Spell Book & Scandal

Chapter One

"Did you hear that Miah and Becca broke up again?" Kels says, drawing me closer to her.

I glance over my shoulder, but neither of them is at the bus stop yet. Trying to play it cool, I force myself to shrug. "They've broken up, like, fifteen times in the last year, but they always get back together."

Kels raises her eyebrows. "But maybe this time they won't, especially if Jeremiah finds somebody new before Becs get her claws back into him."

My face heats up at the thought of Jeremiah Smallwood's arm linked through mine, the way Kelsey's is now, and she grins, reading my thoughts. "I don't think he even knows who I am," I admit quietly, trying to ignore the bubble of excitement that's pulsing in my stomach.

"Shelby, come on. He kissed you in fourth grade; I don't think a person can forget a thing like that."

I snort. "One, that was fourth grade. This is tenth grade. People change. Two," I add quickly when I see that she wants to argue, "he's almost as good a caster as she is," I jerk my head in my sister's direction. "What would he want with a dried-up scribe like me?"

The yellow school bus pulls up to the curb before Kelsey can say anything, and I'm grateful. As much as I love Kels's optimism, there's really no way she can spin my lack of abilities that makes me look worthwhile to anyone, let alone a star caster like Miah. Shaking my arm loose from hers, I head up the steps to the bus and back to our familiar seat, three-quarters of the way down the aisle. Kelsey follows me, and we both pretend not to know Christina when she breezes by, heading for the back of the bus with her friends.

There's a mix of kids on our bus, even though our neighborhood is almost exclusively filled with magical families. One of the normies smiles at me as she takes a seat across the aisle, and I force myself to smile back. It's a new year, and I'm ready for a new start. If Kelsey notices, she doesn't let on, just whips out her phone and starts scrolling through pictures, showing me a crystal ball she found in a shop downtown that she really wants to get. Kels is a caster, like Christina, but she's nowhere near as powerful. Somehow, that doesn't seem to bother her; I think she's more interested in the props and trappings of magic than in the actual spells, but at least she knows she can cast if she has to; I can barely muster up enough magic to test the crappy spells I write, and even then, I rarely manage to get the results I'd hoped for. Christina won't touch my spells with a ten-foot pole, and even though Kels loves me, the couple of times she used my spells backfired so spectacularly that she never offered again. At this rate, no one will want me to scribe for them, and I'll have to get some kind of bizarre job like a normie, working in a cubicle or something. Kels is still talking, but I'm only half-listening to her; I keep looking out the window for Miah, but the bus pulls away from the curb before he shows up, and I try to fight my disappointment. Turning to Kelsey, I refocus my attention on her, trying not to think about Miah, my sister, or magic in general.

By the time the bus drops us off at school, I've almost forgotten the way my family reacted to my outfit that morning, but when I walk into homeroom and the teacher who's calling roll does a double take when I raise my hand, I feel my spirits start to sink again. Why did I think I could make a fresh start? Half my teachers have probably had my sister, and it's not like she's ever gone out of her way to hide her status as a caster. I slither down in my seat, but the teacher doesn't say anything, and although I hear a few of the normies around me whispering, I can't be sure they're talking about me. Then again, I can't be sure they aren't talking about me, either, and I start picking at my cuticles under my desk. When Becca saunters in right at the end of the period, a black ribbon tied around her neck, draped in a sparkling indigo tunic, I sink even lower in my chair. She glances at me, and her lips curl up into a cruel smile. Sitting down beside me, she leans over conspiratorially.

"Shelby, I'm so glad you're finally being true to yourself. It takes a lot of courage to admit that you're worthless."

My fingers curl into fists under my desk, but whereas Christina could rub Becca's annoying little nose in something nasty with just a few words and the flick of her wrist, I can't do anything to her. As a rule, scribes aren't as strong as casters, but most scribes would have enough magic to put another scribe in her place. Not me. Based on the smirk on her face, she knows it.

The only weapon I have is my words. I smile at her sweetly, forcing myself to sound calmly disinterested. "I thought you'd appreciate it, considering."

Becca raises an eyebrow. "Considering what?"

I widen my eyes innocently. "Why, since you're not strong enough to scribe for Jeremiah. It must have taken a lot of guts to admit your failings, especially since I know you guys are...were close."

She narrows her eyes. "Who told you I can't scribe for him?"

I shrug. "I heard it around." Pushing my luck, I place my hand on her shoulder in a gesture of fake sympathy. "I'm sure he won't replace you immediately...although a caster like him can't be without a scribe for long."

Becca flushes for an instant, but then she regains her composure and shrugs away from my touch. "At least I can scribe," she says, her voice raising slightly. "What a shame for your parents to have a defect like you."

My vision clouds, and I want to pummel her into the ground, but I can't do anything. I'm frozen by her words; mean as they are, she's echoing things I've thought more than once, and if Jeremiah is her weak spot, then my family is mine, and she knows it. I open my mouth, trying to think of a comeback, but Becca just smiles and stands up as the bell rings. "See you around, Shelby."

I watch herwalk away, alternately fuming and fighting back tears, but then she stops atthe door and glances back at me. "Oh, by the way," she says, her smile toxic,"pink is a really good color on you."

***

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