Chapter five
They’re having a circle tonight. Father and I will join our powers and scry to see it. Know you enemy, he says. I don’t really think of them as an enemy, though; they’re just witches that need help to find the right path again. I will be there to give them that help, at my father’s side.
- Shiven
I woke up in an unusually good mood on Thursday morning. I swung my legs out of bed, riffled through my draws for a fresh uniform, took it down stairs and ironed it, ate a healthy breakfast of wheat bix with banana, downed some juice, braided my hair at the back of my head, brushed my teeth and left the house feeling light as a cloud. I practically glided to school, and my face split into a smile when I saw Luce waiting for me at the gate. “Hey- ah! Eeww” I said, as a bird crapped right onto my shoulder. Luce, in true best friend fashion, started laughing like a mad woman. “Oh it’s so funny.” I said sarcastically, thinking is this my reward for getting to school on time?
“They say its lucky, y’know” said luce, trying to keep a straight face as I wiped at the crap with a piece of paper towel in the bathroom five minutes later. “More like unlucky.” I muttered darkly. I’m not superstitious or anything but it seemed like lately I was having ten peoples share of bad luck all for myself. The bell rang five minutes later and I was glad I had English first, a subject I actually liked. A double period of science and one period of geography later, I was sitting in sixth period maths wondering what could happen if I simply threw in the towel, told Mrs Leaver she could- “May? What would X be?” oh crap. Crappedy crap crap.
“Um… fifteen?” I hazarded a guess.
“No. and if you were listening, you would have known that the correct answer is seventeen.” Well I was pretty damn close for a random guess. Luce kicked me under the table. I didn’t have to look at her to know what she was thinking “What a bitch.”
The wind had picked up as I walked home. I shivered and folded my arms over my chest; naturally, I hadn’t brought a jumper. I thought about going out with Aiden again tonight, he hadn’t said where he was taking me. It struck me again that I still didn’t know his last name. He’d kissed me again last night, just quickly before I pulled away, I mean, I had only know him four days, a girl has to have standards. I pushed open the front gate and speed walked to the front door, eager to get out of the wind. I followed my usual afternoon routine: unpack dishwasher, make tea, do homework. I was just finishing my essay when I heard Nan arrive home. I packed away my things and went downstairs to help her with dinner. We were having chicken schnitzel and salad , so I offered to chop the salad, rather than dip the raw chicken in egg and whatever else. Nan talked a little about her friend Joan (her surgery went well and she was recovering quickly) and she asked me what I was doing at school, so I told her about my essay and the mathematical properties of the Egyptian pyramids. We ate dinner a little later than normal, at seven and then I went upstairs to get ready for whatever Aiden had planned for tonight… but what did he have planned for tonight? It wasn’t at his house, surely. I mean, he didn’t think… he didn’t expect… no. I told myself firmly, he knew we were still only getting to know each other. I only met him on Monday, for god sake! The thought was laughable. Feeling relieved, I had a quick shower, washing my hair and then slid into grey skinny jeans and a light blue stretchy top, leaving my long, wet hair hanging down my back. I told Nan I was going out again and that I wouldn’t be late and she rose her eye brows at me – the third time I was going out this week- but nodded an okay and I stepped out into the cool night air to wait for Aiden. When he finally arrived twenty minutes later than he said he’d be, we set off in his fancy car. We had a light conversation about my attending a private school, and how different he said it sounded from his old school, which had been public. “Which school did you go to, anyway?” I asked and he suddenly looked like he had said something he regretted deeply, but before I could think about what that may have meant, I was suddenly overcome with the same light, calm, carefree feeling I usually had in his presence. “So where are we going?” I asked, unable to think of what could possibly be so special when he was driving down a road I knew lead only to the bush reserve and a petrol station, after that it joined a freeway leading out of town, with the nearest town being at least forty-five minutes away. “Some people I know want to meet you.” He said, puzzled, I said
