Omg i did it again, p.4
OMG... I Did It Again?!,
p.4
“READY? Ready to do the spell and make these elephants go back to their home?” Eve asked April.
April stood up. Her heart started beating faster. She walked over to the plastic bag. She bent over to pick it up. As she stood back up, she felt a little light-headed. With another deep breath, her head cleared. She walked over to her bed and lay down. She swallowed hard.
Grace and Eve stayed sitting on the rug. They turned around to face the bed where April lay. Eve was nervously playing with the corner of the page of the Book of Magie. April heard the sound: flick, flick, flick. April’s palms were sweaty. They were making the handle of the plastic bag slippery.
April blinked quickly. She took another deep breath then closed her eyes. She could not figure out how she was going to fall asleep. After all, she had just woken up and she was so stressed about all that she had done. She heard Grace and Eve whispering but could not make out their words. Then, the spell popped into her head as if she had known it all her life. That freaked April out a little; but she kept breathing deeply and tried to be as calm as possible.
She let out a large exhale and said:
“As I lay down to sleep,
A sleep that is very deep,
I make a wish to un-do,
The spell I did as I flew.”
April took another breath. Her eyes stopped fluttering. They remained closed. Her heart stopped beating so fast. She felt her face relax.
“As I lay down to sleep,
A sleep that is very deep,
I make a wish to un-do,
The spell I did as I flew.”
Silence. She did not hear anything. No more elephants walking. No more Grace and Eve whispering. Nothing. April repeated the words over and over and over again in her head.
Poof! She was back in her dream where she was flying over the elephants. She felt the wind caressing her face. Her hair was blowing in the warm breeze. Looking down, she saw the trees and swaying grasses. She saw lots of adult and baby elephants roaming on the land. The clean, dry air filled her nose as the sun warmed her skin. She smiled.
I want the elephants to be protected in their natural habitat. I want them to be safe here and roam in their own land. I don’t want anyone to hurt them. As she flew, the air glided over her fingertips. She gestured at the elephants and thought, I hope they are safe here on their land roaming free. I want them to stay here but be protected. She repeated this thought over and over again. She took another deep breath, looked up and focussed her eyes. Where am I?
EIGHTEEN
APRIL opened her eyes. Am I back in my room? She looked at her ceiling. Her eyes moved to her chandelier. It was perfect. There were no missing crystals. There were no hanging wires. She looked at her wall. There were no dents from the flying crystals. She listened but did not hear anything. Silence. The sweet sound of birds chirping filled the air.
She jumped out of bed and looked out her bedroom window. Nothing. The trees were intact. They stood up straight with green, red, orange and brown leaves. Leaves were rustling on the trees and leaves were dancing on the street as the wind blew.
Her neighbor’s car was perfect. No dents. She pressed her face into the screen to look down the street. No elephants. She took a deep breath in through her nose. The crisp fall air smelled fresh. No elephant poop. She looked down at her hands. Then she looked in the corner of her room. The bag of three things was gone.
She looked over at her desk. Her cell phone was sitting there. She picked it up and texted Grace:
“The elephants are gone! YAY!!! And, my chandelier is fixed…that’s weird. And, where are you?”
Grace replied:
“April? What’s wrong? What elephants?
What was wrong with your chandelier?
Only you would have a chandelier in your bedroom, btw. And what do you mean? I’m at home!”
“Huh? The elephants we just did the spell on and the chandelier I made dance… remember?”
“What spell? Dancing chandeliers? Elephants? That must have been a dream. Eve just got to my house. Are you still meeting us at the park?”
April lifted her head and looked out the window. She felt all the blood leave her face. Her jaw dropped. She slowly scanned her room with her eyes. What just happened? Did I just rewind to before the elephants were here? I get it! By undoing the spell, I started the day over!
“OMG!” April fell on her bed. Her arms went limp. She swallowed. I just went back in time. And I am the only one that knows about this.
She sat up, picked up her cell phone and texted back to Grace:
“I’ll be over in a little bit. I’m going to lay back down for a sec.”
“Yeah, sounds like you may need a little bit extra sleep. We’ll see you down there l8r.”
She put the phone back on her desk, took a deep breath and sat back down on her bed. She walked out her room. The muffled sound of the television and her parents talking echoed upstairs.
I guess I’ll get some breakfast before I head over to Grace’s house. Skipping down the stairs, she walked into the kitchen, and heard the morning news show that her parents normally watched. As she poured her cereal, she heard the announcer say,
“In happy news today, because of good people around the world, the elephants of Africa have a new large reserve extending 30,000 square kilometers for their protection. Private and corporate donations, and Save the Elephants Walks have raised enough money to create the protected space…”
April looked at her mom who was smiling at her. Then she quickly turned to her dad who was grinning from ear to ear. Her mom walked over to her and gave her a hug.
“Look what you helped to do,” Mrs. Appleton said, squeezing her daughter tightly.
“Look what WE did,” April said as her face warmed. Her mom beamed with pride.
“OK. I better get to my next task.” April let go of her mom and walked back to her cereal. She quickly shoveled a spoonful into her mouth.
“I gotta go gra gre gra,” April said.
“April, don’t talk with your mouth full,” her mother scolded.
April swallowed.
“Sorry. I have to get to Grace’s house. Eve, Grace and I have a project to do for school.” April quickly finished her breakfast and cleaned her dishes. As she went up the stairs, she paused, looked back, and watched her parents working in the kitchen. She smiled and then quickly ran upstairs to get dressed to meet up with her best friends.
OMG…IS HE A WITCH?!
APRIL Appleton lay in her bed on her side looking out the window at the foggy night sky. I’m so happy the elephants are safe. She looked at her chandelier. And, I’m so happy that fiasco is over. I wonder what my next adventure will be? She closed her eyes.
Bam! April jolted awake. She sat straight up. What was that? She swung her legs over the side of her bed and hopped to her feet. She scurried to the window. She pressed her face against the glass trying to see, but the fog was as thick as pea soup. April could barely make out a boy standing at the end of her driveway. He looked shadowy and ghostly in the foggy night. He seemed to be looking up at the large tree that stood near their house.
“Fall!” he said in a stern tone.
April heard a loud cracking sound which made her jump. Her heart was racing. She was breathing quickly through her mouth. Her heavy breath fogged up the window and she could not see out of it. She used her hand to wipe the window clean. Where did he go? She couldn’t see anything. She opened the window. She looked left. Then she looked right. Nothing. The tree appeared to be fine but it was impossible to make out any details. She felt a chill go up her back as the damp air entered the room. She closed the window and turned around.
“Am I dreaming again?” April asked. “Wait, now I am talking to myself.” April’s eyes scanned the dark room. Everything was in place. Her stuffed animals, the chandelier. She looked under her bed and the Book of Magie was still there.
“I have to be dreaming,” she reassured herself, got back in bed and fell back asleep.
“Oh NO!” April’s eyes popped open. “Abbey! Abbey! Can you come down here?” She heard her father yelling up the stairs to her mother. She heard her mother go running down the stairs.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” April heard her mother say. A pit grew in April’s stomach. She sprang out of bed and ran to the window. She covered her eyes. Please say it was a dream. Please say it was a dream. She squeezed her eyes shut and tightly squished her face while holding her breath. She slowly relaxed her face and then opened her eyes. Please, please, please. It must have been a dream.
As her eyes adjusted to the bright sunshine pouring in her window, she saw it. Her father’s car was crushed by a massive branch from the tree near their driveway.
“OMG… Is he a witch?!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Talia Aikens-Nuñez dreamed of being a meteorologist as a child because her head was always in the clouds. It was her imagination and her fun-loving, second-grade daughter that inspired her to write her OMG books about an accidental little witch. She and her husband live on a river in Connecticut with their daughter and son.
Talia’s other books include:
OMG… Am I a Witch?!
Escucha Means Listen
TREASURE HUNT
How much do you remember about the story?
1. What danger did April want to save the elephants from?
2. What does it mean when an elephant’s trunk is up?
3. Which two continents do elephants live on?
4. What excuse did April give her father for being in the bathroom?
5. What language is the Book of Magic written in?
6. What three things did April need to reverse the spell?
7. Did the spell work the first time?
8. What fell on April’s father’s car?
9. Do you think that April caused that branch to fall?
WORD SEARCH
ADVENTURE
AFRICA
APRIL
ASIA
CHANDELIER
DANGER
DREAM
ELEPHANT
EVE
FRIENDS
GRACE
MAGIC
POOP
RESERVE
REVER
SAVE
SPELL
TEXT
TUSK
WITCH
Talia Aikens-Nuñez, OMG... I Did It Again?!
