Chapter 1 #2
I wanted to feel like a foolish, happy kid tonight. This will definitely do it, especially after downing several shots. We used to smoke weed in high school, when we could get our hands on it. We didn’t mind if it came from a shady drug dealer back then. We went to high school with several of them.
“There are no matches,” I say, removing the joint from the box.
“Madison, you’ve got a lighter, right?” Shana asks.
“No, I quit smoking,” Madison says.
“Aw, good for you,” I say, looking around until I see the box beneath my shelf. “Wait, I think there are some matches in the stuff from my grandmother’s house.”
I open the box and start moving things around.
I don’t open it often because it’s filled with painful memories.
My grandmother raised me. Well, almost. She died when I was sixteen and while I felt like I was all grown up, I realize now that I was just a foolish girl who still had a lot of growing up left to do.
Madison leans over and looks in the box while I search for matches. Just as I find them, she reaches in and pulls a book out.
“Oh my god! This is the book of spells we were trying to translate!” she says excitedly. “I wondered where it went.”
“It was my grandmother’s book, so I returned it after we grew out of that phase,” I say dismissively.
“This brings back so many memories,” Madison says.
“Yeah, I suppose it does,” I say, tossing the matches on the table.
“Nah, you’re the birthday girl, so you get to light it,” Shana says, sliding them back to me.
I pick up the joint and matches. I press the joint between my lips, and the first match is a dud, but the next one gives me enough fire to light the joint. I take a deep drag and immediately cough, because it’s a lot harsher than what we used to smoke in high school.
“Holy shit,” I gag, passing the joint to Shana.
“Yeah, this is the good stuff from a dispensary,” she says proudly, taking a hit.
“I’m going to open the door, so the basement doesn’t smell like weed if your parents come down here,” Madison says, walking to the sliding glass door that opens to the side yard.
The sliding glass door is the only source of natural light in the basement, but I had to put curtains up because it gets bright when I’m trying to sleep in.
It’s also the only reason the basement doesn’t feel like a storage closet with a shower, toilet, and bed.
I normally use it as an escape hatch, if I want to leave without dealing with Melinda or Frank.
Once Madison pulls the curtains aside and slides the door open, smoke starts rolling into the night.
The moon is brighter than usual tonight.
Figures that my birthday would fall on a full moon.
My grandmother used to say a full moon turns people into lunatics.
But she said a lot of weird stuff like that.
“Shana’s parents never come down here,” I say, my face turning a little red. “Not since… well…”
Shana flashes me a curious look, then hands the joint to Madison.
“What happened?” Shana asks.
“I didn’t hear the door one day and your dad surprised me,” I say, gesturing to the bed. “I was having a little me time.”
“Oh my god!” Shana laughs. “No wonder he’s trying to set you up with anyone he can find.”
“So, what happened when he caught you?” Madison asks, passing me the joint. “Was it like a porno?”
“Madison, that’s my dad!” Shana shrieks, then laughs nervously before looking at me. “Seriously, you didn’t…”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. Even if I was attracted to him, he’s married, and my best friend’s dad.
“No, I threw a blanket over myself and cried until he ran back up the stairs,” I say, not sure which part of it I should be more ashamed of.
We continue passing the joint until we’re all buzzed. I am, at least. Shana gets distracted by her phone. Madison is flipping through my grandmother’s book. I’m happy enough not to care about anything right now. Exactly how I hoped my birthday would go.
“Here’s the spell we were working on last,” Madison says. “The one that was supposed to make every guy in school fall in love with us.”
“That would imply we got any of them to work,” I say. “We couldn’t even figure out the cipher.”
“We figured out some of it for this spell,” Madison says. “Love. Desire. Something about the moon.”
“Hey, what if we ask AI for help?” Shana suggests. “Have you guys played around with it yet?”
“I haven’t,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.
“I have it on my phone and use it for school, but that’s about it,” Madison says. “But you’re right, I bet it could at least help with the pattern.”
Madison pulls out her phone and starts taking pictures.
When we were in high school, we thought solving the cipher would reveal all the secrets the book had to offer.
I’ve never told them, but after we grew out of this phase, my grandmother said the book came from a box of junk she got at an estate sale.
My grandmother wasn’t secretly a witch, like we used to pretend. She was just an old lady who loved antiques and bought so much useless junk she was practically a hoarder. And a stern disciplinarian when needed. I’ve definitely lacked discipline since she’s been gone.
“Okay, AI can’t solve all of it, but it gave me a partial key. That’ll get us much further than we did back in the day,” Madison says, looking around. “Got a pencil?”
“Uh, yeah,” I say, reaching for the box where I keep my pens, pencils, and stamps.
Madison starts deciphering what she can.
I lean back and enjoy my buzz. I thought we’d moved past this phase after we realized the answers to our problems weren’t in old books.
Maybe Madison still thinks magic is real, or she’s just high.
Either way, we’re having fun. We’re laughing.
It feels like the old days I miss. The only things missing are black lipstick, eyeliner, and nail polish.
“I still can’t fully decipher the description, but I was able to decipher the ingredients and the words for the spell,” Madison says. “We need candles, sage, rosemary, salt, honey, red thread, and a drop of blood. Oh, and it has to be done during a full moon.”
“Convenient,” I say, glancing toward the open door. “But is it really a love spell?”
“The description is messy,” Madison says. “Something about calling desire. Or summoning devotion. It keeps translating one symbol as love, but AI says it could also mean hunger.”
“That’s romantic,” I say dryly.
“Depends how hot he is,” Shana says, jumping to her feet. “I bet my mom has everything we need. Candles in the junk drawer. Herbs in the pantry. Thread in the laundry room. I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, you’re high,” I say cautiously.
“I’m not going to have a conversation with her, I’m just going to grab the stuff,” she laughs, hurrying toward the stairs.
Once Shana is gone, I glance over at Madison. “You don’t really think it’s going to work, right?”
“I don’t know, but we can at least try,” she says. “Although, I thought the reason we could never get it to work was because it needed something from the guy we wanted to fall in love with us. It looks like the spell calls for our blood.”
“So, burning Matt Carson’s hair was just a waste of time?” I laugh.
“Apparently,” Madison giggles.
We tried all sorts of ingredients when we couldn’t decipher them all, hoping to get lucky. Back then, I still believed there was a chance magic was real and the universe was a vast mystery. I was so fucking naive back then. I guess we all were.
Shana returns with the ingredients in a mixing bowl. I saved my grandmother’s book, but not the little cauldron that made us feel like proper witches. I guess a bowl will do, since it isn’t going to work anyway.
“Alright, that’s everything except the drop of blood,” Madison says. “Who wants to bleed for the cause?”
“Uh, it’s Taryn’s birthday,” Shana says. “If this spell is going to make a hot guy fall in love with someone, it should be her.”
“This is ridiculous,” I sigh.
“Grab a razor,” Shana says. “Just a quick nick on your finger.”
If I weren’t so buzzed, I’d probably have more hesitation. But the quicker we get done revisiting our dark descent into the occult, we can get back to doing shots. Maybe even have some cake, once the munchies kick in, because I can tell they’re coming.
At least I’m not frustrated or annoyed right now. We’re laughing, joking, and having fun. It’s exactly how I wanted my birthday to go.
Minus the witchcraft.