Free The Popularity Spell by Toni Gallagher Page B

and I can tell her body is extremely stressed…especially her butt cheeks. Roberta watches her go, then turns to us, looking confused. I guess she doesn’t know what we should do now that our special presentation has skittered away, leaving nothing behind but a bad smell hanging in the air. I almost feel sorry for her.
    But not quite.
    “Quiet down, everybody!” Roberta shouts, then tells us to grab some index cards and markers and make the kinds of cards Madison talked about. She says she’ll be right back, and then she runs out the door, looking like she’s tightening up a smile. After she’s gone for a few seconds, the class finally explodes with the laughter they’ve all been holding back.
    When it calms down a little, Samantha pipes up, “That was the best presentation ever!” That makes everyone crack up again. People nod in agreement and start saying the same kinds of things to each other. For the tiniest second, it feels like we’re part of the crowd.
    Samantha and I don’t have to talk; I know what we’re both thinking.
    Is this the beginning of being popular?

W hen I get home from school, I run down the hallway to my room, sort of hearing Dad shout that I should take Toby on a walk around the lake. “I will!” I yell back, but first I get the voodoo box from under my bed. I open it and the voodoo doll is lying right where I left him, exactly the same, but it almost looks like he’s grinning bigger than usual. I pull him out and dance around my room, thanking him (inside my head, not out loud) for making the charm work on Madison today. Lying on the floor, I gently and carefully put him back and slide the box where it belongs—way under the bed, far from nosy people like Terri.
    “Terri’s coming over for dinner tonight,” Dad says, his voice getting closer along with his footsteps. When I look up, he’s standing in my doorway.
    “Okay,” I say. Even this news can’t upset me too much, not right now. I feel like I’m filled with helium and could float to the ceiling. I keep remembering the moment Samantha made her little comment and everyone cracked up. For one instant, it felt like popularity.
    “Good, I’m glad you think so,” Dad says. “What are you doing down there? Chasing dust bunnies?”
    “Ha ha, yeah.” I stand up and dust my jeans off. “No, I—um—thought Toby’s leash might be under there.”
    “It’s in the front hallway, where it always is,” Dad says. “Come on, I’ll help you get it on him.” When he turns around, I follow him, almost skipping down the hall.
    Dad puts the leash around Toby’s neck as I hold him in place. I pet his long red fur and let him lick my face and neck, telling him what a good boy he is.
    When I head out the door, Dad tells me, “Get home way after dark, talk to lots of strangers, and don’t call if there’s an emergency.” That’s his way of being hilarious. He can actually see me from the kitchen window as long as I only walk two blocks and turn around. He even got me a phone when we moved to California. He says it’s for safety, but I’m glad because all the kids here have them. So far he and Samantha are the only people I’ve ever called or texted, but that’s definitely going to change when I’m popular.
    Toby seems as happy as I am as he barks at the birds flying above us. We cross our street at the corner after I look both ways; then we’re on the sidewalk by the lake. It’s got little tiny waves because there’s a cool breeze, and the sun is making diamond-looking sparkles on top. Maybe these are the kinds of things Mom said are magical. And today, after seeing what I saw, hearing what I heard, and smelling what I smelled, it feels like magic might be possible. I definitely know voodoo is. I mean, Sam and I aren’t quite popular
yet,
but there’s only so much that a Positive Happy Voodoo Doll can do in a day.
    Back at the house, I can hear Dad and Terri talking and laughing in the kitchen. I don’t want to see