Shannon giggled excitedly. “Show her! It’s totally awesome. I can’t wait until I’m eighteen and I can get a tattoo.”
Nikolai raised his sleeve to the bicep to show off a band of intertwined blue and green dragons. Where it was decorated, his skin looked rough and raised and I noted a tiny scab over one of the darker lines. “Ow,” I said sympathetically. “I bet that hurt.”
“Ha! You owe me twenty bucks,” Nikolai told Bea.
“It’s a technicality,” Bea said with a faux pout. “She might not have asked if it hurt, but she still mentioned it.”
“Yeah, but I told you she wouldn’t be cliché.” Nikolai gave me an approving glance, as though he expected me to generally perform above average. I struggled not to blush furiously at his attention. Turning back to Bea, he added, “I say you owe me.”
“Fine, you’ll just have to come over to my house and collect it after school,” Bea purred. Could she be more obviously flirting? I tried to catch Shannon’s eye so we could talk about something else, but Shannon had that same adoring look riveted completely on Nikolai.
“My mom would never let me have a tattoo,” Shannon said. “You’re so lucky.”
“My dad thinks only gang members and prisoners get tattoos,” Nikolai said with a shrug. “But my mom is cool with it.”
“I wish my mom was a Gypsy,” Shannon said.
“Romany,” three of us corrected in unison, and we all laughed, even Shannon, after she grimaced a little “oopsie” face.
“Hey,” Nikolai said with a shy smile. “Happy birthday, Ana. I got you something. Remind me to give it to you, after.”
My blush deepened. “Uh, thanks.”
“Yeah, happy birthday,” Shannon added quickly.
I thanked everyone, and we all fell into an awkward kind of silence.
“So here we are,” Bea said conspiratorially. “The Four.”
We all looked at one another in turn. During the ceremony, we’d represent the four directions, the four elements, and the four winds. I would be east and represent air and new beginnings, Bea would be the fiery south with her flirtatious passion, Nikolai would be west’s deep mysterious water, and Shannon would anchor us all in earth in the north.
“Are you guys ready?” Nikolai asked. “I am so psyched.”
While everyone else nodded, I didn’t know what to say. At least since things started with me in the east, it’d be over quickly. I hated to ruin everyone’s big night, but at least they could retake the test next year. I felt especially bad for Nik. His Initiation had already been delayed because he was getting some sort of special training from his folks’ people.
“Ana? What’s wrong?” Nikolai’s soft voice cut through my tangled thoughts.
Before I could answer, Bea interrupted, “Her dad showed up tonight.”
“What? No way!” Nikolai and Shannon shouted in surprise, and then began to bombard me with questions: “Seriously? ” “What was he like?” “Is he here?” “Is he a witch?” “What did your mom do?”
Luckily, before I could even begin to formulate a response, the bell that called the meeting to order rang out. We all hushed and turned toward the center of the room where the high priestess stood. Tonight, the high priestess would be Bea’s aunt Diane, who seemed to look directly at me when she said, “I dreamed of tonight. It will be auspicious for these young people, and we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer. We’ll set up in the grove. . . .”
Diane continued spelling out the administrative things she needed done—where people would stand, what things needed to be preplaced, and where. I knew it all already by heart, and I found myself watching Diane as she talked. Diane was a stout woman, the sort people always said looked as though they came from “sturdy, peasant stock.” Her steel gray hair was cut short. Tonight she wore a simple black button-down shirt and matching jeans that didn’t do much to flatter her gender-neutral, squarish
Nikolai raised his sleeve to the bicep to show off a band of intertwined blue and green dragons. Where it was decorated, his skin looked rough and raised and I noted a tiny scab over one of the darker lines. “Ow,” I said sympathetically. “I bet that hurt.”
“Ha! You owe me twenty bucks,” Nikolai told Bea.
“It’s a technicality,” Bea said with a faux pout. “She might not have asked if it hurt, but she still mentioned it.”
“Yeah, but I told you she wouldn’t be cliché.” Nikolai gave me an approving glance, as though he expected me to generally perform above average. I struggled not to blush furiously at his attention. Turning back to Bea, he added, “I say you owe me.”
“Fine, you’ll just have to come over to my house and collect it after school,” Bea purred. Could she be more obviously flirting? I tried to catch Shannon’s eye so we could talk about something else, but Shannon had that same adoring look riveted completely on Nikolai.
“My mom would never let me have a tattoo,” Shannon said. “You’re so lucky.”
“My dad thinks only gang members and prisoners get tattoos,” Nikolai said with a shrug. “But my mom is cool with it.”
“I wish my mom was a Gypsy,” Shannon said.
“Romany,” three of us corrected in unison, and we all laughed, even Shannon, after she grimaced a little “oopsie” face.
“Hey,” Nikolai said with a shy smile. “Happy birthday, Ana. I got you something. Remind me to give it to you, after.”
My blush deepened. “Uh, thanks.”
“Yeah, happy birthday,” Shannon added quickly.
I thanked everyone, and we all fell into an awkward kind of silence.
“So here we are,” Bea said conspiratorially. “The Four.”
We all looked at one another in turn. During the ceremony, we’d represent the four directions, the four elements, and the four winds. I would be east and represent air and new beginnings, Bea would be the fiery south with her flirtatious passion, Nikolai would be west’s deep mysterious water, and Shannon would anchor us all in earth in the north.
“Are you guys ready?” Nikolai asked. “I am so psyched.”
While everyone else nodded, I didn’t know what to say. At least since things started with me in the east, it’d be over quickly. I hated to ruin everyone’s big night, but at least they could retake the test next year. I felt especially bad for Nik. His Initiation had already been delayed because he was getting some sort of special training from his folks’ people.
“Ana? What’s wrong?” Nikolai’s soft voice cut through my tangled thoughts.
Before I could answer, Bea interrupted, “Her dad showed up tonight.”
“What? No way!” Nikolai and Shannon shouted in surprise, and then began to bombard me with questions: “Seriously? ” “What was he like?” “Is he here?” “Is he a witch?” “What did your mom do?”
Luckily, before I could even begin to formulate a response, the bell that called the meeting to order rang out. We all hushed and turned toward the center of the room where the high priestess stood. Tonight, the high priestess would be Bea’s aunt Diane, who seemed to look directly at me when she said, “I dreamed of tonight. It will be auspicious for these young people, and we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer. We’ll set up in the grove. . . .”
Diane continued spelling out the administrative things she needed done—where people would stand, what things needed to be preplaced, and where. I knew it all already by heart, and I found myself watching Diane as she talked. Diane was a stout woman, the sort people always said looked as though they came from “sturdy, peasant stock.” Her steel gray hair was cut short. Tonight she wore a simple black button-down shirt and matching jeans that didn’t do much to flatter her gender-neutral, squarish
Similar Books
