Cate Tiernan - Book of Shadows

We managed to get to school without my killing us, and I found a great parking spot practically right outside the building. Mary K. was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of friends who ran over to greet her. Mary K. had arrived: The party could begin.

I saw Bree and Robbie hanging out not by the stoners, not by the nerds, not by the cool kids, but in a completely new area around the old cement benches that face each other across the brick path by the east-side door. Raven was there, Jenna and Matt, Beth, Ethan, Alessandra,Todd, Suzanne, Sharon, and Cal. Everyone who had done the circle Saturday night. My heart started a slow, dull pound.

Before I got there, Chris walked up and spoke to Bree. Frowning, she headed off with him, talking intently as they walked away.

"Hey, Morgan," said Tamara, walking up to me. I glanced over at Cal. He was talking to Ethan.

"Hi," I said. "How was your weekend?"

"Okay. I called you on Sunday, but I guess you were at church. How was the circle? What happened after I left?"

I grinned. "It was really neat," I said. "We just made a circle and went around the fire. We talked about things we wanted to get rid of."

"Like… pollution or what?" asked Tamara.

"Pollution!" I said. "That would have been a good one. I wish I'd thought of it. No, stuff like anger and fear. Ethan tried to banish his stepmother."

Tamara laughed, and Janice walked up and joined us.

"Hi," she said, pushing her glasses up on her delicate nose. "Listen, Tam, I have to go put a proof up on Dr. Gonzalez's board. Want to come?"

"Sure," said Tamara. "Coming, Morgan?"

"No, that's okay," I said. They walked off, and I headed over to the east-side benches.

"Hey, Morgan," Jenna said, sounding friendly.

"Hi," I said.

"We're talking about our next circle," Raven said. "That is, if you've recovered." Today Raven was wearing a boned maroon corset, a black skirt, black ankle boots, and a black velvet jacket Eye-catching.

I felt my cheeks heating up. "I'm recovered," I said, playing with the zipper of my hooded sweatshirt.

"It's not unusual for a sensitive person to have some kind of reaction to circles at first," said Cal in his low voice. The timbre of it fluttered in my chest"! did myself."

"Ooh, sensitive Morgan," said Todd.

"So when's our next circle?" asked Suzanne, flicking back her surfer-blond hair.

Cal looked at her evenly. "I'm afraid you're not invited to our next circle," he said.

Suzanne looked shocked. "What?" she said, forcing a laugh.

"No," Cal continued."Not you, nor Todd. Nor Alessandra."

The three of them stared at him, and I felt fiercely glad. I remembered how snide they had been on Saturday night. They were part of Bree's clique, and it was unthinkable that someone would stand up to them, would cut them out of something. I was enjoying it.

"What are you talking about?" Todd asked. "Didn't we do it right?" He sounded belligerent as if trying to cover up embarrassment.

"No," Cal said calmly. "You didn't do it right." He offered no other explanation, and we all stood there, waiting to see what would happen next.

"I don't believe this," said Alessandra.

"I know," Cal said. He sounded almost sympathetic.

Todd, Alessandra, and Suzanne looked at each other, at Cal, and at the rest of us. No one said anything or asked them to stay. It was very odd.

"Huh," said Todd. "I guess we know when we're not wanted. Come on, ladies." He offered his arms to Alessandra and Suzanne, and they had no choice but to take them. They looked humiliated and angry, but they had brought it on themselves.

Daringly, I gave Cal a look of thanks, and he kept his eyes locked on mine for several beats. I couldn't look away.

Suddenly Cal pushed himself off the bench he'd been leaning against and came to stand in front of me. "What do I have behind my back?" he asked.

My brow creased for a second, then I said, "An apple. Green and red." It was as if I had seen it in his hand.

He smiled, and his expressive, gold-colored eyes crinkled at the edges. He brought his hand from around his back and handed me a hard, greenish red apple, with a leaf still attached to its stem.

Feeling awkward and shy, aware of everyone's eyes on me, I took the apple and bit it, hoping juice wouldn't run down my chin.

"Good guess," Raven said, sounding irritated. It occurred to me that she was probably Jones for Cal big time.

"It wasn't a guess," Cal said softly, his eyes on me.

That afternoon when Mary K. and I got home, we found out that Mr. Herndon from down the street had fallen off a ladder while cleaning his gutters. He had broken his leg. Mary K. started calling me the Amazing Kreskin. I was so freaked out, I called Bree and asked if I could come over after dinner.

There's a spark there. I wasn't wrong. I saw it again today. But she hasn't recognized it yet. I have to wait. She needs to be shown, but very carefully.

Bree answered the door. The night air was brisk, but I was comfy in my sweater.

"Come on in," she said. "Want something to drink? I've got coffee."

"Sounds good," I said, following her to the Warrens' huge, professional-style kitchen. Bree poured two tall mugs of coffee, then added milk and sugar.

"Your dad here?" I asked.

"Yep. Working," she said, stirring. "How unusual."

Mr. Warren is a lawyer. I don't get exactly what he does, but it's the kind of thing where he and a bunch of other lawyers defend big corporations from people who sue them. He makes tons of money but is hardly ever around, at least now that Bree's older.

Five years ago, when Bree was twelve and her brother Ty, was eighteen, Bree's mom took off and divorced Bree's dad. It was a huge scandal here in Widow's Vale—Mrs. Warren moving to Europe to be with her much younger boyfriend. Bree's only seen her mom once since then and hardly ever talks about her.

Upstairs, in Bree's large bedroom, I dove right in. "I think I'm losing my mind. Do you think the circle was dangerous or something?" I sat nervously upright in her tan suede beanbag chair.

"What are you talking about?" Bree asked, leaning back against the pillows of her double bed. "All we did was dance around in a circle. How could it be dangerous?"

So I told Bree about my newly discovered sixth sense and that it had started after Saturday night. In a rush I told her how I had felt sick Sunday and saw animals around Paula. How I knew about Cal's apple and Mr. Herndon. I reminded her about Mom's phone call.

Bree waved her hand. "Well, if that stuff was happening to me, I might be a little weirded out, too. But I have to tell you—listening to you talk about it, it seems like you might be kind of overreacting," she said gently. "I mean, you might have heard your mom mention the hymn numbers. We already talked about that. Then the phone call—Ms. Fiorello calls your mom all the time, right? God, she's called every time I've been at your house! I can't explain seeing the animals— except maybe your subconscious picked up the scent of all the vet stuff somehow. And the other things—maybe it's just a bunch of weird coincidences all at the same time, so it adds up and freaks you out But I don't think you're going crazy." She grinned. "At least not yet."

I felt a little reassured.

"It's just that it's all at once," I explained, "and this whole Wicca thing. Have you been reading about it?"

"Uh-huh. So far I like it. It's all about women," Bree said, and laughed. "No wonder Cal is into it."