Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

We sat down with our trays in the Godmother dining hall, sunlight streaming through the tall windows and casting rainbows on our table. The chandeliers' warm light bounced off the polished silverware, and somewhere a fireplace crackled, but my mind wasn't on the ambiance. I kept glancing at the ornate clock above the mantle.

"Jessie," I said, keeping my voice low, "we've given it enough time, don't you think? We should check out the potion's classroom soon. Today."

She nodded, her brown eyes serious beneath her messy bun. "Text me the second Ms. Ingow leaves. I'll be nearby. "

"Got it." My reply was short, to the point. No need for fancy words; we knew what we had to do.

Robbie poked at his eggs and then looked up, his face determined. "We're going in broad daylight," he said matter-of-factly. "Act like you belong, and no one questions you. Middle of the night is just asking to get caught."

"Exactly," I said. If we were spotted, at least we could pretend we took a wrong turn or something. In the dark, there’s no such excuse; everyone knows you’re up to no good.

We finished eating in silence, each lost in thought about the potion that had become our obsession. It was time to act. The clock hands pointed to our cue, and we left our dishes behind, heading toward potions class.

Ms. Ingow stopped at our table, staring down at the green bubbling potion. She sniffed our brew several times, frowned, and sniffed again. "Did you add the hair of a racoon?"

"We did," I said, while Robbie and I exchanged a look.

"And a fox’s eyelash? "

"Yes."

She gave a nod. "Then, put a drop on each of your wrists, and we’ll see if you made the speedy brew correctly."

Reluctantly, Robbie and I did as we were told. The green potion stung just a bit, which I hoped wasn’t a bad sign, then disappeared into my sink. Which was kind of unsettling.

"Now what?" I asked.

Ms. Ingow spread her hands out around her. "Now, run around the classroom." Then, she raised her voice. "Once you’re done with your potions, all you need is a drop on each of your wrists, then, try to run around and see what happens."

I felt weird, but I tried, and it was like the classroom zipped away around me. I stopped as papers fluttered in the air. Looking back, I realized I’d ran all the way to the back of the classroom.

Robbie grinned and zipped right at me, crashing lightly into me. I laughed, stepped back. "Whoa! Whoa!"

"Sorry!" Robbie said, laughing. "That was awesome!"

Suddenly, our classmates were zipping all around the room, and laughter filled the air. This potion was a fun one, and a useful one.

Marcus suddenly started jumping around the room like a frog. His eyes were wide and frightened. Everyone turned to Ms. Ingow.

Our teacher sighed. "Too much frog leg, Mr. Marcus. Eat one of those tiny white stones in the back of the classroom, and you’ll be fine." Her gaze swept over the class. "Now, dispose of your potions properly, write your notes concerning all your observations with this potion."

We did as she said, and Jessie took a seat at our table with us, helping us to dispose of our potion properly, and giving us some hints about what Ms. Ingow would want to see in our notes. When we were done, we sat silently, waiting for the other students to finish. Time kept ticking, and we kept sitting. Some of these students spent far too much time on their notes. I had no idea why.

My leg bounced under the table, an anxious tic betraying my eager anticipation .

"Remember, your projects are due next week," Ms. Ingow announced, snapping the potion book shut.

"Finally," I whispered to Robbie as we gathered our things. This was it, time to set the stage.

Once we got out in the hallway, I paused. "Oops," The word escaped my lips as I intentionally let my purse slip from my grasp. It hit the ground with a dramatic thud, spilling its contents across the polished stone floor. Pens scattered, gum packets skidded into corners, and a kaleidoscope of makeup rolled in every direction.

"Jessie, help me pick these up, will you?" I asked, as she walked by, making a show of gathering my belongings.

"Of course," Jessie said, her tone laced with the unspoken message, she knew the drill.

We knelt, collecting items at a snail's pace. I kept one eye on Ms. Ingow’s door, waiting for the moment she'd leave. I could feel the curious gazes of other students as they passed by, but no one stopped to help. Not that I wanted them to; it was all part of the plan.

"Robbie’s watching," Jessie whispered between apologies to people stepping over us. "I can see him just over there."

"Good," I said, pocketing a lipstick. "He'll let us know when it's clear."

Each second stretched into eternity, but we stayed focused on the task. The hallway began to empty as students dispersed, leaving Jessie and I amidst a sea of cosmetic debris. If everything went according to plan, we'd soon uncover the mystery of that potion.

"Can you believe they just walked by?" Robbie's voice was a mix of amusement and indignation as he stooped to pick up an errant tube of mascara.

I shook my head, not really surprised. "They've been looking through me since day one," I said, scooping up a handful of pins. "But it works for us today."

Robbie glanced at me, and I could see the twinkle of mischief in them. "You're a clever one," he handed me a pack of gum that had slid under a bench.

"Comes with being a mom, you learn a thing or two about distractions." I winked at him, and we both laughed quietly, continuing our slow-motion cleanup operation .

True to form, our classmates showed no interest in lending a hand. They continued their way, noses buried in their spell books or chatting idly about their plans for the afternoon. It was like we were invisible, but today, invisibility was our ally.

"Hey, watch it," Jessie said as a student nearly stepped on her hand. She pulled back just in time, clutching a tube of lip gloss like it was a precious gem.

"Sorry," the student said, not even pausing in her stride. Typical.

We didn't have long to stew in the slight, though. Ms. Ingow burst out of the potion's classroom, her long blonde hair trailing behind her like a comet's tail. Her attention was fixed on her watch, and she was muttering something about an appointment.

"Perfect timing," I whispered to Robbie.

"Got it." My heart raced as the last of the students filtered out, leaving the hallway eerily quiet, save for the distant echo of footsteps and the occasional creak of ancient stone. I gathered the remaining items, stuffing them haphazardly back into my purse.

"Ready?" Robbie stood and offered me a hand.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I took his hand, and together with Jessie we walked to the door of the potion's classroom.

"Here goes nothing," I said as Robbie pushed the door open. The room was empty, the air still tinged with the scent of simmering herbs and the faintest hint of sulfur from some experiment gone awry.

"Quickly now," Robbie said, and we stepped inside, our eyes scanning the room for any sign of the potion recipe we so desperately needed.

I nodded toward Ms. Ingow's abandoned desk. We crept over, Robbie keeping watch at the door while Jessie and I rifled through the desk. "Here are the glass pieces," I said. I rifled through the folder underneath it. "Found something." My fingers closed around a sheet of paper filled with a list of ingredients. "But it's just...ingredients."

"Let me see." Jessie leaned over my shoulder, squinting at the paper in my hand. "Dragon's breath, phoenix tears, moonflower petals... This is all she wrote down?"

"Apparently." Frustration nipped at me. "No potion name, no instructions, nothing. "

"Great." Jessie's sarcasm was as thick as the dust on some of these shelves. "How are we supposed to find anything without a name?"

"Take a picture of the list." Robbie said, peeking over my other shoulder. "We'll have to cross-reference it with every potion book we can find."

"Ugh," Jessie groaned as I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of the ingredients list. "You'd think after all this time, someone would've digitized the godmother archives."

"Right?" I tucked my phone safely back into my pocket. "A search engine would make this so much easier."

"Guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way." Robbie stepped back from the door. "Library, here we come."

I stuffed the paper back into its place, and we left the room, ready to dig through dusty tomes for answers that should've been just a click away.