by ERIN BEDFORD
Mrs. Broomstein sniffed and withdrew her hand, staring at it as if she had just touched the trash. "I highly doubt that. My sons and I have a tenuous relationship if anything. I doubt they would talk about me unless under severe torture."
I forced a smile and let out a nervous laugh. "Uh, yeah. Okay."
"Willow, how lovely to see you." My grandmother stepped into the rescue, air kissing the sides of Willow’s face. "We haven't had a proper meal together since that last dinner during the harvest moon. I was so sad to hear you couldn't come to Maxine's coming out party. We missed you."
Willow let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples. "Yes. Well, Tylus’s work is keeping us on our toes this year. I've seemed to have missed quite a few new developments." Her eyes narrowed at me as she spoke. I didn't need to be psychic to tell she didn't like me, not that I knew why. I hadn't done anything other than exist, but I'd learned already in this world that was a crime enough.
Thankfully before either myself or my grandmother could make matters worse, the hostess appeared. "Is everyone in the party here?"
"Yes," I said while Mrs. Broomstein said, "No."
My grandmother was the one to question her. "No? Who else are we waiting for?"
Just then the door opened to reveal a familiar redhead clad in a dress similar to Willow’s, her own little pointed hat pinned fashionably to the side of her curled hair.
"Sorry, I'm late,” Beth Ann cooed. “Y’all wouldn't imagine the traffic on the way here. Y’all'd think there'd be a broom network or at least a teleportation station around these parts."
"Yes, well, we do with what we have," Willow mused before air-kissing Beth Ann's face and bringing her into our little group. I tried to keep the hatred off my face, but I'd never been good at pretending and probably ended up looking constipated more than anything.
"Beth Ann," I gritted out as the hostess directed us to our seats. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Willow invited me." Beth Ann beamed over her shoulder at me before taking her seat at the round table the hostess directed us to. We took our respective seats with me between my grandmother and Beth Ann and Willow across from me. I picked up my menu and tried to distract my annoyance with the words on the page, but it wasn't easy.
The table had a pale pink tablecloth with so many utensils around the plate settings that I was thankful my grandmother had given me a lesson back at my coming out party. The centerpiece of course couldn’t be anything normal. It was made up of twigs and feathers with some kind of exotic fruit and flowers.
"When you said you wanted to meet for lunch, Nina, I figured it would be a good as time as any to see my darling Beth Ann." Willow reached over and patted Beth Ann's hand. "You know we used to be close friends with her parents. That's until they moved to Houston."
"Yes, I'm aware." My grandmother took it in stride with a pleasant expression. "How are your parents, Beth Ann?"
Beth Ann lowered her menu and gazed happily at my grandmother. "They're doing well, thank you for askin’. How is Mr. Mancaster? Has his arthritis cleared up?"
"Arthritis?" I shot a look at my grandmother who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You never told me grandfather had arthritis?"
“You never asked,” my grandmother huffed. "Now, what will you be eating?" She picked her menu back up as if everything weren't going to hell in a handbasket. "I recommend the veal or a salad. I wouldn't get anything too heavy unless you want the dishes to get nasty on you."
The rest of the table laughed except me. This was not going as I planned. Not only did Beth Ann hijack my lunch with Ian and Paul's mom, but she had shared jokes and knew about personal stuff about my own family that I had no idea about. If I wanted to make myself look bad in front of Mrs. Broomstein, I would have just asked her to meet at the school cafeteria. At least then I could eat a burger without getting rude comments from the dishware.
The waitress came by and took our orders. I'd settled for a cream of potato soup. I figured I couldn't go wrong with that, not unless the dish decided to dump it in my lap... Crap, maybe I should have just got a salad. Fuck. Too late now.
"So, Maxine..." Willow drawled, lifting her water glass to her mouth to take a dainty sip. "You were concerned about my son?"
I opened my mouth to explain, but Beth Ann beat me to it. "Pardon me, but for those of us not aware of the situation, which son are you talkin’ about Paul or Ian? You are dating both of them, aren't you?"
I wished with all my heart that I could blast lasers out of my eyes to incinerate Beth Ann right there in her chair. Sadly, the one time I needed my powers to go above and beyond the call of duty, they don't even flutter.
To Willow, I bit out through clenched teeth. "Ian. He's been rather distant, really not himself. The only thing I could think of was that it started just after your visit. I was wondering if you could have discussed something that might have made him upset?"
"Well, I would think so." She paused and thanked a pitcher that flew over to refill our drinks. "Ian will be graduating soon and that means he needs to think about his future. Mucking about as he has been was fine when he was a first or second year, but real life is just around the corner, and he can't keep pretending like nothing will change."
I frowned at Willow’s explanation. "And what exactly has to change? Ian's studying the Dark Arts, he joined the group for it, won't he just find a job doing that?"
Beth Ann and Willow gave a small pitying laugh that made my hand curl tight around my knife. However, it was my grandmother who answered my question.
"Maxine, dear, the Dark Arts isn't something you can make a profession out of. Not unless you plan to be a scholar and rarely do any of those actually make any money. They'd have to discover something extraordinary to make the magical community want to back them." She paused and glanced over at Willow, before she continued slowly. "I believe what Willow’s concern is that Ian may be putting himself through a lot of future difficulties for a lost cause. It would be far more rational for him to join his father's company at this point."
"But he doesn't want that," I blurted out just as our meals flew to our table. I waited impatiently for the plates and bowls to settle down before launching back into my argument. "Why should he give up his dream just because it isn't something you agree with? Maybe he will achieve something great, but you wouldn't know because you made him quit before he did it."
Willow let out a tired sigh. "I would be more than thrilled if my son achieved anything at this point, but Ian is determined to go against us no matter what it is." She paused and turned to Beth Ann. "Look at our lovely Beth Ann for instance. They were happily courting and well on their way to being engaged when, the moment we approved of the match, he threw it all away to focus on the Dark Arts."
Willow let out a bitter laugh. "And look where that has gotten him? In a relationship with a half witch who cannot even choose between the men in her life. It's clear he is only doing this to make sure we never approve of it." I must have had a hurt expression because she reached across the table and patted my hand. "I don't mean to say this to be cruel, but I would be remiss if I didn't warn you. After all, your mother used to be a close friend of mine in school." She released my hand to take another sip of her glass as if she hadn't thrown several insults in my face in front of my grandmother and my nemesis.
I took several spoonfuls of my soup as I tried to gather my strength. My grandmother had a pensive look on her face, but she didn't rush to defend me. I should hate her for it, but I didn't. I knew she must be torn between sticking up for me and what my unconventional relationship has caused to her social standing. My mom hadn't even made this much a stir, and she had married a human!
Still, it didn't keep it from stinging a little.
Regardless of my feelings, I needed to think of Ian. He was the one who was in trouble, not me. They could say what they liked. Beth Ann could sit smugly in the background for the rest of my life for all I cared, but that's where she'd stay in the background, o
n the sidelines of the life she wanted with Ian but could never have. After I rallied myself, I set my spoon down with a definitive clink.
"Mrs. Broomstein, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me." When she started to answer, I put my hand up. "I'm not quite finished. While I understand your concerns about the relationship between your sons and me, I want you to know that I love your sons, both of them, dearly. I will do everything in my power to make sure their dreams come true, no matter how silly and irrational they may seem to you. Seeing as your meeting could not have done anything to make Ian act the way he currently is—"
"How do you know that?" Beth Ann cut in with a smirk. "How do you know he's not distancing himself because he is finally realizin’ where he belongs?"
"Because," I snapped as I stood up, my jaw set firmly, "the Ian I know wouldn't let peer pressure or any other kind of pressure keep him from doing what he wanted." A slow, wicked grin slid up my lips. "And it's like you said, Mrs. Broomstein, he lives to defy you. Why would he change that now, when he has every reason to do so?"
"We'll cut him off," Mrs. Broomstein tried to counter... and that just made me laugh.
"Well, you go ahead with that,” I said with a last giggle, “because, from where I'm standing, your money hasn't done much for Paul or Ian but make their lives miserable. I haven't had millions to live off of, and I've been perfectly happy."
Beth Ann snorted, but my grandmother looked oddly pleased by my outburst. Not to let the meal end on a low note, I smiled and gave a small curtsey, though, I had no idea why.
"Now, as I said, thank you. You have reminded me that if anything happens, I will be there for Ian, no matter what." I enunciated the word as I stared Beth Ann down before I pushed away from the table and marched for the door. Before I got to the door, Beth Ann grabbed my elbow. I spun around and pulled away from her.
"What do you want now?"
Beth Ann had a hesitant look on her face, her teeth pulling her lower lip into her mouth. "How do you do it?"
I sighed and crossed my arms. "Do what?"
She shot a glance over her shoulder as if she might get caught talking to me. "Not worry about money or....or what people would think?"
For a second, I felt bad for Beth Ann. Like Sabrina and the rest of the privileged jerks I had run into, they only knew the world one way: Follow your parents and society’s rules, or suffer the consequences. They never stopped to think for a minute what would happen if they all stopped playing along. What would happen if the magical society had to change with them?
That would be a day to remember.
I shrugged in response to her question. "It's not that I don't care what people think. It's clear that I do. I wouldn't be here trying to make nice with Mrs. Broomstein otherwise. However, I also don't let what others want me to be to define me." I thought for a moment and then took a step toward her. "Just as you shouldn't marry someone just because your parents think you should."
I thought I'd gotten through to her for a moment. For just a single millisecond, a glimmer of hope appeared in Beth Ann's eyes before it was gone, and the bitch was back. She plastered a fake smile on her lips and moved away from me.
"Well, at least we know I will always be one step above you, both with the Broomsteins and in the games. You might as well give up now before you embarrass yourself."
I sighed and shook my head before turning back to the door and ignoring her further snipes. We almost had a moment there, but I was naive to think I could win two bullies over in the span of my lifetime.
Oh well. Maybe next year.
Chapter 16
As I stood before the mirror in my dorm room a few minutes before the Halloween party, I started at my reflection. I tugged at the hemline of my dress. I'd decided to go as a fairy for my Halloween costume except I looked more like a cheap hooker than a fairy at the moment, though Aris did make me look the part of mystical creature as it bobbed around in the air behind me.
"Stop fretting. You look hot," Trina told me from across the room. She was casting a charm on Libby’s bunny ears so that they twitched on her head on their own. Trina had decided to go as the wily hunter to Libby's rabbit. I didn't have the heart to tell them how morbid that was, but to each their own. They looked good together, no matter their costumes.
"I'm not fretting," I insisted while pulling up the top of my green leaf dress. My girls were five seconds away from popping out, and that was with an adhesive charm. The bottom of the dress wasn't any better. It rode so tightly to my butt that I knew I'd be showing cheek if I dared to bend over an inch. Sighing in defeat, I threw my hands down. "I just don't think I look enough like a fairy. I mean, my wings aren't even that fairy like." I moved over to the bed where my pretend wings sat, sad and pathetic.
"That's because you didn't buy them from the right store," Sabrina scoffed from my bed where she'd taken up residence on my bed. She looked every inch like a queen of Egypt complete with black hair and hissing vipers wrapped around her arms. Right now, the vipers were laying in her lap as she stroked their heads. How she'd gotten them to obey her, I didn't know, but then again, they came from the same genus, so it wasn't that farfetched.
"I'm sorry, your highness. I didn't have time to go with you while I was running interference with the Broomsteins and schoolwork." I sniffed and pulled my wings onto my shoulders by the straps. They were yellow with green edges and would have looked perfect if I'd been at any other kind of school, but next to the others and their magical costumes, I wasn't even second best.
"Oh geez," Trina huffed as she moved away from Libby to my side. "Just freaking charm them for Merlin's sake. It's not rocket science."
I crossed my arms and I glanced over my shoulder at Trina where she'd begun to fiddle with my wings. "Well, you know, not all of us know how to do all that stuff. I didn't even think to charm anything until I saw you doing Libby's ears. With my luck, though, I'll end up charming the damn things into a butterfly, and I wouldn't have wings at all."
Libby giggled and murmured ditzily, "Butterflies are pretty."
"Yes, they are, baby," Trina air kissed behind me as I rolled my eyes. Then she turned back to my wings. "Now, hold still. I just need to get them in the right position first, and then..." A warmth spread over me as Trina's magic pushed into the wings and into my back.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked a bit nervously. "You aren't spelling me too, are you?"
"Of course," Trina exclaimed with a snort. "They're not wings if they don't look like they're part of you. So, now, they do."
"Wow, nice spell work!" Sabrina and her vipers came up close behind me. She touched the edge of one of the wings, and I shivered from the feel of her cold fingers. "Did you feel that?"
"Yes," I squeaked, part of me scared to look in the mirror and see what Trina had actually done.
"Very nice," Sabrina announced and then added, "You know, for you."
Trina's voice was heavy with sarcasm when she replied, "Oh, thank you, mighty queen."
Unable to hold back any longer, I rushed to the mirror and stared in awe. The cheap little plastic wings I'd bought had grown and were now at least three feet in length on either side. I flexed the muscles in my back, and the wings spread out to follow. As I tested them with different movements, I was so completely engrossed by my new wings that I didn't hear the knock on the bedroom door.
"What are you doing here?" Sabrina growled, and that snapped me right out of my fascination. I looked at her through the mirror as she stood by the door, her hand on her hip the other holding one of her vipers. The person she was giving attitude to was none other than Chadwick Von Wood.
He was dressed in a pair of pants, slacks actually, a far cry from the shorts he always seemed to wear. Even more surprising was the white button-down shirt that had frills along the cuffs and neck. Chad did not look like a guy who would ever wear something that pretentious.
"Uh, hey, Sabrina. I was looking for..." Chad's eyes moved in
to the room to land on me. His face wasn't the usual carefree fun-loving surfer guy that I'd learned to semi-tolerate. It was full of tension and maybe a bit of nervousness. What was that about?
"What's up, Chad?" I took Sabrina's spot by the door and waited patiently to see what the Cali wizard had to say.
Chad shoved his hands through his hair. It was messed up even more than usual, as if he'd been doing this for hours straight rather than throughout the day. He shoved his hands into his pockets and kind of ducked his head, a sheepish grin on his lips.
"Hey, Max. Have you talked to Callie lately?"
I cocked my head to the side and glanced at Trina who only shrugged. "Uh yeah. Why?" I shifted one hip to the side, my arms crossing under my breasts. What did Beth Ann's fiancé want with my best friend?
"So, did she tell you that she was my date for tonight's party?" Chad asked.
I made a choking sound as my eyes bugged from my head. "She what?"
Sabrina snickered behind me. "Oh man, tonight is going to be fun."
“No.” I shot her a quiet look before turning back to Chad. "Callie didn't tell me."
"Wonder why...?" Sabrina muttered under her breath, and I ignored her.
"Well..." Chad hesitated and then continued a bit more determined. "She is. My date, that is. And I was hoping you'd maybe help me keep her away from Beth Ann?"
Sabrina threw her head back and laughed hysterically. "You might as well wish for a million dollars because that is as likely to happen as what you're asking."
I arched a brow and jutted my chin in Sabrina's direction. "What she said."
"Come on, please." Chad clasped his hands in front of him as he begged. "I really like Callie. She's not like the other women I know...”
"You mean, she's not a witch," I inserted, getting a bit defensive of my bestie. So, what if she didn't tell me she and Chad had started talking? Or that they were going to the party together? That didn't stop her from being my best friend. It's not like I told her everything either. However, I would think she'd have told me about this one. It was quite a doozy.