Kneeling on a pile of shoes in the darkness of
her closet, Nora leaned forward and adjusted the
wooden slats of the closet door so that she had a
clear view of her bedroom. Through the narrow slit
she could see the closed door to the hallway, her
dresser, her nightstand and her bed. But more
important than seeing her bedroom furniture was being
able to see what was on the bed -- a red leather bound
book whose corner peeked out from under a fluffy
pillow, her personal diary, given to her by her
Grandma last year for her 15th birthday. Every day
she wrote all her thoughts and feelings in it and
every night she hid the book to protect her writings
from spying eyes. Not that it did her any good.
She'd caught her sister four different times reading
her journal. It didn't matter to Becky that "Private
- Keep Out" was stenciled on the front and seemed only
to incite her curiosity. Nora frowned, thinking that
she should have labeled it Algebra or Chemistry.
Perhaps then Becky would have left it alone.
"Well it doesn't matter now," Nora thought.
"Old Witch Nan's spell will stop her going through my
stuff."
Nora sat back and nibbled on her fingernail
while she waited and thought about what her boyfriend
Tom had said about spells having unintended
consequences. Maybe that applied to other spells, but
not to a simple book enchantment. What could go wrong
with that? This spell was going to be the answer to
her sneaky sister problem. She just wished that Becky
would hurry up with the sneaking since her legs were
going numb sitting in this closet. Nora pinched and
rubbed her calves, trying to get the circulation
going.
"Nora! Nora!"
Nora listened to the high-pitched voice of her
little sister calling from the hallway, but didn't
answer. Instead, she maneuvered herself closer to the
louvered closet doors and peered out.
"Nora?" Becky said, opening the bedroom door
and poking her head into the room.
Seeing the room empty, she stepped in and closed
the door behind her. Tiptoeing to the dresser she
eased the top drawer out and sticking her hands into
the drawer she rummaged through the contents. After a
moment, she turned to face the room, empty handed and
frowning.
Nora glared through the narrow slits. "That's
right. It's not there. I moved it, you sneaky twit."
Becky shoved the drawer closed and her eyes
flicked around the room, her gaze touching on the
dresser, nightstand, and finally the bed, at which
point she smiled. She bounded for the bed, tossing
pillows off onto the floor and grasping the red
leather journal peeking out from under the headboard
pillow. Nora leaned closer to the slats eager to see
how the spell would take effect. Nan hadn't said
exactly what the spell would do, only that Becky would
never open the book again and that no lasting harm
would come to her.
Becky picked up the book and hopped on to the
comforter, her feet dangling over the edge of the bed.
Nora's shoulders tightened and a corresponding flush
of anger crept up her neck. Knowing Becky read her
diary and actually witnessing it were two different
things. She felt like crashing through the door and
pummeling Becky. She closed her eyes and took a deep
breath to calm herself. Hitting Becky wouldn't stop
her sister's spying. She'd only become sneakier. The
spell was the better plan. Nora opened her eyes and
grimly watched Becky put the book on her lap and open
it.
The book coughed. Becky gave a startled squeak
and leapt off the bed. The book tumbled to the floor
and said in a smug sing-song voice,
"Nosy. Nosy. Nosy.
Trying to read the prosy.
Should have asked permission first,
Snoopy Girl, you're now accursed."
Becky ran to the door and bounced off the wood
paneling, falling backwards to the floor. Nora wasn't
sure what had caused her to do that until she saw
Becky's face. Her nose had grown six inches, sticking
out like the wooden nose of Pinocchio. Nora laughed.
Her nosy sister now had a lengthy nose to go with her
nosiness. Perfect. Nora opened the closet door and
had the satisfaction of seeing Becky jump.
"What happened?" Becky said, rubbing her bruised
nose.
"It's because you were bad. I told you not to
read my diary."
"Make it go away Norrie."
"I can't. The spell lasts for a week."
"I hate you. I'm telling mom," Becky said and
ran out of the room, one hand held protectively over
her elongated nose.
"It's your own fault," Nora yelled after her.
She slammed her bedroom door shut. Mom would be
mad, but not having to worry about Becky sneaking
through her belongings was worth the trouble she'd be
in with her parents. Nora picked up her journal and
pen off the floor and sprawled across the bed, setting
the book in front of her. She grinned as she uncapped
the pen. This was going to be the best entry ever.
She opened the book, but before she could put pen to
page, the book spoke,
"Trying to read the prosy,
Little Miss Nosy?"
Nora slammed the book shut, threw it to the
floor and jumped on top of it, but the book, its voice
now muffled said,
"Sneaky girl, because you peeked,
Here's a curse that lasts a week."
Horrified, Nora clapped her hands over her
lengthening nose. On the floor under her feet, the
book continued to sing in a muted voice, "Nosy. Nosy.
Nosy."
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