Nana reached down and touched me and I pulled back, as if she’d given me a shock. Which she actually had. “You told us it was a psychiatric hospital.”
“No. I said it was the Institute. You and Cody assumed what it was. I didn’t correct you.”
I pictured Mom as she left the house almost a year ago, only one small suitcase in her hand. Her purse over her shoulder.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She’d bent down and whispered in my ear. “As soon as I can. I’m sorry, but I have to do this. Trust me, okay Sydney. You’re stronger than you think. Take care of your brother and Nana. Trust me, okay? And trust yourself. Always.”
She’d hugged me close but I’d stared at the floor my hands hanging down my side, not returning it, knowing she was wrong. I wasn’t strong at all. I couldn’t look after anyone. I wanted her to stay, to look after me. I didn’t want her somewhere else. I wanted her to stay and do her job. Be a mom.
I bit my lip hard. I wanted to cover my ears and close my eyes. My jaw hurt from clenching.
“What’s she doing then? Lounging on a beach in Jamaica?” I stabbed at my eyes to keep the moisture inside.
Nana grabbed my hand, squeezing hard. “She’s not at the beach, she is at the Institute.”
“What the heck is the Institute then? For real?”
Nana kept a firm grip on my hand. “It’s a place witches go, when there’s danger. It’s sacred. Sentries can’t sense witches there.”
I closed my eyes, pretending to go along. “And where is it, if not Jamaica?”
“The Institute’s location is kind of loose. It’s not like a regular building. It’s close now, but unseen by human eyes. She chose to go, to protect you.”
I snorted. “Protect me? How, by screwing up my adolescence?” I gritted my teeth even harder. “Why did she have to run away and hide if she’s a witch?”
Nana patted my hand. “It’s a long story, sweetie. Your mom doesn’t have her powers anymore, but she can still be sensed and….she thought The Institute would keep them from finding you.”
I made another snorting sound to hide my fear. “Why would they want to find me?”
“She didn’t want to leave you and Cody, but she didn’t think she had any other choice.”
It didn’t escape me that she ignored my question. She glanced away as if something fascinating lay on mom’s dresser. “We have to figure out what went wrong. What to do.”
“How about TELLING ME THE TRUTH?” I yelled.
Nana tsked me. “That’s another thing that makes this so difficult. Powers arrive at the same time as fluxing hormones.”
“Nana! What’s going on?” A ball of something inside my stomach burned and felt a lot like fear. I didn’t know what was going on. But I knew I didn’t like it.
Nana looked like a little old lady perched on the edge of my mom’s bed, but she’d been the source of stability in the last year. “You’re a witch, honey. No doubt about it. A full-fledged witch. Your mother tried to prevent. She got rid of the necklace. She hid. But it couldn’t be stopped. Magic is back. The wheels are in motion. There’s nothing you can do. I can’t make any decisions until I talk to your mom. I only hope that we can get her out.”
“I don’t want this,” I interrupted. Magic meowed and jumped on the bed and crawled on top of me. “I don’t want this,” I repeated.
I thought I was boring. A snooze fest in sneakers. A flat underdeveloped teenager.
“I know you’re upset, pumpkin. I’m upset, too. But we have to deal with this. Right away. There’s danger.” Nana stopped talking and ran her hand over my head. A wave took my entire body downwards. I was more tired than I’d ever been in my entire life. My rage disappeared, taking all my energy with it. I yawned.
“Danger?” I asked, almost disinterested.
“Don’t worry. Magic will help look after you. Magic is special.”
My eyes got even heavier as Magic purred on top of me. My brain got foggier. “I don’t want to be a witch. I don’t want to go crazy,” I mumbled.
“You’re not crazy, Sydney, trust me. Right now, you need rest. Tomorrow when you wake up, you’re going to experience a lot of changes. I have to see your mom. I don’t know what I can tell you, yet. I have to talk to your mom first. We’ll talk more soon.”
She sighed so deeply, I felt the breeze of it touch my own soul. “Being a witch is not a bad thing, pumpkin. But it does make you, rather extraordinary. Humans don’t always accept us if they find out about us. And there are the Others.” She pursed her lips tightly, made a little noise of frustration. “You really should have been schooled on this. You have changes coming. I’ll go to your mom. Speak to her. I’ll be back tomorrow night with answers. Tomorrow, you go to school like you normally do because we don’t want to set off any alarms. But keep this secret. You can’t let anyone know you’re a witch. Not yet. Promise me.”
She gripped my hand hard and I nodded. My heart dipped. “Nana. I’m scared. I don’t understand.”
“I know, dear. And I’ll explain. I will. But first. First I have to talk to your mom. Promise me. Tell no one.”
I nodded.
Nana wiped a stream of wetness off my cheek. “I’m here for you. More than you know.” She tucked sheets and blankets around me, cocooning me into my mom’s bed. “Sleep here tonight,” she whispered in my ear.
She placed her hands over my eyes and I closed them again, relived to rest. She spoke again, leaning down and whispering in my ear. Her voice sounded lyrical, almost like a chant, and I didn’t understand what she was saying.
She placed her hand on my shoulder and I felt a warm sensation prickle under her fingers. It lingered for a moment and then disappeared. I moaned as Magic’s warm body pressed in close to my chest and gave in to unconsciousness.
If I’d known what was coming, I would have stayed sleeping for the rest of my life.
CHAPTER THREE
I opened my eyes, surprised for a moment to find myself curled up in my mom’s bed. Then as memories from the day before rushed my brain, I closed my eyes.
Cody clomped up the stairs. “Sydney,” he shouted.
“I’m in here.”
His footsteps moved down the hall to where I lay in Mom’s room. He opened the door, poking his head in. “What’re you doing in here?”
He didn’t wait for an answer but threw the cordless phone at the bed “It’s for you.”
I stared at the phone, but he left, closing the door behind him. I heard a Meow, and lifted my arm. Magic crawled out from under the covers, stretching.
I frowned and then picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Sydney?” a male voice said. “Hi. It’s me. Mike. Can I give you a ride to school today? Pick you up at your house?”
“No,” I shouted. I clicked the off button and threw the phone on the bed. Mike in the privacy of my own mind was one thing. Stupid crush. Officially over. If I had public contact with Mike it would unleash the rage of the Clickers on me, the most powerful group in high school. The Clickers usually leave me alone, which means they deny my existence, but this definitely spelled exception-ville. Messing with Jenny’s boyfriend, the leader of the Clickers. Um. Not allowed. I wasn’t sure if my friends would stand behind me or kick me to the curb.
The phone rang again. I yelped, and then picked it up before Cody.
“Hello?” I panted.
“Sydney? It’s Mike. I must have got cut off.” His cheery voice didn’t sound offended.
“Yes, I know. Sorry, there’s something wrong with our phone.” I clicked the phone off again and buried it under the pillow.
“Ahh,” I screamed. “Cody,” I shouted. “Don’t answer the phone.”
On cue it rang again. I knew Nana wouldn’t pick up. She always left early for work before Cody and I got up. I wondered if she’d already talked to Mom.
“They’re both crazy,” I muttered. No way my mom had powers. She was more ordinary than me.
Magic
meowed loudly. I stared at him. He looked back with his shrewd cat eyes.
“Leave me alone,” I ordered.
Magic dismissed me and began to lick his fur. The ringing under the pillow stopped. I tried to remember what I’d learned about mental illness in health class. Paranoia. Bonkers was arriving way before schedule. I jumped out of the warm bed onto the cold tile floor.
“I’m not crazy,” I said out loud. Magic leapt off the bed and disappeared out of Mom’s room.
My head throbbed and a strange cramp pierced my stomach.
The phone squawked to life again. I glanced around, panicking, and caught a reflection of myself in the mirror across the room. The ringing faded into the background. I crept closer. It was me in there, all right, me only better. My black hair shined, wavier. I leaned in closer. My skin looked flawless. Not one pimple on my usually spotty face. Instead of pale, as if I’d been in the hospital for months, my skin actually looked creamy as if I’d been airbrushed for a photo.
My stomach cramped up again and I hurried out of Mom’s bedroom into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I pulled down my pants to sit on the toilet. A big red spot stained the middle of my cotton underwear. White ones, of course. Perfect timing. My first period.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply so I wouldn’t pass out from the combination of pain and weirding out.
A rat-tat tat sounded on the door. Startled, I stood up and plopped down on the beige, squishy bath mat, my underwear still bunched at the bottom of my feet.
“What?” I cried, worried who would answer as I tried to get myself upright.
“Your boyfriend is here,” Cody called.
“Boyfriend?” my voice squeaked.
“Mike. He’s downstairs. You okay in there, Sydney?” Cody’s voice cracked.
“Fine, fine.” I stood and pulled up my pants mortified he even had an inkling of what was happening to me.
“I wish Mike would go away,” I whispered under my breath.
“Tell him I’m dead,” I called as I scanned the bathroom for a solution to my problem. I wondered if we had any girl stuff in the house.
“Yeah. Like that’s going to work with the super freak.”
“Well, tell him something. Tell him to go away.”
I checked the cupboards. Nothing.
He clomped down the stairs. I grabbed toilet paper and wrapped it around my hand until I had a thick sausage roll. I shoved it into my underwear. I’d have to deal with this too, on top of everything else.
I scrubbed my hands and face and opened the drawer beside the sink and pulled out an elastic and brush, pulling my hair up into a ponytail.
I stumbled down the hallway, to my room. Had I really wished I’d finally get my period? The way my head and stomach ached, I definitely could have waited another sixteen years.
“I’m leaving the house in ten minutes, and I’m not waiting for you if you’re late.” Cody shouted up the stairs.
I glanced at the clock. Shoot. Why wasn’t I born a morning person like Stevie, who would have had time to shower after the arrival of her period?
The clump of paper between my legs rubbed like diapers. I pulled out a clean pair of panties and transferred the stuffing and went to the closet to stare at my clothes. My jeans all fit tight; a big bulge of toilet paper would show. I thought about my new miniskirt and shuddered. What if my makeshift pad fell out of my panties? I reached to the top shelf and pulled down a pile of clothes. I inspected them as they plopped to the floor.
I picked up a plain white shirt and an old pair of jean overalls and pulled them on. I rubbed my necklace for luck as I slid into a pair of clunky sandals. I rushed back to the bathroom and threw some toothpaste on my toothbrush and circled my eyes with black eyeliner.
I glanced closer in the mirror. I resembled a farm girl in my overalls with my hair pulled back. The only thing remotely cool was the necklace around my neck. It didn’t help my nerves to worry about being expelled to the outskirts of loser-hood, without a group to call my own. Thank God, Stevie was my friend. Without her I’d be banished, especially if Mike talked to me at school. Jenny would be on the warpath.
I spit out toothpaste and bolted down the stairs before Cody left without me.
Cody was waiting. “You’re lucky. Mike left before I got to him.”
Magic meowed loudly from the bottom step.
Shoot. I haven’t even fed the cat, I thought.
“No worries. I fed him. I gotta admit, I kind of like this kitten,” Cody said. “He reminds me of Mom’s old cat. You remember don’t you? He was white, exactly like this guy. Same eyes too.”
I gave him a dirty look. He was listening to my thoughts, no matter what Nana’s said. I did not need him snooping around in my head on top of everything else. I glanced at Cody’s too handsome face. He had on freshly pressed jeans and a wrinkle free t-shirt. His hair was damp and slightly curly from his shower. He’d probably been up for an hour. I looked like a mess.
Magic purred.
I glanced down at him.
He looks exactly like Mom’s old cat, I thought.
Cody reached down to scoop Magic into his arms. Magic purred again.
“He does look like Mom’s old cat,” Cody said.
I burst into tears. My brother was reading my mind. How could things possibly get any worse?
CHAPTER FOUR
Cody rammed his car into a spot in the high school parking lot. He turned to me as he shut off the ignition. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Fine.” I grabbed my backpack from the floor by my feet without meeting his eyes. I tried not to think too hard, in case he tuned in.
He pulled his neatly organized backpack from the backseat. “Whatever, Sydney. I didn’t think turning sixteen meant you were going to become an even bigger freak.”
He got out of the car and slammed the door, waiting for me to climb out. Poor Cody. He kept his life in order and dealt with the chaos in our family by pretending nothing unusual was happening. He seemed to think that if he stayed active and fashionably unwrinkled, he could keep away the family crazies.
“You okay. Really?” His expression was impossible to read, but he sounded worried.
“I’m fine. Go away.”
“Sydney,” screeched a voice from behind me. ”What the heck are you wearing?”
I swiveled around as Stevie ran towards our car. She wore a short, frayed jean skirt with black fishnets. Her tank top barely held in her boobs. She jiggled as she hurried towards us, but her spiky black hair didn’t move an inch.
“Hi, Cody, you big jock.” She twirled around. “Hey. Is my butt hanging out of this skirt?” She feigned talking to me, but kept her eye on Cody. The skirt barely covered her rear end.
Cody definitely looked to see if it did, and then averted his eyes and pretended he hadn’t looked and walked away from us. “See you later, Lamesters,” he called.
Stevie watched him go.
“Yummy,” I heard her say.
I gawked at her. “Yummy? Stevie. That is gross.”
“What are you talking about?” Stevie asked, scowling at me.
“You just said Cody was yummy.”
“I did not.” She gave me a funny look and then tilted her head. Shoot. Was I reading her thoughts too?
“And what are you wearing? Overalls? Did we just land back in the 1990’s?”
“It’s a long story, Stevie. I got up late.”
She squinted at me. “You always get up late. But you usually manage to look a tiny bit cool. Wrinkly and in need of a good shower, but cool.” She gestured to my outfit. “Sorry sweetie, but outside of your necklace, this is not in any way a cool look.”
“I know,” I groaned.
Stevie shook her head then reached over and tore the sleeves on my t-shirt. She reached in her backpack, rummaged around for a minute and then pulled out a black marker. “I swear, Sydney. If I weren’t here to look after you, you’d be in serious trouble.”
I
didn’t answer but stood still as she scribbled on the back of my shirt.
“There,” she said, satisfied with her work. She spun me around and squiggled on the neckline of my shirt with her marker. “Now you can claim to be making a statement at least.”
I glanced down. She’d outlined my necklace and wrote something in French beside it.
I frowned, but a cramp pierced my stomach and a gush of grossness came from below.
“Oh. My God.” I squirmed and hurried after Stevie as she started towards the school.
“I got my period. I don’t even have anything to you know, use,” I whispered.
She stopped walking and burst into laughter. “Finally.”
My dirty look was meant to silence her.
“Sorry. Welcome to the horror.” She looked at me sideways and started moving. “Come to think of it, you do look a little different. Better. That’s weird. You’re supposed to look horrible and puffy with lots of zits. Your skin looks amazing. You’ve got wacky hormones.”
“I guess.” I glanced at her. “Did um, bizarre stuff happen to you when you got yours?”
Like most normal girls, Stevie got her period when she was 13.
“You mean cramps and headaches and cravings for massive amounts of carbohydrates? He is so cute.” Stevie waved across the parking lot to one of the seniors.
I didn’t bother looking. “Um. No. Like. Other things.” I wanted to tell her about the wish. About Cody reading my thoughts. The book in Mom’s room. But I’d promised Nana I wouldn’t say a thing.
Stevie shrugged. “Not really. I barely notice when I get mine. I’m lucky. Do you need tampons? I have some in my locker.”
I looked around to make sure no one was listening to us. “I don’t even know how to use a tampon.” Magic wasn’t going to help me with that. Was it?
Stevie giggled. “Yeah. I should have guessed. Your Nana wouldn’t exactly be using tampons would she? And your mom is about as much help as my mom these days.” She stopped smiling. “Sorry. Your Mom’s um. Sick. She didn’t ditch you by choice like mine with her whole fleeing to another country thing.”
Wish Page 3
