The Witch's Tool (The Witch's Tool #1)

Set In Motion

ZELENIA

Eight days 'til my sixteenth birthday and I could not wait. I can't exactly say why this matters so much to me, since I've always been the type to not care about such things, a birthday was just another day. Right, except for this one.

This one, this one I am definitely crazy about. I just had this feeling deep within me, that something amazing was going to hapen. Maybe it's the fact that I will finally be independent; even if it was a little, I don't care. With my Moms paranoid state of mind, any amount of independence will be like a welcome gift to me. And this gift will be in form of my sixteenth birthday.

Plus, I would finally be able to drive, legally anyways. I will be getting my driver's license with a picture of my face and a big fat grin and everything and I couldn't wait!

The only bad thing that's been happening are these reoccurring nightmares that I can never remember once I'm up. When I told my friends they told me to ignore it. Jace bought me this necklace he said would give me good dreams but it has yet to work and the nightmares have continued to plague me, it's there as soon as I close my eyes.

But no one or anything could spoil this mood; not my evil gym teacher Mr. Parker, a load of unfinished homework that keeps piling up or even the fiend of my life Sade Myers and her annoying obnoxious pack of friends. Nope! I will only allow optimism, nothing else.

And it seemed that this good vibe was starting to rub off, for one Serena seemed less stress even though her baby was due in the coming week and it would probably cause her to miss our final exams. Whenever I mentioned it, she just shrugged and smiled, rubbing her belly.

"Even if I were to miss it, my GPA wouldn't be affected. Plus I can always take it afterwards, no biggie." I gave her a look that pretty much spelled "What have you done to Serena and who are you?", but she just giggled and snorted.

Serena has always been the most-stressed-and-most-likely-to-freak-out person I've known, and we've been friends since I moved here. Whenever it comes to anything academic, Serena is always over it. And final exams, you couldn't get her to stop studying if you paid her and yes I've tried.

As we sat in class awaiting Ms. Guy Serena turned her attention from her blueberry muffin (Third in the last fifteen minutes) to me.

"So," Serena cooed, giving me her devilish-up-to-no-good smirk, "do you think Jace will finally ask you ou─"

"Ask Zee about what?"

Zee, the conventional nickname that everyone has blessed me with.

Jace sat behind us and I pretty much wanted to strangle Serena for almost spilling to the whole wide world how much I wanted Jace, to ask me out.

I gave her a dark glare before turning to Jace with a calm façade. He was running his index fingers across the page of his biology text book, not giving either of us a time of day.

"You know," Serena continued, "Ask her about what she'll want to do for her sixteenth birthday."

His body tensed, then just as quickly he relaxed then slowly looked up. His face looked, worried?

"I guess since you're not the party and get wasted type," he gave me a slow smile "we could always go to Lines Hill and camp out under the stars, watching the moon 'til the clock strikes twelve and do whatever."

His eyes cut to mine and they seemed to pull me in, I cleared my throat and looked away.

"And if it rains?" Serena asked, taking another bite of her muffin but gaze still locked on me.