The Other Witches

1. Mistake

I close the door behind me and walk upstairs to my bedroom. Logging in to my computer, I scroll down the YouTube page to take my mind off my troubles. My friend Ella texts me on our group chat.

What's up, witches?

Another friend, Siobhan, responds seconds later.

Please stop calling us that. It annoys the heck out of me for more than one reason.

I have to say, I agree with Siobhan, or Von as we call her. Although I've gotten over the initial sadness of my letterlessness, it still bugs me that not one of us got an acceptance. It's probably the most annoying for Von, whose parents are purebloods. That makes her a squib. And the same for the rest of us ( except for our muggleborn friend Lauren, she's still just a muggle ). The guilt we feel is the guilt we all share.

Well, sorry. Trying to diffuse tension here.

Oh well. That's their normal behavior. Best not to interrupt. I turn my attention back to my homework from history class. If only it were history of magic, I think to myself. Or Care of Magical Creatures. Anything would be better than the Middle Ages. I head my paper: Eliza Glasswater, History Essay, August 25.

Lucy, another of our friends in the state of sans-letter, sends a very interesting text.

I'm getting a feeling that something is going to change this year. Not sure what, but something's going to happen. I'm sure of it.

After that, I blow another half hour on trying to finish the essay, and finally , it's done. It's also time for dinner. I hurriedly finish eating and go back upstairs to finish the rest of my homework. As soon as it's all completed, I brush my teeth and hop into bed. But before I turn off the bedside light, I check my phone for any new texts. The last one is still Lucy's text about how times are going to change. Quickly, I type in

I hope it does, Luce. I hope it does.

The next morning I wake up slightly tired, but i change into a t-shirt and skimmer jeans before I have a chance to fall asleep again. Turns out Von and Ella had a late-night conversation after I had gone to bed. Something about some guy that Ella saw at school. Whatever, I'm not interested. That's not really my favorite thing to talk about.

I head downstairs to have a quick breakfast and grab all the stuff I need for school. "Bye mom, bye dad!" I yell as I run outside to meet the bus.

School was normal, as it always is. After the last bell rings, I hang out at my patrol post for about ten minutes, then walk over to the bus stop with Luce. I'm alone for most of the ride because Luce's house is so close to school and mine is so far from it. It's the usual schedule.

I walk slowly back home, my backpack heavy with textbooks and folders. I open up the mailbox and take the envelopes out, stuffing them into the backpack with everything else. I also pick up the newspaper and a strange pamphlet stuck in the doorway.

"I'm home, mom!" I say loudly, in case she's downstairs doing the laundry. With that, I head upstairs to start on another usual activity: homework. It's finished pretty quickly, considering the amout teachers give us sometimes. As I put away my literature textbook, I notice that I never took the mail out.

It's mostly junk mail for my dad, three envelopes from companies that I have no idea about. There's also a birthday card for my younger sister Clara and an L.L. Bean catalog, most likely for my mom. I take the catalog and leave the five envelopes on the bed.

Wait. Five envelopes?

I pick up the last envelope. The green ink glows in straight handwriting on the back.

Oh. My. God.

 Sorry for the short chapters! They'll get longer as I keep writing, I promise!

-RedV