Page 19 of Witch You Would
Isaac looked like that meme of the guy with the smiling maskover the angry crying face. “No more questions? Good, great. Tori, take over.” He stalked out, and Syd winked at us.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t hexed my mouth shut,” Syd said in a stage whisper.
Rachel vanished back into the hallway. Tori started issuing orders—I guess she was the director? Assistant director? I didn’tunderstand all the show titles. Someone else brought in one of those things with an arm that clapped shut and made a loudnoise, with digital numbers on the front.
“Remember,” Tori said, a calm breeze compared to Isaac’s thunderstorm. “One camera will be on you while Syd talks about you,but other cameras will always be rolling on everyone together. Don’t stop looking at Syd, don’t fidget, don’t pick your nose.When the judges are introduced, wait for Syd to finish, then clap and get excited, but not too much. This isn’t a concertor football game. When your celebrity is brought out, same deal. Big smiles; you’re hyped to partner with them. Got it? Good.Let’s roll.”
The butterflies in my stomach caught fire. I wanted to work with Charlotte Sharp, but the other options were probably great.Just... not as great. I wished I’d practiced reacting in a mirror. I didn’t want to look unhappy if I ended up with someoneelse.
The person with the clapper thingy stood in front of the camera on wheels and rattled off something fast, then opened thearm and snapped it shut. The noise was so loud I jumped.
Syd moved smoothly into the same spot the person had been standing in and looked straight into the camera for a count of five,then began.
“Some people cast spells for work,” Syd said. “Others cast them for pleasure. These five competitors will be casting for the chance to win a yearlong residency at the Desgraves Studio and a hundredthousand dollars in cash. And our panel of experts will cast the most difficult thing of all.” They paused dramatically. “They’re going to cast judgment.”
I knew from watching the show that it would cut to the title and play a little theme song now, but editing would add thatstuff later.
Syd continued. “Our contestants have come from all over the country to beautiful Miami, Florida, for a very special seasonofCast Judgment. Instead of competing alone, they’ll each be partnered with a Spellebrity caster to push their creations to even greatermagical heights. But before we introduce those special guests, let’s meet our lucky five.”
They turned around to face the camera at the back of the room while Nate walked slowly in front of us. “Amy Song is a studiomusician from Jersey City who sells handmade charms online in her Mirage shop. Dylan Williams is a grocery store baker fromBaltimore who experiments with magical pastries in his spare time. Quentin Adams is an auto mechanic from Minneapolis whotinkers with antique enchantments. Felicia Rivera is a real estate broker and interior designer from Los Angeles with a flairfor fashion spells.”
She definitely looked like she had strong clothing opinions.
I was, embarrassingly, “Last but not least, Penelope Delmar is a spell technician from right here in Miami. If you need helpwith your magic, just ask her.” Syd grinned, and we all chuckled politely.
Syd gestured at a PA, who ran over and handed them a bottle of water. They took a quick swig, made some weird noises, thenturned back around to the camera in front of us and stared silently at it for a few seconds before continuing.
“Now, let’s bring out our judges,” Syd said, launching into introductions that I already knew from watching the show.
Fabienne Desgraves, founder and owner of Desgraves Studio.Dark brown skin and eyes, black hair almost shaved on the sides but longer on top. Coral jumpsuit cut like a suit jacket in front, a short cape draped over her bare arms. Deep red lips curled in a mysterious smile. Her comments usually focused on style, flair, and cool factor.
Doris Twist—not her real name—started in the 1980s with her showWitching with a Twist. Pale and as old as my abuela, hazel eyes watery but still sharp. Cream-and-purple dress with lavender sweater, gray hairpulled back in a tight bun. Very politician’s wife–meets–church lady. Super nice; whenever she said something even a littlecritical, she sounded really sorry.
Hugh Burbank—surprisingly his real name—owner of Burbank’s Boutique. Dark green shirt and gray slacks that matched his eyesand hair respectively. Fashionably tan skin like Felicia’s. Permanently sneering. Also shorter than I expected; he seemedto loom over everyone on the show. Camera tricks, I guess. His compliment sandwiches were bunless shit burgers.
What if I messed up so badly that he hit me with a burn epic enough to turn me into a meme? Oh my god! Shut up, brain. Smile.Clap. Catastrophize later.
Syd took another quick water break, but this time they called Tori over and held a muttered meeting. At one point they bothlooked at me, which totally didn’t make my anxiety worse, nope.
Eventually Syd nodded and faced us again.
“Now,” Syd said, “it’s time for our fabulous competitors to meet their celebrity partners.”
“Stop,” Tori called. “‘Spellebrity,’ Syd. You have to use the trademark.”
Syd grinned sheepishly at us and repeated the phrase correctly. They continued. “First, we have Jaya Kamath, host ofJaya’s Charming Charmsand author of theCIY Charmsspellbooks. Jaya will be paired with...” Dramatic pause. “Amy Song!”
We all clapped as Jaya walked over to Amy. She wasn’t quite at Amy’s level of cottagecore, but they looked like they shoppedin the same store. Both seemed happy.
The other intros went the same way. Tanner Byrne, host ofSpell Rehab, did reproductions and restorations of old enchantments. He was sent over to a delighted Quentin. Zeke Murphy owned a famousmagical candy shop in the Strip District in Pittsburgh, Zeke’s Sweets N’at, same name as his show. Dylan was his partner.
Just me and Felicia left. Oh my god. Was I sweating in this freezing warehouse? Had I put on deodorant this morning?
“Charlotte Sharp is the owner of Athame Arts—”
My blood thumped in my ears like bass at a club. Charlotte wore a pale blue knit top with navy pants. Her blond-highlightedhair was styled in a bun with loose strands framing her face that probably took her stylist forever to get perfect. Her honey-tanskin was—
Wait. Her sweater. Was blue. Not yellow.
