“What? Oh, come on, you’re not going to give me that line about it being a prank again, are you? I was standing right here! I saw those diamonds come out of her mouth.”
“Are you okay, Vi?” Zac asked.
Well, at least he wasn’t running in the other direction yet.
“I don’t think I want to have my photo taken now.”
“Sure.” He stooped and picked up a diamond that had been missed in the frenzy. “Want this?”
I shook my head. I was sick of the sight of the things. “It’s worthless anyway. In a few days it’ll disappear.” I took a deep breath. “You can’t trust a fairy gift—they’re never what they seem.”
He shrugged and flicked it to Sona.
She caught it and held it up to the light. “Shame. I’ve never seen such a big one. Maybe I’ll take it home and give Mum a thrill.”
“Suit yourself.”
Zac put an arm around my shoulders and drew me gently against him. I leaned into him gratefully. “Let’s go out onto the terrace.”
Sona trailed along behind us. “So let me guess … those hideous collars of yours have something to do with it, right? As soon as CJ put hers on she stopped spraying diamonds everywhere.”
She was sharp. How many other people had noticed that?
“And I bet if you took yours off we might see some frogs. Am I getting warm?”
“Red hot.”
“I knew it!” She punched the air in triumph. “But how do you do it?”
I sighed. “It’s not something I do. We just woke up one day like this.”
A few people noticed us the minute we stepped out onto the terrace. Others turned to stare as word spread. Great. And tonight the part of resident freak will be played by Violet Reilly. I shrank a little closer to Zac’s side.
“So tell me all about it! When did it start? How does it feel? Is it gross? Why do you think it happened to you two and not somebody else?”
“Sona—”
“Oh, and where did you get the collars?”
“Sona!” Zac interrupted more forcefully. “I don’t think Vi really wants to talk about it.”
Oh, my God, I could have kissed him.
“Oh, come on! This is the biggest story this century. Maybe ever! Don’t leave me hanging.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, and I blinked furiously. “I don’t know anything to tell you. I don’t know how it works, or what caused it, or why it happened to me. I just wish it hadn’t. I just want to be normal again.”
Zac and Sona exchanged a quick look.
“I’m sorry.” Her tone changed to something more sympathetic. “It must be awful for you. We can talk about something else if you’d like.”
I almost burst into tears on the spot. Coming from Sona, that was a big deal. She was obviously still bursting with curiosity, but she was prepared to put that aside for my sake.
“But, you know, if you ever do want to talk about it,” said Zac, “I love frogs.”
What a sweetheart. I gave him a shaky smile. “Thanks.”
Sona looked over my shoulder and let out a little squeak. “Hey, there’s Miss Moore.”
Miss Moore looked stunning tonight, in a floor-length gown that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Oscars. A deep blood-red, it sat perfectly against her creamy skin. Her hair was swept back in a classical chignon.
“Wow,” Zac said, gazing after her. “Looking that good should be illegal.”
I followed his gaze, trying not to feel jealous. I could never look as good as her, not in a million years. Her height, her elegance, her sleek dark hair—my wild curls were up in a messy bun tonight, with a couple of ringlets trailing down past my ears. It didn’t look too bad, and that was about as good as it ever got with my hair. Plus of course she didn’t have the added bonus of occasionally spitting frogs when she spoke.
Was Zac’s favourite colour still green, or was red making a comeback? But he had said he liked frogs.
His warm hand closed around mine and he gave me that cute dimpled smile. “Ready? Let’s get this party started.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dinner was nothing exciting—prawn cocktails to start, then a choice of chicken or lamb. They probably figured there was no point wasting cordon bleu cooking on a bunch of schoolkids. It didn’t matter; the night wasn’t about the food, but about the dancing to come, the tears and vows of eternal friendship and, most of all—the after party.
Ashleigh was hosting one for most of Year 11, which she’d half-heartedly invited me to just because I was CJ’s sister. As it turned out, CJ wasn’t going to it anyway, because now she was invited to the Year 12 one at Josh’s place. But Ashleigh didn’t need to worry; I wouldn’t have gone to her stupid party if she’d begged me, after her earlier crack. I was going to tag along with CJ. With a bit of luck I could persuade Zac to come too. I felt a growing certainty that that might just make my night.
He was sitting next to me at dinner. Our table was pretty quiet, as we had a few of the robotics club guys with us. They were clustered together down one end with Mr Dunkley, my physics teacher. At the other end were me and Zac, Sona and Julie Lee, and the fabulous Miss Moore.
Between the two of them, Sona and Miss Moore kept the conversation flowing through the first two courses. Just as well, since I didn’t feel like chatting now. I was too conscious of people looking, people whispering about me.
Miss Moore seemed to have travelled over half the world, and had a lot of stories to tell. None of them were bloodthirsty, but there was still something about her that made me uneasy. Once or twice I caught her looking at me, a thoughtful, almost amused look, as if she knew a secret about me that I wasn’t going to like. Maybe it was just all the publicity about the stupid frogs and diamonds, or the fuss in the foyer before dinner, but it made me uncomfortable. I was sick of people staring at me.
Another time it would have bothered me a lot more, but Zac’s leg was pressed against mine under the table and I was devoting a lot of brainpower to the vital question of whether this was merely accidental or more accidental-on-purpose. That whole side of my body felt warm and tingly, and as a result I was having a little trouble following the conversation. Zac wasn’t saying much either. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Or just, you know, a thing. He was often quiet.
Julie Lee, of course, was even quieter, and barely spoke, though she followed the conversation with all the appearance of enjoyment. She was wearing a black halterneck dress and looked very nice, if a little sedate. Seeing her next to the flamboyant Sona made me wonder how these two had ever been best friends.
I ran my finger nervously under my collar, pulling it out from my throat. Was it my imagination, or did it feel hotter than usual? I must be more flustered by Zac than I’d thought. Get a grip, girl. It’s not like you’ve never had a boyfriend before.
I’d gone steady with Matthew for six months in Year 9, and in Year 9, six months was practically a lifetime. We’d been the old married couple of our group—until suddenly we weren’t. But never in that six months had I felt such nervous excitement over Matt as I felt now sitting next to Zac. And I’d only known him a week! What was wrong with me?
I sneaked a sideways glance at him. He looked so cute tonight I could hardly believe I’d thought he wasn’t anything special that first day on the bus. Though in my defence, I had noticed the dimple straight away. But it was more than looks that had my heart going skippety-skip. He’d driven us home from that dreadful party; he’d come around to see how I was. And tonight he’d said he liked frogs. He was someone I could count on, and in this messed-up magic-infested world, that meant something.
Plus he’d said green was his favourite colour. Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.
I loosened the collar again. No, it definitely felt hotter. The ends of the pointy bits felt as if they’d been out in the sun. Weird. I glanced over at CJ at the next table, but she was laughing and talking as if nothing was wrong.
/> “I’m going to the ladies’.” I pushed my chair back, suddenly worried. I needed to check the stupid thing.
“I’ll come with you,” said Sona.
Julie looked vaguely alarmed at being left alone next to Miss Moore.
“Don’t be too long,” Miss Moore said. “They’ve started bringing out dessert, which means the speeches will be soon.”
As we passed CJ I noticed a pile of diamonds on the table next to her. Josh was arranging them in patterns as they chatted. At least she looked sober now.
In the bathroom I leaned in to the mirror, scrutinising my collar. It was definitely getting hot; the skin underneath was a little pinker than normal.
“What’s the matter?” Sona reapplied her lipstick and blew a kiss at her reflection, then frowned at me in the mirror. “Is it sticking into you?”
“It’s getting really warm—but it doesn’t look any different. I hope there’s nothing wrong.”
“Let me see.” She moved closer and poked a tentative finger at the back of my neck. “Were these bits always a funny colour?”
“What do you mean, funny?”
“This part here near the clasp is all black and dull. Was it always like that?”
“I’m not sure.” I’d never really looked that closely. “I don’t think so.”
I turned the collar around so I could see what she was talking about. Three of the big links were much darker than the rest. The clasp itself still gleamed silver in the middle of the dull section. That didn’t look right.
While I stood there, twisting the collar this way and that, a fourth link turned black in my hands.
“Oh, shit.”
Automatically I looked down, more than half expecting to see a toad materialise in the sink. But the drop that fell from my mouth wasn’t even coloured. It shimmered faintly before disappearing in mid air. So the collar was still working.
But for how much longer?
Of all the times for Dad to go to Paris, why did it have to be now? Was there anyone else at Magic HQ who might know how to fix this?
“What’s wrong?” asked Sona. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good. I think it might be about to start raining frogs again.”
“Oh, no. Poor you.” Her dark eyes were full of sympathy.
“Why now?” I clenched my fists in frustration. Couldn’t it have held off for just a little longer? So much for my plans for the after party. Who was going to want to kiss a girl with frogs coming out of her mouth? Zac was a great guy, but even someone who liked frogs might draw the line at that.
“It might last the night,” she said, trying to be positive, but even as she spoke another link died.
“Yeah, it might.” And pigs might fly. I sighed. “I guess we’d better go. That sounds like the speeches starting.”
We got back to the table as Mrs Crawley started her speech. The principal was a good speaker, not one of these people that likes the sound of their own voice. Her speeches were short and to the point, and usually entertaining. But tonight I didn’t hear a word, too busy obsessing about the collar and its imminent failure. It was like having an exam hanging over your head, only worse, because at least with exams you know when they’re going to be. But any moment now I could find myself spitting frogs again, even in the middle of saying something. Just as well I wasn’t giving any speeches tonight.
Miss Moore was staring at me, watching my fingers fiddle with the damn collar. I forced myself to fold my hands in my lap and tried to at least look like I was paying attention to the speeches. The collar was growing uncomfortably warm.
Mrs Crawley finished her address to a round of applause, then introduced CJ to come up and propose the toast to the outgoing school leadership team. CJ rose, her collar firmly in place, and walked up to the microphone. From where I was sitting I couldn’t tell if there was anything wrong with hers. Maybe I could borrow it if it was still working properly, since she didn’t seem to care whether she wore it or not.
“Mrs Crawley, teachers, and fellow students,” she began. “It’s my honour and privilege tonight to propose a toast of appreciation to all the prefects and school leaders who’ve done such a fantastic job this year. You may wonder why a newcomer like me was chosen for this role, but I can tell you, even in the short time I’ve been at Fernleigh High, I’ve come to know some of the leadership team quite well …”
She grinned and paused until the laughter died down. While she was waiting she ran her finger around under her collar in a gesture I knew all too well. Damn. Looked like I wouldn’t be borrowing hers after all.
“… and I can truthfully say that already I can see what an asset they’ve been for our school.” She paused again and cleared her throat. “On behalf of the whole student body, I’d … ahem … I’d like to—”
She lifted a hand to her throat, a strange look on her face. She whispered to someone at the front table, and they handed her a glass of water.
“Sorry, everyone, just a little frog in my throat.”
There was laughter at this too, and many glances my way. Gee, thanks, CJ, just what I needed to make this night super special, more people laughing at me.
Zac reached over without a word and took my hand.
“As I was saying, on behalf of everyone here tonight, I’d like to … propose … a toast OH MY GOD.”
Right there, with the eyes of the whole room on her, a frog materialised from CJ’s mouth and dropped into the glass of water with a resounding plop. She screamed and hurled the glass. It smashed in the middle of the dance floor, spraying the two front tables with water and broken glass.
Everyone scrambled up with screams and shouts of surprise. CJ kept screaming too, spewing a constant stream of frogs from her mouth.
I jumped up too. “CJ!”
A single perfect diamond dropped from my lips. Oh, no. This couldn’t be happening. I stared at it, more horrified than I’d ever been by the damn frogs, then looked at Zac.
“We have to help her!”
Someone, thank God, had at least taken the microphone from her, so her amplified screams weren’t ripping through the room like fingernails on a chalkboard. As Zac and I pushed through the crowd toward her she ran for the safety of Josh’s arms, her eyes streaming tears and mascara.
He stepped back, putting a table between them. His handsome face was twisted into a grimace of disgust, his blue eyes cold. “That’s close enough. Sorry, babe, but I don’t do reptiles.”
Her face crumpled. Rejection was a new experience for CJ. I wanted to punch his face in. The guy was a complete jerk.
“They’re amphibians, arsehole.” I shoved him out of the way. He didn’t deserve my beautiful sister anyway. We stood in the centre of a circle of accusing faces, though what they accused us of I didn’t know. Being unlucky? It wasn’t as if CJ was pulling some stupid stunt to ruin the formal on purpose. “Come on, Ceej, let’s get out of here.”
Like bodyguards, Zac and I took an arm each and hurried her away.
CHAPTER TWENTY
She was still crying when we got to the car, little hiccupping sobs that left a trail of frogs behind us. Like Hansel and Gretel dropping breadcrumbs—except their breadcrumbs didn’t hop away. It was dark outside, but the building blazed like a Christmas tree, all lit up, its glow sending dark shadows staggering ahead of us.
“It’s all right, Ceej, calm down.”
I tried to put my arm around her but she only cried harder at the sight of diamonds pattering onto the ashphalt from my lips, and pushed me away.
“Leave me alone!”
As if it was my fault. Well, now she knew how it felt to be the one with the frogs. Not so glamorous, huh?
And then I felt like the worst sister in the world for even thinking that.
“Want a tissue?” Zac got one out of the glove box and offered it to her. Then he stepped back as if she were a ticking bomb that might be about to blow.
God, he was perfect. A war
mth spread through me, despite the public disaster and the horrible uncertainty of our curse. What trick would it pull next? I was so conscious of him standing next to me that I almost didn’t care. Almost.
When CJ had calmed down enough to stop spraying frogs everywhere we got into the little Mazda. I sneaked peeks at Zac’s handsome face as he drove. Was he really as calm as he appeared? “I’m sorry, this probably isn’t the way you planned to spend tonight.”
A handful of diamonds pattered into my lap. Remembering my resentment of CJ’s ability to speak, I felt a little guilty now that it was my turn to enjoy the diamond half of the curse. But only a little.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m not.” He glanced my way, his eyes full of promise. “I’m still with you, aren’t I?”
I drew in a short, shocked breath and tried to stop a goofy smile from spreading across my face.
“Admittedly, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I asked you to go to the formal with me,” he added, “but at least life with you is never dull.”
“Not lately, anyway,” I agreed.
I checked on CJ. She was staring out the window, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Not happy ones, I was sure. Anger at that jerk Josh Johnson welled up in me again. He was just like that stupid prince in the fairy tale. I was convinced he’d only become interested in her because of the diamonds. Once they were gone it was all over, red rover.
I preferred my princes a little more gallant, and a lot less focused on the money. Like Zac. He took one hand off the wheel and reached over for mine. I looked down at our joined hands resting on my leg and smiled.
I was still smiling when we pulled up outside our house and I realised it was ablaze with light. We definitely hadn’t left it that way.
“Uh-oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s home.” And there was only one person that could be. I groaned. “Looks like we’re in trouble.”
The Fairytale Curse (Magic's Return Book 1) Page 18