Whispering Tempest

Chapter Ten - Long, Awkward and Weird

Chapter Ten – Long, Awkward and Weird

“The circle,” I say hesitantly. After making a note, Trevor places the Zener card onto the guessed pile and picks up a fresh one. “…Wavy lines?”

“And the last one?”

“Uh,” I rack my mind hoping to get some sort of clue. Even though Trevor said the answers would just come to me, all I’ve drawn from my thoughts so far have been blanks.  “Circle again?”

Trevor finishes writing down his notes and I’m left on the couch tired of guessing shapes on cards. Twenty-five cards in a deck of five different cards in which there are five cards each. Then there are the percentages of actually getting them right which have to be tallied up. And this is the fourth test we did today.

“I fucking hate math,” I mumble into the pillow.

“You did a little better this time,” says Trevor attempting to cheer me up. I groan into the couch cushion but lift my head up again for round five. Even though I am putting effort into this, I get the same results as my first horrible test. My flip-flops slap on the floor as I march frustratingly into the kitchen refusing to do anymore. My refrigerator is opened roughly to reveal nothing in particular that I want. Trevor follows me after putting the Zener cards away and takes a seat at the stools around the kitchen’s island.

“I don’t get why this will help,” I spit at him. “The amber is blocking my powers anyway.”

All this guessing has put me in a foul mood. I’m tempted to rip my new amber charm bracelet off but it stays on my wrist. The Emerald was furious to learn I had given it away but I wasn’t going to play take-backsies with my best friend. She eventually gave up and handed me one with an eagle on it instead of the butterfly. It suits me more.

“You’re supposed to be channeling your power through the stone, not guessing at cards.”

I place a jug of ice tea heatedly on the counter and grab two glasses from the cabinets. It’s not long until I’m downing my tea faster than Trevor picks his up. My empty glass put is thumped and my face follows suit. Can I quit being a witch now?!

“No, you can’t,” Trevor replies to me. With my head down, I blindly find the napkins in the center of the table and throw a few at my mentor. The Emerald said if I wanted to study at home I’d have to have someone with me. And out of the many witches I know, guess who I am stuck with?

“I thought you said you weren’t going to read my mind. That was the deal, remember?”

Trevor takes the napkins on the table and folds them up into a neat pile. He clearly is getting as frustrated as I am. We sit with only the kids playing in my neighbor’s yard to break the silence. Trevor takes another sip of his tea.

“Maybe we’ll call it a day,” he says after clearing his throat. “Or at least take a break an hour or longer. You’re mentally drained and that’s probably why you can’t focus.”

“That and I’m Miss Grumpy today.”

“Yeah, a negative attitude can be one of the factors,” he chuckles at me. My head pops up at his clever-sounding remark and I look into his brown eyes. I’m using every single ounce of my channeling to keep my emotions in check which is probably why I’m not getting the cards right. Wiping my face with my hands and tweaking with my septum ring, I decide to employ my emergency protocol with Katie.

She and I have a system for which I am super grateful for. Katie knows I have self-esteem issues. Knowing Trevor was coming over and that I’m crushing on him hard, she and Xander are only minutes away from my house today. Taking out my phone and texting her, I signal an A.N.N. (Assistance Needed Now). It takes them all of two minutes to get to my house. The doorbell rings before Trevor is done with his tea and Katie plows me with a hug before I can greet her hello.