We'll play it straight." We'll avenge Kate. Mr. Peters will give us an A. It would be perfect. Too bad none of this would be possible without the love spell. I reached for the cookie.
"Do you think such magic is possible?" A weird undertone belied Aidan's neutral expression.
I cleared my throat and picked at the cookie. "A love spell? Wow, I don't know."
Aidan tilted his head and studied me. A blush worked its way up from the neckline of my purple blouse. Aidan laughed, a forced sound. "Maybe Bianca had stumbled upon an ancient grimoire."
Alarms short-circuited in my head. The cookie wedged in my esophagus. A cough erupted from my throat.
A lock of Aidan's scraggly brown hair fell across his left eye. He brushed it aside without breaking his laser-like gaze. He didn't seem worried about my choking. Something bigger was on his mind, something far worse. What if he knows?
"We'd need a plausible explanation for how Bianca came to possess the spell book." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you think of any?"
I dug a bottle of water out of my backpack and took a calming swig. A couple more coughs sputtered out before I could answer. "I don't know. It's not like Macbeth where there are already witches in the play. "
"Good point. Witches would have been helpful. Well, think about it." Aidan stood. "Sorry. Gotta run. Thanks for lunch."
He vanished before I could gather up my notebook and pen. The bell blared, signaling the end of lunch. My thoughts flew in all directions, like the ball during one of Amy's water polo matches. Instinct warned me to figure out the subtext, but I was too rattled by Aidan's reference to a love spell. Maybe the love spell was the subtext. But he couldn 't know about the grimoire. Not unless someone had told him.
Parvani. Her fifth- period class was close to mine. Five minutes didn't leave much time to interrogate and kill her, but I could try. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I sprinted for the door.
Chapter Fourteen
This isn't going to work. Salem 's energy field screamed guilty , but how could she be? The stupid grimoire didn't exist. It never had. Magdalena was a madwoman.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. If my locker had been nearby, I would have banged my head against it. What had happened to " avoid Salem as much as possible?" I had barely made it to lunch before I had broken my own rule.
Man, I've got it bad. How could she get more beautiful every day? My hand had itched to touch hers. And when she had mentioned her sister? Man. Her vulnerability had seared me. My every instinct had roared, " Protect her!"
"A love potion?" The idea had come out of nowhere… except it must have come from somewhere. Maybe I've been enchanted. My forehead ached. I replayed in my mind Salem 's reaction to "ancient grimoire." The words had triggered something.
Don't jump to conclusions. Wait and see what she comes up with in Drama.
"Aidan?" Meadow slipped her arm through mine and fell into step beside me. "Did you say something about a love potion?"
"Hey, Meadow." Her easygoing energy wrapped around me like a sisterly hug. "Yeah. Sarah Miller and I are partners for a big Drama project."
Meadow loosened her grip.
"We might add a love potion to the play we're writing." I shrugged and beamed, like it was no big deal, and slipped into Aidan the Charmer.
"Maybe we can be partners in Bio. I could help you catch up."
"Cool. Thanks." I pulled away. "Hey, I'll meet you there. I gotta make a stop first."
Meadow's brow crinkled. Then she probably decided I meant a pit stop, and she waved me off. I hurried to the cafeteria, not the boys' bathroom, and slipped in while a few stragglers still milled about. I slowed my steps to divert attention and walked, all innocent-like, to the metal condiment station. After a quick glance to make sure no eyes were on me, I palmed several packets of salt and shoved them into my jeans pocket before heading to class.
****
"Salem! What are you doing?"
"Kidnapping you." I
"Do you think such magic is possible?" A weird undertone belied Aidan's neutral expression.
I cleared my throat and picked at the cookie. "A love spell? Wow, I don't know."
Aidan tilted his head and studied me. A blush worked its way up from the neckline of my purple blouse. Aidan laughed, a forced sound. "Maybe Bianca had stumbled upon an ancient grimoire."
Alarms short-circuited in my head. The cookie wedged in my esophagus. A cough erupted from my throat.
A lock of Aidan's scraggly brown hair fell across his left eye. He brushed it aside without breaking his laser-like gaze. He didn't seem worried about my choking. Something bigger was on his mind, something far worse. What if he knows?
"We'd need a plausible explanation for how Bianca came to possess the spell book." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you think of any?"
I dug a bottle of water out of my backpack and took a calming swig. A couple more coughs sputtered out before I could answer. "I don't know. It's not like Macbeth where there are already witches in the play. "
"Good point. Witches would have been helpful. Well, think about it." Aidan stood. "Sorry. Gotta run. Thanks for lunch."
He vanished before I could gather up my notebook and pen. The bell blared, signaling the end of lunch. My thoughts flew in all directions, like the ball during one of Amy's water polo matches. Instinct warned me to figure out the subtext, but I was too rattled by Aidan's reference to a love spell. Maybe the love spell was the subtext. But he couldn 't know about the grimoire. Not unless someone had told him.
Parvani. Her fifth- period class was close to mine. Five minutes didn't leave much time to interrogate and kill her, but I could try. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I sprinted for the door.
Chapter Fourteen
This isn't going to work. Salem 's energy field screamed guilty , but how could she be? The stupid grimoire didn't exist. It never had. Magdalena was a madwoman.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. If my locker had been nearby, I would have banged my head against it. What had happened to " avoid Salem as much as possible?" I had barely made it to lunch before I had broken my own rule.
Man, I've got it bad. How could she get more beautiful every day? My hand had itched to touch hers. And when she had mentioned her sister? Man. Her vulnerability had seared me. My every instinct had roared, " Protect her!"
"A love potion?" The idea had come out of nowhere… except it must have come from somewhere. Maybe I've been enchanted. My forehead ached. I replayed in my mind Salem 's reaction to "ancient grimoire." The words had triggered something.
Don't jump to conclusions. Wait and see what she comes up with in Drama.
"Aidan?" Meadow slipped her arm through mine and fell into step beside me. "Did you say something about a love potion?"
"Hey, Meadow." Her easygoing energy wrapped around me like a sisterly hug. "Yeah. Sarah Miller and I are partners for a big Drama project."
Meadow loosened her grip.
"We might add a love potion to the play we're writing." I shrugged and beamed, like it was no big deal, and slipped into Aidan the Charmer.
"Maybe we can be partners in Bio. I could help you catch up."
"Cool. Thanks." I pulled away. "Hey, I'll meet you there. I gotta make a stop first."
Meadow's brow crinkled. Then she probably decided I meant a pit stop, and she waved me off. I hurried to the cafeteria, not the boys' bathroom, and slipped in while a few stragglers still milled about. I slowed my steps to divert attention and walked, all innocent-like, to the metal condiment station. After a quick glance to make sure no eyes were on me, I palmed several packets of salt and shoved them into my jeans pocket before heading to class.
****
"Salem! What are you doing?"
"Kidnapping you." I
Similar Books
