As the smoke disappeared the sight before Cecil shocked him. Melanie was no longer sat next to him. In her place was a large, green frog.
"Oh dear" Cecil sighed, tapping his wand against his palm "It would seem I mispronounced the words. I'm sorry Miss Jones."
Melanie blinked her large, black eyes and looked down at her slimy, green, webbed feet. "Wh... what happened to me?!" She asked, her voice croaky.
"I transformed you into a frog, Miss Jones" Cecil told her "You'll have to excuse me. I was trying to impress you, though it's no excuse. Please, I'll fix this. Let's see, now, where was it?" He flicked through the pages of his book, searching for the right spell.
Melanie jumped off the couch and landed with a thud. She hopped towards the mirror on the other side of the room and stared at her reflection, horrified.
"I'll have you back to normal in a moment!" Cecil promised "Let's see... Ah ha! This is the spell!" He pointed his wand at Melanie and began the incantation.
As he uttered the final word a bright flash of light engulfed her once again. Cecil was certain this would have worked and he waited for the smoke to clear, expecting Melanie to be human once more.
The smoke cleared and Cecil was greeted with the same sight as before. Melanie was still a frog.
"What went wrong?" He wondered out loud"Did I get the spell wrong? "
"Why am I still a frog?!" Melanie croaked nervously.
"I'm not sure" Cecil confessed, sitting back down on the couch "Maybe I just need to keep practicing and try again. Don't worry, Miss Jones, we'll get this sorted. I'm a wizard after all! Just you watch me!"
Melanie wasn't sure what to think of this. Did her roommate actually have any idea what he was doing or was he just winging it? He didn't exactly strike her as a powerful, all knowing sorcerer and he did seem a little scatterbrained. She didn't know how much control he had over his powers and the thought of being a frog forever terrified her. She hoped he was as skilled as he believed.
Cecil began casting the spell again, determined not to fail. As he uttered the final word there was another poof of smoke, which soon dissipated.
"Did it work?" Melanie asked, blinking the smoke out of her eyes.
"It appears not" Cecil said glumly "But, we're not giving up! Let's try it again."
Cecil cast the spell again and the result was the same. Melanie was still a frog.
"Why aren't you working?!" Cecil grumbled at his wand, shaking it violently as though that would make it work.
"How long is this going to take?" Melanie asked, trying to keep calm.
"I'm not sure" Cecil admitted "We could be here for hours. But I won't give up. I'll change you back, Miss Jones. You'll see!"
Cecil tried again and failed, then again and failed, and again and again. The sun set, night came, the moon rose and the sun once again began to peek over the horizon. Still Melanie was a frog.
"This isn't working" Cecil finally conceded, exhausted and disappointed in himself. He slumped down on the sofa "I'm sorry Miss Jones. I seem to be out of ideas."
"So I'm a frog forever?!" Melanie asked, panicking.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to change you back" Cecil said, looking at her sympathetically.
"What am I going to do?" Melanie cried, the reality sinking in.
"Maybe the transformation will wear off after a while" Cecil suggested "I'm not sure."
Melanie didn't answer him. She was too busy thinking of what she was going to do with her life now. How would she survive as a frog? How would she eat and drink?
She didn't get long to think about her predicament as there was a loud bang from the hallway and the front door flew open.