Free Witch Twins at Camp Bliss by Adele Griffin

announced. “Foolishly, they think it might be a fun road trip! Oh, Fred, gorgeous shot! Now, remember. Absolutely No More Spells! Hugs and kisses! Good-bye!”
    Claire heard Luna send a kiss and replace the phone.
    “Hurry, Loon!” she squeaked, hopping up and down. How big was a flea, anyway? A centimeter? A millimeter? Awful Ella Edsel!
    “Luna, if your cup is empty, come toss it in this bag.” From somewhere in the room came Talita’s voice. Claire strained through the cup to see Talita’s shadowy outline in the office door. “I’m taking the trash up to the lodge.”
    Claire felt Luna’s fingers close around the cup protectively.
    “Okay,” said Luna. “Let me just, um …” And then, before Claire could squeak in protest, she felt herself being lifted and shaken forward, sliding from the cup where she landed—yuck!—in the damp warm cave of Luna’s mouth. It was dark as midnight and smelled like peanut butter. Claire perched herself on her sister’s right front molar and pinched her nose against the peanut-butter fumes.
    “Bye, then,” Talita called. “Don’t forget to turn off the computer.”
    “Mmmggrlk,” Luna answered.
    “Open up!” Claire shouted, her teensy sneaker kicking the edge of Luna’s tongue. “It’s hot in here! Sitting in your after-lunch mouth is beyond blecchh!”
    Gently, she felt herself being spit from dark to light to land on the pink island of Luna’s palm. Then Luna crouched to let Claire drop to the ground, where she scrambled to stand on her own two tiny legs.
    “Sorry about that. It was the only place I could think of to hide you. Now, sister-witch, be thou ready?”
    Claire nodded. “Aye.”
    She looked up and watched as Luna’s enormous pinkie hovered over her like a rain cloud as she cast:
    Undo this curse of cruel despise
    Return Claire to her natural size.
    It’s only logical to me,
    My sister cannot be a flea!
    Slowly, Claire felt herself stretching and pulling and shaping back into her regular old self.
    “What a relief!” she said when she stood eye to eye and was the same size as her sister, the way it had been since Claire could remember. I’ll never look at a flea the same way again. Or your mouth. Pee-yew, Luna! You should brush after lunch. You’ve got me smelling like a peanut-butter-and-bad-breath sandwich!”
    Luna frowned. “There are more important things to think about than how you smell. You have Ella Edsel to compete against, and her feet are zesty.”
    “I understand how rebel witches turned out to be rebel wishers. But what I still don’t get,” Claire said as they began to walk up to Sleepy Hollow, “is who did the apple spell?”
    “Apple spell? What apple spell?” asked Luna.
    “I didn’t want to scare you, Loon, but a few weeks ago, I found an apple quartered and buried right outside Sleepy Hollow. You and I both know that’s an Old School, problem-solving spell. That’s why I still think Ella Edsel might be a real-live, sneaky rebel witch.”
    Luna cleared her throat. “Actually Claire, the apple-caster was me. It was just this dumb thing I did my first week here, when I hate-hate-hated Camp Bliss. I knew Grandy had said No Spells, but an apple spell has almost no magic at all: I told my problem to the apple because I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want to wreck your fun.”
    “You like camp now, though, right?” Claire asked.
    Luna nodded. “It took longer, but I guess there’s a place for me here, too.”
    Claire threw her arm around her sister. “Of course there is! I’m proud of you, Loon. You’re not a great athlete, but you’re a great sport.”
    Luna threw her arm around Claire. “Good luck tomorrow,” she said. “I know you’ll be terrific. You have all the zest you need, with or without spells. I’m pulling for you.”
    “You better pull for me,” Claire said soberly. “You’re on my team. Together, we’ve got to make the extra effort to crush Ella.”
    Claire kept away from Ella for