Page 93 of Witch You Would
They paused for a five count, then kept going. “After last night’s fun on one of the ocean’s most exciting cruise ships, I’msure our contestants are ready to continue the celebration theme with our next challenge.”
I was ready to sleep more, honestly, but I was also hyped. Nervous, yes, but not in the way I had been for the last two rounds.The difference was Gil. Knowing it was him, knowing I could trust him in ways that I’d been unsure I could trust Leandro,helped me relax. When he clowned around, I’d know it was for the show. When he drew a magic circle, I wouldn’t stress overtriple-checking it.
I’d still double-check, but that was just normal safety stuff.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. His pale blue shirt was covered in sailboats and clouds, with dolphins leapingout of inky waves. Of course he matched my apron, which was a darker blue full of mermaids casting bubbly spells while fishswam around. I guess we both wanted to go with the cruise ship theme.
“Today’s brief,” Syd said, yoinking my attention back. “The judges would like you to create two dozen party favors. They canbe as small or as large as you’d like, as long as they’re identical and impressive.”
I’d only ever gotten favors at kid parties and weddings. This was going to be great. Not.
“You have two days to envision and enchant your miniature masterpieces of merrymaking. Your time begins . . . now!”
The clock on the wall started counting down from sixteen hours. Eight today, eight tomorrow, unless something went super wrongagain. Hopefully the crew would be paying closer attention to everyone out of paranoia. I sure would be.
Spell design first. I pulled out my trusty notebook and pencil, flipping to the next empty page. It was easier now that Ihad a bookmark.
“Is that the queen of hearts I gave you?” Gil asked.
I blushed. “Yeah. For good luck.” I didn’t tell him I’d been carrying it around every day since the gardens.
Our first kiss. It would always be special to me, whatever else happened. We couldn’t talk about that now, though.
“Penelope—” he started.
“Party favors.” I wrote that at the top of the page. “Again, I wish my cousin Gina was available for consultations. Have youever been to cool parties?”
“Not ones with stuff to take home,” he said. “Besides leftover food or beer or, you know, those little bags of candy and toys?”
“My mom hated those.”
“The plastic noisemaker things.”
“And the clappers.”
“So loud,” we said together, then grinned.
I glanced at Charlotte, wondering what she and Felicia would be making. Something super sophisticated, probably.
At the party, she’d asked about my background and experience and career goals. It had felt almost like a job interview, ormaybe the interview before the interview? I was trying not to get my hopes up.
“Maybe something with bubbles?” Gil suggested. “They had them at my cousin’s wedding instead of rice.”
I wrote “bubbles” on the page. “We can’t do candles, or incense. Potpourri?”
“Soaps?”
“Chocolates?”
We both looked at Dylan and Zeke.
“Not chocolates,” we said, again at the same time.
“They’d wipe the floor with us,” Gil added.
“Bet.” So what else?
Gil kneaded his neck. “Sorry, I’m struggling. It’s hard to think of fancy stuff when I don’t really do fancy.”
