Tales From Under the Maple Tree

Maple Tree Books, Antiques And Oddities

Though I could've turned myself into some sort of super rich and powerful man, I decided not to, because I don't see myself as an ambitious or power-hungry person, it's just not in my temperament.

I did have other desires, though, with Evie being chief among them. Flipping through the spell book, I was able to find two spells that would fulfill my greatest fantasies.

The first spell was called "The Charm of Infatuation Compleaticus."

The description said, "the target of this spell shall become completely romantically infatuated with the caster of this spell, with the infatuation lasting indefinitely as long as the caster is of the opposite sex of the target."

The second spell was called "The Blessing of Feminine Beauty." The description said that "the target of this spell shall become endowed with a body blessed by Venus herself."

These spells were simple. The first would make Evie fall in love with me, while the second would make her even more beautiful.

After deciding on the two spells, I transcribed them each onto a sheet of notepaper that I could take to class. I knew how valuable the book was, so I wasn't going to risk losing it. It wasn't going to leave my room.

Before I put it away, I did notice a warning on the last page. It said, "Uttering a spell without use of the tome may result in unintended effects."

Without much thought, I shrugged off the warning. I can't see how anything unintended can happen with a love and beauty spell.

"Christopher Hart, care to stop staring off into space?" Mrs. Jenkins asked, with a few chuckles of response from around the room.

"Uhh, yeah," I replied, jarred back to reality. "Sorry."

Mrs. Jenkins goes back to teaching and I stare at Evie one last time before reading the first spell.

Her form, her figure . . . she is just so beautiful, so worth it. I've seen a lot of TV shows and movies that say love spells are wrong, immoral. I've been wanting Jannie for so long, I don't care. I've finally found a way to get her to want me as much as I want her and I'm gonna use it.

With that, I began to quietly, barely audibly read the spell from the first piece of paper on my desk.

Evie, aheardung se bryd hwa becrafian min sawol. Yen jakmin hwa joro ta puckid rofian ja pey gyden .  .  .

I felt a sort of energy pass rush through the room, then quickly disappear. Looking at Evie, I couldn't help but wonder . . . did it work?

As if to answer my question, Evie turned back, looking towards me with an awkward smile. This confused me at first, but then I looked into her eyes, and I saw desire. She wanted me, I could tell.

Quickly, she looked away, but she occasionally kept stealing glances. Something in her brain now found me irresistible, I told myself.

I saw her squirm in her seat.

Sitting at my desk, I was amazed. This was a dream come true. I could hardly wait for the bell to ring, and then I could ask Evie out.

As I reveled in my victory, I looked around the room, and I noticed something that was odd. Three girls who sat in the front of the class, Patty, Vicki, and Debra, quickly turned their gaze from looking over their shoulder to looking at the teacher.