Year of the Witch Read Free

“Speaking of the dance, do you have a date for it?”  My grandmother knew darn well how I felt about Jake.
                “Not yet, Grams, but I’m working on it,” I said with a grin.
                “That’s my girl, Trina,” she said and patted my leg as she walked out of my room.  “Oh, and don’t forget to shake your jar every day,” she said and winked as she left.
    Chapter Five
                “Aaaaaaaaaa!  Trina!!!  How come you’re so good at spells and so horrible at driving!?”  Rachel shrieked and gripped the back of the driver’s seat as she held on tight as I turned a corner. 
                “Girls, no screaming.  It distracts the driver even further.” Mr. Dundee, our poor driver’s ed teacher was trying to keep some peace in the car, despite Rachel’s shrieking and Devon’s insults towards me.
                “Sayter, my dead grandmother drives better than you, and she’s been dead for the past twenty years,” she snickered.  I noticed in the rear view mirror that she was buckled in firmly and was gripping the armrest on her door for dear life.
                “Girls, no distractions for the driver please.”  I was amazed that Mr. Dundee had been doing this job in addition to being our health teacher for so long without going completely insane.  Of course, he’d almost decided to retire after teaching my sister and her friends to drive.  I’m guessing he was regretting the decision now to remain teaching.
                I took the next corner sharply, and I heard Devon hiss from the backseat. 
                “Seriously, Sayter, my sunglasses just slid under the seat.  Take it easy, witch.”
            Now it was my turn to snicker.  If this was my only chance to torment Devon without hearing all kinds of crap from Rachel, then I would take it.  Besides, Rachel was looking a little green around the edges and not quite up to mediating our bicker-fest.  So when Mr. Dundee suggested I take the next right, I did so with a little extra zeal just for Devon.  I was again rewarded with the telltale hiss that indicated Devon’s irritation. 
                “Time to return to the school parking lot, girls,” Mr. Dundee said.  I’m sure he was relieved, just as my other passengers were.  “Same time tomorrow afternoon with Rachel driving,” he said.  I swear I could almost hear the silent “thank God” from him as he sauntered back towards the school building.  “Make sure not to leave anything in the school vehicle and lock all the doors.”
                We agreed, and I gave Rachel a bottle of water from my bag.  I did feel a little bad, after all, that she had to suffer just so I could torment Devon.  She took a swig and made a face, almost spitting it out. 
                “Ugh, what is in that?” she wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to get the weird aftertaste out of her mouth. 
                “Oops, sorry, I forgot about that.  I added some root of Jasmine so I’d smell sweet all day.”  I giggled at the look of her face.  “What, it’s not so bad after you get used to it.”
                “Why would you do that?” Rachel asked.  She was sweet, but not the brightest of my friends.  After all, I’d been swooning over her brother for years; and she seemed oblivious to it all.
                “Because she wants a certain boy to think she smells as sweet as she pretends to be, duh,” I glared in Devon’s direction at this muffled comment that came out of the backseat where she was still trying to fish out her sunglasses.
                “Aw, that’s so sweet,” said Rachel as she hugged me.  “Who’s this special guy?  Do I know him?”
                I kicked the car door shut as I heard the beginning of Devon’s response.  Whatever it was, I was