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CHAPTER ONE: Something WickedWe saw the girl at the edge of the woods in early September. Her red sports car was parked under the trees, and she was sitting on the hood of the car wearing a red coat. She looked like a car advertisement that might convince any boy he wanted to buy. I’m not too bad myself. My aunt Hilda tells me I’m cute as a bug’s ear, and she genuinely believes bugs are adorable. I would’ve mentally congratulated the girl on being airbrushed by Mother Nature and walked on without another glance—if my boyfriend hadn’t been giving her so many. Harvey was walking me home from school. We’d been hurrying before he caught sight of the girl, because the wind was rising. One gust of wind curled around us now like an invisible whip. I watched the first leaves fall from the trees in a sudden bright, beautiful flurry of green. They glistened in the air like a rain of emeralds, and I felt a sudden pang. The summer was so close to ending. A blanket of thick gray clouds had rolled over the treetops. Greendale was lost to sun and in shadow. Night was coming early. I nudged Harvey and tried to keep my voice light. “She’s hot, but it’s freezing out here.” “Hey, she’s nothing compared to you,” said Harvey. “Nice car, though.” “Sure, you were looking at the car.” “I was!” Harvey protested. “’Brina!” The wind tugged insistently on my jacket as I ran through the new-fallen leaves, as if there were ghosts trying to get my attention. Harvey chased after me, still protesting and laughing. We left the girl in red behind us.Harvey, Roz, Susie, and I became besties on our very first day of school, in the way kids do: strangers at first bell and soul mates by lunchtime. People said that someday a boy would stop wanting girls as playmates, and we would lose Harvey as we grew up. We never did.I’ve loved Harvey my whole life, and I’ve had a crush on him almost as long. He was my first kiss, and I’ve never wanted another. I remember going on a school expedition through the Greendale woods and finding an abandoned well by a stream. Harvey was so excited by the discovery, he sat on the bank of the stream and sketched a picture of the well at once.I sneaked a look at his dark head bowed over the pages of his sketchbook, and wished for him. But I didn’t have a coin to throw in the well, and when I tried to throw a pebble in I missed. It was winter when Harvey asked me if I wanted to go to the movies. I showed up, and was shocked and thrilled to find it was just the two of us. I was so excited, I still have no idea what happened in that movie. All I remember is the brush of our hands as we both reached for the popcorn. Such a simple, silly thing, but the touch felt electric. He reached out and twined my salty fingers with his own, and I thought, This is how witches burn. I remember him leaning in and kissing me at my gate. I closed my eyes, and the kiss was soft, and I was surprised that the whole apple orchard did not transform into blooming red roses.From then on, Harvey and I held hands in school, he walked me home every day, and we went on dates. But I never brought up the issue of whether we were official-official, boyfriend-girlfriend. Other people call him my boyfriend, but I never have . . . not yet. I’m afraid to lose what we already have.My family keep telling me that it can’t last. And I’m afraid he doesn’t feel the same way I do. I know Harvey likes me. I know he would never hurt me. But I want his heart to pound at the sight of me, as if someone is demanding entry to his soul. And I wonder if he settled for something safe and familiar. The girl next door, not the forever girl.Sometimes I want him to look at me as if I’m magic. I am half magic, after all.
