Witch (Supernatural #2)

15: Witch Hunters In Town

Confession, noun.

1. acknowledgment; avowal; admission.
2. acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, especially to a priest to obtain absolution.
3. something that is confessed.

***

The night before we went back to school, Ken was kind enough to send me a text. It wasn't a goodnight text or a see-you-tomorrow text. It was a don't-forget-swim-practice-after-school-no-need-to-get-up-early text. It was a good thing he had reminded because I was ready to set my alarm early and be the first one in the pool again. Instead, I got to sit down with Noah for breakfast and we even rode to school together.

It was like the first day of school, back when my swim practice hadn't started yet.

"Does this mean I need to wait for you after school?"

"You sound worried," I teased.

Noah shrugged as he pushed open the door to the school. This was the first time I had walked through those doors and seen so much activity on the other side. Usually, there would be no one for miles. So this is how the normal half of the school's population started their day. Fascinating! It made me long for the pool already. On top of that, as it was the first day back, everyone was even more excited than normal. There were shouts of excitement as friends saw each other again, conversations about what everyone had gotten for Christmas, how they had celebrated New Year.

I doubt anyone had spent it with a mountain lion curled up at the foot of their bed.

Noah soon disappeared amongst the masses, leaving me to find my way to my own locker. I turned the combination on the locker, thinking to myself how wrong it felt to start the day without an exhausting hour spent in the pool. Had there not been a foot of snow outside, I would have gotten up early anyway and gone for a run instead.

"Hey," Ken said cheerily as he appeared next to my locker.

"Hey," I smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Considering the kissing we had done over the holidays, it felt natural to do it now.

"So, you look like one frustrated bundle of energy." When I arched an eyebrow, he laughed. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Isla. You know that wasn't what I meant."

"You sure? It's almost like you wanted me to think the worst." Then I sighed. "But you're right. I don't like starting off my days without any exercise."

"You could have come in early for a swim regardless of practice."

I rolled my eyes. "Way to seem like an overachiever." Then I grinned again, closing my locker. "And how were your holidays?"

He grinned, taking my hand and maneuvering us through the thick crowds. "They were great; I thought you already knew that."

He gave me a smirk before Alana appeared out of nowhere and hugged the two of us. She seemed genuinely happy to see us both. When she backed away, I noticed how tan she had gotten. While everyone here was as white as the snow outside, Alana was a gorgeous golden brown.

"You look great," I told her. "You look like you soaked up as much vitamin D as you possibly could."

"Thanks. The weather was sunny the entire time. Here, I got you a little something." She fished two gifts out of her bag, handing one to Ken and the other one to me. Before we could open them, she added, "I see Joyce didn't get her Christmas wish."

I frowned. What Christmas wish? I even looked around to see if Alana had seen her heading this way. If she was somewhere amongst the other students I didn't see her.