The two weeks passed very quickly, and the day the girls were supposed to be in Florida arrived. I paced nervously in the airport. Back and forth, back and forth.
I was nervous about the spell and nervous about Nick seeing what I actually looked like. Oh, I didn't look bad, but I hadn't seen the red streaks, and I didn't look like a Barbie doll like Missy did. He had told me several times that he didn't care what I looked like as long as I was the same beautiful person inside. I was still nervous.
"Is that them?" Brian's voice pulled me out of my daydream. I followed his gaze to see Sandee followed by Amy, Kasey, AJ, Peggy, EmmE, and Mark coming from the terminal. My entire face lit up.
"Sandee! Everyone!" I yelled as I broke into a run. The bodyguards couldn't stop me.
Sandee's eyes widened when she saw me. It must have been quite a shock to see AJ's body running towards her. She dropped her bags, and we embraced. When we let go, I hugged the others one by one. I lingered the longest hugging AJ. It was so good to finally meet him in person, so to speak.
When we let go, I turned around to see the Boys and their bodyguards walking towards us. When they reached us, I introduced everyone one by one.
"Fellas, these are my friends and roommates -- Sandee, Kasey, Amy, Peggy, Mark, and EmmE. And this one here on the end..." I pointed to AJ, "...is my body." Sandee and Mark shook each of their hands. Kasey, Amy, and Peggy smiled at Kevin, Brian, and Howie respectively. AJ hugged each one of them in turn.
After the introductions, I turned to AJ. I lifted the long, red-streaked strands of my hair. "So, this is what you did to my hair, huh? I guess I could get used to it," I said.
"Sure you could, or you could always dye it back to brown," he smiled.
"Shall we head to AJ's house?" Brian asked as he held out his arm to Amy. She shyly took it and smiled. For once, neither of them seemed to be exploding bundles of happiness. Instead, they seemed to share a quiet happiness.
Howie followed his lead by escorting Peggy. Kevin, Nick, and I did the same with Kasey, AJ, and Sandee. Mark escorted EmmE.
All of us climbed into the waiting limo outside and headed for AJ's humble abode. All of the girls, and even Mark, looked impressed with the neighborhood and the house itself.
We parked in the circular driveway and unloaded the car. We walked in, and everyone, except AJ, dropped their bags.
"Wow! This is nice!" Kasey breathed.
"Thanks," AJ smiled. "My own decoration." He looked around the foyer and breathed in. "Ah, it's good to be home."
Howie walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. "You've missed it, haven't you, Bone?"
He turned and smiled at his best friend. "Yeah. I've enjoyed my unexpected vacation, but it's good to be home."
"This foyer is perfect for the spell, AJ. You don't mind if we use it, do you?" EmmE asked as she looked around.
"I don't mind as long as nothing gets broken."
"No problem."
AJ turned to look at all of us. His face was beaming. "Let Heather and I show you to your rooms."
We gathered up their bags and headed upstairs.
I didn't realize how much I had missed home until I walked into my own bedroom. I set my bags down and ran my hand over the bedspread. My grandma had made it for me when I had moved out on my own.
"Maybe you won't lose this one like you lost the blanket," she had joked.
"So, does this mean I have been moved to one of the guest rooms?" I turned around to see Heather standing in the doorway. She had a big smile on her face.
"Yes," I said, returning her smile.
"Come on; everyone else is settled, and EmmE wants to talk about the spell."
"I'll be there in a minute."
She gave me another smile and left. I sat down on the bed. I was absolutely terrified of this spell. As far as I knew, EmmE was not a certified witch and had never done a spell like this before. What if it doesn't work? No, I had to think positively. This would work, and Heather and I would be back in our own bodies soon. And then maybe I could actually give Sandee the kiss I had been wanting to give her ever since I met her.
I stood up and sauntered out the door and down the stairs. Everyone else had already gathered in the living room.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked as I entered the room.
"Well, this spell can only be done during the full moon. According to my planner, the full moon is supposed to be tonight. Talk about timing," EmmE said.
"I'll say," Heather spoke up.
"So, I figured that we should perform it tonight. What do you say?"
"I say the sooner the better," I stated. "That way you can enjoy the rest of your Spring Break."
"Okay. Basically, the only ingredient we need is ten candles for everyone to hold. Do you have any?"
I leaned against the couch. "I might have some, but, to be on the safe side, we can go buy some." I looked at Heather. "How's my Expy?"
She slumped a little in her seat. "It's fixed now, but it had cost a lot of money."
"That's okay. Let's go out and get something to eat. Then we can buy the candles. How does that sound?" I suggested.
Everyone agreed. We got into two separate cars -- my Expedition and the silver BMW I don't drive that much. After making her swear up and down that she would take care of it, I let Sandee drive the Expedition. I took the BMW.
About three hours later, we made it back to the house. It was dark, and the full moon had risen.
We had had a great time. We went to Universal Studio's City Walk and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We then walked around for a little while looking at the different stores. My particular favorite was the silver jewelry store. We also took in a small show at the Latin Quarter. I promised Sandee that when I got my body back, we would get up on stage and show them how it was done. She just laughed.
The others seemed to be getting along rather well, too. Brian and Amy dashed through the sprinklers while EmmE and Mark checked out the sports store. Howie and Peggy spent most of the time looking out over the water. Kasey and Kevin had found a piano bar, and it took all of us to drag them out of there. Finally, we headed home.
Mark, Kevin, and Nick moved all of the furniture and statues out of the way so we would have room. EmmE and Sandee lit the candles and passed them out. When all of the preparations had been made, everyone formed a large circle. Heather and I stood in the center of it.
"Well, I guess this is it," she smiled at me.
"Yeah, good luck in your classes."
"Break a leg on stage."
I swallowed hard to clam the butterflies in my stomach. I looked over at EmmE.
"You guys ready?" she asked.
We nodded. Slowly and quietly, she began to read from her brown book. "Souls that are pure, souls that are good. Let them be where they should." She chanted it over and over again.
A light breeze began to blow through the room. The louder she chanted, the harder the breeze blew. It eventually turned into a full-blown wind. I began to get dizzy and have a hard time focusing. I looked at Heather and could tell that she was having the same problem. I heard EmmE shut her book.
"Okay, kiss," she instructed.
We leaned into each other and our lips met. Then everything went black.