Chapter 9 - Autumn Breezes and Tween Crazes

 

Rhea looked around her room, feeling slightly put off by everything. She’d been talking to Chanel that day about how difficult things were at the moment, with the trends changing all the time in the classroom. Crazes were sweeping through her grade one after the other like wildfire, and rather than them being steady, they were as volatile as a bad spell. The WARD palette was the only one that seemed to be going strong after its announcement.

Previously there had been beads, slotted onto safety pins, which had lasted two weeks before Alyse had brought in a new craze of charm bracelets. Everyone needed a charm bracelet, and luckily Rhea had one that her grandmother had given her. Charm bracelets evolved into friendship bracelets, where you had to wear the same colour as your friends, until it all dissolved because people were taking off their bracelets to show who they were and weren’t friends with. Currently, the WARD palette and Calliope Ward were running trends. Alyse had a scrapbook of articles and cut outs from any magazine Calliope was in, whereas Rhea was using her pocket money to buy Teen Dream every week just in case it had Calliope in it. Her drawers were becoming stuffed with the magazines freebies.

Chanel had shaken her head. “I just think it’s a waste of time.” She’d made special friendship bracelets for herself and Rhea, in green and gold, that Rhea loved, and as she spoke she ran her finger around hers. “These crazes come and go all the time, and it’s impossible to keep up.”

Rhea knew what she meant, but looking at all her Voidcritter decals and her poster, she’d felt a twinge of sadness. Voidcritters had been dependable up until this year. Everyone was desperate to be a teenager, and there were so many things you had to know and do.

The next day, an autumn chill was in the air, and she and Maranda went outside to play, clad in warm clothes to keep out the cold. In years gone by, their games would have been of princesses and dragons, or of having real life Voidcritters, but this time, Maranda and Rhea were playing at being students at Brookefield High, the fictional high school from the last series that Calliope Ward had been in. Her character, Lake, was so cool, but not as cool as Calliope herself.

"So we're part of the Brookefield Witches," Rhea told Maranda. "We're best friends with Lake, and we're going to cast a spell to make Hugh fall in love with her." 

"Love spells are bad, Rhea..." Maranda said, hesitantly. Rhea patted her arm. 

"It's just for the story! That's what witches do on TV. Anyway, we're going to help our best friend Lake, but we've got to make a secret hideout first."

Maranda perked up. "A secret hideout?"

"Yeah! We've got to have a place to make our potion where no one can find us! And we have to make it really special, because if we make it wrong he'll hate Lake forever." 

"Um, okay!" Maranda giggled. 

They took off running, in the direction of a stone bench they usually played on.

"Now, we must find the perfect ingredients for Lake's potion! She asked us especially, because we're such good friends, and she knows that we're as good at casting spells as she is." Rhea giggled and leaned in close. "And because she loves Hugh!"

"Does Hugh like her?"

"Oh, definitely. He's going to ask her to the Pumpkin Parade for sure, even if Lacey Jenkins is the head cheerleader!" Rhea crossed her arms. "How could he not like her?" 

"Because...Lacey Jenkins is going to use a love potion on him first!" Maranda said, smiling brightly. "She's going to make him fall in love with her, because she hates Lake!"

"Um...okay? Then we have to hex...Lacey Jenkins..." Rhea's voice trailed off. "Maranda, what do you mean? Lacey isn't a witch."

Maranda blinked, and looked down. "Sorry. It just...came out. I know she isn't a witch, but I just...felt like that was...right?"

"Lacey can't be a witch. She's the head cheerleader and a...a cow." Rhea waved her hand. "Besides, it would be awful even for her to do that."

"Well, let's make a love potion." Maranda seemed nervous. "I mean, how should we do it?"

Rhea started to labour on about the ingredients they would need, all the while trying not to think about what Maranda had said. There was no way, right?