Nerd’s Revenge

“There was a time when things were different.”

“No duh, Becky.  Like, two hundred years ago, we’d be swinging from a tree for what you just did.”

“Squawk! Three hundred years ago!  Squawk!”

Becky’s eyes widened.  “Trisha.  What. Are. You. WEARING?”

Trisha glanced down, almost blinded by the neon shirt.  Her gaze traveled to her jeans.  Acid wash.   She shivered when she saw her feet shoved into LA Gear high tops with hot pink laces.  “What did you do to me?!”

“Squawk!  Magic comes with a price.  Squawk!”

“Shut up, Melissa!” The two girls shouted in unison.

“Where are we?” Becky asked.

“Um, we’re at the Shell station, but it looks different.  Everyone looks different.”  Trisha reached out to touch Becky’s bangs.  “How much hairspray did you use?”

“Excuse me, sir,” Becky stopped a man as he tugged on the door to the convenience store.  “What’s the date?”

“February 2^nd.”

“What year?”

He shook his head.  “Dang, girl.  You trippin.  It’s 1992.”  He backed away and pushed through the door without looking away from her.

“I told you to leave that book alone,” Trisha said.

“No, you said you didn’t think spells were real.”  Becky grabbed Trisha’s elbow and dragged her to the side of the building.  She’d found the book in an old trunk in the attic and now regretted her eagerness to prove its authenticity.

“I guess I was wrong.” Panic welled up in Trisha’s chest.  “We’re trapped in a fashion nightmare and the class nerd just pooped on your shoulder.”

Becky could feel Melissa’s claws digging in but didn’t dare look.

“So, how do we get home?”

Becky shook her head.  “Good question.  The chant was just supposed to turn know-it-all Melissa into a bird to show you the spells were real.”

“Unbelievable,” Trisha muttered.

“Squawk!  The book. Squawk!”

“Oh!”  Becky had forgotten about the book clenched in her left hand.  She scanned the pages for a spell that would get them back to 2014.

“Squawk!  Any year now.  Squawk!”

“Why couldn’t you have turned her into a slug?” Trisha asked.

Becky shot her a glare before turning her attention back to the spell book.  “Oh, oh!  What about this one?  Reverse, reverse, the spiteful curse.  Trade the wings, back to twenty-fourteen.”

“I-I don’t think you-” Trisha began.  For a few moments, she felt woozy.  When the fog cleared from her mind, she looked down at her clothes.  Skinny jeans, Vera Wang shirt and red Madden Girl shoes. Elated, she reached out to hug Becky.  She gasped.

Melissa smiled, parrot on her shoulder.

“Squawk!  You tricked me! Squawk!”

“Let me give you your best friend,” Melissa said as she removed the bird and placed her on Trisha’s shoulder.  “Oh, you might need this, too.”  She handed over the spell book.

“You’re not going to help me?”

“You wanted to turn me into a slug!”

Trisha’s mouth turned into a pout and tears sprouted from her ducts.

Melissa rolled her eyes.  “This was too easy.  Please.  Do you really think spell books just appear?  You guys have had it in for me since third grade.  It was high time you learned a lesson.”  She plucked her book from Trisha’s weak grip.  She closed her eyes and whispered a spell:

“Feathered bird return

To Becky’s human body;

Mean girls turn nice-

Forgotten are

The different times.”

Becky transformed next to Trisha.

“Hey, can I buy you a soda, Melissa?”  Becky asked.

“Thanks, but I have some studying to do.”  Melissa hugged the spell book to her chest as she walked away, confident her senior year would turn out to be the best year ever.

~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~-

This is my response to the Speakeasy weekly prompt, which is to write is piece in 750 words or less (mine is 605) and (1) use “There was a time when things were different.” as the first sentence, and (2) make some reference to the photo prompt, which is of 2 parrots.

The challenge is open to anyone, so join in if you are inspired to tell a story!  Click the badge below to see complete submission details.  Have a wonderful Sunday 🙂