Elmwood

6| I Actually Woke Up On Time

"I'm thinking about reselling security systems," I told my father as I placed my plate in the sink.

He was up early today, claiming that his brain became alert when it realized that I actually woke up on time. I, on the other hand, woke up on time on a Monday morning because I was busy thinking about the existence of witches, which was a much better excuse than my father's, mind you.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why security systems?"

"Because there were a series of burglaries in New York City and now many thieves are copying the same style all around the country, especially in big cities. Many people will be wanting to buy or upgrade their security systems. Long-time homeowners and financially secure people will be most likely to buy newer systems while newer owners will buy older, cheaper systems. I can research the income brackets of people in these cities and try reselling them proportionally."

"And where will you buy these security systems in the first place?"

"Alibaba. Many things on there are cheaper than most competitors due to effective usage of economies of scale, which means the markup value will be high when I resell them on Amazon."

He gave me a long stare before saying. "Fine. But this better not affect your grades."

"It won't," I assured him. "The process will require little maintenance time after initial set up. I just need you to create an account with money for me."

He nodded. "I'll have it ready by evening."

"Great!" I smiled as I shoved my shoes on and threw my backpack over my shoulder.

"Don't do anything stupid," he warned with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not Devika."

"Fine. Don't do anything bad," he rephrased.

Depends on your definition of bad.

"I know," I told him as I walked out the door and waved goodbye.

For the record, my plans weren't bad since Drex and Sage were the ones who manipulated my mind without my will. They started this.

Shaking my head, I walked to the bus stop.

~~~

As soon as the last bell of the day rang, I ran out of my classroom to Sage and Ellie. They were whispering to each other as Ellie gathered her things from the locker. As soon as I approached, they stopped talking.

"Hi, guys!" I greeted.

"Jas," Sage smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "How was your day?"

"Fantastic. Yours?"

"Good."

Ellie didn't take her eyes off her binders as she placed them in her backpack, biting her lip. Sage looked awkwardly between the two of us, unsure of what to say.

They were this way all day—both trying to speak to each other about the supernatural world while unable to speak to me of it and also, most likely, feeling guilty for what they had done. The two were cold and distant, and that didn't change even during lunchtime when there was a wide chasm between me and them every time we stopped talking.

Had I been unaware of Friday night's events, I would've been asking myself what I did wrong. Now I knew they were asking themselves if what they did was wrong, except they didn't actually manage to succeed in what they're worrying over. The entire situation would've been hilarious if I wasn't at the center of it.

Actually, scratch that. It's more hilarious because of me.

Anyways, the entire walk out of the school passed in a heavy silence. When Sage and Ellie split away from me to go to cheer practice, their sudden relief at being away from the object of their sins was quite amusing. And then I realized that they were happy to be away from me and it wasn't quite as amusing anymore.

I looked over my shoulder to see them nearing Drex and Sebastian who were in gym clothes, getting ready for football practice. Just as I expected, they were all a bit occupied.

Perfect.

I turned the corner to where the buses were lined up, but instead of getting on, I walked right past them and ran into the woods. If I remembered correctly, Drex's house wasn't far from here. It should only be a few streets over if I took shortcuts. Still, it wasn't close enough. I needed to get into his house and then run back to my house in the time it would normally take the late busses to reach home.

And, I had to do it all on foot because my stupid ass didn't get a driver's license this summer.

I ran through the woods and crossed sidewalks and streets before plunging into the woods again, my breathing frayed, throat dry, backpack weighing my shoulders down. My legs ached as I pushed them faster against the uneven terrain.

By the time I reached Drex's mansion, I was gasping for air. I dropped my backpack in the middle of the driveway and collapsed onto the steps.

God, I hate running.

I laid there for nearly ten minutes until I realized my shirt would be soaked in sweat if I stayed outside any longer and my parents would be suspicious. I staggered to my feet and groaned as I felt even more tired than before. Hauling my backpack back onto my shoulders, I tested the doorknob. Locked.

Drex actually locks his doors. Shocking.

Immediately, I looked under the doormat. Sure enough, a golden key sat waiting, one that was most likely a part of the concealing spell used to keep out other witches. I laughed at his poor hiding choice as I placed the key in the knob and twisted the door open. Drex is too confident for his own good.

Stepping inside, I sighed as the cool air washed over me. Not wasting a moment, I walked down the hall Drex led us through when we first entered the house. I paused in front of the stairs leading to the basement. Originally, I wanted to train in the weapons room. There would be witches after me since I'm friends with Ellie and I needed to learn how to protect myself. But that clearly wasn't an option now and there were other ways I needed to protect myself as well.

I walked into the library and went straight to the potions section. This time, I took an image of the instructions to make Animusfendere, the potion which saved my memory, and placed it back on the shelf before scanning different book titles. I needed to figure out how to make Animusfendere for myself and to decipher the strange ingredients, I would need a guide of sorts. It didn't take long before I noticed a book titled "Potions: A Beginner's Guide". Again, where do they sell these?

I quickly took pictures of all of the pages, ignoring the fact that my camera roll would be a mess afterward. I placed the book back on the shelf and went to the more historical side of the library, chose the book which seemed to contain a wider range of historical events in the witch world, snapped more pictures, and placed it back on the shelf.

Just as I was about to leave the library, my phone alarm went off. I groaned at the thought of the long run waiting ahead of me and dragged myself out of the house. Locking the door and hiding the key under the mat again, I dashed into the woods.

Saying the run was difficult is an understatement, but the thought of the information I now carried in my pocket kept me going. I now had the basics of the supernatural world and this was only the beginning. I will have the upper hand.

I might only be human in a world filled with witches, but I intend to be the deadliest of them all.