A PERFECT START

  Heidi woke up before her alarm and before Mom could pop in to say, “Wake up, buttercup!”

  Heidi even woke up before her little brother, Henry.

  She hopped out of bed and glanced in the mirror.

  Wow, my hair looks salon PERFECT! she thought. I’m off to a great start!

  Then Heidi grabbed her totally already-packed backpack.

  As soon as she stepped into the hall, she stopped.

  “Mmm,” she murmured, taking a deep breath. “Something smells AMAZING!”

  Heidi clumped downstairs to the kitchen as fast as she could. Dad had made his famous salted dark-chocolate waffles.

  “It’s not even Saturday!” Heidi exclaimed as she picked two perfect waffles.

  She sat at the table and sighed happily.

  “I think this may be the PERFECT day!” Heidi cheered.

  Dad pulled a waffle off the iron with a fork. “Well, don’t jinx it!” he said.

  “That’s funny,” said Mom. “I’m having a perfect day too! I just found my lost bracelet. It’s been missing for over a year! Can you believe it?”

  Mom jangled her bracelet. The little bell that hung from it jingled.

  Dad pointed to Henry’s empty seat at the table and said, “Hmm, we seem to be missing someone if this day is going to be perfect. Heidi, can you please wake up your sleepyhead brother?”

  Heidi shoveled another bite into her mouth and nodded. She liked being the waker-upper rather than the one being woken up.

  Heidi ran upstairs and opened Henry’s door.

  “Hey, Henry!” she whispered. “It’s time to get up!”

  Henry jumped up from bed and flopped like a fish out of water.

  “Don’t WHISPER!” Henry said. “I thought you were a GHOST!”

  Heidi giggled and rolled her eyes. “Get up before you miss the bus,” she said. “Oh, and PS, I’m pretty sure there are no such things as ghosts.”

  Henry covered his head with a pillow. “You’re only PRETTY sure?” he asked.

  Heidi laughed. “Well, you never know with ghosts,” she said, shutting the door behind her.

  Then she opened the door back up and cried, “BOO!”

  LOLLIPOP SECRETS

  Why is Bruce Bickerson sitting next to a kindergartner? Heidi wondered as she boarded the bus. Where was she supposed to sit now?

  “Sit here,” someone said.

  It was Stanley Stonewrecker, and he slapped the empty seat beside him.

  So Heidi happily slid onto the seat beside Stanley. Now her perfect day was back on track.

  “What’s up, cool pup?” she asked.

  Stanley let out a big laugh and said, “Wow, you’re in a good mood!”

  Heidi bounced on the seat. “I’m having the perfect day!” she told him.

  “Cool, but this might make it better,” said Stanley as he pulled a lollipop from his backpack.

  Heidi squealed. Every kid knew that lollipops made everything better.

  Heidi read the wrapper. “Candy Pop: Grape. I’ve seen this kind of lollipop before! Remember when we were partners for the science fair?”

  “Um, how could I forget?” said Stanley. “Melanie and Bruce’s volcano erupted all over the judges… AND MELANIE! But what does the science fair have to do with lollipops?”

  “BECAUSE I had a secret admirer then,” said Heidi. “And they gave me grape Candy Pops just like this!”

  Stanley’s face suddenly became red and blotchy.

  “Is something wrong?” asked Heidi.

  Stanley rubbed his red cheeks and said, “Well, um, those lollipops were from ME, Heidi.”

  Heidi’s eyes went wide as she said, “NO WAY! From YOU? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  Stanley shrugged. “I guess I chickened out. But I won’t now. Maybe… we could hang out… sometime… together—unless you don’t want to or anything. It’s cool.”

  Heidi couldn’t believe her ears!

  “I’d like that,” she said as the bus arrived at school.

  Heidi and Stanley stood up and filed off the bus with the other kids. Stanley met up with his friends.

  Lucy Lancaster and Bruce waved Heidi over to the playground.

  “Sorry you had to sit with Stanley,” said Bruce. “I told that kid my seat was saved, but he wouldn’t budge.”

  Heidi shrugged and said, “No biggie.”

  She decided to keep her secret about Stanley to herself.

  PANICKY PRINCIPAL

  Heidi skipped down the hall to her classroom—until she heard Principal Pennypacker on the PA system.

  “Attention, students! Attention, students!” he announced. “Will Heidi Heckelbeck and Melanie Maplethorpe please come to the principal’s office?”

  Lucy and Bruce looked at Heidi as if she had suddenly turned into a criminal.

  “Heidi, what did you DO?!” asked Lucy.

  Heidi’s mind cartwheeled as she tried to think if she had done anything.

  “Nothing that I know of,” she said.

  Then the principal came back on the PA system. “Please HURRY, girls!”

  Lucy’s and Bruce’s eyes grew even wider.

  “He sounds worried,” said Bruce.

  “Maybe even panicky,” added Lucy.

  Heidi tried to play it cool. “I’m sure everything’s fine,” she said, but her perfect-day feeling was beginning to slip.

  Principal Pennypacker greeted Heidi at the door of his office. “Heidi, please come inside. Melanie is already here.”

  Heidi sat next to Melanie, who looked very bored.

  “Okay. What’s the deal, Principal Pennypacker?” asked Melanie. “Did we, like, win an award or something? Or are we changing schools because we’re too smart for this place?”

  Heidi rolled her eyes and thought, Sometimes Melanie can be so rude!

  Principal Pennypacker slid his hands into his pockets. “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” he said. “I need to know if either of you have been having the perfect day.”

  Melanie’s ponytail swished from side to side as she shook her head. “I’m having an average day,” she said. “It’s fine, but not perfect.”

  The principal pressed his hands together. “Good!” he declared. “A plain old normal day is just right! And what about you, Heidi?”

  “I actually AM having a PERFECT day,” Heidi admitted. “Is that bad?”

  The principal nervously patted the tuft of hair on either side of his head—maybe to make sure they were still there.

  “Oh merg!” was all he said.

  Suddenly a swirl of sparkles circled around Heidi, Melanie, and the principal.

  Then—whoosh!—the sparkles swished right out the window.

  Melanie sat up straight. “What just happened?”

  Principal Pennypacker gave them a worried smile. “Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “You two can go back to class now. I’ll take it from here.”

  Melanie stood up. “I would just like to say, something super-weird just happened and now we have to go back to class. So this is officially NOT a perfect day.”

  And for the first time in her life, Heidi agreed with Melanie.

  She had seen that swirl of sparkles before, and she knew exactly what it was: magic.

  And all that magic had left the room. But did that mean Heidi’s had left her, too?

  HICCUPS!

  As the girls walked back to class, Heidi no longer had a spring in her step. She wanted the feeling of a perfect day to come back.

  Well, at least I still have the lollipop Stanley gave me, she thought as she pulled out the candy.

  “Oh, you shouldn’t have, Heidi! You are SO sweet!” said Melanie as she snatched the sucker right out of Heidi’s hand. “Eeeew, GROSS! It’s GRAPE! No thanks.”

  Then Melanie flung the lollipop into a trash can. Clunk!

  Heidi clenched her fists and said, “Melanie—that was MINE!”

  Melanie shrugged. “Oops, I thought it was for me,” she explained. “But I did you a FAVOR, Heidi. Grape lollipops are disgusting, and they turn your tongue PURPLE, like a lizard’s! So… you’re welcome.”

  With that, Melanie walked into the classroom. Heidi wanted to fish her lollipop out of the trash, but it was the trash can next to the boys’ bathroom… which everyone called the “trash can of no return.”

  Heidi’s perfect day kept going downhill. Lunch was fish sticks. School fish sticks were always mushy. And to make matters worse, everyone kept asking why she and Melanie had been called to the office.

  Lucy plopped her lunch tray onto the table. “So, what happened in the office?” she asked. “There’s a rumor that you and Melanie got in BIG trouble.”

  Heidi rolled her eyes.

  “Principal Pennypacker just asked about our day,” she said. “We’re not in trouble.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” said Lucy. Then she picked up a fish stick that was so soggy, it broke in half.

  “Ew,” said Lucy. “This is one squooshy fish stick! I wish we could have PIZZA instead.”

  Then Heidi’s friend hiccupped, and the absolute weirdest thing happened. A trail of magical sparkles shivered from around Lucy and swooshed into the kitchen.

  Heidi looked back at Lucy. Oh no! What just happened?

  Lucy covered her mouth and said, “Excuse me! That was unexpected!”

  But it wasn’t as unexpected as what happened next. The doors to the kitch en swung open, and the kitchen staff walked into the cafeteria carrying boxes of pizza.

  “Attention, students!” said the head cook. “Today you deserve something better than fish sticks, so we’re giving everyone free pizza!”

  The kids burst into cheers—everyone except Heidi. Because Heidi had just seen magic come from her best friend. And her best friend wasn’t even a witch!

  WATCHDOG

  Is my best friend MAGIC? Or was it my imagination? Heidi wondered.

  Either way, Heidi decided to keep an eye on Lucy to see if she would hiccup again. Watchdog Heidi discovered Lucy did a lot of different things.

  Lucy yawned. Lucy stretched. Lucy twirled her pencil. Lucy often pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She also raised her hand a lot, which reminded Heidi that her best friend was really smart.

  The only thing Lucy didn’t do was hiccup. No hiccups in math. No hiccups in science. Now they were in art, painting pottery bowls.

  Mr. Doodlebee caught Heidi staring at Lucy.

  “Heidi, keep your eyes on your own project,” he said. “You don’t need to watch what Lucy’s doing.”

  Lucy looked at Heidi and giggled. Heidi blushed and tried to talk it off.

  “Your bowl looks AMAZING, Lucy,” she said.

  And it was totally true. Lucy had painted the cutest daisies on her perfectly round bowl.

  Heidi’s bowl, on the other hand, was definitely not perfectly round. It was a little crooked and wobbly… and maybe not even a bowl?

  Why doesn’t my art ever turn out the way I think it will? she wondered.

  “Could you please pass the pink paint, Heidi?” Lucy whispered.

  Heidi slid the jar of pink paint across the table just a little too fast. Zoop!

  The jar bumped into Lucy’s bowl, which slid off the table and onto the floor. SMASH!

  “My bowl!” Lucy cried. “It’s… Hiccup!”

  Heidi gasped as a puff of magic floated under the table.

  There she goes AGAIN!

  “Oh no!” said Mr. Doodlebee. “Lucy, is your poor bowl okay? It was one of the best-shaped bowls in the class!”

  Lucy stood up from under the table and held up her still-perfect, very unbroken bowl.

  “Yes!” she said. “Somehow it’s MAGICALLY fine!”

  MAGICAL MAYHEM!

  Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Heidi thought on the bus home from school.

  Stanley sat down beside her. Any other afternoon, Heidi would love sitting next to her not-a-secret-anymore admirer.

  But not this afternoon.

  “What’s so ‘Oh no!’?” Stanley asked.

  Heidi looked hard at Stanley. “Wait, did I say ‘Oh no!’ out loud?”

  Stanley thought for a moment. “You must have, or how else would I have heard you?”

  Heidi nodded. But she sensed something weird was going on.

  At least I didn’t mention what happened with Lucy, she thought.

  “What happened with Lucy?” Stanley asked.

  Heidi looked at Stanley like he was from another planet. Oh my gosh! Stanley must be READING MY MIND!

  Stanley laughed and said, “Heidi, don’t be silly. I can’t read minds! That’s impossible.”

  Heidi changed the subject quickly so Stanley wouldn’t know that he was reading her mind. “So, how was your day?”

  “Totally great!” he said. “Can you believe we got pizza instead of fish sticks? That was like real MAGIC!”

  The word “magic” sent a cold chill over Heidi’s entire body.

  Luckily, the bus groaned to a stop at Heidi’s corner.

  “Well, gotta go!” she said. Heidi raced off the bus and ran all the way home.

  “MOM!” she shouted as she came inside. “Meet me in the family room!”

  Mom was already in the family room, reading a book.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “Mom, can magic disappear?” Heidi asked. “I mean, like, go somewhere else?”

  Mom set her book on her lap. “Only under certain circumstances, but it’s very rare. Why?”

  Before Heidi could answer, Aunt Trudy burst in the front door and charged into the family room.

  “We have a magical emergency!” she shouted.

  Heidi and Mom exchanged a glance.

  Then a hiccup came from the kitchen.

  “HELP!” Dad cried.

  Heidi, Mom, and Aunt Trudy rushed in to find their dishes and silverware had gone bananas!

  Everything flew through the air all by itself! Even the pots and pans were cooking food… by themselves!

  “All I did was hiccup, and this happened!” cried Dad.

  Mom tried to stop the madness with magic, but her magic didn’t work.

  “Oh dear! My magic,” said Mom. “It’s gone!”

  Dad dodged a spatula. “Well, there is certainly no lack of magic in our kitchen!”

  Aunt Trudy shook her car keys. “Come on!” she said. “We’re going to the Magical Library to find answers!”

  Then the girls bolted out the door and left Dad to fend for himself.

  THE PERFECTUS MALUS

  The three witches flew into the Brewster Library on a mission.

  They rushed to the secret magical section. Aunt Trudy held her library card in front of a portrait of an old librarian dressed like a wizard, and the wall opened.

  But all was not well inside the Magical Library either. Books flew around like planes without a flight pattern. The covers flapped like bird wings. Ms. Egli, the head librarian, was trying to catch the books with a butterfly net.

  “Come back here!” she cried, swatting left and right.

  Then she noticed Aunt Trudy, Heidi, and Mom.

  “Hello, ladies!” Ms. Egli cried. “Please grab a net and help me catch these wild books! There’s magical mischief in the library today!”

  So they grabbed nets and charged after the flying books. As soon as a book was caught, it quietly returned to its rightful place on the shelf.

  One book was especially sneaky. Heidi chased after it around the tree that stood in the middle of the library. But what she found on the other side of the tree was a familiar man who had a tuft of hair on either side of his head.

  Heidi stopped in her tracks.

  “Principal Pennypacker?! What are YOU doing here?!”

  The principal looked up from the book he was studying.

  “I am looking for an answer to our magical problem, and I think I’ve found it!” he said.

  Ms. Egli, Aunt Trudy, and Mom put down their nets and ran over. The principal held up a book called The Perfectus Malus.

  “That’s the same book we came to look at!” Aunt Trudy cried.

  Heidi couldn’t believe what was happening. “Wait!” she interrupted. “Principal Pennypacker, are you MAGIC?”

  “Well, not at the moment,” the principal admitted. “I’ve lost my magic, due to the Perfectus Malus.”

  Heidi shook her head. “The WHAT?”

  “The Perfectus Malus! It’s a magical transfer that is very, very, very rare,” Principal Pennypacker explained. “The transfer usually happens when the magic of a witch or a wizard latches on to someone or something close to them.”

  Ms. Egli put her hands on her hips. “Well, that explains the wackiness in the library!” she cried. “My magic must have gone to my books!”

  The principal nodded and continued. “Most witches and wizards don’t notice it because the magic returns to them the next day. However, if someone else knowingly uses the magic during the Perfectus Malus, then the magic becomes confused and won’t know where it belongs.”

  Uh-oh, thought Heidi. “Then what happens?”

  Principal Pennypacker took off his glasses. “If the magic becomes confused between its true witch or wizard, the magic could go—and stay—with someone else,” he said. “This means the rightful witch or wizard could lose their magic forever.”

 

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