Mathilda, SuperWitch (Mathilda's Book of Shadows #1)(5)

All of this with magical training and study (books, books and more freaking books). There is much pressure to learn and realize full potential (Mom and Gran calling requesting progress reports, Viv and Su e-mailing constantly. Ack!)

Then, faerie has been visiting me at night and talking to me… but she doesn’t speak English, instead she talks like a dolphin on speed and whizzes around the room (and me) while I get ready for bed or when I’m trying to read The Witch Familiar by Balthazar Muldoon (over three hundred pages on cats!).

I think my faerie’s name is BecBec because she keeps pointing to herself and saying that and then pointing to me and saying something that sounds (a little bit) like Mathilda.

Taste testing day today and I laid out three different types of brownies, six different cookies, five cakes, three scones and four muffins ready for people to consume and then cast judgment (ack!).

Mavis said it is good practice as will be doing it every day in the café but still.

The “friends” included Aidan (the plumber) who was only other young person there except me and only man there at all (as Sebastian, at this point, suspiciously absent).

Aidan seemed to be trying really hard to be nice while figuring out why he was there and who all these alarmingly-dressed women were (Mental note: must suggest a coven-meeting-makeover and soon!).

He didn’t stay long but did stop and say he would definitely come to coffee house and sit on a velvet couch (ha!) and drink espresso with one of my “very nice” oatmeal cookies.

I thought that was sweet of him.

Near end Sebastian deigned to honor us with his presence. I do not know why he was so late but hope it was not because he was keeping baddies at bay but instead hanging in his lair and working out with free weights while wearing only shorts and sweating a lot.

He had a word with Mavis and then started to leave and grabbed a blond brownie with chocolate chips almost like it was a handful of peanuts from a bowl. I was about to get angry at how nonchalant he was with my brownie but then he took a bite and stopped and started to look around.

I feared he was trying to find a place to vomit as I figure he normally eats only skinless chicken and power bars and impurities in brownies were going to put him in anaphylactic shock.

Instead he saw me and I think that he may have looked at me for first time with a smidgen of respect.

Very pleased with that, to be honest, but would only ever admit that to journal.

In the end, everyone liked everything so taste testing was huge waste of time and energy (except, of course, found way to Sebastian may be through stomach… mm… but thinking (trying to convince myself?) that may not (shouldn’t) care).

19 November

Feel very witchy at the moment.

Last night I was sleeping when felt someone shaking me gently. When I opened my eyes, the room was filled with candlelight as entire coven was surrounding my bed holding candles.

Mavis was the one shaking me and told me to be quiet and just do as I was told.

They gave me some clothes and this rather gorgeous, hooded, heavy, black cloak to throw on (lined in real black satin – fab!).

We walked together, single file, out of the house. The witches blew out their candles when they walked out the door and we wandered along Poet’s Walk, up and around, then down and through the wood. All of a sudden, I felt tugged away from the footpath and Mavis saw and told me to go with it.

I stopped at a tree, big and dark and scary at night but I felt like it was something else, like it was human, breathing, warm. I can’t explain it except that it seemed to be speaking to me without talking. (Spooky.)

I touched it and could swear it was vibrating.

Auntie Mavis gave me a knife and told me to cut a branch about a foot long but not until I asked the tree if it was okay. (Very weird, talking to trees.)

I stood there in front of the coven (who were eerie silent) and felt like a total idiot but said out loud, ‘Tree, would you mind terribly if I took a bit of your branch?”

I kid you not, at that very moment the wind started blowing and the tree branches rustled and a few leaves fell off, floating down gently and scattered around me.

This seemed like a yes to me but I looked at Mavis to be sure and she smiled and nodded her head.

So I carefully took hold of the branch and felt like I should take my time so I stroked it a bit and then when it felt right, I took a deep breath and quickly cut the bit loose.

I don’t know what happened then but it felt wild, a sensation like a mild electrical shock coursed through my body quickly and then was gone.

When I looked around, the coven was surrounding me – all in their cloaks like mine, silent and watching.

Mavis gave me a tea towel and told me to put its contents at the foot of the tree as an offering.

In the tea towel was a leftover scone from the taste testing. I set it down at the tree, put my hand on the trunk and whispered my thanks.

Later, Mavis told me I had my wand.

And it was a powerful one too.

Current state of mind (FYI): Don’t know how to feel about the wand, unannounced midnight coven meetings and trees talking to me.

28 November

Very pissed off and very sad and very freaked out and do not want to be a witch anymore because what is the f**king point?

Don’t know what to do.

Last night, was sleeping (feel I am destined never to sleep full eight hours again in lifetime) and felt something strange happening to my hair and then heard BecBec’s mile a minute babble speech.