At practice after school, I tried not to think too much about how far behind I was already running. I’d wanted to get out of remedial classes, no way was I going backwards, no matter what it took.

So. New Year’s Resolutions fast forwarded a few months. What’s the harm? Time is overrated, anyway.

My second early New Year’s Resolution is to make friends — or at least firm allies — with Tara, the head cheerleader of The Salem Witches. I’ve already made a lot of progress there, but my new status as a regular student had put a strain on our carefully negotiated nuclear standoff. Girl drama, even I don’t understand it all the time. But she hadn’t talked to me at lunch, and it wasn’t an oversight.

So now I had to do some careful rebuilding if I wanted to see my new team at the national competitions at the end of December. The question was where to start? Tara hadn’t liked me when I first came to Agatha’s Day School for Witches(first understatement — she’d thought I had mortal cooties). She hadn’t thought I should be on the team (second understatement — she’d thought I couldn’t possibly know anything useful for cheerleading witches).

I’ve managed to get our relationship to one of mutual assured scowling, but it needs to go up a few notches more to outright kiss-kiss-on-the-cheek-cheek before I can be sure the cold shoulder I got at lunch today wouldn’t turn into a frozen shove off the team.

I watched her standing in the locker room, making sure her V was solid — an improvement that I brought to the team, I might hasten to add. They’d been super sloppy before I came along. I had to try. But what was going to work? And if it didn’t, would I get a second chance?

I stopped hesitating. I suppose there’s really no way to be sure she won’t suddenly sabotage my efforts to get fifteen cheerleading witches to work together as a team and forget about grandstanding during competition. Sigh. Resolutions always look so much more do-able when they’re one line on paper.

Suddenly, I knew what might get her to smile at me for sure. I’d have to try…. Nope, I’d have to be true to my little brother’s favorite movie star, Yoda No more ‘try’ and ‘maybe.’ I know the one way to make sure that Tara is on my side: hook her up on a date with Angelo, said hottie mortal neighbor.

“Hey Tara,” I kept it casual, pretending not to notice that she hadn’t looked my way when I called her name. “Angelo’s coming over on Saturday. He was hoping you might drop by and I said I’d ask to see if you were free.”

She struggled, but Angelo, even though he’s mortal, is not someone she wanted to write off her list just because she was worried I was poaching her leadership territory. She turned, equally casual, as if everyone in the locker room didn’t know she hadn’t been talking to me a nanosecond ago. “Saturday? I’m not sure. I’ll let you know after I check my plans.”

“Whatever. Angelo’s kewl with you having more important plans than him.” Yes. I can not only stick the knife in, I can twist it real good, too.