I woke up to find Amber gone, and my room covered in a blanket of frost. I'd quickly gotten rid of it, but it left me feeling unsettled.
The last time I had woken up to frost in my room had been the night after Madam Mara first visited. I'd been worried about what was going to happen now and why mom had been so freaked out.
But that didn't explain why it was happening now.
I scrolled through the town's online newspaper, while walking down the stairs.
I wonder if they had already made an article on Madam Mara's death, and if it was up yet. Would Amber be on the case?
Amber was working with the newspaper. Had been since she was fourteen. She was amazing at it too, her dream job was to become a journalist.
I stopped scrolling. My heart dropped. I hadn't expected it to be out so soon. My thumb hovered over the article.
Town Protector Dead
I sucked in air, trying to fill my lungs. I fell against the wall with a soft thump! As I slid down the wall, I tapped open the article.
Town Protector Dead
By Amber Lee
I shouldn't be surprised. She'd known so soon and had come over here to comfort me... and yet, it still punched me in the gut.
Was the only reason she came over because of this?
The town protector, Madam Mara, was found murdered in her own house.
The cops are unwilling to speak with the press about it. But there is some information that was gathered.
Lumi Fay was the one who found Madam Mara dead. Not much information was gathered from here, except that she blames herself for unknown reasons.
Madam Mara's funeral will be held this Saturday at 12:00 pm at the Roseborn Church. Afterwards the new protector ceremony will take place.
I'd told Amber that I blamed myself, and she had told me it wasn't my fault. So why did she write that? I should be glad that she didn't write anything else that we talked about but... she betrayed my trust. Didn't she?
I let out a sigh as I realized I would have to talk to her about this.
I exit out of the app and make my way downstairs. When I hit the last step, voices float towards me from the kitchen.
"What are we supposed to do? She can't miss anymore school."
"I know that! But doesn't she need to grieve?"
It's Mom and Dad fighting.
"Yes, she does. But once she becomes the protector, she's going to have a lot on her plate!" Mom says. I peek around the corner and see her standing across from Dad.
"So then shouldn't she get a few days off?"
"I don't know!" Mom runs a hand through her hair. "Last time someone died we gave her a whole month off! We can't do that again Tim!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
That's my cue to walk in. I walk over to the fridge and peer in. "I have a test on Tuesday I can't miss," I say, as I pull the jug of chocolate milk out and walk over to the cabinet to get a glass.
"Lumi, hi dear. How are you doing?" Mom asks softly, eyeing my dad.
"I'm okay," I answer.
"Are you sure?" Dad questions. He's rubbing his hands together and glancing between me and Mom.
"Mhm," I confirm, as I pour the milk.
"You only want to miss one day?" Mom asks.
"Sure. Like you said, I'm going to have a lot on my plate here soon."
Mom eyes Dad.
"Honey, are you sure you're okay with this?" Dad asks.
I slam my glass down. The chocolate milk swishes up to the rim but doesn't fly out. "I'm sure Dad."
"Oh, okay. Do you want to curl up and watch some movies?" he asks, jabbing a thumb towards the living room.
I know he's trying to act like everything is fine and like the most important person in my life didn't just die, but it's not helping. "I'd really rather just study," I tell him.
"Honey, talk to us," Mom pleads.
"Mom. I have to study for this test."
"You can't just push us away because of this," she protests.
I chug the rest of my milk. "Mom. Please, just leave me alone," I plead. Why can't they see I need to be left alone? Why can't they just stop asking me all these questions?
She sighs and shares a look with Dad. "Alright. But we'll be in the living room if you need us."
"Thank you," I say.
They nod and leave the kitchen. Before the silence can close in around me, I rinse my cup out and head back up to my room.
I get that they're just trying to help, but right now all I want is to be left alone.
The article doesn't sit right with me. Why would Amber write that without telling me? She always tells me about her articles before she publishes them. Why was this time different? Was it because it had to do with Madam Mara? Did she not want to upset me?
I walk over to my bed and crawl under my now cold blankets. Pulling my phone out, I navigate to text messages and open up my conversation with Amber.
I start to type: Why didn't you
I stop. Should I come right out and ask why?
I delete the message. My thumbs hover over the screen. I wave them above it as I contemplate what to write.
After five minutes I give up and toss my phone to the end of the bed.
Why does life need to get so messed up now? Everything was going fine before. I was doing well at my training, my friendship was good. Schools okay, I can't expect much from that.
I sigh and bury my face in my pillow. I try so hard to get the tears flowing, thinking of every embarrassing thing I've done, or anytime someone has gotten mad at me, but I'm as dry as an empty well.
Why? Just why can't I cry?
I sit up and look around my room. There's nothing here that has anything to do with Madam Mara, except for some spell books, and witch history books, but those aren't a piece of Madam Mara. They're a piece of her training.
The books sit on my desk, along with my laptop, math book and my pencil holder. Beside my desk is my bookshelf. I wish I could say it didn't look so sad, but that would be a lie. Only the bottom three shelves have books, the rest all have knick-knacks or pictures, or just random stuff that I need to go through.
Maybe that's what I should do. Organize my room. It would get my mind off... everything.
I sigh and flop back onto my bed. That would take motivation I don't have.
I grab my math book and start the studying I'd said I was going to do. It can take my mind off everything.
I hope Madam Mara wouldn't be disappointed in me with how I'm handling this.
***
I lean my head against the headrest as I reach up to draw a sad face in the fogged up window. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mom watching with a grimace.
She turns back to the road as she asks, "Are you sure you want to go today?"
I sigh and turn my head to face her. The soft fabric of the headrest is lulling me back to sleep. "I'm sure Mom."
She drums her fingers on the steering wheel as we stop at a red light. "You can always call and leave early if you need to, or you can leave when you're done with the test," she tells me.
"I'll be fine Mom."
The car jerks as the light turns green. "Promise me you won't force yourself to stay all day?"
I sigh. "I promise Mom."
"Good." She turns the blinker on and that little beeping sound fills the car.
As we pull up to the big brown brick building, students are milling around outside laughing, pushing each other, and playing on their phones. My stomach begins to feel funny, and something vile rushes up my throat.
This was a bad idea.
But I can't back out of it, or else Mom will be way too pleased.
I unbuckle and grab my bag. "Thanks for the ride. Love you," I say, opening the door.
"Call if you need to come home!" Mom calls after me.
"Will do," I say before slamming the door closed.
I turn and face the school. Taking a deep breath I start walking.
I keep my head down, but it doesn't stop the feeling of a thousand eyes watching me. I'm sure by now everyone has read the article and have pieced it together that I'm a witch.
I take the steps one at a time, and as I'm also at the top I hear a door slam and then, "Lumi!"
I turn. It's Amber, and she's heading right for me.
My breath quickens. I turn and dash into the school.
I'm not ready to talk to her about it. I need more time. Maybe after my math test?
"Lumi!" she calls again.
I swing around a corner and crash into something soft but hard. Hands wrap around my arms.
"Careful there Lumi."
I look up into sky blue eyes. "Fox." It seems to be the only word not stuck in my throat.
"Where are you off to running like that?"
"Math."
He removes his hands from my arms and runs a hand over his head. His black hair is buzzed cut.
"Math that exciting?"
"No but-"
"Lumi!" Amber's voice calls again.
"That sounds like-" he starts, looking over my head.
"Sorry! Gotta run!" I call, already passing him.
"Wait! Lumi!"
But I don't stop. Not until I'm hiding in the library, in the back corner. I don't think Amber will look for me here. She's not a fan of the library. She says it's where all the geeks hangout, and that the librarian is a creep.
I settle into an uncomfortable corner between two bookshelves in the history section. All the books have a layer of dust sitting on them and the spines are cracked, with the wording is peeling off. I turn my head up to look at the roof. It's splotched an ugly yellow color.
All I need is two minutes by myself. Is that too much to ask for?
Sadly it is.
"Found you!" A voice cries.
But it's not Amber's voice. It's Fox's.
"You... came after me?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"Why?" I ask. He shrugs and comes to sit beside me.
"I wanted to know why you were running from Amber," he tells me.
I sigh and look down at the floor. It's an ugly beige color, with dust bunnies spotting it. Who designed this place? They didn't do a good job. "She wrote that article, and included things that I didn't give her permission to write," I tell him.
"That's not right for her to do that," he says.
"I know," I sigh.
"Have you talked to her about it?" he asks.
"Clearly not if I'm hiding out here with you."
He laughs. "I guess I didn't think about that."
A comfortable silence settles over us.
I've known Fox forever, but we're not close. Our parents don't get along well, mom says it has something to do when she was a kid and how grandma wasn't very nice to his grandparents. I try not to think about it because I don't want anything like that to happen between us.
"I'm sorry about Madam Mara," he says.
"Thanks," I whisper.
He places a hand on my shoulder. "Do you need to cry?" he asks, and for a moment I can't tell whether he's joking or not.
There's a glint in his eyes as I shove his hand off. "God! No! I've already cried all my tears."
We share a little laugh, that barely fills the tiny corner.
His face turns serious. "I'm here for you. Seriously."
"Thanks," I say, feeling my face warm. Then something pops into my head. "You're not going to ask how I...?" I trail off as the bell rings. "Shoot. I have to go," I say, pushing myself up and speed-walking away.
Fox catches up with me, keeping the pace easily. "I think I always suspected."
"How?" I ask, slowing.
But he waves and heads off down a different hall.
I shake my head and rush to class.
But... how did he know? I was always careful about keeping my powers a secret. Could it be possible that he's a wizard and that's how he knows?
As I sit in math, waiting to start the test, the thought never leaves me.