Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,18
under her, slamming into the counter. Patricia let out a squawk and plopped down on her butt, narrowly missing banging her head on the seat.
“Oh, shit! I mean, shoot!” She'd wanted to clean up her potty mouth around the applicants. “Are you okay?”
“Umm, I think so?” Patricia got up and they managed to get her on the chair without too much trouble.
“This house has some quirks.” Kelly was working overtime to be cordial. “How about a cup of coffee?”
“Please.”
The redhead was looking around furtively now, wondering what exactly had just happened, but when a warm mug landed in front of her, things seemed to smooth over. Kelly was just glad to have an excuse to gulp down a hearty mouthful of her own. It helped to kill the lingering acrid taste of the previous night’s revels.
“So, what do you study at OCU?”
The girl was already mid-sip and choked. Looking for somewhere to spit out her mouthful, all she could find was the mug. As the coffee dribbled back out of her mouth, it was accompanied by three good-sized spiders. Two were done for, but one spattered down onto the table and skittered away.
Despite the fact that Kelly knew the house was pulling its shenanigans, she stole a covert look at her own mug to make sure all was clear. Looking at the horror on Patricia’s face, she couldn’t help herself. She gestured to the mug.
“How is it?”
The young redhead practically vanished, running out of the house so fast she very nearly left a dust plume behind her.
“Well done, roomie.”
Aurora had arrived, looking every bit as manicured as Kelly was disheveled. Her little cardigan was just so, not a single strand of red hair out of place. For a brief, grumbling moment, Kelly wondered what her own hair must look like.
“If the house didn’t want her, so be it.” It was the first time she had really said anything like that, and it was hard for Aurora to disagree. She'd passed the test, after all. “Besides, we already have a ginger living here.”
Aurora smiled. “Why don’t we just let the house do the interviews, then? It’d save us a lot of time.”
“I kinda think we don't have much choice in the matter,” Kelly replied. “Coffee?”
“No, thanks,” Aurora pulled up a chair. “I’m trying to quit spiders.”
“Fair enough.”
They sat in blissful silence for a while, Kelly's thoughts returning to the gargoyle on her porch. It was bound to be baking in the sun by now, and the last thing she needed was for someone to walk off with it. She was going to be in enough hot water as it was.
Wandering back out to the front, she had just stopped to collect the ugly bastard when another prospective roomie strode up the stairs. She was clad entirely in black. Like, full-on goth style. Safety pins, black fingernails, lipstick, dramatic eyeliner, and bangs cut just above meticulously maintained eyebrows.
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” The dark princess knew exactly what she was about. “I’m Tiffany Ufora. You Kelly?” At Kelly's nod, the girl strode past her into the house like she owned it. “Cool. How about we get this party started?”
Kelly followed her in and deposited the gargoyle on the kitchen floor where he could lord over the proceedings. Tiffany was already pouring herself a cup of coffee, and Aurora raised her eyebrows when Kelly stole a look at her.
“Nice place,” Tiffany said, taking a cursory look around the gloomy, dated kitchen. “Got any spoons?”
A drawer next to the sink slid open on its own and all three of them stared at it.
“Cool,” the newcomer said nonchalantly. “The service around here is clutch.”
After all the chicanery, Kelly was starting to take the hints where she could find them. If the house was willing to cough up a spoon for this girl, then who was she to argue? Stealing another glance at Aurora, they shared a look. It may not have been much of an interview, but nobody’s hair had turned green.
Maybe. Tiffany’s was dyed black, so it was kinda hard to tell.
“When do you want to move in?” Kelly asked.
“Shit.” Tiffany blew on her spider-free coffee. “You guys don’t waste time, huh?”
“I suppose not,” Aurora joined in. “When something fits, you might as well quit messing around.”
“Fair enough,” the new roomie nodded. “I like that. No nonsense. Cool.”
Ryan appeared at the door. “Oh, there’ll be plenty of nonsense. Don’t you worry.”
“There better not be.” All eyes swiveled around to see the perpetually shirtless Nathan standing in the doorway