The Witch Among Humans

Chapter 32: The Recovery

"Ahh!" Luz shot up from her bed. She took a second to register what was going on, before realizing she had woken up from another bad dream.

She sighed: that was the third time in the last week, since Grom. Grom... man, what a weird coincidence.

Luz laid back under her covers, hoping to get some sleep. Based on the last two nights with bad dreams, it wasn't likely.

---

"Hey, Augustus!" A voice called from the classroom. Gus turned around, surprised to see Cat walking to him. "I have a question for you!"

"Um... yeah?" Gus asked. 

Cat brushed her brown, wavy hair back from her face. "It's about the project in Radio/TV. I heard you're focusing on small healthcare places... or something similar. I still need a group to join, if yours isn't full. 

He didn't expect a member of Boscha's friend group to need something from him. "U-Um, sure. Why though?"

"My uncle's a doctor. I have a bit of pre-project knowledge."

"Oh. Alright, then."

"See you in class tomorrow." And with that, Cat was already walking away, not looking completely disgusted.

Gus didn't visibly react at first. Then, he let out a breath he was holding in, and smiled.

He told Willow about it during lunch, who dropped her sandwich after hearing it.

"Isn't Cat friends with Boscha?" Willow asked. Gus immediately shrunk a bit into his seat.

"... maybe."

He waited for the lecture on talking to a bully, or to make sure he wasn't getting conned for the sake of a good grade. Surprisingly, none of that happened.

"I wish I could see the look on her face."

Gus looked at her. "What?"

"Y'know, when she realizes that one of her closest friends wants to work with the guy two years younger."

After an awkward moment, they both started laughing. Some of their peers looked at them in a weird way.

After talking for a few more minutes, Gus decided to ask about something he noticed at the start of lunch. "Hey, where's Luz? Is she not hungry?'

"Actually, yes. She wasn't feeling to well, so she wanted to get some fresh air." Willow played with her food. "I thought she would be back after a few minutes. I don't want to pry, but-"

"That's not like her. We've had to share, like, 30 percent of our lunches with her."

"I know."

Near the end of lunch, they started feeling really worried for Luz, since she hadn't returned. They resolved to go find her before their next classes started. 

On the way out of the lunchroom, a familiar face stopped Willow.

"Um, hey." Amity lifted her hand like she was going to wave, before putting it back down.

Willow awkwardly responded. "Hi."

The two of them stood still, struggling to look each other in the eye. Gus wanted to say something, but felt like he would be intruding.

Amity sighed. "Do you- Do you have some time after school? I... need to talk to you about something."

Willow looked down as if she were considering it. Honestly, she just didn't want to say yes at first. But this was the second time Amity had tried to talk to her. The last time, she just walked away before saying anything.