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trying to convince Marc and Lance to go out with me was sweet. You knew how much I liked them, and you went out of your way to help me. I’m sorry I got angry. That was wrong. I should have appreciated what you were trying to do.” Hopefully she’d remember that statement when I reversed the spell. “You’re the best friend ever,” she went on. “How lucky am I?”
    Lucky? Not very.
    â€œNow just relax,” I told her. “I’m going to use my powers on you. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it works out better this time.”
    â€œCool!” she said, opening up her arms, ready to embrace the power. “Bring it on.”
    Obviously, she wasn’t thinking straight. There were no questions, no lectures, no warnings about what could go wrong, no trying to come up with an alternate solution. She was just happy to help.
    Put Gabi back to normal. Put Gabi back to normal. I thought it, I said it, I focused on it as hard as I could.
    â€œWell?” I asked her. “Do you still love me?”
    â€œOf course I do! You’re my best friend.”
    â€œYeah, but sometimes you get annoyed with me, right?”
    Gabi shook her head back and forth violently. “I don’t understand how I ever could have been mad at you. You’re too wonderful. I’ll try to be worthy of you. I promise. You’ll see. I’ll be the best best friend ever. Someone who deserves to hang out with you.”
    Why weren’t my powers working?
    â€œAre you girls all right in there?” the saleslady asked.
    â€œ Are we?” Gabi asked me. “You’re not mad at me, are you? I hope not.”
    I rolled my eyes at her. “We’re fine,” I yelled to the woman. Only we weren’t. Not as long as Gabi was under my spell.
    â€œThank goodness,” Gabi said. “I don’t think I could live knowing you were upset with me.”
    That was going too far. “Listen to me,” I said to Gabi, holding up my hands. I stopped myself before I grabbed her and shook her. “I’m not all that. Okay? I’m not even such a great friend a lot of the time. Got it?”
    Gabi blinked a few times. Then she crossed her arms around her stomach. “No kidding, you aren’t. Ughh. What am I doing in here with you?”
    â€œWhat?” I asked.
    â€œI said, ‘Why would I want to go shopping with someone disgusting like you?’”
    Oh no! I hadn’t undone the spell. I’d reversed it! Instead of having Gabi love me, I made her hate me.
    â€œGabi, you don’t really think I’m disgusting. I’m your best friend. We’ve been best friends since nursery school. What you’re feeling isn’t real. We’re friends. I can fix this.” I held onto her shoulders. “You like me. You don’t hate me. You—”
    â€œHelp!” Gabi screamed and pushed me aside. She ran right out of the dressing room.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” the saleslady asked, rushing over.
    â€œHer,” Gabi said, pointing at me. “She’s what’s wrong. Don’t let her anywhere near me. She’s the devil.”

chapter 17
    â€œHa-ha!” I said, shooting Gabi a how-could-you-do-that-to-me look. “She’s joking. I’m not the devil.”
    â€œJust his daughter,” Gabi put in. Then she ducked down behind a display of shoes. “Watch it,” she warned the saleswoman. “She’ll probably try to make you her own personal shopper servant.”
    The saleswoman rubbed her temples.
    â€œI’m not the devil or his daughter,” I told her.
    â€œNo kidding,” she said.
    Oh right . . . I forgot that normal people wouldn’t believe that the actual devil would be hanging out at the mall.
    â€œNow if you’d both please leave the store. This isn’t a playground,” the woman continued.
    â€œYou’re kicking me out for trying to help you?”