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"Well, it'd be our parents paying you," Daphne explains.
"I'm still not taking it."
The twins exchange glances.
"Please?" Daphne asks. "If Ryan fails his potion class, our parents will cut the allowance they're giving us."
"Wait, you both have to pass everything to get it?"
She nods. "I think they did it that way to make sure we help one another. I don't know, it's all a little bit weird."
"You can say that again." Suddenly, I feel a little wave of affection for my parents. They may be slightly clingy at times, but at least they don't put stipulations on making sure I can afford to live while I'm here. Of course, that may change once they learn the truth about my magic. I've avoided the subject every time I've called home.
"Please? You're the best in our class, Mona." The way Ryan says my name sends a shiver down my spine.
No. I shouldn't act like that. I'm already dating someone and Ryan is Daphne's brother. It would be weird to be anything more than friends with him.
"Fine," I agree. "But just you. No one else gets the offer." I'm assuming Daphne will include herself in that. Though knowing her, she's probably trying to matchmake and give the two of us some alone time. That's going to backfire on her if she keeps it up, but I don't say that aloud. She'll work it out in her own time, I have no doubt about that.
"Thank you, Mona." He reaches across the table and takes one of my hands from my lap, giving it a squeeze.
Rhubarb crawls forward and puts his paw on top of Ryan's hand.
"That is adorable," Daphne says, a gooey expression on her face. "He wants to hold hands with you."
"Meow?" Rhubarb looks up at me with questioning eyes, before tapping hi
s paw down again.
"Yes. You can come to potions study classes with us too," I tell him, pulling my hand away from Ryan's and using it to tickle the grey kitten's chin. His purrs of delight fill the room. It seems like keeping a kitten is easy so long as you can keep him well fussed.
"Do you have any dessert?" Ryan asks, pulling back from me and losing his grateful edge.
I just smile. "There's some ice cream in the freezer. Third draw down. Don't even think about taking one from the shelf under it, Jenny will absolutely murder us." She’s the least favourite of our other flatmates, and not one I want to cross.
Daphne chuckles. "She would. And even if we replace it, she'll know. It's scary what the woman can tell. It's almost like she's clairvoyant."
"I don't think that's a real thing," I counter.
"It doesn't matter if it is or it isn't. Don't touch her ice cream," Daphne informs her brother. "Or you'll pay the price with me."
Chapter Twelve
The sun lights up the gardens of the academy more than it should do this time of year. It's warmer than it should be too, which seems to have brought everyone else outside too.
"The kittens would love this," Daphne observes, leaning back and letting the sunlight hit her face.
"They would. But we're still not sure if I'm allowed them here. The last thing we need is for them to get taken away from me." Especially now I'm becoming attached to the creatures. Rhubarb is by far the one who has the biggest hold on my heart, though. He's the right combination of boisterous and cute.
"I'm sure it's fine. We're witches. Cats come with the job description."
A snort escapes me. "Thomas said the same thing the day we met."
"How is your fling with a teacher?"
"He's not a teacher, and it's not a fling," I point out. "It's a perfectly respectable friendship where he uses me as a case study for his thesis."
"Alright, well how is that going then?"
