Harrowed

Chapter Fifteen

I woke up nervous. 

I had skipped breakfast because my nerves wouldn't let me have an appetite. It seemed like everything I did took double the time it should have. I was definitely going to be late for school today. Except, I couldn't -- if I was, my mom was going to ground me. Even if I had been good lately, I knew just one offense would put me back on the grounded list. I couldn't have that. This weekend, Robert wanted to meet the others. How embarrassing if I had to cancel on him because my mom grounded me.

The very thought made me outwardly grimace. Although, that might be a better excuse than telling Robert the truth. That no one was going to show up because no one knew. It was Wednesday and I still hadn't invited any of my friends to meet Robert -- my boyfriend. It still sounded weird calling him that. 

"When are you going to be ready, I have a test this morning," Dara peaked her head in my room. I was still wearing my pajamas. "You've got to be kidding me," she groaned.

"I'll be ready in five minutes, okay?" I yelled as she slammed my bedroom door shut. If I wasn't ready soon, she would leave without me. I knew she was thinking of doing it now, but my mom wouldn't let her.

I heard them arguing about it downstairs. 

I spent the next five minutes throwing random clothes on. It helped that ninety-nine percent of my wardrobe was black. As I passed a mirror, I saw I was wearing a black sweater and black jeans with red Doc Martin's. It was acceptable enough to wear to school. I wasn't wearing any makeup, but maybe I could put someone while Dara drove.

Grabbing my bag, I flew down the stairs, hoping I hadn't missed Dara. I found her sitting in the driver's seat in my car. I didn't say anything and started to do my make up. Once Dara started driving, I quickly realized this was a bad idea. Dara's driving was so erratic there was no way I was going to be able to do a wing-eye liner today. It wasn't happening. 

When Dara parked I was almost afraid to look at myself in the mirror. My face make up was a little streaking, which I could easily fix. My mascara was clumpy and my eyes were bloodshot. I left things as they were. My phone told me I had about thirty seconds to run into my first class or my mom was going to know I was late. She had it set up that the teachers called her if I was late. It was annoying to be held accountable. 

Thankfully, I made it just as the teacher was closing the door. She took pity on me and let me in without calling my mom. My face was beet red as I walked with my head down to my desk. I spent the rest of the period chewing on the tips of my nails. 

By the time I got to lunch, my nerves were getting the best of me. I almost didn't get food, my stomach was filled with knots I couldn't untangle. Instead, I tried to get a grip and went through the line for food. I got a salad and a cup of Tomato Basil Soup. Finally, the three of us went to our table where we found Mir, Ivelyn, and Kate. They were deep into a conversation, but when they saw us they stopped talking. Mir was first to smile. 

"Oh, hey! We were just talking about how the plan is going," Ivelyn lifted her eyebrows. She was referring to our plan to get other Witches on our side. I still needed to tell my mom, but I was hoping to avoid that conversation until I had to.  

But that wasn't what I first noticed about Ivelyn. I saw Crimson, her black widow Familiar, dancing on her hand. It looked like a ring until it moved. My eyes bulged at the sight. What was she doing, bringing a talking poisonous spider to school? Didn't she know any better? She caught me staring and tucked Crimson behind her ear. In Ivelyn's black hair, Crimson was almost undetectable. 

Keyword: almost. 

"What about the plan to not get us exposed?" I hissed between my clenched teeth. I slid my tray in front of me as I sat down quickly, hoping to not draw any further attention to our table. Erik had a similar expression as he sat down next to me. Ads looked a bit awkward as she slowly sat to my left.