Anyone who is under the age of 18, along with anyone offended by stories of a sexual nature or containing sexual situations or offended by the idea of mind control in any fashion, please do not read this story.
This story takes place in the fictional town of Chrystal Heights. This is not significant in any way other than I hope to continue creating stories involving this town.
The people and events in this story are fictional and do not represent anyone or anything from real life.
Synopsis: Two young occult students find a seemingly harmless spellbook.
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"It's a secret room!" I said.
"Somehow, Rachel, I doubt that," said my friend, Julie.
"I'm telling you, it is!" I said.
"I'll have to see this for myself," said Julie.
I wasn't surprised to hear Julie say that. Although Julie was American by birth, her parents were both of full Asian descent, and Julie embraced her heritage. Apparently, part of that heritage included not believing everything she was told.
"Fine," I said. "You're skinny enough to slip through. Suck in your belly as much as you can, though. It's a tight squeeze, even for skinny girls like us."
This was definitely cool. The library at the West Campus of the Chrystal Heights Community College was small, dark and dusty- reminiscent of the library from the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"- but it had never occurred to me that there might be an actual secret room hidden inside.
We had found it by accident. One of the bookcases in a dark corner didn't quite reach the back wall, and when one of my earrings popped off, it managed to fall perfectly between the side of the bookcase and the wall. When I reached into the dark space to find the earring, I realized there was a space behind the bookcase that shouldn't have been there. Playing a hunch, I had squeezed between the bookcase and the wall, and now Julie was squeezing through to join me. Julie was having a little more trouble with it than I, however.
"Maybe you need to lose a few pounds, girl," I said.
Julie made some very unladylike comments.
I tut-tutted. "Such language. I'm shocked."
Julie snorted as she finally popped free of the confined area. "I bet you are. It's only easier for you to squeeze through because you don't have any tits, Rachel."
I shrugged. "Yet another advantage to my lack of boobs. Do you have a lighter?"
Julie had a lighter, so we were soon able to see. It wasn't a very big room; maybe the size of a small office, with an enclosed, musty smell to it. There wasn't very much to see inside, except for a small stand with a thick book laying on it. Next to the book was an old-fashioned oil lantern. When Julie attempted to light the lantern, it actually worked, and it illuminated the small room surprisingly well.
I was already beginning to have my suspicions about the book, and I was pretty sure Julie's thoughts mirrored my own. Although Julie and I are both only eighteen years old, we're studying to become full-time witches. That's why we both attend school at this campus. The West Campus tends to be Chrystal Heights Community College's poor cousin, but they have the best occult curriculum. This room suggested a sanctuary of sorts, and that suggested that the thick book was some sort of occult tome. I was becoming excited by the possibilities.
We opened the cover, and sure enough, it was a book of spells. A lot of superficial stuff, really; not much by way of true power. Still, it was interesting. I couldn't wait to try one out. Julie's features were screwed up in concentration as we turned the pages.
"Oh, here's one," I said, pointing at a page. "I can give you a 'golden crown'."
Julie snorted. "No thanks. Who needs a fashion statement like that?"
I giggled. "Hey, you think you're a princess. Let's give you a crown."
Julie gave me a flat stare. "Very funny, Rachel."
I began reading the words to the spell out loud, although I wasn't actually expecting any results. Julie protested, but only half-heartedly. She knew as well as I did that saying the words is usually only part of a spell; knowing where to alter intonation is also part of the process, and you can't see that in script, so reading a spell out loud is usually harmless. Besides, if I were actually able to create a gold crown, this would likely be considered a good thing.
I finished reading the spell out loud and was not surprised at the lack of a golden crown. By now it was getting late anyway, so we decided to come back and check out the book some more later.
***
The next morning, my cell phone was going off before I even left for school.
"Hello?" I said.
"You stupid bitch!" said Julie's voice.
"Awwww, I missed you too, sweetie," I said.
"You're not funny!" snapped Julie. "Your stupid spell from yesterday worked!"
"Huh?"
"I said, your stupid spell worked! I have blonde hair, you idiot!"
"Julie, what are you talking about? The spell I read was for a golden crown, not blonde hair."
"That book is old! Crown is an archaic way of saying hair, you moron! Or symbolic. Who cares? We need to fix my hair, stat! I can't even dye it! Do you have any idea how silly an Asian girl looks with blonde hair?!?"
I came very close to giggling. Julie tends to be very proper, and her Asian features with blonde hair would make her look very much like a bimbo. Julie looking like a bimbo was about as likely as Mother Teresa dressing in a dominatrix outfit. Thinking about Mother Teresa in a dominatrix outfit created a horrible mental picture, however, and I quickly decided to consider another simile.
"I'll be there in thirty minutes," I said.
"You'd better be. Grrrrrrrrrr," said Julie.
***
Julie was waiting for me inside the little room when I arrived. Her hair was covered with a scarf. She gave me a sullen look and finally reached up and pulled the scarf from her hair.
I gasped. Julie's hair was *very* blonde, even her roots. She was even more blonde than me, and I'm a natural. She looked like she had traipsed in from an Asian trailer park. I struggled for something to say.
"It looks very...ummmm...glamorous!" I said.
"I look like a vapid bimbo!" she said.
"No, really, it makes you look exotic!"
Julie rolled her eyes. "I look fucking trashy and you know it! Now let's find out how to reverse it," she said.
"Oh, yes," I said feelingly.
We flipped through the pages, but we were unable to find the spell again. After several frustrating efforts, we finally realized that the spell simply wasn't there anymore.
"Dammit!" said Julie. "The spell must have faded after you cast it."
I bit my lower lip. I suspected Julie was right.
"Well, this can be a positive thing," I said. "A new fashion! You'll be a trailblazer!"
Julie glared at me. "You stupid bitch! I'm blonde! I can't even dye it! Nobody is going to take me seriously looking like this!"