TWENTY: THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
OCTOBER 20
NICOLE BRADLEY
"PLEASE REMEMBER TO COMPLETE YOUR solar prediction charts by Wednesday's class," said Madam Selena at the end of Monday's Premonitions class. The eclectic teacher wore a long velvet duster over her ruffled dress and her eyes appeared slightly buggier than usual, like she hadn't slept well.
On her way out of class, Nicole joined up with Alex and he kissed her cheek before they walked out.
"What is a solar prediction chart?" Nicole asked him while they walked, suppressing giggles.
Alex chuckled and then shrugged. "Honestly? Liam and I usually do ours together and we're lucky if we score higher than a seventy."
Giggling, Nicole shook her head. "We can read our notes together. I'm sure it can't be that hard. Do you want to meet in the library after dinner?"
Alex's caramel eyes twitched with uncertainty. "Didn't you hear? There's a new curfew after what happened at the game Saturday. In the hall by seven every night. Even weekends."
"Oh."
Nicole wasn't sure what disappointed her more—the strict new curfew or the reason for it. The Doctor managed to hack into the speakers but the sound cut out before they could hear anything beyond a promise for change. And during her short but eventful time in the World of Magic, Nicole came to realize that change was hardly ever a good thing.
"MARE, I PROMISE YOU, I'M FINE," Nicole said to her sister who'd insisted she FaceTime during dinner that night. She sat at her usual table with the rest of the gang—minus Wil and Chloe who had failed to show up—and spoke with her sister on the phone, a conversation they could all hear.
"I know you're fine now but what happens if this Doctor guy shows up? Leo says they don't have any leads on him. He could be anyone."
Mare's turquoise eyes appeared larger than usual on the phone screen and when she spoke with her hands, a diamond tennis bracelet sparkled on her rail-thin wrist. It must have been a gift from the prince. An apology gift, probably.
"We're fine," Nicole assured her before turning the phone to the table. "Guys, tell her we're fine."
"We're fine," they echoed and Mare rolled her eyes.
"Okay, okay. You can't blame me for worrying about you. With Mom and Dad a Realm away and me at the palace, it's perfectly normal for me to check up on you. You've only been at the Academy a few weeks and there's already a sociopathic serial killer on the property line."
"We'll we're f—"
"—Fine. Okay, I get it. Eat your dinner. Study extra hard and make curfew. Love you."
"Love you too," Nicole said and then tapped the end key. She dropped her phone on the table and exhaled loudly.
"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked her, dipping a French fry in an ample amount of cheese sauce. Sometimes, it was a wonder how the tiny girl stayed so tiny.
"Nothing," Nicole replied only to quickly backtrack. "It's just weird talking to her when I know everything I know. I feel like I'm constantly lying to her."
"You're not lying," Liam argued "You're withholding information. There's a difference."
"A lie of omission is still a lie," quipped Kate. "You may not be hiding an entire affair or the truth about your daughter but you are hiding something pretty big."
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