Books for Girls - Witch School - Book 1

Witch School

  Book 1

  Miss Moffat's Academy

  for

  Refined Young Witches

  Katrina Kahler

  Copyright ? KC Global Enterprises Pty Ltd

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter One

  The shrill sound of the ambulance was deafening as it pulled up outside. But at least it had drowned out the sound of the panicked mothers as they hovered around the boy frozen stiff in the middle of the room.

  Fortunately, Charlotte's mother had narrowly beaten the ambulance to the birthday party. She took in the scene and knew exactly what to do.

  This is the moment that Charlotte's life changed forever...

  It all started at Charlotte's next-door neighbor's birthday party and the silly thing is that she didn't even want to be there.

  There were bunches of balloons scattered around the room, all in varying shades of pink. A banner with the message 'happy birthday' on it took up half of the far wall, and a group of adults stood to the side of the room, sipping on tea and stuffing their faces with leftover sandwiches.

  Charlotte Smyth sat crossed-legged on the floor, in between a girl who kept rubbing her nose onto the back of her sleeve and a flat-haired boy who'd already won at apple bobbing and musical statues. She felt foolish being there playing party games at the age of eleven, but it was a family friend's party and she didn't want to upset the birthday girl, so she went along with it. Charlotte took the pink wrapped parcel off the nose-rubbing girl and that's when the One Direction song stopped playing.

  'That's not fair, she cheated!' the flat-haired boy screamed.

  'No I didn't,' Charlotte replied, before she ripped the layer of paper off the parcel, revealing another layer of paper and a lollipop.

  'You held onto it for ages,' he said as he snatched the lollipop out of the paper.

  'Hey, that's mine.' Charlotte tried to get the lollipop back but he kept moving it out of her reach.

  'Ed give it back, the music stopped on Charlotte,' a girl who sat opposite them said.

  'Yeah, give it back Ed,' another boy said.

  'It's okay, I have spares,' one of the viewing adults came tottering over and pulled a lollipop from her cardigan pocket then passed it to Charlotte.

  The boy smirked at Charlotte before the music restarted, and he snatched the parcel out of her lap and reluctantly passed it to the poor child who sat next to him.

  Pass-the-parcel finished and Charlotte stood up and was about to walk away when this most annoying boy sarcastically wisecracked. 'Your hair is so curly.'

  Charlotte looked up to see the flat-haired boy smirking at her. 'It's stupid, you look like a giant fuzz ball.'

  'Shut-up,' she growled back.

  'What was that, fuzz ball? I couldn't hear you under all that fuzz.'

  Charlotte stared at the grinning boy, annoyed and angry by his comments.

  'Yeah well, you're a...' It was then that she realized that the boy wasn't moving, he was still grinning but his entire body was still. She waved her hand in front of the boy's face but he didn't blink.

  'Stop messing about, it's not funny,' she poked his arm with her finger and watched in alarm as his rigid body fell backwards onto the floor.

  A nearby girl let out a scream and a couple of the adults came rushing over.

  'Edward, Edward darling, say something,' a woman gently shook him. 'He's not moving. He's rigid!'

  'Musical statues is over, buddy,' a man bent down by the boy and tried bending his arms, only they would not move. 'What the fudge,' he let go of Ed and took a step back. 'He's frozen solid, he's a statue.'

  'Don't just stand there Keith, ring an ambulance,' the woman snapped at him.

  The man fiddled in his pocket for his phone, finally finding it and calling for emergency help. Within minutes they could hear the ambulance approaching and just as it pulled up outside...a pretty, well-dressed woman, with hair as frizzy as Charlotte's rushed over to the boy and bent down in front of him.

  'He's quite alright, he just needs a glass of water,' she said to the boy's mother.

  'He's not all right, he's frozen solid!' she sobbed.

  'Please, a drink,' the frizzy haired woman forced a smile.

  Ed's mother asked another woman to go and get the water and to be quick as her precious son was dying.

  'Some space please,' the woman said to the crowd of onlookers, and they all took a reluctant step backwards. She bent over Ed and whispered some words.

  With a cough and a splutter Ed sat up, he shook out his limbs and repeatedly blinked his eyes before focusing them on Charlotte.

  'Her, it was her!' he pointed straight at Charlotte.

  'I didn't do anything.'

  'Yes, you did, you did this to me. I saw you do it!'

  The woman hurried back over with the glass of water and held it up to Ed's lips.

  'It's okay sweetie,' his mother wrapped her arms around him.

  'It was her, Mother, I saw her do it.'

  'With the utmost respect I don't see how my daughter could have caused such a thing to have happened,' the frizzy haired woman stood-up and walked over to Charlotte. 'We're leaving,' she whispered to her.

  As Charlotte followed her mom across the room she felt everyone's gaze on her as they gossiped amongst themselves. She'd been angry with Ed and she'd wanted him to stop teasing her but she didn't see how she could have caused him to freeze. She came to the conclusion that he must have eaten something funny, as people didn't just freeze solid for no reason.

  Her mom was silent as they walked home, but Charlotte didn't mind this. As they walked, she wondered if she'd ever be invited to a party again.

  It wasn't until later that day that Charlotte's mom called her into the kitchen and gestured for her to take a seat next to her at the circular table.

  'Hi sweetie, I want to talk to you about what happened earlier at the party,' her mom said, her voice gentle.

  'I didn't touch him Mom, he was teasing me but I didn't do anything.'

  'I know that you didn't intend to do anything but that doesn't mean you didn't,' she sighed before continuing. 'Your father doesn't know this because he's an ordinary, a human, but I'm a witch.'

  'A w-what?'

  'When I was a child I found that I could do things, extraordinary things and it appears that you also have powers,' she placed a hand on top of Charlotte's. 'It's nothing to be afraid of, actually it's exciting, but you need to go somewhere where you can be properly trained so that nothing like what happened at the party ever happens again. As I said before, your dad knows nothing about witches. He is an ordinary. So this has to be our secret.'

  'I didn't mean to do anything to that boy, although he was horrible. I'm not a w-witch,' Charlotte pulled her hand free from under her mom's and folded her arms.

  Her mother glanced around the kitchen to confirm they were alone before she looked at the unlit candle in the center of the room, then clicked her fingers. A bright flame immediately appeared and gently flickered. Charlotte stared at it open-mouthed before turning her gaze to her mom.

  'You're a witch, Charlotte, just like me. Ever since you were a toddler, I have watched you manipulating objects,' she gently grabbed Charlotte's shoulders and looked directly at her. 'There's two possible boarding schools where you can go to learn to control your powers. Witchery
College and Miss Moffat's Academy for Refined Young Witches. My preferred choice for you is the latter, I contacted them earlier and they have a space. You're very lucky to have this opportunity, you will make lots of friends and learn so much,' she smiled.

  'Then why don't you go to it,' Charlotte snapped. 'Sorry, it's just all a bit much.'

  'It's okay sweetie, I understand. We'll talk more about this tomorrow but remember what I said about your father, he doesn't know about witches. He thinks that you're going to a normal boarding school, so please don't tell him otherwise. Ordinaries have a hard time grasping the magical world, which is why we like to keep it a secret from them.'

  'Okay,' Charlotte nodded.

  ***

  That morning she'd been a normal eleven-year-old girl but now everything had changed. She thought back to all the times in her life when odd things had happened, like the time when the broken nib of her pencil reappeared so that she could finish her school exam. There was also the time when the only yoghurt left was a loathed cherry flavor one, but when she went to eat it, it tasted of strawberries. But she'd never turned someone into a statue before, maybe she really was different to the other children, maybe she really was a witch.

  Chapter Two

  It was muggy in the car and Charlotte's hair was stuck to her damp forehead. She wanted to open the window but her mom didn't like the noise that it made when the wind came through the gap. The air-con was on but this didn't seem to help much and Charlotte knew better than to open the window. Her mom was almost as anxious about today as she was, the fact that she'd caught her re-washing the dishes for the second time after breakfast verified this.

  For the last few weeks Charlotte's mom had been dropping the new school into conversation wherever she could. A fact which had made Charlotte more apprehensive, it was also hard not being able to discuss it properly with her mom when her dad was around. She felt as if she was being thrown into a snake pit with no knowledge of which ones were poisonous.

  They were on their way to Miss Moffat's Academy and Charlotte knew that there was no going back.

  'Will we be there soon?' she asked, wiping back a strand of hair off her sticky face.

  'In about an hour sweetie, we'll stop off and grab a drink on-route.'

  'If I don't like this school do I have to stay there?'

  'You will like it, you're fortunate to have been offered a place.'

  'Maybe they should have given it to someone else,' she said under her breath.

  'Charlotte, it will be fine, you just have to be yourself and you'll settle right in.'

  'Okay,' she sighed, the concern still sitting in the pit of her stomach.

  Charlotte turned her head and stared out of the window, watching as her old life blurred past her and her new, unknown one drew evermore closer.

  ***

  After parking the car and her mom yet again going on about how great the school was, they both got out of the car. Charlotte followed her mom down a pathway surrounded by trees and they soon arrived in a clearing where a large maze of green lay in front of them.

  'This is the furthest I can take you,' her mom said, as she leaned down and hugged her daughter.

  'B-but it's a maze, I don't know where I'm going,' Charlotte looked at the narrow path between the high walls of greenery.

  'It's the Entry Maze. It's part of the initiation process.'

  'I'll get lost Mom, I can't do it.'

  'Yes you can,' her mom grabbed her arms and looked directly at her. 'You can do this Charlotte, just follow your instinct.'

  'But it's so big and I don't know where I'm going,' tears dripped down Charlotte's cheeks.

  'You'll know when you find it,' she wiped away one of the tears before she squeezed Charlotte tight. 'Now go before you set me off,' she forced back her own tears as she kissed her on the top of her head.

  ''Okay Mom, I love you,' Charlotte forced a smile before she nervously walked towards the maze entrance, looking back once at her mom and giving a wave before she continued up the path and into the unknown.

  Charlotte had never been keen on mazes, not since she'd ended up separated from her parents in a crop maze when she was five. A random family had stumbled upon her, led her out of it, and reunited her with her parents. She knew that this time no one would come to rescue her and that she was in this on her own.

  She came across yet another dead-end and looked around her, a panicked feeling growing in her stomach. The midday sun was beating down and she didn't know where to go or what to do. Sitting down on the ground, she regained her breath as she tried to calm herself and figure out what to do next.

  'You can do this,' she said to herself, before she closed her eyes tightly and murmured a desperate plea. 'Please, I don't know where to go, I need some help.'

  Charlotte opened her eyes to see a ball of light in front of her. At first she wasn't sure if it was the heat or her anxiety causing her to imagine things but upon blinking, the ball of light remained in sight. The light began to move forwards, so she followed it as it weaved through the passageways, eventually stopping at another dead-end. Only this one wasn't like the other ones she'd previously found, as it contained a large tree. It was so large that Charlotte wondered how she hadn't seen it above the maze walls. It was as luscious green in color as the hedgerows were.

  The tree shook which made Charlotte jump off her feet and then six green faces appeared amongst the foliage.

  'Hello child,' the first face said, which caused Charlotte to become even more alarmed. This wasn't like one of the normal trees that were in the park near her house as she'd never heard them speak.

  'We will ask you a question each, answer them correctly to gain access to the Academy,' the second face said.

  'Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors,' the second face gave a friendly chuckle.

  'Let's begin with an easy one. What's your name?' the first face asked.

  'Ch-Charlotte Symth,' she croaked out.

  'Correct,' the first face boomed.

  'What is the color of a witch's hat?' the second face asked.

  'Erm, black.'

  'Correct.'

  'What is the best mode of transport for a witch?' the third face asked.

  'A broomstick,' she said confidently, beginning to think that these questions were a breeze.

  'What is a witch's preferred pet?' the fourth face said.

  'Erm, a frog, no an owl.'

  'Incorrect,' the voice boomed and Charlotte felt the tears well up in her eyes. She wondered if that was her only chance and she'd failed? 'Don't worry child, you can try again.'

  She thought hard about what it could be and then she recalled the books her mom had read to her as a kid, about a clumsy witch and her magic world.

  'A black cat.'

  'Correct.'

  'What do witches brew potions in?'

  'Erm, a pot, no a cauldron.'

  'Correct.'

  'Nearly there, only this question to go. See if you can solve this riddle: What is a witch's favorite subject?' the sixth face asked.

  Charlotte bit on the side of her lip as she thought about this. She'd never been good at riddles as she tended to over-think them. She took a deep breath and tried to think carefully, hoping that she'd be allowed a few chances to get it right.

  'Potions.'

  'Incorrect,' the sixth face boomed.

  'Oh, erm flying.'

  'Incorrect.'

  'Okay,' she rolled her eyes back as she tried to think what it could be. She thought about what witches were famous for liking; magic, their pets, turning people into rodents and spells. They liked spells. 'Is it spelling?'

  'Correct,' the sixth face said and all the faces began to laugh in unison before the tree shook and the leaves flew into the sky, reforming as large leafy elephants.

  'Cool,' she mouthed.

  The maze vanished in front of her and in its place appeared a large field.

  'Follow us,' the elephants said, befo
re they began to plod along in front of her.

  Charlotte did as they said, wondering what she'd have to do next. Suddenly a hole appeared beneath her and before she could do anything about it she felt herself falling. She landed on her feet in front of four life-sized stone statues of warriors on a platform. Behind them was a large castle. Could this be the Academy? She found herself annoyed at the elephants for coming across as nice and then luring her down that hole. They could have at least given her some warning.

  'Is anyone home? Please can you let me in?' she shouted out, as she looked around for a door.

  There was a loud clacking sound and Charlotte looked up to see the four statues pulling themselves down from their platform and walking over to her in their armor, with varying weapons in their hands as they circled her.

  'What are you doing here?' one of the warriors asked, as he pulled his sword out of its case.