Lovesick Witches

Re-encountering Ethel

"Watch it losers," Ethel snapped as we crashed into her again whilst stumbling our way through the busy corridor. 

"Excuse me?" said Enid in disgust. 

"I said watch it!" repeated Ethel. "You four are the worst." She looked at Mildred, Enid, Maud, then me, with raised brows before rolling her eyes. 

"You are the worst, Ethel," said Mildred. "At least we actually have friends." 

"I have Felicity," Ethel said. 

"You don't even like Felicity!" I said, enraged by Ethel's rudeness. 

"I do," she responded, unconvincingly. 

"You're just using her to get what you want," said Maud. "You make friends with people when you need something from them. And when you get what it is you want, you just get rid of that person. You treat people like objects, Ethel. Like you can just throw them around and carelessly manipulate them, using them to your advantage." 

"Oh," I said suddenly, "it's for that plan of yours, isn't it, Ethel?" 

"What plan?" Ethel said, spitefully. 

"You know what plan," I replied in anger. "The plan to become HB's favourite student. Ending my study sessions with her." 

"Oh. Yeah. That plan," Ethel said in agreement, her lack of denial surprising me. 

"How is that plan working out for you, Ethel?" asked Enid sarcastically. 

"Very well, actually," Ethel replied, a smug look painting across her face. 

"What do you mean?" I asked, alarmed. "You obviously haven't succeeded. HB still hates you." 

"Maybe," Ethel agreed before her eyes shot at mine. "But at least I've managed to get you out of the picture." 

I blinked and turned away. I didn't understand what she was talking about. I broke up with Hecate on my own accord. And I did it before Ethel could. I'd stopped Ethel's plan to break us up by breaking us up myself. Ethel hadn't managed to do anything. Had she? 

"I got what I wanted," Ethel said as the corners of her mouth upturned. "I ended your study sessions with HB." 

"No you didn't," I said. "I stopped the study sessions." 

Ethel let out a burst of laughter as the four of us stood in silent confusion as to what was so funny. 

"Anastasia Willow," she said, her giggles dying down a little. "I massively overestimated your intelligence. I mean, not that I expected much in the first place." 

I stayed silent, waiting for her to elaborate. 

"Well, I wanted to stop your study sessions with Miss Hardbroom. But there was no way I could go through HB. She is far too intelligent. So I had to make you stop the study sessions instead." 

"But you didn't-" I started to protest, Ethel interrupting me. 

"Remember that one lunch time? You four pea-brains were sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch together, Ana in another one of her silly daydreams. And I walked past your table with Felicity." 

"I do remember that," I said, recalling the situation. "But I didn't think you noticed me sitting there." 

"And that is where you are wrong, Ana. Can you remember what it was that I told Felicity as we walked by? I know you know. You are an expert eavesdropper." 

I continued to think, trying hard to remember what it was Ethel had said. 

"You said," I started, after remembering what she told Felicity, "that Miss Hardbroom hated me. You said that I was nothing compared to her. You didn't know how she would ever be able to like me." 

"I mean," Ethel said, "not my exact words, but yeah, close enough." 

"So you mean," I exclaimed, shocked, "you said that on purpose? You knew I was listening so you tried to make me believe that Miss Hardbroom hated me?" 

"Ding ding," said Ethel with more giggles. "Good job detective Ana! It only took you a few months to figure it out. And an end to your study sessions. I couldn't let you know that I was getting you to end the sessions with her. You are far too stubborn. I wouldn't have had a chance of persuading you to end them. So, I did it without you even realising what I was doing. What can I say? I'm Ethel Hallow. I always get what I want." 

Holy shit. How had I been so dumb? So blind? I thought that everything I had done was by my own terms. But thinking back to that time at lunch, that was exactly when I decided to break up with Hecate! 

Ethel had won. She thought that subconsciously feeding the fact that Hecate didn't like me into my mind would make me begin to not like her either. She wanted to make me dislike Hecate, and so, making me break up with her. 

What Ethel actually did, was the total opposite! She made me further believe that Hecate could never be in love with me. Making my feeling of unrequited love even stronger and therefore wanting to protect myself from heartbreak. 

So despite Ethel not knowing how she managed to make me break up with Hecate, she still succeeded. 

I knew Ethel was smart. I knew she would find a way of breaking us apart from each other. Whether she realised what she was doing or not, she got what she wanted. I'd fallen into her trap and given her what she wanted. 

If I'd just realised that I had been influenced by Ethel's plan, I wondered how much of what I believed was really true. And how much of it was a lie in which I had created for myself, allowing other people to confirm it for me.