Spellbound: First Light

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO:

   THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, Alondra sat on her bed, surrounded by a scattered mess of clothes as Tommy and Miles paced her room. 

   Alondra's stomach twisted in knots, watching them.

   "Look, all we have to do is say it's a study group." Miles said, pausing his pacing  to give her a serious look.  "What could be her objection to studying?" 

   "Maybe because school starts on Wednesday and we obviously have nothing to study," Alondra retorted, frustration evident in her tone. "She'll see right through that."

   "Okay. Sleepover at my house?" Miles shot back, his voice hopeful. 

   "She'll just call your house to check up on me," Alondra countered, sifting through a pile of clothes with a skeptical frown. "Maybe I just shouldn't go, you'll have Tommy," she added, holding up an old shirt with an air of defeat. None of her clothes seemed quite fit for a party. "You know parties aren't really my thing, anyways. I've got loads of stuff to do, like, uh, read."

   Tommy, who was now leaning against the door frame with an air of practiced nonchalance, added, "I'm not really a partier myself, but to be fair, we never give them a chance.  We'll listen to music, go dancing, maybe eat a few snacks."

   Alondra's gaze drifted to the stack of occult books now sitting on her desk. She had spent the morning pouring through their contents - another one called Greggorio's Grimoire, an old tattered thing - had particularly captivated her with it's spells, detailed illustrations of plants, and cryptic directions.

   The books intrigued and unsettled her. Their sudden appearance into the bookstore was an enigma she just couldn't unravel. 

   "You don't understand," she protested. "It's not even just about not wanting to go. I haven't been...feeling myself lately."

   "Oh, your period?" Miles asked, a look of misplaced understanding on his face.

   "No!" Alondra stood abruptly, tossing a t-shirt at his head. "Just off. Like, I don't know, something is shifting. Changing. You guys don't feel that?"

   Miles, with a dismissive wave of his hand, said "You're nervous about junior year. So am I. Shit's gonna get serious this year."

   Alondra nodded, acknowledging the truth in his words, although it wasn't the full picture.

   Tommy pushed off from the doorframe, his eyes softening. "Look, Lone, I know things might be stressing you out now. But your sixteenth birthday is coming up in October, we'll be juniors with cars and the world will be at our fingertips. If you really don't want to go, we won't make you. But it might be nice to have some fun with your two favorite guys in the whole world." He flashed a cheeky grin.

   She returned the smile and let out a heavy sigh. Tommy always knew what to say, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was just looming beyond her grasp. "Alright, what are we doing about my mother? And what should I wear?"

   Miles perked up suddenly. "Just leave that to us. I've got a plan."

   The plan, as it turned out an hour later when Ramona arrived home from work, was both simple and deviously affective. Miles and Tommy had decided that flattery, and a little bit of wine, might do the trick.

   Alondra paced the kitchen nervously as she watched Miles and Tommy make dinner for her mother. The smell of tomato and basil filled the small kitchen and their stomachs grumbled. She focused on a spot of red sauce that had splattered on the wall as Miles stirred the pot in front of him.