Free Something Witchy This Way Comes by Veronica Blade

Phillips or Mr. Linton approached, I felt the shift as though they were on a different wavelength.
    Even better, as a non-witch neared me, I saw his or her pictures and knew who they were. I’d forward the picture to Ms. Phillips and Mr. Linton who casually hung nearby. They’d tell me I was right. It was surreal.
    After practice, I couldn’t help but smile when Hayden handed me his keys. Hopefully, he wouldn’t get me addicted to the damn car. That seemed to be a trend for me these days — addictions. First Hayden, then his stupid car. What next — his kisses?
    The drive home would’ve been a perfect opportunity to see if I could detect anything from Hayden. Unfortunately, I couldn’t concentrate on maneuvering an eighty-thousand-dollar car and chew gum at the same time. I’d wait until the party to see if Hayden was one of us. At least it gave me a reason to go.
    If I had an excuse to delay my arrival at home — an errand or something — without looking like I was taking advantage of him, or worse, that I wanted to spend time with him, I would have used it. Instead, I drove us directly to my house.
    “’Bye.” I climbed out of the car.
    He popped out the other side and rounded the hood to stand beside me. “I’m not sure what condition I’ll be in when you get to Christina’s tonight.”
    “Yeah?” Why was he telling me that?
    “Remember, I’m giving you self-defense lessons tomorrow?” He shoved a piece of paper into my hand. “That’s my address with directions on the back. Tomorrow morning, park in the driveway, then walk to the end and you’ll see a smaller house on the right. That’s where I live.”
    “You don’t live in the main house?”
    “No, my parents got tired of the noise, so they kicked me out. I usually only go to the main house to eat.”
    Nice.” I was more than a little envious.
    “In case I don’t hear you knock, go ahead and come in.”
    “Got it.”
    “I’ll see you at the party later.”
    “Uhm. Okay.” My eyes darted away. “Well… see ya.” I turned and dashed inside.
     
    * * * *
     
    Around eight, Nadia and Corinne arrived as I was about to tuck Bree into bed. “I’ll be here a few more minutes if you need anything. Okay, Cutie?”
    Bree smiled a toothless grin. “Love you. ’Nite.”
    I bent over to kiss her forehead and she closed her eyes. I left the night light on and slipped out of her room. Nadia and Corinne met me in the hallway. I wondered what they had in store for me. Whatever it was, I needed to entice Hayden to stick around long enough for me to sense if he was a sorcerer.
     “C’mon. Let’s go to my room,” I whispered, closing Bree’s door.
    In my room, Nadia flung a pair of patent leather pants on the bed, then a matching tank top cut way too low. I grimaced.
    “We’re not done yet.” Corinne emptied a bag and a pair of knee-high boots tumbled out.
    “I’m going to be a hooker?” I asked, my mouth curling up.
    “No,” Nadia answered without looking up. “Better.”
    I laughed. “What could be better than that?”
    She tossed a can of spray and a pair of dark sunglasses on the bed. “First, try on the pants. We don’t want to put that in your hair if the pants aren’t right. They should be good though, since you and I are the same size.”
    “You’re going to spray that in my hair? It’s temporary, right?” I picked up the can and examined the label. “Black? Who am I supposed to be?”
    “Try them on first,” Corinne said.
    I stripped down, then squeezed into the pants.
    “Wow. Those are magical or something.” Nadia put out her hand for a high five from Corinne. As if they alone were responsible for the shape of my body.
    “Uhm… Okay. So who am I supposed to be?”
    “We’ll tell you when we’re done.” Corinne grinned at Nadia.
    For the next forty-five minutes, I allowed them to order me around. They sprayed my hair black and fussed with it until it looked messy, but in a good way.
    “You’re going to