Read Under a Spell for Free Online

“Not to mention that he likes beating up on sixth graders. Oh, and don’t get me started on his aggressive body language. I mean, look at the way he’s standing, and how his eyebrows are cocked. You really shouldn’t hang out with people who have cocked eyebrows, Sophie.”
    That was the other thing about Harvey. Ever since his folks had started fighting he had become obsessed with body language and trying to figure out what it all meant.
    â€œI don’t hang out with him. I don’t even know him,” Sophie protested before suddenly remembering what happened on the way home yesterday. “Well, I didn’t, but when I was walking from the bus, he kind of heard me doing some affirmations. Anyway, we talked for a couple of minutes, but I don’t get why he would be waving at me.”
    â€œI think you’re going to find out really soon.” Harvey nodded as Ben Griggs started to jog toward them. “But if he says anything about beating up sixth graders, I think you should turn him into a toad. Okay?”
    â€œOf course he’s not going to try to beat any of us up,” Sophie assured him before catching his worried look. She let out a reluctant sigh. “Fine. If he even looks at you funny, then he will be totally toadified.”
    â€œToadified? Is that even a word?” Kara asked. But before Sophie could answer, Ben had closed the distance between them and suddenly he was standing there, once again staring directly at her.
    â€œHey, Campbell,” the seventh grader said. “I was hoping to catch you before first period.”
    â€œYou were?” Sophie blinked in surprise. Next to her Harvey and Kara looked equally confused. “Er, why?”
    â€œTo say thank you for letting me touch Eddie Henry’s guitar pick yesterday. You know I was hoping it would bring me good luck when I told my mom about flunking my test? Well, it totally did. I mean, she didn’t even yell or anything. And this is a woman who likes to yell.”
    â€œOh. Okay. Well, that’s good. I mean, no one likes to be yelled at,” she said in a polite voice, still not quite sure she followed what he was saying.
    â€œI know, right.” Ben gave an eager nod of his head. “Anyway, the thing is that I’ve got to go see Principal Gerrard. She’s kind of annoyed at me for setting fire to my lab partner yesterday.”
    â€œYou set your lab partner on fire?” Kara suddenly squeaked, while next to her Harvey started to have a coughing fit and Sophie was pretty sure she heard himmuttering the words
turn the pyro into a toad
under his breath.
    â€œIt was a total accident, and no skin was burned,” Ben assured her, not looking remotely remorseful. Then he shot her a pleading smile. “It’s just Principal Gerrard doesn’t seem to see it that way, so I was kind of hoping I could touch the guitar pick again.”
    For a moment Sophie paused. It wasn’t that she particularly liked Ben Griggs—dating Melissa Tait and setting his lab partner on fire weren’t the kind of qualities she admired in a person. However, he was a friend of Jonathan Tait’s, and there was no way she wanted to offend him. She found herself nodding her head.
    â€œSure. I mean, yeah. I guess.” She reluctantly pulled out the necklace from under her shirt. The minute she did so, Ben reached out and touched it, a reverent look in his green eyes.
    â€œCool.” He finally released the guitar pick so that it fell back against Sophie’s neck, and then he grinned at her. “Anyway, I suppose I’d better go and try to sweet-talk Gerrard, but thanks for the luck.” Then without another word he loped off down the corridor, leaving Sophie and her friends to stare at one another.
    Finally, Kara spoke. “Okay, so can I just say that sixth grade is weird? I mean, did you ever in a million years think that Ben Griggs would ever come up and want