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ZARA
“And the first person who falls asleep gets their bra soaked in water and put in the freezer.” Ruby says as we bump down the road in her death cart towards Miri’s house. “Oh! Oh! And also, you put their hand in warm water so that they’ll totally pee all over themselves.”
My mouth is pulled down in a frown, my brows scrunched in confusion. We’re on our way to Wild Cottage for a slumber party. It’s one of the items on my experience list that was deemed critical by all the girls. When Ruby told me about it, I asked her if we were really going to a party to sleep. Apparently, it’s more than that.
“Why would you do that to your friends?”
Lena pops her head between our seats. She’s squished into the back, her legs sideways because there’s almost no leg room for her. “We don’t do that to our friends.” Lena glares at Ruby. “Ruby thinks it’s funny, but it’s not, so we aren’t going to do anything like that.”
When Ruby cackles with glee, Lena punches her shoulder. “Are we, Ruby?”
“Whatever you say.” Ruby shrugs, but the smug look on her face speaks volumes.
It’s already dark out since we had to wait for Ruby to get off work. Miri as well. She left her shop before closing, but it took longer than she thought to get out of there. According to Ruby, Miri just hired someone to help at her store and she’s still getting them up to speed.
It’s odd. I’ve spent my entire life working and to suddenly have so much leisure time is uncomfortable. I’m not used to wasting the day away and I find that I want to do something productive. Not only that, but I don’t like how much I’m relying on Ruby. Not that she seems to care. She’s told me multiple times that she has money to spare and doesn’t mind me living at her place or getting me clothes and all the necessities. She might be okay with it but I’m not. It feels like I’m slowly burying myself in a debt I can’t repay.
Miri’s house, or Wild Cottage, is beautiful. It’s a large stone home nestled into the surrounding wood. I’m charmed at first sight. We park outside a wrought-iron fence, and I follow Ruby and Lena down a stone pathway, with a borrowed bag slung over my shoulder. The soft tinkle of water trickling from a fountain adds to the enchanting feeling of this place. Every light must be on inside because the house is lit up and glittering. The warm golden glow of light spills out of the windows and onto the lawn.
The front door swings open, and I expect to see Miri there to welcome us.
“It’s the house. It opens its doors for people whenever it feels like it.” Lena says when she sees the direction of my stare.
“Is it enchanted to welcome guests?”
Ruby and Lena both turn to look at me.
“Is that a thing?” Lena asks.
“Yes.” We walk up the stairs to the porch, the wood creaking a little beneath my borrowed sneakers. “You can create a spell that allows the house to open when a guest is welcome and stay shut when they mean you harm.”
Miri is skipping down a gorgeous sweeping staircase just in time to hear me. “Well then, why does it keep letting assholes like Colton and Anthony in?”
I shiver at the mention of Colton, not wanting to think about that sadistic monster. “Ah, possibly because they didn’t mean any harm when they came over.”
“That doesn’t sound like a very foolproof system.”
“It’s really not, but it’s a house, so it’s probably the most you can expect it to be able to discern.”
Miri’s mouth parts and then hangs down a little. “Huh. Yeah. I guess I probably shouldn’t expect my house to be some kind of bad guy detector.” She shrugs and waves at our bags. “Throw your bags wherever. I thought we could get some snacks and drinks, pick out a scary movie, paint each other’s toes.” Miri taps a finger on her chin. “What else are we supposed to do at slumber parties? To be honest, I’ve never been to one either.”
“Braid each other’s hair.” Ruby snaps her fingers and my face falls at her words.
“No.”
Lena, Miri, and Ruby all turn their gazes toward me.
“Why not?” Ruby says.
“It’s a form of knot magic.” I look at them all, not sure why they’re so confused. “If you aren’t paying attention when you’re braiding, you could imbue a charm or spell into the hair.”
Ruby gapes at me, her jaw dropped in shock. They all look stunned. “Shut up.”
“Seriously?” Miri blinks a few times, looking like she’s thinking hard.
“Can I do it to myself? Like if I braid my own hair, could I accidentally put a spell into it?”
“It’s possible. It’s less likely when you do it yourself, but still not out of the question.”
