The Summer I Became a Nerd - By Leah Rae Miller Page 0,78

I had to get the potions from the bright fairies instead of getting the healing power. When he shakes his head in disbelief, I stand next to him and point at my experience point expenditure log.

“Did I do it right?” I ask.

His bright blue eyes lock with mine. “How…”

I lean in so close our noses are almost touching. “Ask your mom.”

He blinks a few times, then gives my sheet back to Sorenson. “Looks good to me.”

“Uh-uh,” Kelsey says. “Let me see that thing.”

“It has been approved by two game masters and another player. There’s no need for you to look at it,” Sorenson says.

Kelsey’s mouth drops open.

Sorenson straightens my character sheet. “Now, Maddie, you do realize this spell takes health points to initiate and if you use it now, it’ll kill you, so—”

I pull out the index cards from the bright fairies and shove them against Sorenson’s chest.

He reads them and grins. “You sneaky little elf. All right, these potions put you at full health. You’ll survive the casting, but only barely.” He throws his arms up to get the chattering crowd’s attention. “For those of you who aren’t familiar with the incantation called Change of Heart, Maddie will need to roll seven different dice. It’s extremely difficult to complete this spell because of what it does. It completely changes the target’s sensibilities. If your character loves winter, after this spell, she’ll love summer. If she loves order, after this spell, she’ll love chaos. If she is dark, after this spell, she’ll be bright.”

The crowd’s chattering gets louder as Sorenson explains things. I look up at Logan. He’s still staring at me with a bewildered look on his face.

Sorenson continues. “This spell is not only hard to cast because it saps your health, it is considered nearly impossible because you must roll perfect on five of the seven dice.”

He forgot to mention that the five dice have to be the five highest-rolling dice. I have to roll a twenty on the twenty-sided die, a twelve on the twelve-sided die, a ten on both ten-sided dice, and an eight on the eight-sided die. I don’t even want to try to calculate the odds on this or my brain will explode.

“Do you have a set of dice? I think I have a spare upstairs,” Sorenson says to me.

I pull out Roy G. Biv. “I have my own.”

The crowd parts for Sorenson, Kelsey, Logan, and me as we head up to the porch. Tommy clears a coffee table that looks more like a Dumpster treasure than a table. I kneel down in front of it, and Kelsey pulls up a chair.

“This is never going to work, you know that, right? You’re going to knock yourself out, I’ll wake up before you, and chop your head off,” she says.

“Not if I chop yours off first,” Dan says from the steps.

I just smile and rub the dice in my hands. They click together creating a twinkling tune.

Sorenson kneels down. I can feel Logan standing above me.

“Here I go,” I say.

Everything goes into slow motion when the dice fall from my fingers. Each one bounces a couple of times then rolls along the table, one after the other, their rainbow colors reflecting the dim porch light. I force myself not to watch them as they come to a stop. When the last one leaves my hand, I stand and turn around, putting me face to face with Logan.

He’s not watching the outcome either. His eyes sparkle like the dice, bright and sigh-inducing. His brow is furrowed, though, making me wonder what is running through his mind. I find out soon enough. His fingertips lightly touching the sides of my neck are the only things I feel as the dice are totaled behind me. The creases between his eyebrows disappear as the smile that struck me as irresistible the first time I saw it in The Phoenix appears. I breathe in his scent, and my eyes drift shut like I just caught a whiff of hot chocolate on Christmas day. I forget where I am when his perfect boy-lips brush against mine.

Then, we kiss. We kiss like no else exists, like we were made for each other, like there’s nowhere else in the entire world either one of us wants to be.

When we break apart, my heart goes into overdrive. I lean into Logan, resting my forehead against his. Somehow, my hands slipped under his jacket and are now flat against his chest. I try to pull