Shimmerspell (A Faerie Tale Girl Novella, #1)

Chapter One

“Ok, who can tell me the additive inverse of twenty-seven?”

Crickets chirped.

Mr. Tanner lifted his deep brown eyes from the textbook, staring over the rim of his glasses and out into the classroom as he scanned each row for a victim. Soon those shrewd eyes would fall on Jensen and then he’d pounce. He always did.

She held her head up, trying to exude confidence. But somehow he knew she hadn’t studied over the break, knew she didn’t know the answer. And that knowledge gave him a power he wielded mercilessly. “Well,” he grabbed a broken piece of chalk from the blackboard, and walked around his cluttered desk, sitting on the edge, “since no one wants to volunteer, Ms. Mead—”

The bell sounded and Jensen released the breath she’d been holding. It was a close call too. If Tanner had put her on the spot one more time, she planned to walk out. Her sister Lauren would have been mad about it, but Jensen just couldn’t find it in her to care.

“Homework for tomorrow is on page sixty-five. Odd numbers. And class, don’t forget to show your work this time. I’d hate to have to give out anymore goose eggs.”

Jensen dropped her books inside her khaki messenger bag, and slid out the door in front of two football players in a shoving match. If she’d stayed about a minute longer, Tanner would have cornered her and that just couldn’t happen. He’d never yelled at her or anything like that. And had always been nice, in an overly concerned, yet non-pervy way. But, for reasons unknown to her, Tanner always knew when she lied. And that was just … weird.

Jensen navigated through end-of-school traffic, finding her best friend Zoe waiting at her locker, fresh off a field trip to the Rolling Hills Science Center.

Zoe glanced up from her cell phone and smiled. “Ooh cute,” she said, twirling her finger through the violet streaks in Jensen’s bangs. Violet streaks that weren’t supposed to be violet.

Jensen rolled her eyes. “Yeah right.”

“No, it really is.”

“Zoe, it’s supposed to be pink.”

“Your hair is too dark for that and I think it’s cute this way.” She crossed her legs and leaned against the locker beside Jensen’s. “So, did you get it?”

Jensen swirled the dial on her padlock, avoiding Zoe’s gaze. “Get what?”

“Come on, you know.”

Of course Jensen knew. Most thirteen-year-olds had it by now and she’d just turned sixteen. Without it. She sighed and shook her head, wondering why she’d ever told the girl in the first place.

Zoe’s eyes widened. “Really? I was sure you would’ve gotten it over Spring Break. Well, look at it this way, at least you don’t have to deal with cramps yet or bloating. Or worry about ruining your brand new Vicki Secrets. Or have some Neanderthal steal your tampon and toss it around the classroom like a football.” Her eyes darkened and she glanced away. “That’s not very fun.”

And apparently not something you could live down either. Even the teachers had taken to calling her Scarlett Rose now. And the name actually fit. Her eyes were green, just a shade darker than Jensen’s, and her hair, the color of … well, a rose.

Jensen put her pen in her mouth, opened her locker, and grabbed her sketchpad, sliding it into her messenger bag. “So you and Benji still on?” She needed to change the subject. Fast.

Zoe scowled. “Hell no! Can you believe the idiot forgot our anniversary? I mean, who does that?”

“Haven’t you only been dating for like, two months?”