“If you don’t want to subconjure it, you could always stick it up your butt. I bet the guards don’t check there,” Kallie teased.
Marcus scowled. “You’resofunny.” He took the bow from me, and subconjured it into his magical stash.
I helped Charlie stand. “We should be getting back to school. We have to report for dinner.”
As we made our way out, Marcus said, “You know, the Lair could use a little sprucing up. If we’re going to be spending a lot of time there, we should decorate.”
“Good idea. You provide the art, I’ll provide the weapons,” Kallie said.
“Weapons!” he squeaked. “Why do we need weapons?”
“It’s anevil lair, dummy!Of courseyou need weapons!”
Kallie and Marcus argued about interior decorating ideas for the Lair all the way back to school, until Charlie told them to shut up. In the cafeteria, Charlie loaded a plate for both of us with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I shared food with him while Oberi watched us eat.
“Something on your mind, pidge?” Charlie asked. I hadn’t said a word through dinner, but I’d managed to force down a whole drumstick and a couple of bites of potatoes. That was my heaviest meal in a week. I was really proud of myself.
I glanced to the side. Kallie and Marcus were arguing about something else now, and wouldn’t overhear us. “What you said earlier, about me telling someone…” I said. “I think I want to do that after dinner.”
“Oh. Are you sure you’re ready?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s time.”
I’d been thinking about it all afternoon. I wasn’t sure who I could trust with my deepest secret, until a familiar face popped into my head.
Ezekiel was my most beloved friend. He was more than my brother. He was someone I knew who was loyal to me, and he would be supportive no matter what. If I could tell anyone about this, and know they’d stay by my side, it’d be him. And a part of me wanted him to know, so I had one more person to help me carry this burden.
Now that I’d made the decision, I got a very demanding prompt in my spirit telling me not to wait. I should tell my brother now.
Inmates only got one phone call a week on Saturdays. It was Monday, but I felt like I couldn’t wait that long. Once we were released from dinner, I ran down to the phone room and tapped on the glass that separated the phones from the guard’s office. Charlie wanted to go with me, but I told him it’d be easier if I did this alone. I wanted a private moment with my brother.
“Can I make a call?” I asked the guard behind the desk. “It can’t wait.”
“If you call someone during weekday hours, it’s two dollars a minute, and you get five minutes tops,” the guard grumbled.
“That’s fine,” I said. “It won’t take but a second.”
I didn’t care about the money. I just wanted to talk to my brother.
The guard scowled, but waved me forward. Orenda Academy students weren’t allowed to have cell phones, so I hoped to the ancestors there was an off-chance my brother was home.
The phone rang. My nervousness churned and tightened in my stomach when no one answered.
On the last ring, someone picked up. “Ava, hi!” Ezekiel’s cheerful voice resonated through the phone. “I didn’t know you could call during the week!”
I was relieved my instincts had been right, and I’d gotten lucky enough to get a hold of him. It was like he and I were connected at the mind sometimes. “Uh, you can buy extra minutes,” I stuttered. “Is anyone home?”
“Nah, Mom and Dad just left. They’re at Maverick’s dirt bike race.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that was today.”
“Yeah. And Alana’s staying at a friend’s house. It’s just me. I popped by to grab a couple things for my dorm. Do you want me to tell Mom and Dad you called?”
“Actually, you’re the person I wanted to talk to,” I began.
“Me?” He sounded surprised. “Okay, what’s up?”
I twirled the phone cord around my finger. I felt so nervous I wanted to throw up. Maybe if I vomited out the words, and just got it over with, I’d feel better. “You know me and John had a falling out a couple of years ago.”
