by V. Vaughn
I nod.
Nancy says, "Then I'm sure you can imagine how amazing he is with the children. Some teachers are truly gifted, and we're lucky to have him."
Did he lie to me? I step back to leave. When Nancy gives me a strange look, I say, "I'm late," and rush out of the building. My chest tightens as I struggle to breathe when I jog to my car. I'm so distraught that when I pull out of the parking lot, a horn blares, and I realize I didn't even look to see if cars were coming. I wave my hand as an apology to the driver I just cut off and try to focus on driving.
I take a deep breath and grip the wheel so hard my knuckles turn white. I'm not an expert on warriors, but I know that it's a serious job and not something you can do part-time. There's no way Seth could be both a teacher and a warrior, which means he definitely lied to me. I shake my head at myself, because the first thing I need to do is get to my appointment without causing an accident. And Jack, the bichon, deserves my complete attention when I get there. I need to put this situation in perspective.
"Okay." I let out a rush of air as I slow down to pull into my client's driveway. I'm making the assumption Seth, the man who is supposed to be my soul mate, lied to me and it's for a terrible reason. But maybe there's a really good reason why he did. So even though the knot in my stomach makes it hard for me to believe that's true, I know I shouldn't jump to any conclusions until he has a chance to explain. At least that's what I tell myself as I put on my game face and get out of my car to go deal with an anxious dog.
10
One of the wonderful things about animals is that they can sense when you're upset, and dogs definitely want to comfort you. Even Jack. It usually takes a while for him to come out of his crate when I get to the house, but he picked up on my distress the moment I walked in and came over to nuzzle me right away. It helped. As did the other dogs I worked with today.
But now I'm home without anything else to focus on besides Seth's lie. And as much I try not to, I get worked up. Sammy texted that she was going to campus to process her research and that she'd grab dinner there. Since Seth and I didn't make definite plans for tonight, I'm not sure what to do about confronting him. Confront. I let out a sigh because I'm thinking the worst. It's not as if he cheated on me. I need to change my thinking. This man is my soul mate, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
I can't take not knowing any longer, so I grab my phone and my keys to drive over and see him. Rational thought hits me about the time I get to his apartment, and I realize I can't just burst in, so once I stop the car, I text him. Can I come over?
My phone immediately rings, and I answer Seth's call. "Hey."
"Hi. I heard you stopped by the school today. Please let me explain."
Hearing his voice makes my heart flip at first, but it's quickly followed by a deep ache, because what if the reason Seth lied means we're over?
"Nina? Are you still there?"
"I don't know what to feel about you lying."
"You should be mad at me. But come over," says Seth, "and I'll explain everything."
"I'm already here."
Seth opens the door before I get to it. He gives me a nervous smile. "Should I be worried about hexes or spells?"
I don't feel anger. But the urge to cry makes my throat thicken as sadness fills me instead because I'm afraid he's about to break my heart. "I guess that depends on what you have to say."
"Come in." Seth steps back so I can walk through the door. As he leads the way to the living room, he asks, "Do you want a glass of wine or anything?"
Niceties are the last thing I'm in the mood for, and my anger comes back. "Just spit it out, Seth. Why did you tell me you were a warrior instead of a kindergarten teacher?"
He lets out a big sigh and sits in a chair, so I lower myself to the couch across from it, and he looks at me with a mix of pain and perhaps shame in his eyes. "I do work with the warriors, tactical training, but I'm not one. I let you think so because I was afraid you wouldn't be impressed that I'm the furthest thing from it as you can get."
"What?" I frown. "What you do is admirable."
"Don't get me wrong. I love my job, and I know it's what I'm meant to do, but it makes me look dorky. A warrior? Well. The whole clan looks up to them. Nobody looks up to kindergarten teachers."
"Dorky?"
"You were so impressed when you thought I was a warrior, and if I told you I wasn't then—"
Sharp reality slices through me. "Oh. You mean you didn't want me to think you're someone like me." The sadness I felt before has completely moved out of the way for my anger, which is dangerous because my magic begins to tingle inside me now too. I think about how Seth keeps telling me that he loves who I am. But apparently not. "So let me get this straight. All this time, you've been saying you like me the way I am and you think my awkward ways are honest and cute."
"Because it's true."
"Really? If being a dork is so great, then why isn't it good enough for you?"
"It's not like that." Seth moves forward on his chair to lean toward me. "When you mistook me for a warrior, I went with it even though I knew I shouldn't. I figured once you realized we were soul mates, you wouldn't care that I'm not that cool. And then you talked to that bird." He shakes his head. "I mean, wow, Nina. Suddenly, I was the odd man out."
"What the heck are you talking about?" My magic ramps up to a sizzle as what he said becomes clear. "You are seriously messed up. It's okay if we're both weirdos, but then when you think I might not be?" I'm getting worked up beyond return, and my fingers itch with the urge to throw a fireball. "First off, I'm still very much the awkward person who has a bump on her forehead the size of Saturn. And—"
"Jupiter."
"What?" My powers are about to unleash at his interruption, and I desperately try to think of something harmless instead of intending pain and destruction with fire. I glance at the art supplies he has on his table.
"I think you meant to say Jupiter because it's the largest planet."
"How does—" I don't finish my question because the tiny thread holding my magic back snaps. The power that explodes from me hits Seth straight on with a burst of purple glitter. And it's not a simple fireball. To my horror, it's much more, because the flow is not stopping, and I bury Seth in a pile of sparkle. It's so powerful that my hand is snaking like an uncontrollable fire hose, and glitter splatters on the walls and ceiling too as I try to force the stream away from Seth. Damn it! The rushing noise is loud, and I finally think to yell out a halting spell. It works, and the stream of sparkly bits finally peters out and stops.
Seth’s arms flail as he tries to get out from under the mountain I buried him in, and I cough as purple bits float in the air like mist. I let out a groan of embarrassment. But while the room looks as if a unicorn vomited everywhere and Seth is chest deep in glitter, I'm not mortified enough to feel that bad.
Seth manages to climb out from the sparkly pile, and he chuckles. "You're just full of secret weapons."
I know he's trying to joke, and how he can, considering I just unleashed a hundred or so pounds of glitter in his apartment, is beyond me. Wait. Secret weapon? Oh my god. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You accept everything I do and are trying so hard to win me over because I'm your secret weapon."
It all becomes crystal clear in my head. He talked about how the clan looks up to warriors and not only are my powers something that will be revered, but the children Seth and I would have would be too. I bet he sees me as his pass to being admired by the entire clan. "I'm your ticket to some kind of fame and prestige you want to have." I let out a noise of disgust. "You're going to have to find another witch, because you can count me out."
I turn on my heel and wipe out, sending pain through my knee when it hits the ground. I quickly get to my feet to walk away.
"Nina!"
Seth moves toward me, and I turn to look when the floor shakes with a thud. My heart clenches as I see him scramble up from his fall.
&nbs
p; "Please. This isn't what it looks like at all."
I glance around the shimmering purple room and think about how falling in love with him was like floating on a cloud, feeling happier than I ever imagined I could be. But the reality is that what I believed Seth and I had is nothing more than the fantasy of unicorns that spew glitter. "You're right," I say. "We aren't what I thought at all."
11
Times like this, I love having magic powers and witch friends, because when I get home, I call Elise for her spell to clean up messes. "Hey, Elise. Remember that spell you told us about that cleans up things like, say, glitter covering every inch of your body?"
"Yeesss," she draws out. "Why?"
"I had another fireball mishap."
"Uh-oh. What happened?"
Up until now, I was doing okay with what just occurred with Seth. Probably because I was trying too hard to breathe with glitter in my nasal passages, my anger was still winning over my heartbreak. But the tide just turned, and a sob escapes before I say, "I think I just broke up with Seth."
"Oh, honey. Where are you?"
I wail out, "Home."
"Hold on." I hear Elise call for her husband, Ian, in the background and then muffled conversation before she returns. "I'll be right over."
"Thanks," I manage to croak out before we hang up. And then I let myself fall apart. I sink down on the floor, and glitter scratches at my cheek when I try to swipe away tears. How ironic is it that I always wished I was the cool girl and now that someone loves me because he thinks I am, I'm not happy at all?
I remember the way Seth tripped over apples and how it made me fall for him a little bit more. Seth being a warrior was never what made me love him. It was the way he made me feel as if I was the most important person in his life. I sniff and then sneeze, making glitter spew out my nose. I swear I'm the only witch I know who would shoot glitter out of her fingers in anger, and it's embarrassing. And the thing is, Seth thought it was funny. He has never been embarrassed by me or the quirky things I do.
When Elise finally knocks and lets herself in, I'm a snotty mess, but I manage to get the tears to stop.
My friend gives me a big hug, clearly not fazed by the fact I'm covered in purple glitter. "First, we'll clean you up."
I follow her as she marches into the kitchen, and the cabinet door under the sink clicks open as she tugs it. She pulls out the garbage can and sets it before me. Then she chants and waves her hands. A slight tingle skitters over my skin as the glitter leaves my body and swirls up in the air to gather like a tiny tornado. It flies over the garbage can and drops inside like sparkly rain.
I inspect my clean hands. "Nice." I flash to what Seth is probably trying to do to deal with his apartment full of glitter, and a small smile forms on my face.
"Exactly where did this glitter bomb go off?" asks Elise.
My smile becomes sheepish. "Seth's."
She nods. "Start talking and tell me everything from the start."
The front door creaks open, and when I see Sammy, I assume Elise called her to come home too.
Elise continues, "Then I'll determine if I should offer him my services."
"Who are you going to service?" asks Sammy as she enters the kitchen.
Elise points to the garbage can. "Nina glitter bombed Seth."
Sammy chuckles, and I tell the two of them about finding out Seth is a kindergarten teacher and not a warrior. And then I say, "On our first date, he introduced me to his friends, and when I found out they were warriors, I made the assumption he was one too. Seth said I seemed so impressed he was afraid if I found he wasn't, I never would have hung around long enough to discover we were soul mates."
"So he's insecure," says Elise.
I nod. "Which is fine. My god, nobody gets what that's like better than me. But the thing is he has no reason to be. The man is a wealth of knowledge about almost everything. He even trains the warriors on tactical maneuvers. And the receptionist at the school told me he's a gifted teacher. He's shaping little minds and giving them a love for learning. Do you have any idea how important that is?"
"You know I do," says Sammy.
"Wonderful things, Nina," says Elise.
"I know, right? So why did he think I'd find him less attractive than a warrior?"
Elise shrugs. "I have this friend. She's got pretty amazing abilities too, but somehow, she doesn't see it that way."
I squint at her. "Why no—oh. But—" I let out a sigh. I know she's right. And I think about my latest discovery about my powers. "I do know I have unique gifts. I think I can communicate with Seth the way I do animals."
Elise and Sammy exchange a smile. "We figured," says Sammy. "Now can you see what we've known about you all this time?"
I shrug.
"Do you realize what your talent means?" Elise asks.
"I think so. I bet I can talk to all werebear."
"Yes. And it makes you very valuable," says Elise. "It's why I couldn't wait for you to find a soul mate. Although I wish he was in my clan of LeRoux instead of the Veilleux."
Sammy slaps her arm. "I bet you still don't think you're that special, though. Do you, Nina? Even though you realize your merit."
"Well…" I shake my head.
Elise reaches down into the garbage can and lifts up the bag to tie it. "So, let's see if I have this right. You think Seth is amazing for gifts that aren't necessarily considered cool. And you think he's a fool for not seeing them."
"Exactly."
"Frustrating," says Sammy as she crosses her arms and gives me her stern-teacher look.
I roll my eyes because I get her point. "Fine. I can understand why he might not see what I do. But he let me believe he was a warrior for a while. Who knows when he was going to tell me the truth? Lying isn't a good way to start a life together."
"Hang on," says Sammy. "He told you he worked at the school when you went apple picking. Maybe he thought you knew."
I shake my head. "No. I kept asking him what it was like to be a warrior, and he kept avoiding the question." I close my eyes and sigh at my stupidity. "And I didn't really listen to what he was trying to say. Did I?"
Sammy touches my arm with her cool fingers. "I wouldn't exactly let him off the hook. He should have made sure you understood. You are completely valid in being angry he let you believe he was a warrior all this time."
Elise says, "But I think we can give him a little leeway considering he's dating a potential asset to his clan. One who is probably already being talked about for how she saved that bird. I can see how he might be a little intimidated by your awesomeness."
I chuckle when I think about how I can't even kiss him without bumping our noses. "I'm pretty sure I don't intimidate Seth. If you could have seen what happened when I got mad earlier—" Seth. "Oh my god. You guys." I cringe as I think about the amount of purple glitter in his apartment right now.
Sammy squints at me. "How much glitter, Nina?"
I start walking toward the door. "A lot. Come on."
I march us out to my car, and when I open my door, my seat shimmers in the sunlight.
"I've always been annoyed by this stuff," says Elise as she brushes glitter off the passenger seat. "But I may raise that annoyance to hate."
"You and Seth both," I say. "When I got mad and tried to think about something harmless so I wouldn’t hurt him, I looked at his table and saw craft supplies. The next thing I knew, an uncontrollable stream of glitter was flying out of my fingers. And it didn't want to stop."
Sammy laughs, and Elise and I join her. But once we get to Seth's house, the whole situation is no longer funny. I get out of the car to confront him once again.
12
When Seth opens the door, a cloud of purple flies toward me, and I wave my hand in front of my face as I say, "I'm still pissed at you but not enough to keep you swimming in this stuff. I brought help."
"Thank god," he says. I lift my hand to block the glare as his glitter-encrusted body flashes like a th
ousand lightbulbs in the sunlight. He steps aside to let us in.
"Holy sh—" Sammy slaps a hand over her mouth. The space looks worse than I remembered. Every single inch is shimmering in the daylight as if the glitter were painted on. There's a pile in the middle, but it appears as if the sweeping Seth has tried to do has barely made a dent.
Elise lets out a low whistle as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. "Amazing. I don't know how you got it to stick to the ceiling, but this is one for the record books, Nina." She snaps a picture and turns to me with a smile. "I almost don't want to clean it up."
Sammy elbows Seth. "Bet you won't piss off a witch ever again."
"Never," he says as he gives me a pleading look. He squirms a bit as he runs his finger under the collar of his shirt.
Sammy says, "Bet it's everywhere, and man, when that stuff gets in your nooks and crannies…" She shudders as Elise and I look at her in surprise. "What? You guys don't think I know what it—I work with kids, after all! Jeez. Minds out of the gutter, please."
Elise and I laugh.
Then Elise says to Seth, "I'm going to clean this up for you on one condition."
"Name it."
"You never, ever lie to Nina again. And I mean not even the tiniest little—"
Sammy interrupts. "Wait. There are some lies you can tell. Like if she asks if she looks fat in something? The answer is always no. Got it?"
He nods.
I know my friends are trying to be helpful, but I need to deal with Seth on my own, so I say, "Elise, can you just clean this up for me, Please?"
"Sure." She looks at Seth. "Is there a dumpster behind your building?"
"I think so."
"Good. Show me."
The two of them shuffle across the room to avoid slipping, and Seth opens a window.
Elise checks it out, and satisfied, she says to Seth, "Hold perfectly still, and I'll get you cleaned up too."
Sammy and I step outside and watch the magical swirl of purple form a shimmery snake that slithers out the window. I look at Seth standing still with his eyes trained on me.