The Captive Page 0,54

is, um ..."

"December first," Laurel said. "And Sean's is December third, and that's it."

"But that's..." Cassie's voice trailed off. She couldn't believe it. Nick was only a month older than Sean? And all the witch kids were eight or nine months older than she was? "But you and Sean are juniors, like me," she said to Laurel. "And my birthday's July twenty-third."

"We just missed the cutoff date," Laurel said. "Everybody born after November thirtieth has to wait another year for school. So we had to watch everybody else go off to kindergarten while we stayed home." She wiped away imaginary tears.

"But that's still..." Cassie couldn't express herself. "Don't you think that's pretty incredible? All of you guys being born within a month of each other?"

Suzan dimpled wickedly. "It was a very wet April that year. Our parents all stayed inside."

"It seems odd, I admit," Melanie said. "But the fact is that most of our parents got married the spring before. So it really isn't that surprising."

"But..." Cassie still thought it was surprising, although clearly all the members of the Club were so used to it they didn't wonder about it anymore. And why don't I fit in the pattern? she thought. I guess it's because I'm half outsider. She shrugged. Melanie was probably right; anyway, there was no point in worrying. She let the subject drop and they went back to planning Nick's party.

They finally decided to combine all the birthdays for that first week-Nick's, Adam's, and Melanie's-and hold the party on Saturday, November seventh.

"And," Laurel said, when they explained their plan to the boys, "this one is going to be really different. Don't ask now-it's going to be unique."

"Uh, it's not some health-food kind of thing, is it?" Doug said, looking suspicious.

The girls looked at each other and stifled laughter. "Well-it is healthy-or at least some people think so," Melanie said. "You'll just have to come and see."

"But we'll freeze to death," Sean said, horrified.

"Not with this," Laurel laughed. She held up a thermos.

"Laurel." Adam was having a hard time not laughing himself. "I don't care how hot whatever you've got in there is-it's not going to keep us warm in that."

A silver moon, slightly more than half full, was shining down on an obsidian sea. It was the sea Adam was pointing to.

"It's not Ovaltine," Deborah told him impatiently. "It's something we mixed up."

The five boys were facing the girls, who were lined up behind Laurel. There was a bonfire going on the beach, but at this distance it did nothing to cut the icy wind.

"They're obviously not going to believe us," Faye said, and Diana added, "I guess we'll just have to show them."

Laurel passed the thermos around. Cassie took a deep breath and then a gulp. The liquid was hot and medicinal-tasting-like one of Laurel's nastier herbal teas-but the instant she swallowed it, a tingling warmth swept over her. Suddenly she didn't need her bulky sweater. It was positively hot out here on the beach.

"To the sea, ye mystics," Melanie said. Cassie wasn't sure what it meant, but like the other girls, she was shedding suddenly unnecessary clothing. The boys were goggling.

"I want a birthday party like this," Sean said urgently, as Faye unzipped her red jacket. "Okay? Okay? I want-"

The guys were mildly disappointed when it turned out the girls had bathing suits on underneath.

"But what are we supposed to do?" Adam said, sniffing at the thermos and grinning at the bikini-clad girls.

"Well..." Faye smiled. "You can always improvise."

"Or," Diana put in, "you can look behind the big rock. There just might be a pile of swimming trunks there."

"Now this really is different," Laurel said happily to Cassie some time later, while they were both floating in water up to their chins. "A midnight swimming party in November. This is witchy."

"Be more witchy if we were all sky-clad," Chris commented, shaking his shaggy blond head like a wet dog.

Cassie and Laurel looked at each other, then at Deborah, who was bobbing nearby.

"Good idea," Deborah said, nodding at the other girls. "How about you first, Chris?"

"Wait a minute-I didn't mean-hey, Doug-help!"

"Come on, girls," Laurel shouted. "Chris wants to go skinny-dipping, only he's a little shy."

"Help! Guys, help!"

It turned into a sort of combination of tag and aquatic wrestling. Everyone joined in. Cassie found herself being chased by Nick and she fled, kicking up great splashes while he cut cleanly through the surf behind her. He got close enough to grab her.

"Help!" Cassie shrieked, half laughing, so