Love Potion Number 9 WHO Max Morris OT Kainoa Roane WHAT Ugh, boys. WHERE Hoof and Feather WHEN Saturday, August 1, 2:30 pm RATING Probably G
It was a secret that had been festering in Max’s mind, ever since she had returned to Havenwood after going home for the winter break. After everything that had transpired that fall, she had been looking forward to relaxing on the beach with her family - but also to spend time with Danny, her best friend and first love.
They’d been friends since they were in diapers, but more than that, when she’d first dropped out of school, he’d been the only one to stick by her side. When the other kids had teased her and called her a freak, he’d stood up for her. And after her first semester at Crescent Hill, she’d confided the truth to him under her grandmother’s plumeria tree in the backyard. It was under that tree that they’d shared their first kiss, illuminated by the flowers Max had made glow with her power. Max still smiled every time she saw the tree, reminded of that perfect moment. Or at least she used to.
Danny had avoided her calls and taken his time getting back to her texts when she first got back to Honolulu. She blamed the holidays and told herself that it wasn’t a big deal. He’d get back to her. He always did. But then days became a week, then two, and before long she was scheduled to fly back to the mainland. She decided she’d just bite the bullet, and showed up on his doorstep early one afternoon with a box of fresh malasadas.
“Hey, sorry we didn’t get to hang this time around,” she said as he’d cautiously stepped out onto the porch. “I went to Leonard’s for one last fix, and I picked a couple up for you.”
Danny had just looked from the Max to the box and back again. Then he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “Can’t you take a hint?” he’d grumbled.
Max had kept on holding the box out for him, although her expression dropped from her usual happy to trying to hide a nervous anguish. “Hint about what?” she asked.
“I didn’t want to see you,” he’d told her flatly. “Look, Max, we were friends when we were little kids, but come on. I can’t be friends with a freak who goes to - what, Hogwarts for losers?”
Max had cleared her throat, trying to find a response as she struggled not to cry. She was about to finally speak when the door swung open again and a tall, lithe blonde stepped out and wrapped her arms around Danny from behind.
“Babe, come back inside,” the blonde whined, slowly tugging him back toward the door.
“Duty calls,” Danny told Max with a smug wink and a shrug, turning the blonde around to follow her back inside, leaving Max dumbfounded on the porch. She’d thrown the box of pastries at his door, before turning and running back home.
After that, she’d decided she didn’t need to go home again for a while. Luckily, lifeguards were needed for the summer and, with a little luck, she’d been able to start teaching surf lessons. It had started as stand-up paddle boarding, given the relatively gentle temperament of the bay, but she’d been researching ways to give it a little boost so she could surf outright. She thought she’d finally found the right spell, and had gone shopping at the Nameless Page for supplies. That was where she overheard a couple of women whispering in one corner about potions - love potions - and the butcher who could provide them. The next day, after her shift on the beach, Max had decided to check into the whispers herself.
It was late afternoon when she stepped into the Hoof and Feather. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary in any way; there weren’t charms and talismans hanging around, just cuts of meat and sausages like she’d expect to see. But if what she’d heard was correct, under the very normal appearance was something magic - and powerfully so, if it involved love spells. She’d been taught all about the dangers of them at school, but after the display of power she’d seen from herself in the fall, she was starting to think that there was more to her than the average witch. So a love potion? Wouldn’t be an issue.
Pushing her sunglasses up into her hair, she rang the little bell on the counter for service.
“Um, hello?” she called. “I wanted to ask someone about a… special order?”