Spell Book & Scandal

Chapter Fourteen

The rest of the next two weeks Mom and Dad suddenly get all family-focused, and I can't sneak out once to meet Miah because of the ridiculous bonding experiences. They think up everything from movies to hiking to spending a weekend all the way out at the coast; every minute I'm not at school, it seems like I'm with them. Christina sulks through it all, leaving Mom and Dad free to focus their attention on me. I feel like I'm suffocating.

To make it worse, Kelsey acts like we're strangers, and she stops riding the bus, too. I guess Ryan must be carting her around, but I haven't had the guts to text her and ask. I don't get a chance to talk to Miah again, even though I crane my neck whenever I'm in the hall in between classes, and I've almost convinced myself that our almost-kiss in the hall was all in my head. My spell business is picking up, but even the proof of my success as a scribe doesn't excite me the way I thought it would; just because I can scribe spells for normies doesn't mean I'm suddenly worthy of being a member of the King family, and my mood is dismal by the time the weekend rolls around again.

I've managed to mostly avoid Christina, even with the forced bonding time, but on Saturday morning when I come down for breakfast, she's sitting alone in the kitchen, staring at her phone. She doesn't look up as I brush past her to search the fridge, but I hear her mutter something that sounds like "loser."

I slam the door to the refrigerator. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

She glances up at me innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You. You're always picking at me, and now you've started telling other people I'm worthless, too?" To my surprise, my voice starts to wobble, and I grit my teeth and take a deep breath.

Before I can go on, she cuts me off. "Do you think it's easy for me to have to make excuses for you all the time? If you weren't so lazy, it wouldn't matter, but you don't scribe because you don't want to. It's not fair."

I stare at her, stunned. "Trust me, I want to scribe." I almost tell her that it seems like I've suddenly started to have success, but I bite my tongue. There's no reason to start confiding in Christina now, not after all this time.

She tosses her hair and goes back to her phone. "You've got it easy, Shelby. You have no idea the kind of pressure..." She breaks off, exhaling slowly. "You have no idea what it's like to be me." The air around her starts to shimmer, and I wonder for a minute if she's going to lash out at me with magic.

I leave her sitting alone in the kitchen, but I pause in the doorway before I retreat to my room. "I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat," I mutter softly, "but you wouldn't survive a day like me." Sparks dance in front of my eyes, and even though I'm woozy with hunger, I don't turn around.

As I rush back up the stairs to the safety of my bedroom, my stomach growls in protest, but I tell myself I can wait to eat. There's no way I want to spend a minute more with my stuck-up sister than I already have to this weekend. At least I get to see Miah tonight, I remind myself, re-reading the text he sent when I was already asleep. I've finally decided to go all the way and scribe for him tonight, something I texted last night before I lost my nerve, and he invited me to the battle tonight. I sit down at my desk with my notebook and try to think of some good spells that I can give him, but I can't let go of the boiling frustration I feel toward my sister, and I zone out, scribbling angry words across the page.

After what feels like hours, I finally hear the front door slam and the sound of wind chimes on the porch, and I peek out my window. Dad and Christina are walking to the car, and I heave a sigh of relief. They've probably gone to practice for her Threes, and if their past training sessions are any indication, they won't be back for hours. I shut my notebook and slip out of my room, glad for a chance to finally have some breakfast.