murmured something about forgetting a book and he left. Though he walked away, the sting of his jealousy remained, wrapping around me like a barbed vine.
Little needles of emotion filled my throat, but I couldn’t let them out. I didn’t want to cry, not in the hallway. Anger replaced my hurt feelings, and as my temper rose, so did my awareness. I stood in the sea of students, each of them shining with a slightly varied aura of color, and the more upset I got, the more vibrant their shades became. Sharp knives of hunger stabbed my insides. I drew in shaky breaths, counting to ten, and tried to ease the emotions rolling around inside of me at boiling point. I had to get myself under control before I became like the monster who made me.
* * *
Haden had made no attempt to see or call me to apologize for being such—what would Donny have called him?—an asshat. I got tired of waiting for him and decided to walk to Hootenany’s. I realized, of course, that I had no business going. I wasn’t friends with the sneetches and it made Haden jealous that the boy, whose name I’d figured out from a yearbook to be Pete Miller, had invited me. But I decided that I wasn’t going to let my relationship with Haden resemble the one I used to have with my father. I could decide on my own where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be friends with.
Hootenany’s was a restaurant/pub where all the popular kids hung out doing whatever it was the popular kids did. Maybe it was pretty much the same as what I did with my friends—well, aside from casting spells and summoning demons. When I pulled open the door to their hangout, I was so nervous it made me . . . giddy. Who would have thought that I would ever be brave enough to face the sneetch lair on my own?
The music was loud and very Top 40. Happy-people music, I supposed. I wandered in, suddenly unsure that it had been such a great idea. What was I to do, walk up to a table and introduce myself? I felt small. Smaller than small. What on earth was I doing there? I didn’t belong with those kids. I was making up my mind to leave when I heard my name.
Pete nearly knocked over a waitress carrying a tray of drinks to get to me. “You came!”
I smiled at his enthusiasm, relieved to see a friendly face. “How was the game?”
“We won!” He smiled and I heard my name again.
Mike and a friend joined us. “You look pretty,” Mike said.
I smiled, accepting the compliment awkwardly. I hadn’t worn anything special and my hair was as disobedient as usual. I certainly didn’t feel pretty. The other boys nodded earnestly in agreement, though, which made me feel strange.
Someone handed me lemonade and Pete got us all a table. They were all amusing, or at least trying to be, and I began to relax and eventually even had fun. People stopped at our table every now and then and the atmosphere seemed miles away from all the angst I’d been getting so accustomed to in my real life.
“The soccer team had to forfeit a game today,” Pete told me.
“Why?”
“A bunch of them missed school so they didn’t have enough players. I think it’s the flu,” one boy said.
Pete shrugged. “I heard it was food poisoning. They all ate at the same restaurant on the bus ride home from their last away game. Coach told us we all have to bring sack lunches for the rest of the year for our away games, just in case. We’re too close to the championship to chance it.” Pete pulled a small flask from his pocket. “Can I freshen your drink for you, Theia?”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Vodka. It makes the lemonade much better, trust me.” Without waiting for me to agree, he poured some into my glass.
“What if we get caught?” I was pretty sure the whole baseball team was in the restaurant. Weren’t they worried about the championship too?
“Relax,” Pete assured me. “We do this all the time. If you don’t want it, I’ll get you another lemonade. Or whatever else you want.
Little needles of emotion filled my throat, but I couldn’t let them out. I didn’t want to cry, not in the hallway. Anger replaced my hurt feelings, and as my temper rose, so did my awareness. I stood in the sea of students, each of them shining with a slightly varied aura of color, and the more upset I got, the more vibrant their shades became. Sharp knives of hunger stabbed my insides. I drew in shaky breaths, counting to ten, and tried to ease the emotions rolling around inside of me at boiling point. I had to get myself under control before I became like the monster who made me.
* * *
Haden had made no attempt to see or call me to apologize for being such—what would Donny have called him?—an asshat. I got tired of waiting for him and decided to walk to Hootenany’s. I realized, of course, that I had no business going. I wasn’t friends with the sneetches and it made Haden jealous that the boy, whose name I’d figured out from a yearbook to be Pete Miller, had invited me. But I decided that I wasn’t going to let my relationship with Haden resemble the one I used to have with my father. I could decide on my own where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be friends with.
Hootenany’s was a restaurant/pub where all the popular kids hung out doing whatever it was the popular kids did. Maybe it was pretty much the same as what I did with my friends—well, aside from casting spells and summoning demons. When I pulled open the door to their hangout, I was so nervous it made me . . . giddy. Who would have thought that I would ever be brave enough to face the sneetch lair on my own?
The music was loud and very Top 40. Happy-people music, I supposed. I wandered in, suddenly unsure that it had been such a great idea. What was I to do, walk up to a table and introduce myself? I felt small. Smaller than small. What on earth was I doing there? I didn’t belong with those kids. I was making up my mind to leave when I heard my name.
Pete nearly knocked over a waitress carrying a tray of drinks to get to me. “You came!”
I smiled at his enthusiasm, relieved to see a friendly face. “How was the game?”
“We won!” He smiled and I heard my name again.
Mike and a friend joined us. “You look pretty,” Mike said.
I smiled, accepting the compliment awkwardly. I hadn’t worn anything special and my hair was as disobedient as usual. I certainly didn’t feel pretty. The other boys nodded earnestly in agreement, though, which made me feel strange.
Someone handed me lemonade and Pete got us all a table. They were all amusing, or at least trying to be, and I began to relax and eventually even had fun. People stopped at our table every now and then and the atmosphere seemed miles away from all the angst I’d been getting so accustomed to in my real life.
“The soccer team had to forfeit a game today,” Pete told me.
“Why?”
“A bunch of them missed school so they didn’t have enough players. I think it’s the flu,” one boy said.
Pete shrugged. “I heard it was food poisoning. They all ate at the same restaurant on the bus ride home from their last away game. Coach told us we all have to bring sack lunches for the rest of the year for our away games, just in case. We’re too close to the championship to chance it.” Pete pulled a small flask from his pocket. “Can I freshen your drink for you, Theia?”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Vodka. It makes the lemonade much better, trust me.” Without waiting for me to agree, he poured some into my glass.
“What if we get caught?” I was pretty sure the whole baseball team was in the restaurant. Weren’t they worried about the championship too?
“Relax,” Pete assured me. “We do this all the time. If you don’t want it, I’ll get you another lemonade. Or whatever else you want.
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