Witch - By Fiona Horne Page 0,6
I dumped my books in my locker. As I was closing my locker door I saw Amelia and Alyssa walking away down the hall. They had their backs to me, but as if they sensed my presence they both stopped suddenly and turned around to wave to me. Amelia winked and then they ran off. I wondered if they psychically knew I was meeting Bryce.
Bryce and I had agreed to meet at the drinking fountain near the entrance to the school. I sat on the stone block next to the fountain as a stream of students flowed out of the building and down the stairs. It was a warm afternoon but I left my jacket on so that Bryce wouldn’t see how small my breasts were. Yes, seriously. I knew he was with Cassidy, but I still wanted to look the best I could and it seemed like all the cool girls in America looked like Barbie dolls. I would never be that. My parents wouldn’t buy me a boob job, for a start – not that I was too keen to go under the knife anyway. But I was also not too keen on advertising how flat-chested I was. And so I sat there sweating a bit.
I waited there until the schoolyard was deserted. This wasn’t good. I chewed my nails nervously. Was Bryce standing me up? Maybe all this was just a plot to make me look ridiculous. He and Cassidy and that whole group were probably hiding behind a building, watching me and laughing.
I stood up and brushed off my jeans. The butterflies in my stomach had been replaced by a lump of stone. But if I was being watched, I would not let anyone know I was upset. I picked up my bag and walked defiantly out of the front gates.
I reached the street corner and was about to step off the kerb when I heard someone calling me.
‘Vania, wait up!’ Bryce was running out of the school gates towards me. My heart leapt.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said breathlessly as he reached me. ‘The principal grabbed me after the bell rang to talk about class president stuff. She said it would only take a minute, but I was stuck in there for half an hour and I had no way of letting you know.’
I was trying to control the smile that was threatening to split open my face. ‘That’s okay,’ I said, managing to sound reasonably nonchalant. ‘I know I need to get a mobile.’ I didn’t tell him I’d thought he was plotting to make a fool out of me. We started walking.
‘What’s a mobile?’ Bryce asked.
‘Oh, a . . .’ I floundered momentarily for the American version, ‘a cell phone.’
He laughed. ‘You say funny things sometimes.’ He made a point of turning his phone off and putting it in his pocket, which made me feel kind of special. ‘How come you don’t have a . . . mobile?’
‘My parents are totally strict and old-fashioned, and they try to push that on me, too – we don’t even have the internet at home!’
‘So how do you study?’
‘Books – the old-fashioned way.’ I laughed wryly.
‘I actually love books,’ Bryce said. ‘I’m reading a great one right now.’
‘I mostly prefer science and maths to literature,’ I said.
He shook his head, and for a second I was terrified he was thinking I was a total nerd.
‘I’m useless at math,’ he said. ‘I don’t see the point of algebra – I’d rather be reading a novel.’
Now it was my turn to shake my head. Science and numbers are definitely more my thing.
The silence grew between us. I looked up at him from beneath my fringe. Maybe he was thinking I found him nerdy.
‘Umm, what’s the book you’re reading?’ I asked, smiling in what I hoped was an encouraging way. His face lit up.
‘Well, it’s called The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost. It’s a classic by the science-fiction writer HG Wells, and it’s actually pretty funny – it’s about a ghost who doesn’t know how to haunt things properly.’
‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ I asked. For some reason my heart had started to hammer.
He looked a little embarrassed and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Uh, I don’t want to sound weird or anything, but, yeah, I guess I do.’
Something was happening. It felt like déjà vu. My vision went blurry and I stumbled.
Bryce caught me. ‘Hey, you gotta stop doing that,’ he said, sounding concerned.
I looked into his green eyes. His arms