my lips. “Are you teasing me? I know you hate ‘human shit’.”
“No!” He’s genuinely offended. “To prove it, I’ll be there—with you.”
I bite my lip, thrilled at the idea of a prom and doubly so by the thought Matt would walk in with me on his arm. But the world outside my fantasy encroaches. If Matt doesn’t change, will he be here next year?
“Omigod!’ he exclaims.
I move away and look around in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“She screwed over the nice guy.” He huffs. “Who wrote this? The filmmakers need to change the ending.”
I smile. “A girl’s heart goes where she wants, Matt. People can tell you that you made the wrong decision, but logic doesn’t always come into this. The girl in the movie chose who she wanted to give her heart to.”
“Hmm. I’d love to see what happened next. I bet the relationship never lasted.” He tips his head. “What?”
“You’re a surprise, Matt. You’re really getting into this story.”
“I think you need to show me all these movies. I feel you need my opinion.” He flicks my nose. “Some common sense.”
I flick his back. “Sure. Same time next week; my choice of movie?”
He bites his lip and his fingers go to my shirt buttons. I shiver when he strokes my skin, disappointed as he fastens the two still undone. “Sounds good to me. Now let’s go kick Katherine’s backside.”
“Matt...” I say in warning.
He chuckles. “I’m kidding. When she sees you and me together, it will choke her into silence better than any spell I could cast.”
I wrap my arms around Matt’s neck and bury my face into it as he holds me tight in our last few moments alone.
You and me.
11
AMELIA
My day with Matt smoothed over the rough edges left by my encounter with Katherine, but doesn’t solve the problem. She’s ousted me from my role because she’s insecure—and because she can. I refuse to waste any breath or energy on her when we cross paths in class, but I also refuse to lie down and take her treatment.
I head to the performance hall at the usual time to talk to Sofia before rehearsals start. Performers mill around backstage, and I find Sofia chatting to a group of guys who play Danny’s gang.
One of Ash’s friends, Benny, looks up as I walk in. “Amelia! Where were you yesterday? Why didn’t you come to the meeting?”
I look at Sofia. “What meeting?”
“About the changes to the organisation now the Edelston family are sponsoring the show,” Benny continues.
“Oh. Right.” I stare in disbelief. “Katherine told me I was off the show, but I never knew you had a meeting. Why wasn’t I invited?”
Sofia guides me from the room and we sit on a small bench close to the stage door. She tips her head. “Where were you yesterday afternoon? Didn’t you hear about the accident?”
I tense. “What accident?”
“At yesterday’s rehearsal, a light fell from the rig and almost hit those on stage.”
The blood drains from my head to my toes. “Hit who?” I ask sharply.
“Katherine and Celeste. One of the witches backstage spotted the light fall and managed to cast a spell to slow it, but couldn’t stop the light hitting somebody. Celeste never moved in time and the light landed on her foot.”
I cringe. “Is she okay?” I look around. “I should see her.” And ask her what happened. Is anybody else as suspicious like me?
“No. Her foot’s broken and she needs fixing up. The damage will take more than magic to heal.”
Wow. Would Katherine really do something like this? Surely if she wanted the role, all Katherine needed was to ‘ask daddy’—she’s the understudy, after all.
“I had to take the rap for you, Amelia,” she says flatly. “I was responsible for organising this performance, and I’m accused of putting someone in charge who couldn’t follow safety checks.”
I gape. “What? That’s not fair. I checked all the rigs with Matt the other day. There weren’t any issues. You know how meticulous I am about everything.”
“I’m sorry, Amelia.”
I can’t hold back anymore. “You must know this was Katherine. She wants the role of Sandy.”
Sofia sighs. “I don’t think this is Katherine’s style. She’d be a little more devious, and I doubt she’d risk trouble from hurting another student.”
“But I told you about the hex bags I found,” I say. “There’s a pattern. Somebody’s trying to sabotage, and nobody else has a motive.”
“Yes, Amelia. I took a good look at those, and the bags appear to have your magical fingerprint on.”
My chest tightens. Am