As they backed out of the driveway, Mercy felt a little tug of anxiety. Her grandmother had said that as long as she was on this property, she was safe...Safe from what?

"Do you want to go for a burger or pizza?"

Mercy snapped out of her haze. "Oh, I like both. Whatever you choose is fine with me."

They agreed on hamburgers and Greg drove to a franchise near the theater. They got out and went inside. Mercy ordered a hamburger and soft drink, not feeling comfortable with Greg spending money on her, but he seemed to be fine with it. He chose the same and added a large order of fries.

They chose a booth by the window and when she slid onto the plastic seat, Greg slid in on the same side. He put his arm around her and she scooted a little closer.

Nice. This is nice. It feels like we're the only two on the planet. She leaned her shoulder into him, relaxing for a moment, but then their number was called overhead and Greg dislodged himself and took the ticket up to retrieve their food.

When Mercy looked up, she saw Donald sitting at a table all by himself on the other side of the restaurant. He stared at her intently and then raised a hand in greeting.

Nooooo. This can't be happening. I can't have him come over here and say things to Greg. He can't out me as a witch in front of my boyfriend.

"Who is that guy?" Greg set the tray with their food down on the table and scooted in beside her, casting a frown in Donald's direction.

"Um, he goes to our school. He's in one of my cla.s.ses."

Greg snorted and handed her a napkin. "He must like you or something. He hasn't stopped staring at you since we got here."

"Oh, no. I don't think that's it. He's just shy."

Greg frowned at Donald again. "He doesn't look shy to me. Do you want me to say something to him?"

Mercy opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Is Greg actually jealous of Donald? She drew a deep breath and let it out. "No, please. It's okay."

Greg continued to glare across the restaurant until Donald glanced down at his food and then began to eat very rapidly.

"Greg, he's just a little kid. Lindy used to pick on him, so he thought I was somehow involved...You know? All the witch talk. It's totally crazy, I agree." She managed a feeble twitch of a smile.

Big brown eyes a.s.sessed her. "That's just dumb! How could anyone think you're a witch?"

She shrugged. "Beats me." She reached for a French fry and stuffed it in Greg's mouth. "Eat up, Big Guy. We have a movie to catch."

Casting another dark glance at Donald, he picked up his burger and peeled the wrapper off before taking a huge bite.

Mercy heaved a sigh and started on her own food, but noticed Donald get up and leave without making further eye-contact. To her amazement, she saw him climb into a blue Smart Car and drive away.

OMG! Donald can drive! He has to be at least sixteen...but he looks closer to twelve.

She realized she had paused with her burger halfway to her gaping mouth. Sucking in a deep breath, she took a bite. The chewing process kept her from having to talk while her brain chewed on the things she knew about Donald. Not much, it seemed. For instance, she didn't know his last name, or what grade he was in. She hadn't even noticed him in her cla.s.s until he lobbed the note at her.

Not a problem...as long as he stays away from me. At least until I figure out how to turn a donkey, a goose and a chicken into three really irritating girls.

She tried to relax and pay attention to what Greg was telling her about his baseball practice.

They arrived at the movie theater right on time. They grabbed popcorn and sodas and made their way down the aisle before the lights went out. Greg waved at a couple of people and followed her to a seat. He grinned and waved to someone else.

Mercy sat down, thinking that his self-a.s.surance was part of his character. Outgoing, friendly and confident. She heaved a sigh. So not like me. Shy, geeky and uncertain. That's my character.

Greg held the popcorn toward her and she grabbed a handful. "Thanks," she whispered. She looked around, wondering if anyone she knew might be in the gathering crowd. Just before the lights went down, she spotted Donald coming down the aisle and slip into a seat in the back. An eerie feeling crept around her spine. Who is this guy, and why is he following me?

Maybe she needed to find out a little more about her little shadow.

When the theater was completely dark and after the gush of coming attractions and advertis.e.m.e.nts for the concession stand, the main feature started.

Mercy tried to relieve the tension in her shoulders. She took several un.o.btrusive deep breaths and let them out. Yes, I'm good.

Greg reached to take her hand, settling it on his knee with his hand on top of hers. She smiled. Yes, this is what normal girls do on a date. They hold hands with their boyfriends.

"Normal! You think this is normal?"

Mercy gazed at the screen in horror. Darynda gazed back at her with a smirk on her face. "Oh, my G.o.d! Be quiet. Are you crazy?" She glanced at Greg, but he stared at the screen, transfixed.

Darynda rolled her eyes and flapped her hand as though her taking over the movie screen was of no importance. "Don't worry. No one can see or hear me except for you."

"What are you doing here?" Mercy whispered. "You're going to get me in deep trouble."

"They can't hear you either, so just chill." Darynda folded her arms across her chest and stood glowering down at Mercy. "Have you figured out how you're going to bring them back?" She grinned mischievously. "Or have you forgotten about your little livestock friends?"

Mercy leaned forward. "You know about them?"

Darynda chuckled. "I know many things."

"No, of course I haven't forgotten. I just don't know what to do yet." Mercy swallowed hard. "In fact, I could use some help."

Darynda shook her head emphatically. "Huh-unh. I can't help you on this one. You got yourself into it and you alone have to figure out what you did so you can reverse the spell."

A crushing sense of helplessness settled in Mercy's chest. "I--I don't know."

"Don't be a wimp. Think about it. What were you doing when you cast this spell?"

"I have no idea. I don't know when it happened...Sometime after Greg and I left the dance and before the next morning."

"Well, that's something. Try and find out what time you zapped them and maybe you can remember what you were doing at the same time."

"Easy for you to say," she murmured.

"Hey, I'm not supposed to be helping you with this. You have all that you need to reverse the spell." The screen went dark for a moment and then the images from the movie reappeared.

Mercy glanced at Greg, but he appeared to be absorbed in the film. She heaved a sigh. What had she done to turn obnoxious girls into animals? And how could she be expected to unravel this mystery on her own?

Greg squeezed her hand and gave her a little smile. When she returned his smile, he draped his arm over the back of her seat with his hand on her shoulder.

Reality check. This is good...Having a nice normal guy like Greg as my boyfriend is a good thing. Do not screw this up. Do not do anything witch-like to scare him away.

After the movie, Greg drove Mercy home and when he pulled into her driveway, he kissed her. He nodded toward the house where the light she had left on was still glowing through the curtains. "Your grandmother is still up. Should I go in with you to say h.e.l.lo?"

"Um. no. That's okay. She's probably in bed reading and left the light for me."

"Okay, if you're sure." He climbed out and walked her to the door.

"I had a great time, Greg," she said, unsure exactly of how to end the date and get inside the empty house without being detected.

"Yeah, me too. Wanna do something next weekend?"

The euphoric, happy sensation flooding her insides was having a war with all the scared and confused stuff. She nodded and he spread his arms for a hug. She leaned up for another kiss and he planted one firmly on her lips. The happy feelings completely overpowered the other wretched junk, leaving her in a floaty, mushy haze.

"See ya at school on Monday," he said.

She nodded. "Um-huh. See ya." She watched as he loped back to his car, waved and drove away.

She tried to hang on to the warm feeling as she stepped inside and locked the door. I just gotta be normal.

Mercy awakened early when the first crimson fingers of dawn reached out to grasp the night sky. She pulled the covers up under her chin and stayed in bed. Maybe if she didn't think too much, she wouldn't have to deal with the knowledge screaming in her brain. She kept her lids squeezed tight, refusing to acknowledge the day. She felt Alastair leap onto the bed and his paw prints making their way across the coverlet.

"Laying abed, M'lady?"

"I'm sleeping," she said.

"Is that so?"

She snorted. "Well, I'm trying to sleep if certain people would let me."

"Hmph!" Alastair intoned. "I would think you would be most anxious to leap out of bed and apply yourself to resolving the problems you stirred up."

"If only you knew," she mumbled, drawing the cover up over her head.

"I know that avoiding a problem only makes it worse.

She groaned and peeled the coverlet down to expose her face. "I don't see any way this could be worse."

Alastair's smug expression was almost too much to bear. "Trust me...If you don't make an effort to take charge of this battle, it will become a war."

"What battle? What war? I don't know what you're talking about." She rolled the covers back and slid her legs off the side of the bed. When her bare feet made contact with the cold floor, she was fully awake.

He sighed. "I was speaking figuratively, M'lady."

"Oh, Alistair," she wailed. "I'm in so much trouble."

He sat gazing down his silky nose at her, as though waiting for her to go on.

"I did find Gran's egg bowl," she offered brightly. "That's something."

"I'm throwing virtual confetti right now."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot." Well, now that she was awake, thanks to Alistair's perseverance, she had no choice but to face the day...and her actions.

Alastair hopped off the bed and disappeared in the direction of the living room. Mercy realized that she had ch.o.r.es to do and hoped that going through her usual morning routine might help her to feel more centered. She got dressed and opened a can of tuna for Alastair. She washed the egg bowl, tidied the kitchen and gathered her clothes to wash. Gran always did this task for her, but Gran wasn't here so Mercy started the washing machine herself.

All that was left to do was try and find a way to turn an annoying donkey, a rude goose and a scared chicken back into three mean girls.

She wished she had someone to help her. Someone to give her advice. Someone who knew the ropes. Gran...But when she went to the mirror it looked just like a crackled old mirror. She saw no misty magic land reflected on the other side. Worse still, she saw no smiling face peering back at her. Where is my grandmother?

She turned away from the mirror. Darynda! She'll know what I should do. She's my trainer. Surely she will be able to at least point me in the right direction.

Mercy went to the television and turned it on. The WTC emblem came into focus. A message scrolled across the bottom. The Witches Training Channel is temporarily closed for maintenance and will resume its regularly scheduled broadcasts at a later time.

"Oh, guh-rate!" she moaned. "Now what am I supposed to do?" she asked, but there was no one there to respond.

The day wore on and she became more and more upset. There didn't seem to be anything she could do to remedy the totally ridiculous situation in which she found herself. There was no one she could turn to because both of the people who knew about the disaster she had created seemed to be completely unavailable.

By late afternoon, she had tried to get her grandmother's attention at least a dozen times. Each failure left her feeling more depressed and isolated. I'm really on my own. She clamped her lips together to keep them from trembling.

A knock at the door shattered the silence. When she answered it, she found Kelli and Felicity outside. Her heart lightened immediately. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here. What's up? Did the sheriff find anything else?" She stepped back to invite them inside.

Kelli shook her head. "Nothing new. How are you feeling?"

Mercy mustered a fake smile. "Me? I'm great...Fabulous, in fact."

Kelli let out a less than feminine snort and Felicity c.o.c.ked her head to one side.

Mercy took a deep breath and blew it out. "All right, I'm telling a fib, but I'm just too scared to feel much of anything."

Kelli and Felicity exchanged a glance and then stepped forward to embrace her. The three long-time friends remained hugging each other for some time.

"I just can't believe that people are saying that you might be a witch. I mean, there's no such thing as witches." Felicity patted Mercy on the shoulder.

Wonderful. The people who hate me think I'm a witch and the people who love me think I'm not. Something is wrong with this picture. "We need to talk." She led the way to the table and pulled out a chair. Felicity and Kelli sat down and looked at her anxiously.

Mercy closed her algebra book and pushed it to the center of the table. "I have to tell you the truth." She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out forcefully. "I am a witch!"

Kelli and Felicity burst into laughter.

"No, seriously...I am a witch."

Kelli sobered, forcing a straight face with difficulty. "And we've known you since kindergarten. If you haven't been a witch before, why are you a witch now?"

Felicity snickered. "Yeah, did someone put a spell on you? Or did you kiss a frog or something?"

"Where's your magic wand? Why aren't you green with warts? C'mon and get it right." Kelli was laughing so hard she couldn't finish the sentence.

Mercy regarded her two friends coolly. She could understand why they didn't believe her. She wouldn't have believed herself either. She focused her intent on the algebra book and flipped the cover open. A fluttering of pages stirred the air, but neither Felicity nor Kelli looked impressed. "That was me. I did that."

"Un-huh, me too." Kelli winked at her.