I shook my head. “She says she can’t make any friends because now she’s the only human in her class, so she hates school.”
“She’s the only one?” Lindsey frowned. “That’s gotta be hard for her. Your sister doesn’t make friends easily.”
“Yeah, but she says it’s their fault. She thinks they exclude her because she’s human, which is ridiculous. I mean, have you ever seen anyone at this school giving us a hard time?”
Lindsey turned her head and looked around the dining hall. “I think some kids do, especially when they first start here. If they went to a public school before, they were probably the ones who got excluded, and now that they’re at a school that accepts them, they can turn the tables a little bit. It’s not fair, but it happens. It tends to go away after a few years, though. The class is so small that we all end up being pretty close.”
I stared at her. “I don’t remember anyone getting picked on for not being human in school. I was never mean to the magikin students.”
Elizabeth, one of our other classmates, overheard me from down the table. She scooted her chair closer to us. “Just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
Elizabeth, or Zil for short, was a pookha, a kind of magikin known for playing tricks. She was a shapeshifter, but even in human form she had black horse’s ears, yellow eyes, and fine black hair on her arms and legs. “I got picked on all the time when I was younger, and so did the other magikin kids I knew. I was so glad when I came to this school because everyone looks different, so I don’t stand out.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “But does that mean that you have to be mean to the humans here?”
Zil glanced at Lindsey. “I thought it was kind of weird that there were humans here at all, so I didn’t really talk to them at first. Now, I guess I’m just used to it. But why do humans come to this school in the first place?”
Lindsey smiled at Zil. “My first elective is art, but I’m studying sorcery here, too. I’m trying to find a way to incorporate magical techniques with fashion design, sort of like what the magitek shop does, but more—” She waved her hand, searching for the right word. “Creative.”
Then Lindsey turned to me and said, “I wouldn’t worry too much about your sister. School’s just started. She needs time to adjust.”
“Yeah, probably.” I hoped that was true.
Zil rolled her eyes. “Wanting to stay home from school just one day is hardly a problem. Your family’s always so perfect. It’s like you never fight about anything.”
I frowned. “That’s not true. I just had a fight with my mom yesterday.”
Lindsey’s mouth dropped open. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “We disagreed about some magic stuff. We made up after.”
“That’s what I mean.” Zil shook her head. “When I had a fight with my mom over the summer because she didn’t want to let me get my license, I didn’t talk to her for more than a week. Your family never has a real fight.”
“What’s wrong with it if we get along?”
“It’s kind of creepy,” Zil said.
“Whatever.” I got up from the table. “You guys are just jealous.”
Zil smirked and went back to her lunch.
Lindsey stood up and hurried after me. “Forget we said anything,” she whispered. “I hope things work out with your sister. And hey, are we still on for shopping later?”
“It’s already forgotten.” I smiled at her. “That’s the plan. I can drive if we drop my sister off at home first.”
Lindsey nodded. “Okay, sounds good.”
After school, Lindsey and I hung out downtown. She wanted to check out the fabric store.
“I’m looking for ideas for my Winter Solstice gown,” she said.
“Already? That’s months away.” I looked around the store. “They still have all the fall colors.”
Lindsey fingered the bolts of fabric and pointed to a dark red. “Some of this will work for winter, too. I just finished making my dress for the party this weekend, and with school, December is going to come up fast. I need to get started soon.”
I ran my hand over the red fabric. “This feels too rough for a dress. What kind of a design are you thinking about?”
Lindsey shrugged. “Something long and elegant that I can sweep around the ballroom in.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Peter asked me to go to the party with him on Friday.”
I took a deep breath and tried not to let my disappointment show. When school started, Lindsey broke up with her previous boyfriend, Robert. Since then, we’d been spending a lot more time together. I didn’t think that she would find a new guy this fast.
I looked away. “I thought we were going to the party together.”
“We weren’t going on a date or anything. You know I won’t do that again.” She gave me a significant look.
“I know, but—”
“You know how upset I’ve been about the break-up. I need to move on and have fun.” She sighed. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”
I kept my face turned away from her. “I am happy for you, Linds. I just wonder if you’re rushing into another relationship too fast.”
“I’m just going to a party with the guy.” She sighed again, like a long-suffering mother hen. “You should get a date for the party, Rosa. That way we can both have fun. Why don’t you ask Domenico if he’ll go with you?”
I wrinkled up my nose. “Why would I go out with Domenico?”
“Because, you know, he’s a sorcerer and you’re a witch—”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s not the same thing at all, and besides, he’s a jerk. All he ever does is make fun of other people.”
She folded her arms. “Okay, then who would you go out with? Is there a boy or a girl that you like?”
I pretended to look at the fabrics and tried to make my voice sound casual. “Maybe, you know, Kai. He’s nice.” I glanced at Lindsey to see her reaction.
She made a face. “Wouldn’t it be, I don’t know, weird?”
“I guess that depends on how you feel about tails.” Kai was a kitsune, which meant that he could change between a human and a fox demon. He was young, so he only had one tail while in his fox form, but he liked to tease girls with it.
“I’m less worried about the tails and more about, um, pointy teeth. I mean, wouldn’t that make kissing kind of awkward?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried it before.”
“Rosa!” Lindsey shook her head. She pulled out a dark blue fabric and held it up next to my face. “If you were going out with someone, you’d have to find a different dress than that old thing you always wear. Put a little effort into things, not like you did with me. And besides, I heard that Kai is seeing a girl from another school.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t really have time to date, anyways.” I looked at the fabric. “It’s too dark. I like bright blue.”
“You’re so picky,” Lindsey grumbled.
“And that’s why I always end up wearing the same dress. It’s exactly what I want.” I held up some dark green velvet.
Lindsey looked at the green and shook her head. “Too Christmas-y. So you’re just going to go to the party by yourself? I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I doubt everyone is bringing a date. I’ll still see you, right?”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Lindsey smiled. “Although I’ll probably be dancing with Peter a lot. You know, he’s a much better dancer than Robert was.”
“Oh, great.” I tried to sound enthusiastic. I did hope that things worked out between her and Peter, because I wanted her to be happy. I just wished that I’d been the one who could make her happy.
After dinner, I was up in my room getting ready for bed. I pulled my hair out of my braid and brushed it smooth. I hated the feeling of a lumpy braid behind my head when I was to lying down. But my curls stuck out in every direction when they were loose, so I kept it up during the day.
While I was brushing, my eyes wandered around my room. It was all familiar, from the bulletin board full of photos of my friends to the ratty old blue blanket on my bed. My room was my own space where the rest of the world couldn’t intrude.
But then I saw something that I’d never noticed before. Just above the door, there was a gap between two of the boards in the wall. I was sure there had never been a gap in my wall before.
I put down the brush, stood up from the desk, and carried my chair with me across the room. I had to stand on the chair to reach over the door. When I looked at it up close, it seemed that one of the boards was loose. I frowned. What would have knocked it out of place?
I grabbed the board and wiggled it. The board came out of the wall in my hands, revealing a small hole. A cloud of dust hit my face and made me cough. When it cleared, I could see something in the space behind.
I reached in and pulled out a small bundle of green cloth. I held it carefully in the palm of one hand and unwrapped it with the other. Inside, there was a lock of curly black hair, a quartz crystal, and several dried herbs. The herbs were so old and desiccated that I couldn’t smell anything, but one of the leaves was unmistakable: blackberry.
I sat down in the chair and stared at the objects in my hands. What could they mean? They were part of a spell, but I wasn’t sure what the spell was supposed to do, because it was nothing that Mom had taught me. If only I could remember more of her herbal lessons.
There was something about the prickly thorns. I’d asked Mom why she would want to handle a plant that had so many thorns. “The blackberry bush uses the thorns to protect itself,” she told me. Maybe the spell was for protection? And if the hair was mine, it would be linked to me. That made sense, since the spell was in my room.
It was a little weird for a spell like that to be in my room without me knowing about it. Why hadn’t Mom asked me if it was okay? Even if she wasn’t ready to teach me how to cast the spell, she could at least have said something before hiding it in my private space. I thought about asking her about it, but I realized that would probably turn into another argument. I didn’t have the energy to get into that right now.
I climbed up onto the chair and put the spell bundle back where I found it. I slid the board back into place, covering up the hiding spot, and made sure that I closed the gap between it and the next board. At least I knew it was there now. For now, I would leave it be.
The next day at school, my homeroom teacher, Julie (Mrs. Almquist formally, but we’d known her for years and she went by her first name with students), introduced a new student to the rest of our class.
We’d never had a thirteenth student join a class at Crowther Private Academy. New students were only accepted when another student left. Then we heard, over the summer, that there was an exceptional circumstance approved by Dean Crowther himself, and a new girl was joining us in the fall. But since the beginning of school, we kept hearing about repeated delays for the new student, because of health complications. There had already been a lot of speculation and rumors. Some of them were ridiculous, like that she had two heads or her parents were foreign spies.
Her name was Heather Prasolov. She looked like any normal, sixteen-year-old human girl, except she was short—the first student in our class who was even shorter than me. She barely looked like she was five feet tall. While Julie spoke, she stood at the front of the class with a small smile.
“It’s so nice to meet all of you,” Heather said, brushing her long, black hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ears. She had pale skin like she never went out in the sun. “I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone.”
Julie looked around the room. “Since she’s new to our school and community, I would like one of you to be Heather’s guide for a few days until she learns her way around. Any volunteers?”
There was an awkward pause while most people looked down at their books or out the window. I saw Heather’s hopeful smile start to fade. Had she heard that human students had a hard time at this school?
I raised my hand. “I’d be happy to show her around,” I said in my friendliest voice. Lindsey whipped her head around to stare at me, but Heather looked grateful.
Julie smiled proudly at me. “Thank you, Rosamunde. Would you please get an extra chair and make room for Heather at your table?”
I got up and turned around, but Kai had already jumped up and carried a chair over to me. I smiled and took it from him. I started to move my own chair to the left to make a space so that Heather could sit between me and Lindsey.
Lindsey caught my eye and shook her head slightly with a frown.
The look surprised me. I moved my chair back to the right so it was almost touching Lindsey’s, and then put the new chair on the end of the table for Heather. To make enough space for the chair to fit, I had to kick my bag under my seat.
I looked up and saw that Julie was sitting at her desk and going through her notes, so I thought she missed the exchange. Heather, on the other hand, was standing there watching the whole thing. I tried to give her a reassuring smile as I sat down.
Heather sat down with her backpack on her lap and unzipped it. She pulled out a plain black notebook and a pencil. “I think the schedule says that our first class is English?” She looked at me.
“Yeah, right now we’re reading the Scottish play,” I said.
Heather looked blank. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see any Scottish authors on the syllabus. Am I missing some of the assigned reading?”
From his seat at the other end of the table, Kai leaned forward and shook his head. “You’ve got it, Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Superstitious actors think the play is bad luck, so they call it ‘the Scottish play’ to avoid saying the name.”
“Oh.” Heather bent her head over her bag as she looked through it again, but I could still see her blush. This girl was even paler than me, and up close her white skin was so smooth that it resembled porcelain; her dainty blush only reinforced the painted doll image. Was she really human?
Kai went on, politely ignoring her embarrassment. “Rosa is really into the play because of all the witches. I bet when she’s at home, she tries to copy the spells that they use.”
“Don’t be silly, Kai,” I muttered at him, but I smiled as I said it. He grinned back at me.
It was almost time for class to start, so I quickly did a round of introductions. “Heather, that’s Kai down at the end. Next to him is Peter. This is Lindsey, and you can call me Rosa.”
Heather smiled at each of us in turn. “It’s so nice to meet all of you,” she said again. The boys smiled back and waved, and Lindsey gave her a vague nod.
Julie stood up and cleared her throat. “We will continue our reading from last week, beginning with Act IV, Scene I.” Everyone started flipping pages in their books to find the section.
I tried to concentrate on the lesson, but as class went on, I couldn’t help but notice that Lindsey still seemed upset. She turned toward Peter and pretended to focus on him, but once when I was talking to Heather, I caught her glaring at both of us. What was her problem?
On break after the English lesson, Lindsey nudged me under the table and gave me The Look. “Bathroom,” she whispered.
I followed her to the girls’ room. We leaned over and peeked under the stalls to make sure that no one else was there to overhear us.
When I was sure that we were alone, I turned to Lindsey. “What’s wrong?”
“Why are you being so weird about the new girl?” Lindsey crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter, looking straight at me.
“Why are you being weird?” I turned the question back at her. “I’m just trying to be nice to her.”
“Why? You’re not usually a brown-noser, and she’s an outsider.” She tossed her hair back with a jerk of her chin. “Who knows where she came from? And why did her parents insist that she had to go here? Were they expecting some kind of preppy rich kids’ school? How did they even convince Dean Cro
wther to let her in when our class is full? There’s something very strange about the whole thing.”
“Whoa.” I held up my hands to slow down her stream of complaints. “You don’t know her, so you have to be mean to her? She might be really nice. And it’s got to be hard for her to fit in here. Yesterday you said it yourself, we don’t welcome humans here easily.”
Lindsey turned her head away from me. “She could go to the human school and fit in just fine.”
I was shocked by what I was hearing. “Do you not like her because she’s human? Is that it—you’re afraid that if there’s a new human girl, then she’s going to be competition with you for the human boys like Peter and Robert?”
Lindsey turned bright red. “It’s not that, I swear. I just want to wait until I learn more about her, and right now, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re overreacting. Do you want to come hang out with her after school? Julie said I should show her around downtown.”
Lindsey stiffened. “I have plans with Peter.”
I shrugged. “Okay. I’ll find out more about her, anyways. So chill.”
Tuesday afternoon was when I drove Akasha to the library, then hung around downtown waiting for her. Today I invited the new girl to join me for an introductory tour of Madrone, promising to give her a ride home so she wouldn’t have to take the bus.
I parked on the street next to the library and let Akasha out with her books. “We’ll be at the Drip. Just text when you’re done,” I told her before she disappeared.
Heather and I walked from there to Main Street. The best coffee shop for miles was What a Drip Coffee and Bagels, or the Drip for short, at the north end of downtown. Mom’s magic shop, Rose’s Garden, was next door. The Drip had plenty of space to sit inside, with large windows on two of the walls and a small patio area outdoors. The owners—a middle-aged gay couple—were pretty friendly to us, and didn’t complain about teens loitering around for a few hours.
After Heather got a coffee and I got a chai tea, we found a spot to sit outside.
There wasn’t much to tell in a grand tour of Madrone: I could see most of the downtown area from where we sat, and after a few minutes I ran out of landmarks to point out. I went back to talking about school. “Have you picked your elective yet?”