“Being pregnant is like suddenly finding yourself on a tropical island, just minus the sand and the sun. I’m boiling. Plus, it will give me another chance to convince Emma to change her mind about not coming to Serena’s wedding this weekend. I know she would love to have you there, especially now that your induction ceremony has been canceled.”
“I’m sorry, but I really don’t think I can. I’ve got a crazy amount of schoolwork to get done,” she said as she ignored Curtis’s pointed glance and hopped into the taxi. She rolled down the window to say good-bye, but it wasn’t until the vehicle had pulled away from the curb that Curtis turned to her and raised a surprised eyebrow.
“So why do they think Induction’s been canceled?” he asked in a low voice so the driver wouldn’t hear. “Don’t you want them to come?”
“Oh sure, I’m just dying for them to see me be inducted as a fairy slayer. Maybe we can even get the local paper to run a story about it,” Emma retorted as an annoying pop song blared on the radio.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to rub it in.” Curtis flushed. “I just meant that maybe you should’ve given them the chance to decide if they wanted to go or not.”
“I didn’t tell them it was canceled in the first place,” Emma quickly replied since Curtis obviously thought she was the kind of person who lied on a regular basis.
“Oh. I guess your dad just didn’t strike me as the sort of guy who would miss it.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” Emma glared at him, then sighed. “Okay, so here’s the thing. For whatever reason, Olivia’s family is big on weddings. Very big, and her sister is getting married in New York on Sunday. Only problem is that at the start of the school year, Principal Kessler changed the date of Induction from last weekend to this weekend, which meant my dad started to freak out because Olivia’s a really bad flier. Anyway, he kept calling and texting me about it, and in the end I told him it was no big deal if he didn’t come. As for why he told Olivia that it was canceled, it was probably because he didn’t want her to worry. So now you know. Not only am I a stupid fairy slayer, I’ll also be the only sophomore without any parents at the induction ceremony. Laughingstock once again. Go, me.”
Curtis stopped and studied her. “Look, I’m sorry, Jones. That sucks.” He paused and looked down at the books. Then he studied her face before finally speaking. “Why didn’t you just ask your dad outright if your mom had ever mentioned the darkhel?”
“You think I should’ve asked him about an invisible fairy?” Emma folded her arms in annoyance, but when Curtis just raised an eyebrow at her, she finally sighed. “Fine, so the reason I didn’t ask him is because I don’t like talking about my mom with him. He’s got a new life and a new wife now. Talking isn’t really our thing.”
“That’s a shame.”
“It’s fine. Look, my mom’s been gone awhile now, so it’s not like this is new territory for me. Now, can we please just forget it?”
“Yes, but—”
“Seriously, Curtis. I know you’re trying to help, but since you have no idea what it’s like to be—”
“My folks won’t be there either,” he suddenly blurted out. However, the moment the words were out of his mouth, he winced, as if regretting his decision to say them.
She looked at him. “What? You’re joking.”
“Look, I didn’t mean to say that, I just didn’t want you to think that you were on your own. Now can we please just drop it?”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “You’re not getting out of it that easily. If you know something about me, it’s only fair that I know something about you. Spill. What are the parents of the famous Curtis Green doing that is so important that they can’t make Induction?”
For a moment Curtis looked down before letting out a reluctant sigh. “My dad isn’t exactly a fan of what we do at Burtonwood.”
Emma stared at him blankly. “I don’t understand.”
“That’s because you’ve grown up in a house where it’s completely normal to talk about kreplin dragons and sword fighting.” Curtis seemed to be clenching his jaw. “The first time I told my dad that I thought there was something evil in the room he didn’t believe me. The second time I