Stirring Up Trouble Read online

Milo’s dad called us over for an important update. “The good news is that frog and toad jokes are making a resurgence. Oh, and so far there are no human fatalities associated with the phenomenon. In other words. Nobody has croaked!”

  “Dad,” Milo said.

  “Uh oh,” Mom said after checking her email. “They’re talking about banning magic and travel on Halloween again.”

  “Everybody is going to hate me,” I said, holding my head in my hands.

  “The snakes will like you,” Milo said. “They love to eat the yummy frogs.”

  “Snakes,” Milo’s mother said. She jotted something down on the notepad she had carried around all morning. “We should check into the snake issue.”

  “Please,” Mom said with a shudder.

  “This is like a huge biology project,” Milo said.

  “That sure was one Hoppy Halloween,” Milo’s dad said.

  We all glared at him.

  Milo and his family finally headed out late Sunday afternoon. I gave Milo a big hug. “Come back soon.”

  At school Monday, everybody was buzzing about the crazy frog situation, except Anya. She just babbled on and on about Brad.

  Mrs. Amburn had filled six aquariums with various frogs and toads. I guess I’d be reminded of my Halloween Hiccup forever.

  Jake caught up with me at my locker after first period. “What’s wrong, Zoe? You seem distracted.”

  I looked up into his green eyes. “I’m okay. It’s just been a weird couple of days.”

  He glanced up and down the hall and then put an arm around me. “Maybe this will help.” He touched his lips to mine, and suddenly I didn’t care one bit about the Frog Fiasco.

  He hugged me tightly and whispered against my ear. “Better.”

  I nodded.

  He released me and flashed a confident smile. He was entirely too smooth for a fifteen-year-old boy. “So can we study together today?”

  If only. My parents had been very clear. Get home and stay home. We still didn’t have a final verdict from the Council. “Tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Really? Tomorrow then, and don’t even think about trying to back out.”

  “Tomorrow. I promise.”

  Once I got home, I realized that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had no magic. I could feel its absence. Like the empty space in my heart when my friend Selena moved to Florida after fourth grade.

  My dad had texted me earlier. He knew how miserable I was, and he was trying his best to distract me. He was expecting the results from his friend today about the different tuna brands.

  Any progress I could make on the toad slime substitution would really help.

  I tried to make myself find something to do. Instead, I sat on the couch and stared at the wall.

  Dad finally called. “I got the results, Zoe. Compared to the other tuna brands, Fish Man has less mercury and more artificial coloring. I’ll bring the complete breakdown over in the morning.”

  Okay. We’d need to add coloring and extract some of the mercury from the other brands. “Can’t you bring it now?”

  “Sorry, Zoe.”

  “Mom is supposed to call with the Council’s verdict as soon as she knows. She still hasn’t called.”

  “It could be days, Zoe. You need to be realistic.”

  I just sighed. “Thanks anyway, Dad.”

  “Love you, Zoe.”

  “Love you too.”

  When Mom’s car pulled into the garage, I was still sitting there. I would have turned on the television, but I was afraid of late-breaking frog updates. I didn’t want to see an interview with a kid who had salmonella or a man eating a giant frog sandwich.

  Mom came in, set her purse and keys on the counter, and walked into the living room.

  She sat down next to me and put her arm around me.

  “Tough day, kid?” she asked.

  I didn’t answer.

  “I guess it’s a good thing that the Council decided to let Dr. Finnegan move to Knoxville and tutor you then.”

  What? “They did!” I turned and threw my arms around her. “Oh my God! They did. Mom! This is awesome.”

  “Zoe,” Mom said. “You’re choking me here.”

  “Sorry,” I said, jumping up from the sofa. “I can’t believe it! Dr. Finnegan. It’s like a reward. I got into trouble and the punishment is to have Dr. Finnegan tutor me!”

  Mom’s lips spread into a wide grin. “I know. It’s crazy.” She stood and hugged me.

  “How soon? When is he coming?”

  “We don’t know yet. They have to make arrangements with Dr. Finnegan.”

  “I get to keep my magic! When do I get it back?”

  “I don’t know that either, Zoe.”

  “I have to tell Milo,” I said and sprinted for the stairs.

  “Zoe, wait!”

  After skidding to a stop, I turned back to my mother. “What?”

  “There is more that you need to know about Dr. Finnegan.”

  “Mom,” I said, rolling my eyes, “I know everything there is to know about him. He’s the most renowned living potions scholar. He’s written every important text on potions, and he’s won the equivalent of three Nobel prizes.”

  “Has he ever worked with a high school student before?”

  “No,” I answered. I walked back to the couch and sat. “So why is he working with me? They said something about a predicament?”

  “Exactly. He agreed to work with you as part of his probation.”

  “I’m a punishment?”

  “Yes, and no. I’m sure he’ll be happy working with you, Zoe. However, he didn’t have much choice in the matter.”

  “Geez, Mom. What did he do?”

  Mom sat back down and patted my knee. “Dr. Finnegan just turned ninety-five years old. Three years ago, he decided to trade his body for a newer model. He brewed a potion.”

  The horror must have shown on my face, because my mother said, “That’s right, Zoe. He brewed a self-serving potion of phenomenal proportions. He made himself young again, and his punishment fit the crime.”

  But what Dr. Finnegan had done! The punishment for making yourself young…I couldn’t begin to imagine.

  “It was bad,” my mother confirmed. “They say he didn’t leave the house for three years. He stayed locked up with his rotting flesh as he slowly worked off the punishment brewing healing potions for charity. He must have suffered terribly,” she said, “but they say Dr. Finnegan made it through with his sanity intact.”

  “He’s not still rotting, is he?” Even if he was the Albert Einstein of potions, I had serious problems with strong odors.

  “The poor man is fine. I want to be sure that you fully understand the reasons for Dr. Finnegan being here. He may be your hero, but he is not infallible. I don’t want you to follow him blindly. You have your own conscience as your guide, and you will have your own choices to make.”

  “Are you saying he’s dangerous?”

  “Of course not. But I want you to stay alert and be aware. Follow the rules. Be true to yourself.” She laughed. “And a dozen other t-shirt slogans.”

  “I get it, Mom. I’m going into this with my eyes open.” I pictured the elderly man with his skin rotting. “I doubt he’s going to want any more trouble.”

  “True.”

  I imagined the old man turning young, and then I thought about the rotting flesh. “Mom, what does he look like now?”

  My mother actually shuddered. “I have no idea.”

  “Nobody has taken pictures?”

  She shook her head. “He hasn’t been out and about.”

  “Am I allowed to tell Milo?”

  “Yes, but neither of you needs to be spreading gossip. The man has suffered enough.”

  “Right. When will he get here to start?”

  “Two weeks or so. You’ll have sessions with him twice a week after school and then on Saturdays.”

  I grinned. “This is going to be awesome.”

  “
Run and tell Milo. We can plan later.”

  Plan? “For what?”

  “We aren’t going to be able to hide Finnegan from your friends and Jake. We need to convince them that he is your chemistry tutor. If they interfere, Dr. Finnegan may have to leave.”

  No problem. “Jake won’t question the chemistry thing. The rest of my friends don’t come over much. Except—”

  “—Anya!” Mom said with me.

  “Uh oh.” I grabbed my mother’s arm. “If Dr. Finnegan actually looks nineteen, she could be a problem.”

  “I doubt he appears as young as he intended, and even if he does, what are the odds that he’s going to interest Anya? Let’s be reasonable. He’d have to be pretty cute, right?”

  I released my grip on her arm.

  “And if I’m wrong, there are ways to distract her.”

  I had a bad feeling that my future held more love potions and more toilets.

  “Go call Milo.”

  Maybe he could help me plan distractions. “Going.” I went upstairs and started dialing Milo, but before he answered, Jake called in.

  I disconnected the call to Milo and said, “Hi!”

  “Wow,” he said. “You sound really happy.”

  “I am!”

  “You had a good day?”

  “The best.” Time to set this up. “I finally talked my mother into getting me a chemistry tutor.”

  Jake didn’t respond at first. “A tutor? For a class you aren’t even taking yet?”

  “Yes. Isn’t it great?”

  “Tutors aren’t usually considered to be good things. How could you need one? You’re brilliant.”

  True. “Well, thanks, but I wanted to get a jump start on the sciences. Dad was on board, but Mom was hesitant. Today she agreed. Trust me, Jake. This is like an early Christmas present for me.”

  “Then I’m excited for you.”

  The boy accepted my weirdness. I was lucky. “Thanks.”

  “Who’s going to teach you? One of the science teachers from school?”

  “No. Somebody from the university, I think.”

  Jake asked, “A professor friend of your dad’s?”

  I thought about the anti-aging potion. “Maybe a student. I don’t know yet.”

  “A college guy?”

  Now I started to realize where he was going with these questions. He didn’t want another guy around me. My heart leaped at this hint of his feelings for me. On the other hand, I didn’t need him causing trouble with Dr. Finnegan. “Or girl. Too soon to tell.”

  “You should definitely ask for a girl.”

  “I should?”

  “Sure. Because then you’d have a strong female scientist as a role model.”

  “Good point,” I said. “I’ll pass on your suggestion.”

  “Glad I could help,” he said, and I could almost hear him smiling through the phone.

  The poor boy wasn’t going to like Dr. Finnegan. Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d be back to his nineties. Or at least his thirties. Old enough to keep Jake from paying attention.

  “I have to go eat dinner. Mom’s calling me, but I’ll call you after I eat. Okay?”

  “Sure. Talk to you then.”

  As I hung up, my mother peeked in my doorway. “Got a minute?” she asked.

  I made a face at her and said haughtily, “No, I’m busy.”

  She smiled at my silliness as she came into my room. “I asked the Council to email me a picture of Dr. Finnegan. I told them we wanted to be sure we would recognize him.”

  “Perfect! What did they say?”

  My mother shrugged as she held up a picture of my new tutor. “I think we might be in trouble.”

  Terrified I’d see something grotesque, I made myself look at the photo.

  Dr. Finnegan was not gross.

  Dr. Finnegan was one-hundred percent hot, young male. He didn’t look like a college student. He looked like a movie star playing a college student. His mussed dark hair contrasted with his brilliant blue eyes. He wasn’t smiling. His square jaw and serious eyes conveyed a brooding, tortured soul, the kind that drove girls crazy.

  I raised my eyes to meet Mom’s gaze. “Jake isn’t going to like this.”

  “Anya,” she said, pointing to the picture, “will like this. Anya cannot know that this man is at our house three times a week.”

  Anya! “What are we going to do?”

  My mother gave me her standard non-answer, the one that she used when she didn’t have a clue. “We’ll figure it out.”

  With a groan, I closed my eyes.

  “We could turn Anya into a frog,” my mother suggested.

  “Not funny.”

  We’d better come up with something soon because working with Dr. Finnegan was my dream. I had experiments to conduct, potions to brew, substitutions to find. I didn’t need magic to tell me that Anya and Jake snooping around Dr. Finnegan could only lead to disaster. I was already on the Council’s radar. I’d lost my magic once. I hoped my tutor had an Emergency Aversion Protocol for working with Zoe Miller because the hairs on my arms were standing on end. Like an animal before a storm, I sensed an impending crisis.

  Trouble was brewing.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Juli Alexander lives and writes in the Southeastern United States. She is currently working on the sequel to Stirring Up Trouble. Juli's next release will be The Karma Beat, the story of a teen genie who works for the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. granting wishes. Please visit Juli at JuliAlexanderAuthor.com or catch her on twitter @Juli_Alexander.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR