So I'm in the town library this afternoon working on a science project with Wiley MacPherson and Fatty, when Wiley suddenly whispers, "I think Miss Direque is a witch." Fatty and I look at each other, then at him.
"What are you on about?" Fatty whispers back.
"Well, for starters, her name is Miss Direque...get it?"
We shake our heads and wait for him to explain. He rolls his eyes at us. "Miss Direque," he says again. We stare blankly at him. He sighs and rolls his eyes again "Miss Direque! M-i-s-d-i-r-e-c-t! Get it now?"
We shake our heads again. Wiley looks at us like with such pity, I start to develop a complex. "Guys, she's misdirecting us to the fact that she's a witch by pretending to be a boring old librarian," he hisses.
Fatty snorts. "Man, I think you're misdirecting us to the fact that you're not playing with a full deck. Just because she has a weird name doesn't mean she's a witch."
"What about her eyes," Wiley whispers.
"What about them?" I whisper back.
"They're two different colors," he says, "Blue and green. According to this book, that's a sure sign of a real witch."
I grab the book he's got propped up in front of him. "Hey, you're supposed to be reading up on rain forests, not witches and warlocks," I say.
"Yeah, I know...I will," Wiley says, "But get this. The book says that if a person has one bright blue right eye and one bright green left eye, she's a good witch. If they're reversed, then she uses her powers for evil." He leans closer in to us. "What color is Miss Direque's right eye?"
We didn't know. I didn't believe for one minute that Miss Direque was a witch, good or bad. Well, maybe a tiny part of me did. I mean, this was Pluto, Washington after all. But a big part of me refused to believe it. I mean, there just HAD to be SOME normal people in Pluto, right? They couldn't all be weirdos.
"Well, we'd better find out before she turns us into mushrooms or something," Wiley hisses. "Fatty! Go on up and ask her for a book on rain forest animals, but make sure you get a good look at her eyes."
"What if she gets suspicious?" Fatty says. "Why do I hafta? Why can't one of you go?"
"Cos you still look like you're 5," Wiley says. "Grownups never yell at you. Now go?"
Fatty bites his lower lip and slowly pushes away from the table. He shuffles over to the circulation desk looking like he'd just found out there was no Santa Claus.
"Yes, young man?"
Fatty looks up at Miss Direque and mumbles something we can't hear. She nods once and points toward the far wall. Fatty thanks her but continues to stand there, staring at her. I start to wonder if maybe his brain froze from too much fear or excitment...or both, when he jerks himself upright and hurries back toward us.
"Well?" Wiley and I say together. Fatty grabs my arm, breathing hard. His eyes are wide open and shining, and look like they're ready to pop out of his head.
"What?" I say.
"Is the right one blue?" Wiley says at the same time.
"No," Fatty whispers, digging his fingers into my arm. "They're reversed."
All three of us glance over at Miss Direque. She's standing there behind the desk, watching us with a smile that could freeze an eskimo in his tracks. Suddenly our harmless trip to the library to get a head start on our project doesn't seem like such a good idea. What just happened here? One minute we're pouring over books on rain forests, and the next a librarian/witch is giving us the Evil Eye.
"I thik I hear my mom calling," I whisper.
"Me too," Wiley whispers. Fatty's too petrified to say anything.
We grab our backpacks and start hurrying toward the door. As we pass the desk, Miss Direque leans over and whispers, "I love mushrooms..."
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