Frogs & French Kisses #2 (26 page)

The next four hours are a bit of a whirlwind. First we have to explain it all to Mom, which we do, and luckily she doesn’t freak out. Instead, she gives Miri a big hug.

“Like mother, like daughter,” she says, smoothing Miri’s hair back. “We forgot about the importance of moderation, didn’t we? And we both paid the consequences.”

“If I had powers,” I say longingly, “I would so use them carefully and sparingly.”

My mom and sister take this as a cue to begin laughing uncontrollably.

When she calms down, Mom warns us that now that she’s
back,
she’ll be monitoring our shenanigans far more closely. And that, yes, Miri is still allowed to use magic but not unconditionally. Then Mom helps us
non
magically track down the drive-in (hello, phone book) and then the owners, who live just down the road from the theater. They’re a sweet elderly couple who only charge a thousand dollars. Plus they offer to play any movies we want in the background all night.
Pretty in Pink! Grease! Carrie!
Okay, maybe not
Carrie.
I’d be happy to see any movie at all, except
The Sound of Music
. But anyway, Mom calls Lex back, and he agrees to pack his bus with eager prom-goers. He also asks some bus driver pals of his to help us out.

Then I call Will to share the good news.

“You are the best,” he says. “I’ll get Kat to start calling all the seniors. Bosh, River, and I will head out early to lead the setup committee. Is it okay if I meet you there? Or do you want to bring your stuff and come with me and get ready at the drive-in?”

“I’ll get ready here. I need lots of time to beautify.” I don’t even want to think about my under-eye circles.

“You’re beautiful as is.”

He’s the best boyfriend ever. I mean, really, what else could I ask for?

As I get ready, I can hear Mom and Miri chatting it up in the kitchen. Mom is making homemade veggie egg rolls (“I’ll try to cut down on the tofu overload, I promise!”) as she helps Miri with her homework.

The phone rings as I’m towel-drying my hair. “It’s me!” screams Kat. “I can’t believe you saved prom! You are a star. Honestly. It’s too bad you’re only a freshman, otherwise you could so run for president next year. Just wanted to say you rock! Have a great time tonight.”

And that’s when it hits me, and I know what I have to do.

18

Pretty in Pink . . . Sneakers

I pull my hair back into a ponytail, put on one of my new pairs of jeans, and slide my swollen feet into my sneakers.

“You sure?” Miri asks.

“Yup.” I hang the garment bag over my left arm and lift the two smaller bags with my right.

She gives me a hug. “Have fun. If you need me, I’ll be here not saving the world.”

“Good,” I say. “You need to relax. Why don’t you read?”

“I thought I’d watch
The Sound of Music
.”

“Ha-ha.”

She laughs and returns to her room.

There’s a knock on the door. Who’s that? “Hello?” I ask.

“Hi. It’s Lex!”

What is he doing here? “I thought I was meeting you at the school.”

“He’s coming to get us,” says my mom, sashaying out of her room in an old pair of jeans and a cotton blouse, looking like her old self. “Miri, come say good-bye and give us a hug!” she hollers.

Huh? “You’re coming?”

She blushes. “Lex asked me to keep him company on the trip. If that’s all right with you. He thought he’d pick us up first and then we’d stop by the school. If you’d let him in.” She eyes my outfit quizzically. “You’re planning to get dressed at the drive-in?”

I open the door to find Lex flushed, sweating, and smiling. He’s also holding a corsage. “For you,” he says to my mom. Aw. “Ready, ladies?” he says, and tips his hat.

“Yup,” I say, picking up my bags. “I just need you to make one quick stop before going to school.”

He takes the bags from my arms. What a gentleman, I think, thoroughly impressed.

Kat unlocks her front door and throws it wide open. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to pick you up,” I say.

She laughs. “What? Why? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, you are.” I hand her the garment bag. “This is your prom dress.”

“W-what . . . ,” she stutters, surprised. “I can’t go. I don’t have a date.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Who?”

I smile. “It’s a surprise. What size shoe are you?”

“Six.”

I toss her the second bag. “It’s your lucky day. They’re even broken in.”

She’s holding up both bags, looking at me like she just woke up on a different planet. “I don’t understand.”

I hear Lex honking outside. “Now, hurry up and get dressed. Your pumpkin awaits.”

As we pull into the drive-in, I can already see the rainbow of girls in their prom dresses dancing on the cobblestones with their tuxedo-clad dates. The massive screen is playing an old black-and-white movie I don’t recognize, and the band is singing one of those songs that’s always on the radio. Under one of the rows of glowing lanterns are the dinner buffet and beautifully set tables. The party is in full swing. Two empty buses, some cars, and a few limos are parked in front of us.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tammy whispers to me as we join the line to get off the bus. “I don’t get what’s going on.” She peeks at Kat, who’s a few people behind us. “Why is she wearing your dress?”

I give Tammy’s arm a squeeze and ignore the question. Luckily, she spots Bosh through the window and goes into giggle overdrive, forgetting all about me.

“Look how cute he is in his tux,” she gushes, straightening her strapless red dress.

As I climb down the stairs of the bus, I spot Will in
his
tux, and my throat feels dry. My heart pounds faster, louder, until I can feel it in my neck and fingers.

He’s talking to the photographer, smiling and nodding at something he’s saying. When he looks up and sees me watching him, the smile lights up his eyes.

He doesn’t even notice that I’m wearing jeans. Gripping my final bag, I walk down the red carpet toward him. “Hi,” I say when he’s only a foot away. I remove the crystal necklace from the bag and slip it over my head.

He’s going to make some girl very happy, I think as I circle him. Just not me.

“What the . . . Why did you do that?” He blinks repeatedly, not knowing what just hit him. As I take my final backward step, he opens his mouth. He closes it. He opens it again.

Okay, I’ll admit it. A fraction of me, my ego, is thinking that he’ll still love me. That his feelings for me have grown stronger than any spell.

He blinks again.

Oh well. A girl can dream. But the truth is, while what he felt for me wasn’t real, what I felt for him was just as illusory. I was enamored with all he represented, his hotness, his social status, his never-ending supply of licorice. But there was never any
real
magic between us.

I take a deep breath. “Listen, Will, we have to talk. You’re a terrific guy, but I don’t think we’re right together. I didn’t want to leave you stranded tonight, so I got you another date.” I point to the bus just as Kat is stepping off the last step.

His eyes follow my finger. And light up. Kat looks beautiful. The dress flatters her figure in a way that capris and hoodies never could, and her hair is wavy around her shoulders. She and Will smile shyly at each other.

“Hi,” she mouths.

“You look amazing,” he mouths back, not losing her gaze for a second.

Kat walks toward us and looks at me quizzically. “We broke up,” I tell her. “Would you mind being his date tonight?”

Kat’s head swivels between the two of us. “Are you sure?” she asks incredulously.

I nod, smiling, and walk away. He takes her hand and they head toward the dance floor.

So.

What to do for the next four hours until I can hitch a ride back to the city? I guess I’ll wait in the bus. Or maybe in my tree?

I climb to the spot where Miri and I once watched
Spider-Man
and get comfortable. A slow song begins and echoes through the night. From my perch, I see Will and Kat in each other’s arms, moving to the music. Behind them, Lex and Mom are also dancing, totally oblivious to everyone around. Under a lantern, Tammy and Bosh are looking deeply into each other’s eyes. All the couples are back where they belong. Just like in the end of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
If we witches have offended, think but this, and all is mended.

Almost all. I swallow the lump in my throat when I spot Raf and Melissa slow-dancing, her head on his shoulder, his arms around her waist.

My heart races at the sight of him. Even though I’ve tried to convince myself that I don’t care, that old feeling comes back with a punch. Or maybe it never really left me in the first place. All is back to normal, including my feelings for Raf. If only he felt the same way about me.

Suddenly, he lifts his gaze into the tree and our eyes lock. And he smiles at me. Is it possible? Could he feel the same way I do?

And that’s when a raindrop lands smack on my forehead. Two drops. Three, four. I look up through the branches to see the sky disappearing behind angry black clouds. Suddenly, the clouds crack open. Within two seconds, the entire senior class is shrieking and searching for nonexistent cover.

Oh, no! Prom will be ruined after all!

I lift my face to the downpour. Good thing I’m not wearing mascara.

I close my eyes, pulling all the energy I can muster from every pore of my body, until I can feel it imploding inside me, and wish with all my heart:

Rain, rain, go away,

Go instead to help L.A.!

I feel a wave of cold and then . . . nothing. I open one eye. And then the other. It stopped raining.

Huh? Did I . . . ?

I watch as the dark clouds swiftly disappear, leaving a gorgeous starry night over the prom once more.

And as I realize what just happened, my body tingles with electricity.

I did that.

I. Did. That.

Omigod.

OMIGOD.

Yes!

The magic continues-at camp!-in
Spells & Sleeping Bags, coming in 2007!

Published by Delacorte Press
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2006 by Sarah Mlynowski

All rights reserved.

Delacorte Press and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.randomhouse.com/teens

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mlynowski, Sarah.
Frogs & French kisses / Sarah Mlynowski.
p. cm.
Summary: Love spells run amok in New York City when high school freshman Rachel
asks her younger sister, who is a witch, for magical help in winning the affection of
heartthrob Raf Kosravi.

June 2006

www.randomhouse.com

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