Free So Mote it Be by Isobel Bird

of the class. She couldn’t help it if Scott wanted to take her to the Valentine’s Day dance. So why did she feel like she was being punished for doing something wrong?
    She wiped her eyes and looked around. She noticed that she happened to be sitting in the row of books where she’d found the book of spells.
    I wish I’d never seen that book , she thought. That’s what caused all these problems in the first place.
    She knew it was the spells she’d done that were making things go wrong. But she didn’t know why they weren’t working correctly. She’d done everything the way the book said to. Well, mostly the way the book said to. She had to admit that she’d improvised a little bit. Still, she didn’t think she’d done anything to make things turn out as badly as they had.
    She wished she knew someone else who knew something about magic. If only she had someone she could talk to about what was going on, things would be better. Her friends were definitely out. They probably weren’t even speaking to her. She couldn’t talk to her parents. They would think she was nuts. There was nobody.
    Maybe there is, she thought. After all, she had checked the book out. Maybe someone else had checked it out at some point, too. And maybe that person had done some of the spells. If she could find out who it was, she might be able to get some help figuring out where she’d gone wrong. But how could she find out who else had checked the book out?
    She had an idea. Standing up, she straightened her clothes and fixed her hair. She hoped her crying hadn’t made her look too awful. Her plan depended upon her looking totally normal. She took a few deep breaths, then walked up to the circulation desk and smiled at the librarian behind the counter. She was relieved it wasn’t a student worker, who probably would have been someone who was mad at her for one reason or another.
    â€œCan I help you?” the woman asked.
    â€œI hope so,” Kate said. “I checked out a book last week for one of my classes, and I found a personal letter in it. But without a name,” she added quickly, trying not to think about how much sense she wasn’t making. “I think whoever checked it out before I did must have left it in there as a bookmark or something, and I wanted to return it.”
    â€œWell, that’s very thoughtful of you,” the librarian said. “Most people probably wouldn’t have bothered.”
    â€œI know I wouldn’t want to lose a piece of personal correspondence,” Kate said innocently. “Is there any way for you to tell me who signed the book out last?”
    â€œWhat’s the title of the book?” the woman asked.
    Kate told her, trying not to sound self-conscious about having checked out a book of spells. But if the librarian thought it was strange, she didn’t let on. She turned to the file of circulation cards and pulled open a drawer. Flipping through them, she paused and pulled one out. She turned back to Kate and held it out to her.
    â€œThere you go,” she said.
    Kate took the card and looked at it. The most recent name on the card was her own. Above it there was another one. In fact, the same name was written on the seven lines above Kate’s. The same person had checked the book out repeatedly.
    And that person was Annie Crandall.

CHAPTER 6
    Kate stared at the circulation card. Annie Crandall? She couldn’t believe it. No-nonsense Annie, who lived for science, had repeatedly checked out a book about witchcraft. Why? Kate looked at the name again, wondering if perhaps she’d read it incorrectly. But there it was, written seven times in the librarian’s precise handwriting. Annie Crandall had checked the book out for almost two months straight.
    Kate realized that the librarian was staring at her. She handed the card back and smiled.
    â€œThanks a lot,” she said. “I’ll make