Danielle Ellison: Salt

“You so are,” she says.

I move past my sister and hang my bag on the end of the banister.

“Can one of you run across the street before you’re settled? We’re out of milk,” Gran calls. Her voice is muffled below us, so she must be in the basement doing laundry.

Connie and I both groan. Gran’s style is more tell than ask. Non-optional suggestion, Mom used to call it. Connie holds out her fist toward me, and I do the same. Rock, paper, scissors. There’s no debate that this can’t settle.

Luckily for me, Connie alternates her pick. Two days ago it was rock, so today, that means paper—but she knows that I will suspect that. So, she’ll think about picking scissors to thwart me, which of course I will know too. Then she’ll revert to her original decision and choose rock.

“Dang it,” she yells at me. I smile and make sure to flash a little extra triumphant pride. She sticks her tongue out at me. “For that I’m taking your shoes!”

“Don’t!” I protest. The door slams.

She knows I love those shoes.

“There’s blueberry pie on the table,” Gran yells up. I grab a knife and pour myself a glass of water because doing nothing for two hours is exhausting and completely deserving of a snack.

Next to the pie, a large stack of mail sits in two little piles. Under an upside-down black envelope, some ten-second celebrity flashes white teeth in my face. That would be Connie’s mail. I grab my mail and flip through it quickly. Something catches my eye—my own black envelope with the mark of the Triad on the front, three triangles connected by a circle. This is it! The announcement for my Enforcer examination! I rip the envelope open and scan the page.

Dear Miss Penelope Grey,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the privilege of taking your CEASE Squad Enforcer Examination this month. Our records indicate high markings from your past academic year and the council was impressed with your exit interview. Your instructors feel you are ready to attempt the next level. Region-wide testing begins July 3. Of those applicants, ten from each region will be Paired with a partner from one of the seven regions. These examinations will set you on a path that extends far beyond your senior year.

I stop reading because this can’t be real. This is the first step I’ve been waiting for all my life, or at least the last four years. Being an Enforcer gets me on the inside, gives me tools and files and access to track down my demon.

This moment would’ve made Mom proud. This was her life, except for us. If I can be an Enforcer too, if I can honor her—and I can get my magic back—then that will be all I need. Finally.

I race to the living room and grab my phone. I have to tell my best friend, Ric, that Connie and I are in for July’s test! Since we’re not in the same special topics class at school, Ric’s test must be in August. They stagger us that way, because they can only test so many at a time.

Enforcer Test in July! Woo!

We have three classes of special topics at school. The Nons think ST is just some hard, boring class nobody in their right mind would sign up for, but it’s really how we have training lessons at school—and how the Triad narrows down who will take the Enforcer examinations. They make every witch in the country take the class from elementary school until junior year.

Before summer, I had my exit interview with the council about what I looked for in a partner. I’d looked at them, smiled, and said, “I want someone who isn’t afraid to go after what’s right.” They didn’t seem impressed with my response so I added, “And someone who can kick my ass in a fight.” Not the best response, but some of the council laughed. I guess it was enough to count.

That interview, paired with our overall class grade and ranking, is what determines who takes the Enforcer exam. They always keep people from the same class together, and can unite us with anyone who makes it from the other regions. And I’m moving forward!

My magic could be closer than I dreamed. Especially now. I shake off my frustration from the past two hours. Whatever happened with my weird magic thing is over because this letter just fixed everything. I’m one step closer, and if I make it past the exams and get Paired, then that’s two steps closer. The third step is being put with a partner, and together we earn an Enforcer badge. With an Enforcer badge comes the clearance to gather all the materials needed to find the demon, and perform the ritual that returns my magic.

And then I’m normal.

I squeal again. I swear I’m not usually the type—especially twice in one day—but I want this. I can do this. We’re tested in four areas before the Pairing and then the Partner final, and I can pass with Connie’s magical help. We won’t be Paired together—it’s always boy/girl partners—but we’ll be in the same room for the tests. I can pull magic from her just like always, until all the steps are in place for me get my own magic back. Right now, this step is all that matters: take the test, search for the demon.

“What’s going on?” Connie asks, when she gets back home and comes into the kitchen. I stare at her from across the room and shake my lovely little precious letter in the air. Her eyes widen, even though there’s no way she can see it. She knows there’s only one thing that matters that much, to make me act that way. “We’re in for the exam?”

Connie abandons the milk on the coffee table. She’s the one who squeals this time, which is more expected. She hugs me. “Where’s mine?”

“Table!” But she’s already ripping the envelope open. My phone vibrates.

U sure that’s right? I got my letter today 2. July test.

Yes, it has the date.

But there’s no way. Ric isn’t in my class, and they would never mix classes.

Weird. You and Con both?

Yes, I type. But then I glance into the kitchen, and Connie is really quiet. Something bad settles in my stomach, and she’s not smiling. My sister’s default mode is smiling.

“Connie?” I ask, almost afraid to move toward her because this day sucks so much. “You’re taking the exam, right? Please say you’re taking the exams.”

If she’s not in the room with me, then I’m not going to have magic. She’s always with me, and I need her now or everything I’ve worked for is gone.

“I’m taking it,” she says.

Thank God.

“Next month.”

I blink at her. Obviously, I am losing my mind and hearing things that aren’t real. “Repeat?”

“I have the test in August.”

August?

There’s no way. I can’t take this without Connie. That was the one perk of being in the same grade as my younger sister: testing together.

I look back down at my letter and scan past the parts I’ve already read. …far beyond your senior year. You will not be tested with the rest of your class. Due to an injury that resulted in surgery, another student can’t perform the July testing and will be taking the examination next month with your course. We do apologize for any inconvenience, but we are confident that you will still excel.

I’m so beyond screwed. I’m like that guy who wanted to fly and had a pair of wings made out of wax. I’m sure he had a heck of a good time in the air, living his dream, flying next to the sun. Right until he fell out of the sky. And drowned.

“It’s going to be fine,” Connie says, grabbing my hand.

Oh, it’s going to be a lot of things, but “fine” isn’t one of them.

“What’s going on in here?” Gran asks.

I pass Gran my letter and her eyes grow wider as she reads the invitation. She reaches a hand out toward the wall to hold herself up. I don’t know how I’m standing either. Everything seems to be slightly off its axis, and any second now I’m going to fall.