𝐒𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 ── chilling adventures of sabrina

vii | the verdict

ACT I — CHAPTER VII
Tʜᴇ Vᴇʀᴅɪᴄᴛ

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

After the previous night, it was safe to say that Lydia was exhausted.

She didn't fall asleep until four in the morning, giving her just over two hours of sleep. It didn't help that she then had to go downstairs and face Zelda, which Lydia could barely do considering what her aunt had done.

Then she had to walk with Sabrina and Harvey to school, staying a couple of yards behind. Normally, she found it difficult to block out their pointless conversations, but since she was so tired it wasn't that hard to tune them out.

Lydia was sick of being the third wheel. She wanted someone to have pointless conversations with, someone to walk to school with. Lydia knew she liked Susie, but she was also going through this weird phase in her life where she didn't know who she liked. In the past, Lydia had liked boys, but more in a middle school crush kind of way, nowhere near to how she felt about Susie. Not to mention Lydia also had to figure out a way to tell her family (excluding Sabrina) what was going through her head. And that, at some point, she'd have to tell Susie.

And how could she forget that she might burn in Hell for 333 years after her death? The struggles of being a teenage witch were really starting to weigh her down.

The only notable thing that happened on the walk to school was when Harvey told a story to Sabrina about how he got lost in the mines and saw a "goat guy". However, Lydia had a feeling that this "goat guy" could possibly have been the Dark Lord himself. But Lydia was also skeptical, for Harvey was eight when this occurred.

When the three finally arrived at the school, they walked down the hallway side by side with Sabrina in the middle. As they were walking, they bumped into Ms. Wardwell.

"You'll never guess, girls," she said.

"What's happening, Ms. Wardwell?" Harvey asked.

"Well, the young ladies of W-I-C-C-A, that's WICCA to you, Mr. Kinkle, are making their voices heard," Ms. Wardwell told them.

As they continued down the hallway, they found Roz and Susie handing out blue fliers. Susie handed one to Lydia, and she flashed the Putnam girl a small smile. Susie flashed one right back. Roz held a stack of the fliers up in the air.

"Here's a list of books Baxter High doesn't want you to read! And they also happen to be great works of literature!" Roz yelled, waving the fliers around.

"You guys, when did you do this?" Sabrina asked, looking over Lydia's shoulder to read the flier.

"Last night," Susie answered.

"I mean, they're just books, you know?" Roz said, "What are people so afraid of? That Principal Hawthorne's gonna —"

Roz turned around and was met by Hawthorne himself. Roz cleared her throat.

"Ladies, about your claims," Hawthorne began, staring them down.

"You can't get someone in trouble for handing out fliers, sir," Lydia said, looking him up and down.

"On the contrary, Miss Spellman," Hawthorne said, "I just wanted Miss Walker to know that I called the PTA and the school board about The Bluest Eye."

Roz had a look on her face that showed her obvious suspicion and disbelief. Lydia looked between the two, her brow raised.

"They are reviewing the matter," Hawthorne continued, "and will come back to me tomorrow with their thoughts. You're welcome, Miss Walker."