W.I.T.C.H. Однажды ты его встретишь (книга 7) ("The Light of Meridian")
Пока только первая глава, но впечатление составить можно (честно взята с www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com). Кстати, она на инглише (скоро переведу и выложу русский вариант, хотя и так понятно ;) ).
Глава 1
Will was fuming. And even though the cold, winter air numbed her face as she rushed out of Mr. Olsen's pet shop, it didn't numb her anger. How could this day possibly get any worse?
The day had started with great promise. All day long Will had been looking forward to going to Mr. Olsen's pet shop after school. Being Mr. Olsen's assistant was the perfect job for Will. She loved animals (especially frogs -- she had a whole collection of frog toys at home). And Mr. Olsen was the sweetest, kindest man, and knew everything about taking care of all kinds of pets. He also happened to be Matt Olsen's grandfather. And Matt Olsen happened to be Will's secret crush.
Matt was sweet, adorable, and one hundred percent dreamy. He was a year older than Will and played in a band called Cobalt Blue. Hands down, he was the biggest hunk in school. With his brown hair, tall, lanky body, and fuzzy goatee, he fit the role of lead singer and hunk perfectly. Matt loved animals, too, which just added to his charm. Those same hands that strummed a guitar could also make a cat purr lovingly or a dog cover Matt's face in licky kisses.
As Will jumped onto her bicycle outside the pet shop, she thought about the time when she had first moved to Heatherfield. She had met a lot of people those first few weeks. There were so many changes -- and transformations! A new apartment, a new school, and four amazing new friends.
Whenever Will thought about how she and her friends had met, she smiled. Was it luck or magic that had brought them all together? Whatever it was, they were a rather unlikely group. Taranee was shy and inquisitive. Cornelia was headstrong but very loyal. Irma was opinionated and hysterically funny. Then there was Hay Lin, the artistic and calm one.
Despite all of their different personalities, the friends had one major thing in common. They were a team charged with the challenge of keeping the world safe from all kinds of evil. Being empowered with magical abilities allowed them to control the elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Will had been given control of an extra-special power -- the Heart of Candracar. That was the link that made their powers unite and also made Will the unsuspected (and usually reluctant) leader of the team.
An all-knowing spirit who lived in an ethereal world called Candracar had anointed Hay Lin, Cornelia, Irma, Taranee, and Will as the Guardians of the Veil. The Veil was an invisible divider between earth and the dark world of Metamoor.
It was the Guardians' job to make sure that no evil creatures crossed the twelve portals found within the Veil. According to Hay Lin's grandmother, who had once been a Guardian herself, the recent millennium had caused the Veil to grow weak. Creatures from Metamoor were able to travel through the Veil, by way of portals, which are like cosmic tunnels. After discovering their destinies, the girls had started to call themselves W.i.t.c.h. -- an acronym of their names: Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin. And so far, they were doing a pretty good job of protecting earth. They had won several battles against the sinister Prince Phobos and his evil sidekick, Lord Cedric. But the girls had to be constantly aware of the dangers around them. Today, though, even the magic Will had inside of her couldn't ease the anger she felt as she pedaled through the snowy streets of Heatherfield. Who was Jackie? What did Matt think of her? And what, Will wondered, did Matt think of Will? Will clearly remembered the day she had first met Matt.
She was in the park trying to help save a dormouse from the school bullies, who were trying to hurt it, when he passed by. After the attack, the dormouse looked cold and hungry, and somehow Matt convinced her to take it home. It probably wasn't hard, since Will was pretty much speechless because she thought Matt was so dreamy. When he gave her his cell phone number, so that she could call him if she needed any help, Will was surprised -- and touched -- by his thoughtfulness. It was at that moment that her crush on Matt began.
But then Will was summoned to Candracar. She knew she couldn't take care of the wounded dormouse while she was away. So, she left the dormouse in Matt's front yard and sent him a text message asking him to take care of the little animal.
Will hoped all would be normal when she returned. Unfortunately, that was wishful thinking. She left an astral drop -- an exact replica of herself -- to fill in for her while she was gone. When she got back, she was horrified to discover that her astral drop had kissed Matt! And later on had slapped him in the middle of school because of the kiss. It was a huge misunderstanding. To make matters worse, her dormouse had gotten sick from eating too many cookies. Needless to say, she still had a lot of work to do on the whole astral drop thing -- and on getting back into Matt's good graces.
Taking the sick little dormouse to Matt's grandfather's pet shop was a start. She had thought it was a sign of her new, more responsible self.
When she'd brought the dormouse to the pet shop, Matt had been there. He'd introduced her to his grandfather, who'd said he was able to help the dormouse and had even offered her a job at the shop.
Matt and his grandfather were close, and sometimes Matt worked in the shop to help out. Will had figured there was always a good chance he might swing by while she was working. It had seemed like a perfect plan to get to know him better.
Until now.
Was there anyone cuter in the whole universe? Will wondered with a heavy sigh. She had thought that when she first met him. And she still did. But now it seemed as though this Jackie girl thought the same thing!
Wait a sec. Who is this boy-crazy nut I'm turning into? Will thought with a laugh.
She was not normally like that. It was usually Irma who went on and on about boys. But this crush made Will feel different -- all jittery and jumpy. Even her toes tingled.
Clearly, Will's plan to help out at the store hadn't been all about animals. The possibility of seeing Matt had been an added bonus. Well, I'm off to a good start, Will thought sarcastically, feeling a bit deflated as she remembered the conversation she had had with Jackie at the shop. Matt had not stopped by. Instead, a beautiful woman had come looking for him. . . . Those were two things that she hadn't expected.
Jackie, the curvy and glamorous visitor, had quickly burst Will's bubble of confidence. Right before Jackie entered the store, Will had been feeling very confident. When Mr. Olsen left to make a house call, she had felt fine staying in the shop alone. She had felt good about being left in charge of the shop -- and, of course, had hoped that maybe Matt would come by at any moment. She wondered if Mr. Olsen knew that she had a megacrush on his grandson. She hoped not -- that would have been mega-embarrassing!
As Will pedaled along under the chilly afternoon sun, she thought more about what had happened and got more and more upset as she replayed the scene in her head. . .
After Mr. Olsen left, a cool, snowy breeze danced into the store behind him. Will stood up straight behind the counter, her arms stretched out, fingertips resting on the countertop. Ready and waiting for action, she hoped some clients would arrive and allow her to really show Mr. Olsen how competent she was to work in the shop.
Until then, she would have to find a way to entertain herself. She looked around. Cuddly kittens poked their heads out from a box on the floor. Rows of rubbery dog and cat toys sat next to pet shampoo bottles and comfy-looking pet beds. Cans of cat food, sacks of dog food, and a rainbow-colored array of fish-food containers filled the shelves.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. The clock on the wall behind her kept rudely reminding her that time was moving very slowly.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. Just like school, she thought. Time had slowed to the speed of molasses.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. Maybe Matt will swing by some other time, she muttered to herself.
The gurgling fish tanks, chirping birds, and purring kittens created a soothing symphony, like a lullaby. Her eyes started to close. She was getting sleepy -- very sleepy.
I'd better do my homework, she finally decided, dragging various heavy textbooks and bulky notebooks from out of her backpack and spreading them out on the counter.
She had barely opened the first book when a loud Skreeeek! from out in front of the shop interrupted her. Will peered through the front window just in time to see a snazzy little yellow sports car that had just pulled up.
"Hooray!" Will said out loud. "Someone's coming in!"
Dling! The bell announcing the new customer chimed throughout the store.
But this wasn't just any old customer. Into the shop strutted a tall, curvy, and sophisticated young woman. Fiery auburn hair fell dramatically around her face. A zippered, cropped, turtleneck sweater showed off her tiny waist. She wore a wraparound miniskirt low across her hips with a loose tassel belt dangling just so. A long, cream-colored coat and leather gloves topped the ensemble off.
"Hello," the woman said in a husky voice, a gigantic, lipsticked smile on her face.
"Hello," Will replied shyly. "May I help you?"
"No, thanks," Ms. Fashion Plate said, glancing around the store. "I'm looking for Matt." She took a confident step closer in her tall, high-heeled, black leather boots.
Even as Will replayed the girl's grand entrance in her head, a dozen questions raced through her mind. Why had she been asking for Matt? Who was she? How did she know Matt? Did he like her?
"Well, he's not in today," Will explained. "But if you need -- "
"A piece of paper, then," the woman purred with a fake grin, her hair glistening beneath the fluorescent lights. She didn't let Will finish.
Will walked over and ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook. "Is this okay?" she asked irritably.
"Yes, good." With a slight scowl, the young woman pulled a fancy designer pen out of her stylish, slate-colored handbag.
Will watched her and slyly stuck out her tongue in annoyance. That made her feel a teeny-tiny bit better. But not much.
Thinking about the piece of paper in her back pocket, Will wonderered if she really should give the note to Matt. The way Jackie had said, "Remember that I entrusted this to you" made Will feel like not giving the letter to Matt.
As Will carefully rode home through the snow, she wondered if it were possible that Matt had a crush on Jackie. Her mind immediately started jumping to the worst conclusions. She envisioned them on dates. Holding hands. Looking into each other's eyes. Bleccch! It was too much.
If only she knew what the note meant. Of course, she had already memorized what Jackie had written on the piece of paper.
I look
forward
to embracing
my puppy.
Kisses,
Jackie
XXX
"Give it to Matt," Will mimicked in a deep, whispery voice, trying to do her very best Jackie imitation. "Please remember, I entrusted this to you!" She could still recall Jackie's tone and the way she had held the paper with two fingers.
"Grrr," Will grumbled, gripping the handlebars tighter.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, she continued home. The snow was piling up quickly. Will rode carefully, zigzagging through the powdery mounds. Snowflakes were now falling at a sideways angle. As she pedaled she kept hearing Jackie's voice inside her head, over and over: "puppy . . . ," "kisses . . . ," "puppy . . . ," "kisses . . ."
Even though Will was bundled up in her gray fleece coat and orange woolen hat, a chill ran down her back. I have no chance against Jackie, she thought. The wind howled and blew snow into her eyes. Jackie is too sophisticated. Too beautiful. Too everything.
That did it, Will decided. "Matt won't see that piece of paper!" she said with determination as she pedaled off.
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