wstory6

"What are we talking about?" I asked as I sat down next to Miss Ball.
"The all-state witch-off," Miss Towle explained. "They come around once a year and this year if we except we'll be the host."
"We haven't been host since that Salem witch turned herself into a mermaid and couldn't think of the undo spell." Mrs. Pipitone added when she was handed the flyer. Then she passed it to Miss Jackman
"Have you won in the past years?" she asked as she examined the flyer and passed it back to Miss Towle.
"Yes we won two times out of s1x." Mrs. Whall said.
"Uh-oh," Miss Towle began "I just thought of something, we usually enter as a team�"
"What's your point?" Miss Connolly inquired.
"We can only have teams of six look!" Miss Towle pointed to the small print at the bottom.
"We could enter in pairs." Miss Ball implied.
"Out of seven, that doesn't work." Miss Towle told her.
But I wasn't really listening anymore I had an idea. "Mrs. Whall can I look at a book in the library?" she shrugged half-heartedly So away I rushed to the library.
I pushed the button and the three bookcases arose from the floor. I picked up a book that fell, and before putting it back I glanced at the title 'NH state witch-off through the years.' I opened to the table of contents. I scanned the page and my eyes rested on 'Fremont victory '98 and '99 page 47' I flipped to there and saw pictures of all the witches (except Miss Ball and including Mrs. Reynolds)
I saw pictures of Miss Towle smiling at the camera and there was a picture of Miss Connolly, but she wasn't looking at the camera, she had a bit of a smirk on her face. Mrs. Whall had her face buried in a book, in the picture next to Miss Jackman. Who was laughing extremely hard with Mrs. Pipitone.
Then I read:
Excellent the Fremont witches put in a good year and this time they won. They used the trick to swirl out the floor and trap several judges underneath, they then turned them into four-foot butterflies and they emerged in vibrant colors. Yes they really out did themselves this year
Then I skipped ahead to a paragraph on the other side right above Mrs. Reynolds and Miss Towle:
The Fremont witches get another victory second year in a row bravo ladies. This year they had help from a little girl although they never seemed to acknowledge her presence we got a little bit of her in the picture (below)
I looked down and sure enough there was a small girl in between Miss Towle and Mrs. Reynolds. I looked closer and realized I saw someone like that before but couldn't put my finger on whom.
I went to go find Miss Towle whom I found brewing something in her pot in the math room. "Miss Towle." I called She jumped and accidentally sent her spoon thing flying. It hit the board and erased most of the eighth grade agenda. "Sorry." I apologized.
"It's O.K. that happens a lot so what's on your mind?" she asked me climbing down from her perch on top of several desks.
"I found this book, and it said that your last victory you had help from a little girl," Miss Towle was pondering, I could tell.
"Yes after the intermission a little girl came to help us none of us knew who she was, but come to think of it Miss Connolly didn't seem to happy too see her, why don't you ask her if she knows anything." Miss Towle suggested.
I waved and I walked down to the art room where Miss Connolly was stirring her pot, as usual. Before she noticed me I overheard
"She better not show up this year, please say she won't come out again, no no not again."
"Miss Connolly?" she too was startled and this time when she jumped she got her shirt caught on a cabinet. "Oops sorry."
"Colleen." She said in a startled voice reaching for the pot and unable to reach it she ripped her shirt. I glanced into the pot and saw that little girl again. Miss Connolly as fast as she could hit the image with the spoon, it vanished. The image vanished but I got hit in the face with about a gallon of water.
"Gee, sorry." She apologized. Then just walked away.
"Wait I want to ask you a few questions." I told her, but she didn't stop so I followed her into the 'office' "Who was that girl? I saw her in the state witch-off book, and in your pot."
She sat down and buried her face in her hands, "That was my inner child, it's only come out once but Oh I don't know call it woman's intuition but I can tell she'll pick this witch-off to come out." At that point I think she began to cry. "And it hurts too, she comes out of my mouth and ow, I don't even want to think about it. But when she comes out, I can't have any fun, she is the part of me that enables me too have fun, and."
It was about then, that I got the hint I should leave Miss Connolly alone.
"Mrs. Whall?" I said and she jumped, she was on the opposite side of a bookcase with a tall stack of books in her hands, which quickly toppled over. "Sorry."
"That's O.K. what can I do for you Colleen?" she asked as she picked up the book 'Salem Witch Accusations'.
"Well I was wondering if you have a book on inner children."
"You still are a child." She told me.
"I'm aware of that and I want to read up on it you know, study." I said to her. Study was the key word, and from the other side of the bookcase pointed toward the last bookcase and said
"Third book from the left fourth shelf down." And went back about her business picking up and organizing her books. I picked it out right away.
"Thanks bye." I shouted as I ran out the door, and down to go find Miss Jackman.
I saw her searching through a cabinet, "Miss Jackman?" I called. She then picked her head up fast banging it into the top shelf. Causing two viles to crash to the floor and a rat without a tail scurried away. "Oops dreadfully sorry."
"What's up?" She asked as she put the rat back in it's cage, and shoved it into the cupboard.
"Last time you guys won the tournament, well what I mean to say is well, what did the little girl do?"
"What little girl? Oh you mean Jennifer that sweet little girl, well she come to think of it I really don't remember what she did to help but I vaguely remember her fighting with Miss Connolly just before she disappeared. Well if you want to know more perhaps you should go talk to Mrs. Pipitone." She told me so I walked down to the sixth grade classroom.
"Mrs. Pipitone." I shouted through the doorway. I didn't actually see her but I know she jumped. I heard a few books clash to the floor and a desk dropped down too.
"Yes, Colleen." She asked standing up.
"Well I was wondering what you knew about that little girl who helped you with your last victory, I mean what did she do to help?"
Mrs. Pipitone thought then said, "Miss Connolly got the spell wrong and turned Miss Towle into a walrus and the little girl covered it up and made it look like we meant to do that. And then when I accidentally dropped the rats tails into the brew and it blew up she turned Miss Connolly into a lion made it look like special effects. Why?"
"Just curious, but I have to go�" I looked at the book in my hand, "Study." and off I went to somewhere I could read without startling or upsetting some one. Or having people read over my shoulder.
I ran to the girls' bathroom down at our end and locked the door. I opened the table of contents and looked for� ah� 'How to control your inner child�page 324' so I flipped through the pages and read:
There is really no way to control your inner child. The only way to know if it's going to come out is if you really truly don't want it to, then it's a sure thing it will.
I flipped a few more pages and read:
The inner child comes out through the mouth. When this occurs it is impossible for the host to have any fun, because the inner child controls your fun
Then wind blew all through the bathroom and I dropped the book the pages flipped and my hair flew. Then when the wind stopped I picked up the book and read the last page:
The inner child will try it's best, and by any means necessary to kill the host. When this is accomplished then it will destroy six friends closest to them at time of demise.
Then I picked up the book and ran to Miss Connolly. I opened the door and saw chairs flying around the room and all the tables stacked one on top of the other.
Miss Connolly was sitting on the floor, twirling one finger keeping the chairs moving. The other hand was over her red tear-stained face. She was quietly crying and small tears trickled off her face.
She noticed me and gently made the chairs go in between the stacked up tables. "You O.K.?" I asked and she just whimpered and then I realized that wasn't the best question in the world. "Sit down. (I levitated two stools down to the floor) we'll find a way to get over this problem, don't you worry, I've saved the day before and I can do it again, come on lets have a smile."
She looked at me and forced a smile that wasn't very cheerful. "That's a start." Then noticed a mirror on the counter next to the sink.
I picked it up and called Miss Towle and said that we needed to see her right away and to bring the others. And in about two minutes we and assembled all the witches. I explained while Miss Connolly whimpered and whined, trying not to cry.
"I have an idea." I said after, "But I'm not sure it'll work, when, not if, her inner child comes out then gets loose we can fake Miss Connolly's death, and all of us except one then, the other witches could surprise her and put her back in."
They all looked skeptical, "And if this doesn't work Miss Connolly and all of us will die, do you really think it'll work?" Miss Ball asked.
"Well MaryBeth is right, it's not a very fool proof plan and it's not guaranteed to work." Said Mrs. Whall
"Well I think it's a good idea." Chimed Miss Jackman.
"Well I'm inclined to agree with Dee, Shellie." Mrs. Pipitone told her. Then as if a chain reaction we all looked at Miss Towle who was deeply thinking.
"I think it'll work lets go with it." She said and Miss Jackman
High-fived me. Then we heard a loud booming voice,
"We're just waiting for the Fremont team to come out of hiding," and he chuckled, "Here witchie witchie." I rolled my eyes and followed the rest of the witches out into the playing area.
We sat there through, Hancock, Epping, Salem, and Lincoln, which were the only towns left after the elimination rounds.
"The Lincoln witches, weren't they great folks? Now all we have left is those lovely Fremont witches, but we'll take a short intermission." It was just about then that Miss Connolly put her hand over her mouth, made funny kind of stifled burping noises and looked like she was going to throw up.
She ran to the bathroom, and in about five minutes came out flushed and pale and said, "It's out."
"Where?" Demanded Miss Towle.
"It ran off toward the library." And then Miss Towle took my hand and we darted down the hall
"Listen do you hear that?" Miss Towle asked me. And indeed when I listened I hear 'row row row your boat' being sung in a soft voice. I peeked over Mrs. Whall's desk and there sat a little girl looking down at her shoes, then it looked up and it's eyes glowed with a vibrant red colour.
"Lets get back to Miss Connolly," I shouted as I was in the library doorway. Miss Towle's footsteps echoed down the hall behind me.
"Make her look dead, then�" Miss Towle began
"She already looks dead." Miss Ball told her.
"� Dee and Susan you two pretend to have a fight and make yourselves look dead and Shellie and MaryBeth figure something out just look dead." Then Miss Towle took me aside
"Do you think you can do this by yourself, or at least distract her long enough?" she asked, I nodded eagerly. "O.K�. Oh and one thing, don't mess up, please." Then she went off and I walked back to the library she was gone.
I walked down the corridor going, "Someone please help me, every one else is dead." Then the wind started up in like a whirlpool, and I heard childish giggling. It lifted me up into the air.
I was spinning and screaming, "Stop you're making me sick!" Then It stopped and I fell on my back to the floor. Then the little girl appeared out of Ms. Sullivan's classroom giggling.
She circled around me twice then walked straight up to me and kicked me in the shin. "Hey" I shouted, as I clutched my leg. Then it came over to me again and I kicked it hard in the stomach. I stumbled backwards. She came back up to me and I punched it hard in the face.
She walked up to me and grabbed my neck, I fell to my knees making gagging noises, as she laughed. Then she stopped and took off down the hallway.
"Come back here you little weasel." I called as I took off after her, then I got to where the art room is and tried to stop. I slid about 1 inch away from sliding into the gaping whole in the corridor.

"Good work you, got her in a whole but how do we get her back into Miss Connolly?" I demanded, then picked up the book from the art room doorway and found in the table of contents 'what to do if your inner child comes out' I quickly flipped to the page and it said:
If on the off chance your inner child comes out, then you should panic, there is no known way to get you inner child back in.
But Miss Connolly got her inner child back in before, I decided to go ask her how.
"Miss Connolly?" I asked, "Do you remember how you got your inner child back in before?"
Her face was tear-stained still and her breath came in gasps for air. She looked at me and tried to speak but couldn't bring herself to it.
"Ha ha I knew it she nor anyone else was dead." Screamed the little Miss Connolly.
"Very bad girl Jennifer go to your room." I told her. She stomped her feet.
"Stop playing games with me, one of us is going to die and it won't be me I assure you." She lunged at me, I moved out of the way but she didn't stumble.
Again she grabbed for my neck, but this time I pushed her away. She stumbled into Miss Connolly and there was a flash of light. I covered my eyes and turned away. Then looked back and there was Miss Connolly, alive and well.
I helped her to her feet, she shook her head and held her forehead. "What happened, how did you�" she asked.
"Well actually it's quite simple, Jennifer, You as in yourself combined with your inner child to create the one whole person again." Mrs. Pipitone said to her.
"Oh." Was all she said.
"Congratulations, Fremont the judges agree you're the winners." Boomed the loud speaker.
"Huh?" The witch-off I plum forgot about the witch-off. "We won?"
Then once again came the voice, "Yes the Fremont witches just performed something no book has recorded ever, combining a host with an inner child and not to mention saved their lives."
"Oh." I turned to Miss Jackman, then away again. Then a witch came over with a large medal, she put it around my neck and it very nearly made me drop to my knees, it was heavy.
Someone was taking pictures and then another witch handed Miss Towle an odd-shaped trophy, I turned and smiled at a camera.