irrationally and then having to be left behind. He was good at getting over things quickly. I, on the other hand, needed to learn to control my anger. Even with the cool spell working, not everything was perfect – there was still this blackness in me, this weird energy that could just boil up and make me feel . . . a bit crazy.
Later that day all of us were sitting in the school cafeteria . . . surrounded by admirers. Dean was cracking jokes and Donna Hilles, one of Cassidy’s friends, was laughing hysterically and batting her eyelashes at him. In addition to his acne disappearing, he also looked twenty pounds lighter than he had when we’d gone into class that morning.
I noticed three junior girls sitting at the next table gazing at Bryce adoringly and felt really jealous. But then I remembered that I needed to get a handle on my hot head.
We’d cast this spell together – we were in it together. For a moment I let myself consider the idea that maybe Bryce really did like me and that I didn’t need to feel threatened by three non-magical juniors.
The twins had bigger problems. They were trying to fend off three older guys who were asking for their phone numbers.
And Cassidy was talking to me! ‘Vania, I really like your lip gloss – what is it?’ she said as she sat down beside me.
I rubbed at my lips self-consciously. ‘I don’t have anything on . . .’ I began to say, but there was a pinky pearlescent sheen on the back of my hand. ‘Actually, I’ve forgotten what it’s called. I think it’s something by Victoria’s Secret.’ I shrugged helplessly. I knew I certainly hadn’t put anything on my mouth – I always went out of my way to avoid drawing attention to my lips.
‘And your hair looks really good, too,’ Cassidy said. ‘Hey, do you want to hang out after school?’ She nodded enthusiastically, as if I couldn’t possibly say no.
‘Um, thanks, but I can’t today, Cassidy.’ She looked disappointed and I pinched my leg under the table to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. This was surreal.
I noticed the junior girls encroaching on Bryce’s personal space and decided to rescue him. ‘See you later, Cassidy,’ I said. I walked over to Bryce, pulling up a chair next to him. It made a loud screeching noise on the floor, and for a moment everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. I just shrugged and smiled.
‘Bryce, I’m sorry for getting so worked up over nothing before,’ I said.
‘No problem – and thanks for rescuing me,’ Bryce replied in a friendly tone.
Reassured, I winked and laughed. ‘I thought you might need a saviour.’
‘I think the twins need saving more than me right now.’ He nodded over at them. The three boys now had the girls pinned against the cafeteria wall. Amelia and Alyssa were gripping their books to their chests. All of a sudden they dropped them, though, and grabbed each other’s hand. Their eyes closed, and almost imperceptibly their hair started to float away from their shoulders. I felt the familiar magical prickle down my spine, and from the corner of my eye I saw Dean turn away from Donna and take a step towards the girls.
Everything shifted into slow motion.The twins began to float upwards, until they were a metre off the ground. As this happened, the guys who had been bothering them fell backwards to the floor – but slowly, like feathers settling, as if they had passed out and some invisible hand had caught them, and lowered them gently down.
Bryce and I made our way over. The air felt thick but tingly, like we were swimming through crystal soup. Everything was sparkling.
Dean appeared next to us and the three of us joined hands. Amelia and Alyssa floated over, their eyes were still shut. Alyssa took Bryce’s other hand and Amelia taking Dean’s. We were joined in a circle and I felt my feet lift from the floor, too – we were all floating at least a metre above the ground. Every breath I took seemed to inflate me, like helium. I looked around the cafeteria, and all I could see were shadowy figures suspended as if frozen in time. I turned back to look at the twins. I had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on.
Suddenly the twins’ eyes shot open.
Our feet crashed to the ground, but we remained standing,