Page 37 of Bewitched & Bewildered
Goddess… he is so strange. I may never understand that man.
Chapter 9
Juniper
Our shop isquiet the next day. Too quiet. I pop a piece of chocolate into my mouth as I peer at the cauldron, waiting for the simmering potion to change colors.
Working with Laurel is a good plan—in theory. In practice, my youngest sister is a pain when she’s bored. I lose track of the pointless questions she’s asked, and the music blaring in the shop gives me a headache. This is what I get for telling her she can pick the playlist.
Her taste isn’t terrible, but I prefer The Cocteau Twins, and she likes Rainbow Kitten Surprise. If I have to listen to Devil Like Me one more time…
After hours of listening to the racket, I have to put a stop to it.
“Can you turn that down?”
I can barely hear my cooking show over the din. I may be terrible in the kitchen, but nothing relaxes me more than a baking show.
“What?” Laurel asks without lifting her head.
“Your music!”
She ignores me, and I tromp to the speakers, unplugging them from the wall.
“Hey!” She frowns at me.
Finally, I get her attention.
“I’m working over here,” I mutter as I stomp to my cauldron in the back of the shop.
Having lost her distraction, Laurel follows me. I drop three bay leaves into the cauldron and dip my wooden spoon back in.
“Whatcha making?” She stands a foot away.
Laurel knows better than to stick her face into my potions. She was only ten years old when she first singed off her eyebrows.
“A shapeshifting potion,” I say.
“For what reason?” Her eyes bulge out of her head. “There’s no way someone requested this.”
“You’re right,” I mutter. I must stir exactly twenty times—no more, no less. At this rate, Laurel is going to make me lose count. “This is for me.”
“What could you possibly need a shapeshifting potion for?”
I ignore her as I count. Ten… nine… eight.
Laurel crosses her arms. Her hip pops out as she waits.
When I’m at a stopping point, I lift my head. “I’m going undercover to check on his shop. I need to see what he’s doing right.”
It can’t be the prices. Our prices are the same. I can only think of his spell-casting services, but that can’t be it, either. My potions are as good. I’ll fight over that fact.
She squints. “You’re going to waste your lunch snooping on that guy?”
“No. I’m snooping on hisshop. It’s different.”
“Uh-huh…”
I turn off the burner and ladle the potion into a cup. “Bottle up the rest of this while I’m gone. You never know when someone will request it.”
