Free Witch Is When Things Fell Apart by Adele Abbott Page B

Something smelled fishy.
     
    “You two look gorgeous,” I said.
    The twins beamed back at me. I’d never seen them so excited. It was the night of the school reunion, and both Amber and Pearl were looking forward to seeing Miles Best. Little did they know that they both had their eyes on the same guy. He must have been something special to have aroused all of that passion.
    I knew it was wrong, and I realised I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help myself. There weren’t too many comedy gold moments like this, and I was determined to be there. I couldn’t wait to see the twins’ faces when they realised that they were both hoping to meet up with the same guy. I had my car with me, so I offered to give them a lift to the school. They were so excited they barely paused for breath all of the way there.
    “Enjoy yourselves!” I called after them.
    “We will!”
    I parked at the far side of the car park, and waited until I thought everyone would be inside. The music coming from the large hall was loud enough to dance to in the car park. I sneaked up to one of the windows on the side of the building, and peered inside. The hall was packed—school reunions were obviously much more popular in Candlefield than they were in Washbridge. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged me to mine.
    I had planned to use magic to get inside, but the hall was so busy that I felt confident I’d be able to hide among the crowd without the twins spotting me. Where were they anyway? I needed to be sure before I went charging inside. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually spotted them next to the bar. There was no one standing with them, so they obviously hadn’t spotted their prey yet.
    “Hello?” The man’s voice made me jump.
    “Oh, hi.”
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yes, I was just—err—looking to see how many people are here already.”
    “Do I know you?” He studied my face. “Were you in my year? I don’t remember your name.”
    My mind went blank—I glanced around. “It’s Lawn.”
    “Lawn?”
    “No, Dawn.”
    “Dawn—?”
    “Dawn—err—Tree.”
    “Dawn Tree?”
    “Yeah. I joined half way through the first year.”
    “Oh yeah. Dawn Tree. I remember you now. I’m Miles. Remember?”
    “Miles Best?”
    “I know. I’ve put on a few pounds.”
    A few? Way more than a few based upon how the twins had described him. “I barely noticed.”
    “And the hair,” he said. “Gone!” He ran his hand across his bald head.
    “It suits you.”
    “Thanks. I’ve been looking forward to tonight for ages.”
    “Me too.”
    “I used to be really shy at school,” he said. “I was too scared to speak to any of the girls.”
    “Looks like you’ve come out of your shell.”
    “I sure have. There’s no stopping me now.”
    “Is there anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing?”
    “Two people actually. You might remember them. Twins: Amber and Pearl.”
    “Didn’t they have ginger hair?”
    “That’s them. Have you seen them?”
    “I think you’re in luck. They’re standing by the bar.”
    “Fantastic! Shall we go in?”
    “You go ahead. I—err—I left something in the car. I’ll be right along.”
    “Okay.” Miles Best headed for the entrance. “I’ll see you inside.”
    The twins had their gazes fixed on the door. I had mine fixed on them. Both girls reacted when they saw the door open, but relaxed again when they saw the fat, bald guy walk in.
    I glanced over at Miles. He’d spotted his quarry.
    He strode across the dance floor—a man on a mission. The twins were still staring at the door—barely noticing his approach.
    “Three, two, one—bingo!”
    Miles was standing in front of them now. Their expressions changed from surprise to confusion to ‘get me out of here’.
    Priceless! I headed back home.
     
    It was just after midnight when I heard the footsteps on the stairs.
    “Hi girls, how was it?”
    Amber and Pearl shared the same dejected expression.
    “It