Read Online Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky - Free Book Online Page A

class.”
    “I’m worried about leaving Neko.”
    “You went to the library all day today. You came over here. What could he get into tomorrow that he couldn’t do today?” I shook my head, still looking for a way out. “Come on,” she urged. “Rock, paper, scissors?”
    We’d settled disputes with the game since we were in elementary school. “All right,” I said, reluctantly. We counted together, touching our right fists to our left palms. “One. Two. Three.” I went for rock, but she chose paper.
    “Paper covers rock,” she said, laughing. “Yoga it is.”
    “Best two out of three!”
    “Don’t be a bad sport. I’ll meet you at the studio tomorrow.”
    I gathered up my purse and followed Melissa to Cake Walk’s back door. “I should have gone for scissors.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Don’t be late.”
    I stepped into the alley, but then I turned back to look at her. She was framed in the doorway, her overalls dusted with flour and her hair ruffled from a full day’s work. “Do you think I’m crazy?” I asked. “About this whole witch thing?”
    She shook her head, and her smile was the same one I’d known since third grade. “You might be crazy, but this ‘witch thing’ doesn’t prove it. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but we’ll figure it out. You might want to pick up some more tuna on the way home, though. Spare Stupid Fish for another day.”
    It was strange, I know. I should have been panicked about having Neko in the house—I mean, it’s not every day that a girl conjures up a half man, half cat with a better fashion sense than she can ever dream of having.
    But Neko just wasn’t frightening. I should have been worried about his magical powers, about what he could do to me, to the house, to all of Georgetown and the world, but I couldn’t be. Not when he got so aghast at the notion of my reusing a tea bag. Not when he was horrified that I would wear flats with an above-the-knee dress. Not when he had actually hissed in dismay at my Peabridge costume.
    Strange things were happening, but they weren’t frightening. Not terrifying, anyway. And besides, I was never going to work another spell, so none of it really mattered. Only a fool would play with magic, I had told myself all afternoon. Only a naive idiot.
    “No more magic,” I said to myself as I walked down the cobble-stoned Georgetown street.
    If only I had listened to those words of witch-free wisdom.

6
     
    I sat across from Gran and waited for her to finish pouring me a steaming cup of tea. I’d skipped out on the library for the afternoon, telling Evelyn that I needed to return Gran’s car to her after moving in. I just hadn’t mentioned that I was handing off the keys in the middle of the Four Seasons lounge.
    It wasn’t my fault. Gran had suggested that we meet for an afternoon snack, her treat. I couldn’t very well refuse—the woman was my only living relative. Besides, I’d heard great things about the hotel’s precious sandwiches and delectable sweets; I wasn’t going to pass those up. After Gran had invited me, I’d taken a moment to phone Melissa, offering to do some advance work for Cake Walk. Who knew—maybe the Four Seasons served some treasure that Melissa just needed to perfect and make her own, with a jazzy name and a reasonable price. I was willing to take a hit for the team.
    So far, my little afternoon escapade had not been disappointing. Our waiter had presented us with a compartmentalized box filled with glass-stoppered bottles of tea leaves. Gran and I had inhaled our way through the choices, from pear oolong to lavender Earl Grey to apricot pekoe. I had finally chosen the oolong, reveling in the dark amber brew that now perfumed the air like some rare elixir. Gran offered me sugar, which I declined, but I accepted a drop of cream.
    Okay. So I’d lied to Neko on the night of his transformation. I did like cream in my tea. But just a bit, and I never kept the stuff in the house. I