Jessica
Journal Entry from 2006
To enhance any celebration, mix saltpeter with ice. Drop a vial of watered wine into the concoction, and soon thou wilst have the most delectable snow thou hast ever tasted.
Goody Fletcher, Book of Useful Household Tips
It started out as a gentle flurry . . . just enough so that Mom had to put on the windshield wipers as we were driving home from Stew Leonard’s.
Then the snow got heavier. And heavier. Soon it was coming down so hard and fast that my little brother, Ethan, asked, “Is this a blizzard?”
“No, it can’t be,” Dad said. “They didn’t say anything about a blizzard in the forecast.”
Then the local news came on. It was official: it was a blizzard. Airports were shut down. The highways closed to all but emergency vehicles. Even the trains that normally shuttled millions of commuters in and out of New York City came to a halt.
Here’s the thing: it never occurred to me that there was anything paranormal about it. I wouldn’t even have known otherwise if Rosalie hadn’t called that night on my parents’ landline to ask, “How are you liking my little birthday present?”
I was confused. “My birthday’s not till Tuesday.”
“Yeah,” she said, “but weren’t you having a party at Mama Giovanni’s tonight?”
“Um, I was. But we moved it to my house because of the snow.” I had to stick a finger in my free ear to hear her because Mark and Dina and some of my other friends had come over. It was silly, but we were playing Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix in the living room on Ethan’s Nintendo. So it was loud near the landline. “Mark’s mom is here making dinner for us. Why? What’s your present?”
“God, you’re dumb.” Rosalie’s voice rose to a frenzied pitch. “Do you have any idea how dumb you are? I’m the one making this storm happen. It was me. I did it to ruin your party and get back at you for what you did to Billy.”
“What did I do to Billy?” I was genuinely bewildered—and a little concerned. “I gave you the love spell. I thought you were going to use it on him in time to get him to take you out for Valentine’s Day. Didn’t it work for you?”
“No, it didn’t work for me.” Rosalie sounded as if she were crying. “It didn’t work for you, either.”
“Yes, it did, Rosalie. If it didn’t work for you, you must have done something wrong. Love spells work best under a full moon. Wait until the next full moon, then try it again. And did you leave out the garlic? I left out the garlic, and I think that’s what made all the—”
“The spell didn’t work because Billy was already in love with you, you idiot!” Rosalie spat into the phone. “He just told me. He told me that we could never be together because he’s been in love with you since the beginning of the school year, when you were so nice to him in Chem class, helping him to not flunk it and get kicked off the stupid football team. And he likes that you’re so tall. He says he likes not having to lean down so far to kiss you.” She let out a bitter laugh. “Can you believe it? He actually loves you. Really loves you. He always has. The only reason he’s been leaving you alone lately is because you asked him to, and he loves you so much, he wants to make you happy. He even got his scholarship back—because you told him to!”
I stood there in complete astonishment, holding the phone to my ear as Mark yelled, “Switching to hard mode!” and Dina shrieked with laughter. Billy Walker was in love with me? Really in love with me, and not magically in love with me?
Everything made so much sense now: why he’d refused to go away after I’d told him I wasn’t interested . . . and why the banishing spells hadn’t worked.
There’s no magic greater than love—real love. No power on earth is stronger.
“You can’t use a love spell on someone who’s already in love with someone else,” Rosalie went on, angrily. “No matter how pure your intentions. And you especially can’t use a love spell on someone who’s already in love with you. You ate that disgusting stew in front of Billy for nothing . . . and so did I.”
“Rosalie.” I was stunned. “I—I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t even know the meaning of the word sorry.” Rosalie sniffed. “Not yet. But I plan on making you sorry. First with this storm, and then by reporting you to the World Council of Witches for causing the suffering of others through the use of magic. You know that’s forbidden, right? That should earn you a lifetime ban from the WCW right there. Not that you’d ever qualify as a member anyway.”
“What?” I wandered up the stairs as far as the phone cord would stretch in order to get away from the cacophony of noise below me. That didn’t help me escape the rumble of thundersnow above, however. “What are you talking about, Rosalie? None of this was my fault. I didn’t know Billy was in love with me. And you just said my spell didn’t work! I know Billy’s hurt right now, but I didn’t cause that hurt by using magic. You, however, are very definitely hurting people with this storm. I just heard on the news that thousands of people are stranded at the airports and train stations and on the sides of the road—”
“If anyone’s hurt, it’s your fault,” Rosalie snapped. “Remember this day, Jessica Gold. Remember it well. Because whatever happens, it’s all your fault.”
Then the phone went dead in my ear. A second later, the lights went out, and Dance Dance Revolution died, to the groans of all my friends.
The power was gone. And with it any sympathy I might once have had for Rosalie Hopkins.