by Zara Zenia
Spells and Shenanigans
Sleep Hollow Academy - Book 2
Zara Zenia
Illustrated by
Natasha Snow
Edited by
Elizabeth A Lance
Copyright © 2019 by Zara Zenia
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs
Edited by Elizabeth A Lance
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the authors’ imagination.
Contents
VIP Reader Club
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Preview of Alien Prince Charming
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
About Zara Zenia
Also by Zara Zenia
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1
Marina
"Please don't say it like that, jeez." She had only been here for twenty minutes tops and I was already feeling mortified by my mother. Not that she was a bad parent or anything, but after a drink or two...
The trendy young waiter approached us. I wondered if I was blushing as his eyes roamed a little too freely over my chest, then over my mother's! Well, it's not like I can really blame him for staring.
I'm short, which a lot of guys love, and 'so cute' with olive skin and dark hair. I very much look the part of being a witch, which is exactly what I am. See, the university I attend isn't entirely normal. Sleepy Hollow. It's the best paranormal university in the entire country. While we're located a little out of the way—nearby a small town in upstate New York—that doesn't keep us from dominating the other schools when it comes to tests and competitions. It does mean that I live kind of far away from my family.
"I've missed you so much, baby girl," my mother said from across the table of the cafe where we had met up to have lunch. She'd made a special day trip here just to see me in between a busy work schedule.
I told her, "I miss you too, Mom," and I really meant it.
She had me young and was only barely forty now. Plus, it was undeniable that she was a gorgeous lady who still dressed like someone my age. He caught me ogling Mom's ample cleavage and made a nervous little coughing sound, eyes darting around nervously like he hadn't been doing anything. "Uh, are you lovely young ladies ready to order yet?" he cooed smugly. This was the type of guy who knew he was good looking and had the charm. But that could all be so easily wasted by someone who didn't know how to rein it in; act more coolly.
"We would like two Caesar salads, handsome young man," Mom told him with her most seductive smile. No one could claim that she didn't still have it, even at her age.
"No trouble at all. And can I bring you another drink while you wait?" he asked Mom, eyeing my still half-full glass of diet lemonade along with her already empty wine glass.
"That would be lovely. The same again, please, young man."
Okay, when I say that Coraline Kendall, my dear mother, likes a drink or two ... it might be more accurate to say she likes a drink or three, or four or more. But I would never say she had a problem, no. It's just that, when she does have a glass of wine—
"So, my beautiful daughter, tell me about your love life at the moment. And I know you're not staying home by yourself on weekends with such a beautiful face. Not to mention you are lucky enough to be getting your mother's figure.
God, kill me please. "Mom please." The waiter was still in earshot, having scooped up the empty wine glass and strutted away with a what was honestly a sense of self-consciousness in my opinion, which he probably thought made him seem like he was in charge.
"Oh, relax honey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being ... social. I don't want to see you alone like your aunt."
The waiter returned quickly with her wine and a smile, saying he’d return in a little bit to check on them. My thoughts turned to Mom’s words about my aunt.
My mother and my aunt had very similar physical features, meaning they were both absolute foxes. But while my aunt kept to herself and didn't like getting herself out there, my mother had spent much of her life putting herself probably a little too much out there, if you get my drift. Mom had short cropped auburn hair and typically dressed like someone a good ten or more years younger. Today she wore a low-cut floral dress that showed off her full figure, much to the delight of the men around us.
"Mom, do you think I could have just a little sip of your wine?" I asked looking around to see if anyone would be watching me do it.
"Go ahead, dear, just don't get caught if you're going to misbehave."
After I'd downed practically her whole glass, I finally managed to work up the nerve to talk to Mom on the level. "Okay, so I'd kind of like to get something off my chest."
"And us Kendall women have some wonderful chests to get things off of," she replied with a girlish laugh. It was endearing, but also embarrassing. The little bit of wine now swimming through my system was already helping me let my guard down and appreciated her free attitude more.
"So, I might kind of be interested in someone. We've been slowly getting to know each other. I'm just confused."
"That's wonderful news. Is it anyone around here I might hope to see?"
"He's actually from a rival school."
"Oh? I bet that sense of competition is just your thing, dear, not to mention the taste of forbidden fruit." She laughed again, and her cheeks had started to go ever so slightly pink. "So, are you two an item or anything? You're not committing yourself to one guy yet, are you?"
"What?"
"I'm just saying that you don't need to go marrying the first man with a chiseled jaw and broad shoulders who gets into your panties. Not like I did. Oh, of course I don't regret a single thing about it— that's how I got you —but your father hasn't exactly been my rock now, has he?"
Truthfully, he hadn't been the best father either, what with his gambling addiction and always trying to get me to use my powers to help him beat the odds and win it big instead of, y'know, being a good dad. "I'm glad you think that. I might be, maybe, possibly seeing more than one guy at the same time." My heart was racing, but the feeling of having actually told my mom something like that was invigorating. I felt free somehow.
"That's wonderful!" she totally shocked me by saying in reply. "Hang on a minute though. When you say you're seeing more than one person at once, do they know about each other?"
"Yes, Mom, of course. I'm not awful."
"That's good. I never raised a cheater now, did I?”
I shook my head to respond. It was true. You couldn't find a more strait-laced student in all of Sleepy Hollow University. And that mentality carried over into every aspect of my life. Well, I guess you can't really call kinda dating four men at once that strait laced though.
"Are they nice boys? I'm talking about your menagerie of lustful suiters, by the way honey." That girlish laugh again. Her cheeks were red from the wine and how much she was enjoying teasing me, but mine were becoming a deep shade of red as I realized this conversation was actually happening. Maybe it was a mistake telling her.
Noticing that I had choked up and wasn't speaking, she stopped laughing immediately. Always the supportive and sensitive mother. "Oh, Marina honey, I'm sorry for making fun. Don't be embarrassed. Hey, I went to college too," she said with a sly wink. "Do you really think your father was the first and only guy I was with up until I got pregnant with you as a teen?”
"To be honest, I never thought about your love life, Mom." Now I was smiling. "And none of my friends want to think about their parents having sex either, I can assure you." I made a 'yucky' face and that made us both giggle.
"Well, as long as you're doing things responsibly and acting like the mature young woman you've become. Don't go getting yourself pregnant, and make sure you use condoms. Also, be sure not to neglect the boys. A lot of women think they don't matter, but let me tell you—guys love it when you—"
"What!"
Coraline Kendall was anything but subtle. "You know, his boys," she stopped and added, holding her hand out, palm up, making a tickling motion with her fingers like she was playing with a guy's balls. It was something I was instantly sure would scar me for life.
We said goodbye and I went back to my dorm room where my roommate, Laurie Brand, was quietly studying. She was a great student too, but somewhat more outgoing than me. "So, how's your mom? I can't believe she's really old enough to be your mother."
"Laurie."
"Just saying," she said with a shrug and a laugh.
Laurie was a beautiful dog shifter girl with light skin and a tall, athletic figure. She was from Nebraska and definitely had a look to her like she could do some hard, physical work. I was a little jealous of that, given that I was shorter and more of a slim build, although my own figure was an hourglass. Naturally, she was jealous of my body and so on and so forth.
"Anyway, how was lunch? What did you get?"
"Caesar salad, of course."
"Oh, that place does those the best, nice choice. What about the other thing you wanted to tell her about?"
"Yep ... we had that little talk. It was absolutely mortifying, so much so, I had to steal a little of her wine to work up the courage.”
"Oh my, Marina Kendall drinking alcohol? Can I see your ID, young lady?" Laurie quipped, and she was clearly happy with herself for that one because she was beaming from ear to ear. "What did she say about your own private reverse harem? I bet she was cool with it, huh?"
"Too cool with it. Some of the things she said make me wonder about her past. Do you think ... oh I don't even wanna say it."
"What, do I think your mom used to be a slut when she was in college?"
"And then you said it. But why do women have to use that word about other women? What's wrong with keeping things nice and open."
Laurie put her hands up and to her sides with a dismissing shrug, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips. "I never said there was anything wrong with being a ho. Clearly you don't think so either, or you wouldn't be seeing four of the most eligible guys around."
"They are pretty eligible right?" I could feel my eyes widen and was sure they'd be bright and dreamy looking. It was impossible to deny that I had to be the luckiest girl in school. "That doesn't make me a ho though. It just means that I like to be in control, to make sure my life stays my own and not give it to the first guy who comes along. What's wrong with that?"
"Like I said, there's not a single thing I see wrong with what you're doing, Marina. More power to you, girl."
"Speaking of not being a ho, when are you seeing Thomas next? He's your fave boy still, right?"
Thomas was certainly a priority for her at the moment but calling him a favorite was off the mark. "Do I really have to choose a favorite? Isn't the whole point of being poly that you get to share yourself with multiple people and not have to tie yourself to any one of them more than the others, unless you want to, I mean?"
"Sounds like someone might be just a teeny tiny bit afraid of commitment to me," Laurie replied as she stood up from her desk and walked over to sit on her bed with her legs crossed, facing my bed where I had taken up a half lying down position. I cuddled my teddy bear Merlin and held him up just below my chin, so his soft fur gently tickled me. It was always a great way to calm down.
"Honestly, you're right. I am afraid of committing. But isn't that the point? I guess there's a lot I need to learn about this whole multiple guy thing. I thought discussing it with my mom would help to clear it all up in my mind."
"But it's just given you more questions, right?"
"Yeah, exactly right. Part of me wants to know more about what she got up to all those years ago."
Suddenly bursting into short, staccato giggle as she got the words out, Laurie responded gleefully, "What makes you think she's not still playing the field, girl? A hottie like Coraline could probably still get college guys like we're banging." I knew she was teasing.
"Please!" I said, but now I was giggling too.
Laurie was a great roommate who always had time for me, and so I always had time for her. We made each other better. I knew she had my back in this, which was comforting since this was the first place I'd lived that wasn't with my mom. She was such a caring person, despite her wicked wit that sometimes got away from her. I think I got pretty lucky in the roommate department.
2
Thomas
I used to agree with what my parents said about Sleepy Hollow University. They're the kind of snobby parents who would look down on someone just because they weren't rich and highly influential. And just as the apple rarely falls very far from the tree, I had to admit that I too took up my parents' distaste for anyone but the upper crust. That was, I used to feel that way. It was really difficult to shake off a whole eighteen years of that kind of thinking. It's even harder when you were still always surrounded by that kind of a mentality. That didn't just go for when I was at home either; my social circles at school, as well as the friends I grew up around, seemed to be made up of a load of snobs. Well, they weren’t all that way anyway, so that's a plus.
I grew up in the right type of family, with several wizards too. A lot of kids at the paranormal schools are the first generation of non-normal humans in their whole family. If that wasn't enough of a disadvantage, most kids weren’t extremely rich like my family is. So, someone might ask why anyone should care what I have to say, why my story might be worth hearing. Well, it all started when I met a gorgeous young witch from my rival school named Marina.
I was about to head out and leave to visit her when my mother walked into the kitchen of our almost embarrassingly expensive townhouse in New York. "Why aren't you at class, Thomas?" she asked me in that nasally, half-interested, half-uncaring tone she was so good at doing that it was almost like a trademark she had going at this point.
"I don't have any classes until later," I responded quickly and with a chirpy voice. I got annoyed at my parents as much as the next teenage guy, but I wasn't a disrespectful ass. Plus, if I could smooth her over and avoid suspicion, it would make sneaking off to visit Marina a whole lot easier.
"Hmm ..." she said as she went for another cup of coffee, having no doubt been up since around dawn getting busy with her business of being incredibly important and wealthy. "And why aren't you going over to study early? You know that being seen working is just as important as the actual work you do, right, Thomas?"
Most of my friends called me Tom. Dad even did most of the time, except for when he was
chewing me out— which was not a completely uncommon occurrence. But Mom only ever used my 'proper given name’, as she liked to call it. "I know, Mom. It's just—"
"It's just that you're going off to visit that poor little witch of yours again, aren't you?"
Damn, she somehow knew already.
"Who's visiting who?" came Dad's voice from the hallway coming into the kitchen. I thought he'd already left for work, given that it was already 9:00 a.m. and he started usually around 7:00 or 8:00.
"No one, Dad," I quickly said, hoping that he'd just accept that answer and make his way through to the garage without wanting any more details.
Mom walked over to block his way as he was grabbing his keys from the hook by the garage door that led from the open plan kitchen and bigger-than-most-apartments dining area. "Are you serious?" she asked Dad. "I'm sure you must be aware that your son is dating his rival from that trashy school out in the sticks, Sleepy Hollow, correct?"
"Yes..." he said as he started to slowly walk around her.
"Well, Thomas seems to think it's alright to skip out on his studies to go and run around with her."
"And?" Dad had snatched his keys and was making his way to the door. "I'll tell you what, Thomas, if you want to throw your reputation away just for a good time, that's your deal. You just had better do it discreetly. And if you get anyone pregnant, you can think twice about that new car you wanted for graduation."