Chapter 6

Chapter SIX Carlotta and I were sitting in the kitchen after school that afternoon, eating chocolate biscuits and making bracelets together when Mum and Dad came bursting into the room. They both looked worn out but very happy. 'We've done it!' crowed Mum. 'We've found the magic formula for the new black

and purple striped lipsticks we've been trying to make!' 'Ooh!' said Carlotta. 'Stripy lipstick?' 'Yes!' Dad beamed and produced a little tube from behind his back. 'It's called the Mirabelle range!' I felt a warm feeling sparkle inside me. 'Do you want to try it?' asked Dad. I took the lipstick and painted it onto my lips while looking into a little hand mirror that Mum held up. Then I handed it to Carlotta. 'Stripy lips!' we both said, staring at each other with glee. We looked wonderfully witchy!

'Phew, it works!' said Dad. 'Time for a celebration, I think. Let's go out for dinner when Wilbur gets home from his after- school club. Carlotta can come too!'

Carlotta and I beamed happily at each other. 'Oh, and that reminds me,' said Dad. I dug out my old fairy roller skates for you, Mirabelle. They're on the porch.' 'Roller skates!' said Carlotta. 'That means we can skate together!' 'Oh... erm... yes,' I replied. 'But they're not proper witch skates like yours they're—' 'Who cares?!' said Carlotta. 'They work, don't they?' 'I guess so,' I replied. 'Let's go and skate then!' said Carlotta, jumping down from her chair and tugging at me.

I picked up Dad's roller skates from the porch, and together we made our way out into the garden. Carlotta put on her witch skates and I put on my dad's old fairy skates. We began to whizz up and down the garden path, going faster and faster, whooshing and spinning. It felt amazing. It felt like flying! And I realized it didn't really matter that my roller skates weren't the sleek and shiny expensive ones or that they didn't have sparks coming out from the heels. They worked! I could go just as fast as Carlotta in them! Suddenly I felt a little bit bad that I had been so ungrateful. It was very kind of Dad to give me his old skates. Maybe I

wasn't even so bothered about having a pair of sleek and shiny black witch skates after all. I could just keep using the fairy skates. And that would mean I wouldn't have to do any extra chores!