
"And that would be, enlighten me here."
"Colleen my dear you are a witch!"
"Huh? I don't understand!" I told her.
"It's quite simple, let me explain, I just performed a spell that freezes everyone who doesn't posses powers. Do you see now?" I just shook my head 'yes'. "Good"
"Hold on!" she flipped through the book and picked up the mirror and the stick which I'm guessing is a wand. She circled the mirror frame with her wand and chanted a spell.
Suddenly Miss Towle's face appeared in the mirror. "Hello" Miss Towle said. "Nice freezing spell, what's the word?"
"There are now several words for one I found out that the Basanchee is going to come in two weeks and well�" she moved the mirror in front of my face. I waved.
"Hi?" I said anxiously gazing into the mirror.
"I see," began Miss Towle, "Well that can be a problem but then again it might not be� she could help us with the basanchee but we'd have to teach her how."
"So what do you propose we do?" Miss Connolly asked the mirror.
"Well let her hang around she can help. I'll meet you there in about ten minutes? I'll call everyone else." And with that Miss Towle's face was gone and all I saw was Miss Connolly's face.
Miss Connolly turned to face me; "I'm scared." I stuttered.
"Don't be." Was all she said before returning to the book. She flipped through the pages again. "That's a basanchee." She said pointing to a picture of a large hairy monster on the same page as: 'How to turn kids into pigs' I read that title of the spell aloud then (aloud) read: 'The undo spell for turning kids into pigs'.
"What an odd book�" I declared flipping a couple of pages until I got to the potions chapter. Then (once again) read aloud: 'Truth serum' 'Pumpkin Rot' and 'Hag spell'
"Truth serum comes in quite handy. And we don't get why Pumpkin rot is in there, but hag spell is not what it sounds its actually turns you young again the number of rats tails you put in determine how many years you go back."
"Eww, rats' tails?" I sputtered.
"Hello?" I heard Miss Whall's voice from the hall, "We're all in the gym, grab the book and come on." I also heard her heels clank down the hallway.
We walked down the hallway; I was a step or two behind Miss Connolly though. We got to the gym.
"Wait here!" she instructed me. And casually walked into the gym and the doors closed with a bang behind her. I opened the stage door and walked in there to see I fi couldn't hear more.
"Shush please." Asked Miss Towle, "As you all now, because you were there that when Mrs. Reynolds left she left me in charge so listen to me. When Jennifer froze the school Colleen Kivley did not freeze so our first order of business is what do with her�" she trailed off and from then on all I heard was muffled whispers. Then finally Miss Towle said, "So everyone agrees?"
I heard a bunch of yes's from the crowd.
"I guess someone should go break the news to Colleen, Jennifer go get her please." I scrambled off the stage and down into the hall just as Miss Connolly opened the double doors.
"You're in come on." She said, which struck me as weird because and I quote Miss Towle said 'someone should go break the news to Colleen' strange I thought, but followed Miss Connolly back into the gym.
I sat down where I was instructed on red velvet benches I've never seen before. I sat between Miss Connolly and Miss Jackman. Miss Towle stood behind a podium on the stage draped with purple silk. She had the book opened she stepped down from the stage and walked all the way around to the other side of the benches, I was the only one who turned my head as she did so. But with the word 'turn' the benches did just that.
She read something from the book and sprinkled some dust into a large black pot. She knelt down a picked something from the floor by her feet and dropped it into the cauldron. Then she walked over to me and pulled one hair from the top of my head. Then motioned for me to follow her.
She dropped the hair in stirred it with a long wooden spoon. "Spit" she said.
I looked at her, "Huh?"
"Spit" she repeated and pointed to the cauldron. I raised one eyebrow shrugged and spit into the potion. She stirred it again and then she blew on the liquid and it became not liquid it like all dried out.
My mouth, I believe, gaped. I gazed into the bottom of the pot. "Pick it up." Miss Towle instructed me. I bent down and picked up� a wand from the bottom of the pot.
"Wow." Was all I could manage to say.
She picked up the book and opened it up to 'change people into animals. "Turn someone into an animal" she said. "Any volunteers? (No one moved) very well then I'll choose." She threw her wand up in the air above everyone on the seats it spun around several times and then zoomed down and hovered above Miss Jackman.
"Miss Jackman?" I stifled a laugh. "I get to- I mean have to turn Miss Jackman into an animal?"
"Yes" was Miss Towle's response to that.
"Sweet" I whispered to myself. Reluctantly she stood up and came over to stand by Miss Towle.
"Read it and follow the procedure." She told me the book was suspended in mid-air. I read:
Sprinkle magic dust over them and chant, 'Lantino damineranto' then wave your wand over them and close your eyes and envision
The animal you wish to turn them into
And I did just that. When I opened my eyes instead of Miss Jackman I saw a brown horse.
"Sweet." I whispered to myself again.
"Turn her back now." Said Miss Towle.
"Aw must I?" I complained. And Miss Jackman, or the horse, shook her head yes.
"Very well then." Then Miss Towle flipped to the next page, which was the reverse spell. So I read it and tried it, and when I opened my eyes she was still a horse. "Sorry."
Miss Jackman stomped her hoof over and over and whinnied and carried on. "Chill." I said, and tried the spell again. This time it worked and she was a person again.
Then Miss Towle flipped the book to a page with a large variety of spells and pointed to: 'Making dolls'
"Making dolls?" I said, "That sounds stupid."
"It just makes a doll of the person it like a pre-made voodoo doll, only we don't usually make voodoo dolls it's a useful skill have anyway."
So I read:
Throw magic powder into a cauldron full of water an onion peeling two rats tails, a worm, and three hairs from the head of the person the doll is to resemble
I, instead of taking some one else's hairs pulled three from my own head threw it into the cauldron with the rest of the ingredients. Miss Towle handed me the large wooden spoon. I stirred it and then blew on it as the directions said and at the bottom was a doll that truly looks like me.
"Wow." Was all that I said.
"Now try one of someone else." Miss Towle told me.
I leaned over to her and whispered, "I don't wan to pull out someone's hair!"
"For heavens sake." She sounded exasperated and pulled out three of her own and tossed it into the mix. I stirred it and then blew on it exactly like last time and pulled out a doll of Miss Towle.
"Can I be right back? I wan to get a couple of Nicki's hairs." I squeaked.
"None of that, now try one of Miss Connolly just to see if you have this down and this time you can't look at the book." Miss Towle walked over to Miss Connolly. Miss Connolly pulled out three hairs and handed them to Miss Towle who then brought them to me. I tossed them in and stirred then blew on it. But the doll I pulled from the bottom didn't look like Miss Connolly. I looked at the book to make sure I got it right.
As far as I can tell I did, I saw no flaw. Miss Towle crooked a finger and the book flew into her hands.
"Just as I thought, hmm throw this in and stir it again." She told me. What she wanted me to throw in was a dead bird. "Go on take it."
"I'm not touching that." I whispered to my math teacher, so exasperated she tossed it in.
"Stir." And I did just that. Then I blew on it and then the liquid swirled and rose out of the pot and spun for a while then came down on Miss Towle's mine and everyone else's head.
"We have some work ahead of us." Proclaimed a drenched Miss Towle, and blew through the gym and dried everything.
"So can I keep the doll?" I asked holding the doll of Miss Towle. She rolled her eyes.
"MaryBeth how long do we have before the freezing spell wares off?" Miss Towle asked.
Miss Ball glanced at her watch. "50 seconds." She said in a panicked voice. Miss Towle was panicking to because she waved her wand and made the benches disappear underneath the teachers. They all fell and quickly got to their feet Miss Towle made the cauldron disappear. I was still holding the two dolls when Miss Connolly grabbed my wrist and we took off very quickly for the art room.
I sat Mary upright as quickly as possible and� My picture was gone. The spell wore off then.
"Where's your paper?" Mary inquired.
"It ran away." Was all I managed to say and then shoved the two dolls in my binder, without being seen.
From then on everyday the teachers mostly Miss Towle and Miss Connolly taught me how to do things. Pretty soon I knew how to do everything from turn people into frogs to making truth serum without the book.
Then at last the day came that the basanchee showed up came. We did an extra powerful freezing spell(all of us together). Then we went to wait on the grounds. I was on the bar thing hanging upside down when:
"Get your wands ready." Yelled Miss Towle. It happened so abruptly I fell from my perch, picked up my wand and got ready. Then 'it' came, the thing was so tiny it made me laugh. "
That's the dreaded basanchee?" I laughed. "It's so small." And indeed it was only about 3 feet tall. It held up an arm and a bright gold light came out sending me flying into the side of the building.
"I'll shut-up now." I said as I got to my feet. I saw that Mrs. Whall was sending a blue light from her wand and the collided and something blew up. It knocked over all the witches. I stood up and the basanchee walked toward me. I hit it with a purple beam of light from my wand and knocked him over. Then he hit me with another gold beam and once again I hit the wall. The Miss Connolly hit him with yellow light in the back.
He turned and sent bright green light at Miss Connolly and she didn't move. I was getting worried, Mrs. Pipitone Miss Towle and Mrs. Whall were just regaining consciousness and Miss Ball and Miss Jackman rushed over from the other side of the playground.
I picked up a rock from the ground and hit him hard in the back of the head, which thankfully made him release Miss Connolly. She fell to the sand. The basanchee turned to me and sent the same bright green light at me.
It was not a cool feeling, let me tell you. You don't have power over any of your body. You seem to be drained of thoughts in your head. All of a sudden it stopped I fell to the ground and opened my eyes just in time to see everyone except Miss Connolly sending light at the basanchee (it was a rainbow of all different colors, beautiful actually).
"Is she O.K.?"
"Wait she's coming to."
Are you O.k." I heard all of those comments but couldn't decipher who said what so I just said.
"Yes"
Then Miss Connolly came over and said,"Miss Jackman told me what you did and that took guts." She started, "Thank you."
"Hey I had a good teacher." I smiled.
"Colleen," began Miss Towle, "You're a good witch, you caught on faster than any one I've ever seen and it's a good thing too we never could have done it without you."
"Uh-oh, get back to class, one minute and 12 seconds 'til it wares off!" Shouted Miss Jackman. We all scattered and I returned to my seat in social studies and heard Miss Pipitone running up the hall and Miss Ball running to the English room.