Page 38 of Practically Magic

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have ended that call,” Eleanor says. “Because there is certainly something ‘odd’ going on in the kitchen.”

Harry and I glower at one another. Her mouth opens, and I can almost hear the sweet, sweet apology, but then I remember that she literally cast a curse on me and is going behind my back to meet with her ex to steal this Halloween from me and Colton. So I shove my way into the bathroom, slamming the door in her face.

I wait for her outrage, but for some reason, I only hear Harry go back into her room. With a triumphant sigh, I reach for my toothbrush, propping my phone up on the sink. That’s when I see all the messages:

Chris Haunted Hamburgers:

Can you come in this afternoon? Someone called out. 3:30 to closing?

Laney:

Where are you?

Did you also lose power?

What the heck is going on with the clocks? Did you cast another spell?

Do you think they’re gonna cancel school? Almost no one showed up. I bet you’re still sleeping.

I wonder if they’ll send us home.

Zach:

Hadley, you picked the wrong day to be absent. I heard Mr. Ruth is going to give everyone extra credit just because he doesn’t know what to do with us during class.

That means my grade will be higher than yours, if that wasn’t clear.

Just as I’m about to send a snarky text to Zach, a new text comes through.

Colton:

Hey you. A little birdy told me you were planning to throw a Halloween party the same night as me. That’s totally not cool 🐱

Because that would mean you weren’t coming to mine.

So I’m moving mine to Friday.

You’d better come 😿

I blink hard. “What in the name of Samhain is going on?” I ask myself, just as the lights in the house flicker and go out.

15

Mystic Hollow Community Page

New post from Gail Mathers: Was anyone else woken up this morning by screeching? Looked out my window and saw this thing with wings and red eyes swooping over my yard! Between this and the wolf sightings, keep your dogs and cats inside!

New comment from Eric Sabel: Sure you didn’t dream of Mothman last night?

With school canceled, the house falling apart, and Harry apparently deciding now is the perfect time to go on a date, taking my boss up on his offer for an extra shift doesn’t sound like the worst idea. It quickly becomes the best idea when Laney texts me that everyone from school is going to Haunted House of Hamburgers. Including Colton.

And Chris is extra grateful when I show up early, because Haunted House of Hamburgers is packed. The restaurant is one of the few places in town that has power, and everyone seems to be looking for a place to charge their phones and get a hot meal.

“Kat, thank god,” Chris says when he sees me. He hands me a wash basin full of dirty dishes. “I think I’ve run out of hamburgers. Can you believe how many people are here?”

“Happy Halloween, I guess,” I say, resting the tub on my hip and looking around. I feel the hair on my neck stand up as if I’m being watched. I try to shake it off, but my hands have started buzzing—does that mean it’s something magical? “After I run these to the kitchen, where do you need me?”

“Think you can wait tables instead of bussing?” Chris says hopefully, and thrusts a notepad at me.