text: Aly was running late for her potions examine. Her friends Caleb and Nancy helped with the studying; she'd really need to pass in order to get her magicks license. If she did, she'll be able to perform advanced magic and make high-level potions. Aly always wanted to work in the family's apothecary shop but in order to do so, she needed to take the magic examine...all of them: spells, incantations, and potions. She'd passed the others with flying colors but she needed to pass potions to work in the shop. "Please let them still be there," she pleaded. Aly climbed the steps to the examination room of her high shool. Hidden in Webster High was a magic school for witches, wizards, and any magical beings in-between. Alison Mayes was a witch and her friends were magical too; Caleb's a wizard and Nancy's a witch like Aly. She'd knew them since childhood...well Caleb actually. Nancy was later on in 4th grade. "You're late, Ms. Mayes," her examiner said. "You were supposed to be here 5 minutes ago." "I know, Mrs. Thorne, but there was a power outage last night so my alarm clock didn't go off." "Excuses, Ms. Mayes. If you are going to be successful in life, you'll need to learn how to manage your time wisely. Do you understand?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good. Now, let's begin. On the table are various potions. You'll need to make them correctly in order to pass. One mishap and you'll fail. You have 2 hours to complete." Mrs. Thorne said as she left the room. "No pressure." Who was she kidding? It was plenty of pressure. "Okay, Aly, relax and everything will be fine." She began brewing the potions right away: one was for healing, one was for bringing luck and fortune, and lastly, one for protection. After she was done, she'd poured them into the color bottles. Mrs. Thorne came back and inspected them. "Well?" Aly asked. "Did I pass?" "Don't know. I'll have to take them to the Council to be examine. You'll wait for the results a week from today." "A week?" What is she going to do until them? "Yes, a week. You're free to go." A week flew by and it was a good thing because she was going stir crazy about the results of her tests; she was like this the last time for her spells and incantations tests. She was with her friends at the mall when her parents called with the results. "Really? Yes, yes, thanks for the good news." She hung up and relay the message. "That's great, Aly," said Nancy. "Yeah, you definitely earned it," said Caleb. "I know. All that work as finally paid off. This calls for a celebration. Ice cream is on me." Aly went to the mall's ice cream parlor while they waited outside. "Well?" asked Nancy. "Well what?" asked Caleb. "Aren't you going to tell her?" Caleb blushed because he knew what she was referring to. "There's nothing to say, Nancy. Besides, I don't want to make things awkward between us." "Awkward? Uh, hello, you're in love with her, Caleb. HOW could you not tell her?" "It's complicated, okay?" "How complicated can it be? You two known each other since you were in diapers." "Exactly, I'd never expected to fall for Aly that fast." Caleb and Aly were close and be inseparatable but it wasn't until recently that he notice 'things' about Aly and the attraction that he has towards her. He'd recalled his sweaty hands and racing heart a few months ago and that's when he'd finally realized that he fallen for Aly; he just hope that she realized just how special she is to him before it's too late. "How hard is it to say the words, 'I love you' to her?" "Very hard. I get nervous just thinking about it." Nancy shook her head. "Don't think, Caleb, just go for it. Who knows? Maybe she has feelings for you too." Caleb doubted it but he said, "Okay." Aly returned with the ice cream and passed them out. "Cheers," she said. "Cheers," they said. Weeks went by and Aly was working at the shop when Caleb walked in. "Hey, Caleb, what's up?" "Nothing, just walking around." "Walking around, uh? I know you too well for that lie. Seriously, tell me what's really going on." "Okay, you caught me. I came here to tell you something." "What is it?" she asked. "I wanted you to know that..." He paused for a moment until he said, "...that my grandmother loved that healing salve and wanted to know if your mom would share the recipe with her so she could make it at home." "Okay, I'll ask her but I'm not guaranteeing anything so don't get your hopes up." "I understand, Aly. So, I'm going to go and I'll catch up with you at school on Monday." She had a feeling that he wanted to say something else but she let it slide...for now. "Uh, okay. See you at school." He waved good-bye and left, leaving Aly confused. Later on that night, she was doing math homework when Nancy called; she sounded exicted when Aly answered. "What are you so happy about?" she asked. "Duh, about you and Caleb." "Me and Caleb, what?" "What do you mean 'what'? Didn't he tell you?" "Tell me what?" "Unbelievable, he was supposed to tell you that he was in love with you." She was supposed to mumble it but Aly heard. "Caleb is what with me?" "Oh, did I say that out loud?" Nancy asked. "Uh, yeah, you did. You said that Caleb is in love with me." "Yes, I did and it's true. You two have know each other for the longest and it was bound to happen. So, do you feel the same way about him?" Nancy's question caught her off-guard. Of course she did but didn't want to say anything out loud. Her heart started to race. "Well...maybe." "Well, you need to figure it out and tell him. In fact, both of you need to say something soon." Nancy hung up, leaving Aly to her thoughts. Over the weekend, Aly went through the motions and debating on whether or not to tell Caleb. On Monday, she made her decision and decided to tell him. She met him before school started. "Caleb, there's something that I need to tell you." "Well, I do too." They confused at the same time and was shocked by what the other one said. "What?" he asked. "I like, no, love you, Caleb. Always have...I just didn't know to say it." She felt stupid by not saying something. He smiled. "Well, that's a relief. I guess this between us is offical." "I'm relief too." "We can go to the movies as our first date." She smiled too. "I loved that." They kissed, sealing their new relationship. Both of them had a feeling that this was going to be a very interesting experience between them. The End.