Page 1 of Love Potion No. 69
Clementine
ONCE UPON A time, there was a princess…
Nope. Not accurate.
Once upon a time, there was a girl…
Scratch that. Everyone treats me like I’m far younger than my twenty-seven years, so let’s try that again.
I hold the glass jar up, the sun’s light refracting through the clear liquid, and hold my breath as I slowly pour the Elysian Blossom essence in.
“Please don’t cloud, don’t cloud, don’t...son of a biscuit eater!” Sighing, I set the jar down, put the vial of essence back in the refrigerator, and grab my notebook and pencil. Love potion number 68, bust.
Once upon a time, there was a botanist who was tired of her sisters treating her like a baby, so she decided to recreate the famous love potion her family was once known for. Except the potion was never written down, and the botanist’s mother only remembered how it smelled instead of what was in it, which was supremely unhelpful. So the botanist toiled day after day in her greenhouse laboratory, her only exposure to sunlight the rays that came through the glass surrounding her, and definitely no prince to speak of.
Better. Except when would I actually have time for a prince? Also, it’s the twenty-first century in America, and unless I’m aiming for the British guy who’s living on the West Coast with his gorgeous wife and family after having told the crown to shove it, then no prince for me.
I finish my notes, then pull my hair into a bun and secure it with a pencil right as my sister Magnolia comes into the greenhouse.
“Hey, Clemmy-clem-Clementine!” she calls, her voice as bright as the sun outside. “Figured I’d find you in here.” She holds out a mug of tea as she approaches, and I take it gratefully.
“Thank you.” I inhale the aroma before sipping, because as grateful as I am for the tea, I also know my family’s tendencies when it comes to tea. Granted, Magnolia is the second-oldest of us and generally behaves herself, but there’s a lot of things growing on our land that can be put to mischievous use. All I smell is lemon and verbena, so I’m going to assume it’s safe. After a small sip, I grin and take a larger drink.
She quirks a dark brow at me. “So suspicious,” she chides.
“Do you blame me?” I ask, taking another deep gulp. It’s the perfect temperature, and none of us have figured out how to keep a ceramic cup heated, so I need to drink it now.
Magnolia laughs. “No, I don’t. But I’m here with a favor.”
I sigh. “I swear, if you’re here to ask me to call Hazel and beg her to come home for a visit?—”
“No, not that,” she says. “Not today, anyway.”
“Then what?”
She hesitates, and instantly I’m on edge.
“Mags, out with it. You’re freaking me out. None of you ever ask for a favor, unless it’s to help play a trick on someone, and I’m really busy?—”
“Could you come talk to my class on Tuesday?”
I stop mid-sentence, clamping my mouth shut and squinting at her through my glasses. “I’m sorry. Did you just ask me to come speak to your class?”
She nods, a hopeful look in her amber eyes. “I thought I’d let them see what a career that uses chemistry looks like.”
I sigh. “You know how much I hated high school. Why would I willingly go back there?”
“Because your favorite sister is begging you? Because I’m the only one who doesn’t give you shit on a constant basis? Because?—”
“Fine,” I cut her off, knowing it’s better to give in than endure the constant stream of reasons she’ll come up with. “I’ll do it. You owe me.”
She jumps up and down and rushes me, wrapping me in a crushing hug and saying “thank you” on repeat. I manage to save the tea, but only barely. When she lets me go, I finish it and hand the cup back to her.
“You need to send me a calendar appointment. Otherwise, I can’t be held responsible for missing it,” I say.
She flashes me a wide smile. “You got it.” Then she assesses my work station. “Now that I’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way, how’s it going?”
I let out a frustrated groan. “Horribly. I thought I was onto something, but the last batch clouded as soon as I put the Elysian Blossom essence in.”