Playing with Fire #1 ✔

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐 - 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

"The bad," I told her as we started walking into school.

"Okay, so the bad news is that my palmistry skills aren't improving..." She shrugged and twisted her mouth wistfully.

"Maybe you need to study more hands than just mine and Al's?" I suggested and flashed a sideways glance at her.

"Nah," she shook her head, scraping the toe of her Doc Martins along the concrete floor as we hovered near one of the rusty gates into school. "They'd think I'm crazy."

"They already do," I indicated, not unkindly though.

"Anyway," Wednesday brushed me off to continue, "The good news is that I heard an American transfer student is joining our year!"

Rolling my eyes, I groaned, "Well I have three kinds of news — the good, the bad, and the ugly — on your good news."

"Go on..." Her hazel eyes widened in anticipation and interest, as she tucked her hair behind both her ears.

"The good — he's a he, and I feel like he's probably joining our form. The bad — I had a breakdown in front of him yesterday." I scanned around for a piece of 'ugly' news before my eyes landed on him. My voice turned slightly sour as I told Wednesday, "The ugly — he's standing right over there."

"Were you wary of him?" She blurted out straight away, barely even glancing over at Theo.

"I tried," I squeaked out. "Look, there's something... off about him."

"No shit," Al sauntered over, having somehow eavesdropped on our entire conversation, even though she was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, Al," I rushed, "What do you think it is?"

Wednesday answered instead, narrowing her eyes at Al, "Well first off, he's gorgeous, that's what's wrong about him. As far as I can see, at least. What is it with American guys being so much fitter than British guys?"

Al bristled at this, turning on her heel instantly and stalking off without another word.

"What the hell was that about?" It was my turn to widen my eyes.

While Al was only attracted to female spirits, Wednesday found attraction in all beings. Al claimed that she could only love female spirits, as nature is innately feminine — or something along those lines. Wednesday vehemently rejects societal constructs of attraction based on binary genders, but she still identified as female herself. Which I think is partly due to Al.

In non-spiritual mumbo jumbo, Al's a lesbian and Wednesday's pansexual. They're both out, and pretty much everyone accepts them. I mean, there was always the threat of me and my... anger issues if anyone dared be homophobic to them.

Yet that little conflict between them right there felt like more than just a disagreement over Theo's good looks, which should hardly be an argument point at all.

"I don't know." Wednesday lied; her eyes searching the grey sky for answers — a futile effort since there were no stars out. Then she snapped her head back down to normal, "We've got incoming — 12 o'clock."

Theo was striding over to us, a casual saunter in his step despite how he looked a little uncomfortable in Challis High's compulsory school uniform, with the freshly-ironed white shirt collar and dark purple and yellow tie close around his neck. I thought with a little smile about how I had permission to wear my top button undone and my tie a little looser — for 'medical' reasons. I had a slip to prove it and everything. Thanks, Mother.

Wednesday got her dad to do something similar so that she could fully embrace every notion and inkling she got about another realm, or something like that.