Witch - By Fiona Horne Page 0,14

and then in the cold water is actually the correct sequence to turn it golden. So I guess it’s not magic after all,’ I sighed.

‘But the sequence of events was magical – you couldn’t plan that!’ exclaimed Dean, and the twins nodded. Dean had become a welcome addition to our group; he fitted right in, and I trusted his opinion.

‘Yeah, maybe it was some kind of magic.’ I shrugged. ‘But Barrow really seems to have it in for me. He said something really weird—’ At that moment Bryce walked in, followed by the teacher, Mr Vale, and I buried my head in my study book.

I couldn’t help sneaking glances at Bryce as the class dragged on. Normally I would have found history interesting, but I couldn’t concentrate on what Mr Vale was saying. Bryce was sitting in the back row, three seats away from me. Cassidy and her friends were on the other side of the room. I wondered why he was sitting on his own. I must have looked at him ten times, but I never caught his eye. He was staring off into space. Something seemed wrong.

The bell rang and everyone made a dash for the door, except Bryce. I hesitated, too, and he finally turned in my direction.

‘Vania, could I talk to you for a minute?’ he said, coming over to my desk.

He smelled sweet, like vanilla and cookies.

‘I owe you an apology,’ he said. ‘I’ve been avoiding you, but I have a good reason, I promise.’

‘I don’t want to hear it,’ I said. I was still embarrassed about looking like an idiot, and his admission made my anger flare up again.

Before he had a chance to speak I got up and walked out of the classroom. He wasn’t going to win me over that easily.

I dodged Bryce for the rest of the day. I only had one other class with him, and I asked the twins to shield me by sitting in the seats surrounding me.

‘We don’t know about this, Vania,’ Alyssa said when the class was over. ‘Maybe you should listen to what he has to say.’

‘No way,’ I fumed. ‘I’m never going to let him make a fool of me again.’

Summerland was a pretty cool town – not just because it was founded by people who liked talking to the dead, but because the centre was full of historic buildings and interesting little curio shops. Call me a nerd, but I liked old things, and there were still lots of places I hadn’t explored.

I wanted to find a unique present for my mother in one of these stores rather than just going to the mall and getting something generic. We were still getting along really well, and I wanted something special. But I only had an hour before I had to be home, and I only had twenty dollars. Everything was more expensive than I’d thought it would be. I was starting to think a plain old book might be the best option. Then I saw the cafe.

It was tucked down an alley, and it only caught my eye because there was a large purple raven perched on the wooden awning out the front. It looked so lifelike I expected it to flap its wings and fly off at any second, but on closer inspection I saw that it was an impressive model.

‘Waiting for him to fly?’

A woman emerged from the dark interior of the cafe. She was tall and beautiful, and her dark skin and long black hair also made me think of a raven. I noticed she had one eye that didn’t blink and was a bit taken back.

‘My gramma said I sacrificed it for the inner sight,’ she said as I tried not to stare. ‘My name’s Brenda,’ she added, putting out her hand. She wore a stack of beaded bracelets around her wrist.

‘I-I’m Vania,’ I stuttered as I shook her hand. She didn’t let go.

‘Come inside,’ she said, leading me into the cafe.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The decor inside was exotic. There were tapestries on the walls and candles on the tables, and the whole place gave me the feeling of being inside a cocoon, shielded from the outside world.

Brenda was standing by the counter. A soft glow coming from the display case there lured me over. It was full of beautiful cookies all cut into intricate shapes – flowers, birds and snowflakes.

‘I make them with a recipe my mamma passed down