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I think of Ashton, slumped at the foot of his bed, nobody there to help him if Jason hadn’t brought me over. I think of Jason kissing me.
No, stop thinking about that. I let my hands clench into fists. Iwilltake these boys down. They obviously need a witch and I’ve already declared myself to be one.
Like it or not, they need me. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like me and if the feeling is mutual. Let them ridicule me, mock me, bully me. Let Emrys brag about his exploits in the bathrooms. Let them call me trash girl and push me aside.
Sooner or later, they’ll come back to me, and I’ll destroy them once and for all.
“Mia?”It’s a girl’s voice.
I turn my head at the sound of my name. I’m sitting on the lakeshore, shivering, not sure I want to go back just yet.
Brianna is walking toward me, Zoey’s friend and my unexpected helper, the one who stayed by me when Zoey chucked me out of her room and refused to help me blend in with the Academy’s classy girls.
Of course, that was before Zoey decided to openly attack me, sending her gang to beat me up and drag me around. Brianna never participated in those attacks, but I still watch her warily as she makes her approach. The bruises on my face and body will take a while to fade and the make-up I put on them—which Brianna gave me—must have run down my cheeks together with my tears.
She doesn’t say anything else, though. Only comes and drops down to sit beside me. Her wild blond locks are caught back in a ponytail, the rainbow hues of the closely-cropped hair underneath catching my gaze. It’s like a bird’s plumage.
“Nice out here, huh?” she says.
My teeth are chattering by now and it’s miserable and I really should go get changed before I catch my death. So I’m not feeling very patient. “What are you doing here?
“I was looking for you.”
“Seems to be the new Academy hobby,” I mutter, digging my fingers into the wet soil. “Catch the witch.”
She glances at me sideways like a bird. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had magic?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Maybe it does.” She’s still looking at me. “Magical girls are far and in between at the school.”
“And now you’re talking to one,” I say.
“So you can do spells?”
“What do you think?” I mutter.
“That you’re evading the question. Are you a witch or not?”
I look away. “Sure I am.”
“And couldn’t you bespell your clothes to make them trendy? Or push away Zoey’s gang to protect yourself?”
Crap. “I don’t care how I look anymore. And I didn’t want to advertise myself.”
“Why? Who are you hiding from?” Now she’s sounding downright suspicious.
“What’s with the twenty questions?” I snap.
“I haven’t reached twenty yet.”
“Gimme a break.”
“So it wasn’t only my impression.” She smirks. “Youareevading my questions.”
“Maybe it’s a private matter.”
“Your magic is a private matter? What does that even mean?”
