Spell Book & Scandal

Chapter Twenty

Mom is quiet on the drive home, and I ride in the back seat, stretched out across the upholstery like a corpse. My head is spinning, but my body has calmed down. My brain, however, is reeling, and I feel equal parts humiliated and horrified. What will Christina say when I tell her I barfed in front of all those people?

There was stunned silence right as I was sick, but after a moment, lots of people laughed. I heard the means girls making gagging noises, and a couple of the adults turned green, but the worst was Becca's mom. Mrs. McClure looked like she'd won the lottery, despite the sheen of sweat on her forehead when she caught a whiff of the mess. It was like she was glad to see my sister fail so spectacularly.

I press my head against the cool glass of the car window and squeeze my eyes shut, but the awful scene keeps replaying in my brain. I need to get back in my own body now, before I make an even bigger fool of myself. If I'm such a mess, what if Christina is even worse as me? A shudder passes through me at the idea, and Mom's voice cuts into my misery.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I groan softly. "I'm sick, Mom."

"Are you sick, or stressed?"

I keep my face turned away she won't see the tears that are suddenly threatening to fall. "Both, I guess."

She exhales slowly. "I know it feels like your father and I are putting an awful lot of pressure on you, Christina, but the Threes are important. You only get one chance to prove yourself to your future coven."

Since my own test is still a couple of years away, I haven't really given the coven selection much thought, but I'm curious. I lift my head off the window and glance at Mom, trying to make out her features in the dark car. "What will it be like?"

"The test?"

I shake my head. "The coven. How will I choose?"

Her lips purse together, and for a minute, I'm afraid I've asked the wrong question. Have she and Christina already talked about all this? But Mom doesn't seem suspicious, just like she's choosing her words carefully. "Based on your performance for your Threes, you'll receive one or more invitations for a coven." She glances at me and smiles. "I'm actually sure you'll be invited to join all four."

My heart thumps, but then I remind myself it's Christina she thinks she's talking to, not me. I'll never be in that high of a demand, even if I am starting to be able to scribe. Just the fact that I'll be taking the test on my own, instead of scribing for my sister at hers, means I'm already a verified reject. The only scribes who have to take their own exam are the ones no caster wants, and even though I've never heard of anyone, scribe or caster, not making it into one of the covens, I can't help the fear that I may be the one to make history, rejected by everyone. I swallow these feelings and try to keep my expression neutral. "So how do I pick?"

"You've always talked about Henbane. Are you having second thoughts now?"

Slowly, I shake my head. "You and Dad are happy there, right?"

Once again, Mom looks troubled, but her expression relaxes so fast I'm sure I imagined it. "It's the best coven for us," she says, looking at me before she turns the car onto our street. "But you need to make your own decisions."

I draw in a deep breath. "What's it like, in the coven? Is it like a sorority?"

Mom chuckles. "Sometimes. I did live with some other members when I was in college. In some ways, it's like having a huge extended family, with all the good and bad that comes with it. There are always people who love you and who will accept you for whoever you are, but there are also always plenty of people who know more about you than you might want them to know, and the only thing that makes you feel like they won't share your secrets is the fact that you know some of theirs, too."