Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 6~

My feet hit the ground rhythmically as we make our way to Lexi's house. Every now and then, I step to the side to avoid being run over by Adam on his tricycle. About halfway there, my phone dings.

One unread message from Grayson.

'One minute ago: Yeah. Sure. You can come over whenever. I'll be here.'

I smile at his message. "Move Mandy!" I look behind me just in time. Adam barrels past as I jump out of harm's way. As he passes, I can hear him giggling. I roll my eyes as I get back up and brush off the dirt that clings to my jacket. As I'm doing this, I notice that my right hand has become invisible.

Quickly, I stuff my hands into my pockets to avoid having Adam see me "hand-less". " Hey Adam! Slow down a bit buddy!" He slows down a bit, but I still have to sprint to catch up to him. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead with my visible left hand. "Geez. You're a real speed demon buddy."

As I reach over to rub his head, he tilts his head up and tries to bite my hand. I pull my hand away and Adam smiles with glee. "Why'd you try to bite me Adam?" His smile gets bigger. "You said I was a demon Mandy, and demons bite people!" He clenches his teeth together and attempts to make and evil grin. I laugh and roll my eyes as he speeds off ahead. His voice floats back to me. "Last one to Ryan's house is a rotten egg!" "There's no way I'm going to be the rotten egg Adam!" I begin to run to catch up to him.
                                      _________________

Lexi waves to me as I slowly make my way to her house. I don't manage to beat Adam there. Adam and Ryan are both standing on the porch waving to me. "What happened Mandy? Adam told me that you were right behind him."

What happened was I was right behind him, but he quickly put on the brakes, running right into my leg. "Oh, I...I fell." Lexi walks down the stairs toward me. "Oh my gosh! How did you do that?" I take a quick glance at Adam, who is laughing like a maniac with Ryan. "I tripped on the uneven sidewalk."

Lexi shakes her finger at me. "See Mandy? I told you that the ground wasn't even! You should try listening to me more often." She brushes her hair over her shoulder with her perfectly manicured hand.

"Yeah..." I nod my head slowly. "Anyway, why don't you come inside?" She grabs my hand and begins to pull me inside the house. "I must warn you: my mom is home today and has done nothing but bake cookies." As soon as we enter, I am greeted by Mrs. Hallagan.

"Why hello Mandy! What a pleasure to see you again! Alexis didn't tell me you were coming over. Would you like a cookie?" I wave at Lexi's mom and take a cookie off of the plate she is holding. "Hi Mrs. Hallagan. Nice to see you too." She smiles before going back into the kitchen.

Lexi continues dragging me to her room. She shuts the door behind her. Instantly, I am surrounded by the color pink. I collapse  onto her neon pink bed and shut my eyes. Lexi's voice interrupts my thoughts. "So what did you want to show me Mandy?" I open my eyes and sit up.

"Lexi, I know you're not going to believe me, but I think I have magical powers." She stares at me in disbelief and shakes her head. "Mandy, are you trying to make a joke of yourself, because this isn't funny at all." I get up and start pacing. "I know. I still don't believe it, but I'm telling you the truth..."

Lexi rolls her eyes and cuts me off. "Yeah. Like you did with Grayson."

I sigh. "Look. I woke up this morning floating at least six inches from my bed, I sneezed fire, and I made my arm invisible by rubbing it." She looks at me oddly before placing her hands on her hips. "Prove it."

Unsure of how to prove it to her, I start to rub my arm hoping it will work again. I rub until my arm feels like it's on fire. "Okay Lexi. Look." She watches me as I remove my hand from my arm. When I remove it, my arm has become very red, not invisible. Lexi scoffs as I stare at my arm in shock.

"But it worked before..." My voice drifts off as I rub my arm even more. I rub it until I feel it tingling with heat. When I remove my hand, nothing has happened again. Frustrated, I place my hand on my forehead. "Just give it up Mandy. You're not " magical" or whatever..." Her voice drifts off as her eyes grow wide. "What is it Lexi?" She points at me. "Your...your hair is on fire!"