shoveling coal. My classmates were probably chained together, forced to do whatever the devil said.
And my mom?! What was with her? I wanted to blame Louâsay it was his powers making her act this way. Only I had a feeling that wasnât the case. Lou made her accept her circumstances, but he didnât turn her into a flirt or a troublemaker. That was all her. What happened to the goody-two-shoes woman who punished me for every little thing? Like even sticking my tongue out when I was five? This Mom wore sexy clothes, engaged in PDA, and dated a bad boy. How dare she be so hard on me all these years when Iâm way better behaved than she ever was? She had some serious explaining to do.
To get my mind off my parents, I checked my voice mail. The inbox was full. There were messages from Max, Cole, Gabiâeveryone who had my cell phone number. Even Courtney, Lana, and Jaydin, who all had it from the three seconds we were friends.
They all thought I was incredible. And Iâll be honest, the first few messages were fun to hear. Cole gushing about how he was the luckiest guy ever to get to have me for a girlfriend. How he needed me to come back to the mall for him. And how I was beautiful, smart, funny, breathtaking, inspiring, etc. Basically every nice adjective he could think of before the phone cut him off. But that didnât stop him. He called back and listed a slew more until the message reached the time limit again. I thought Iâd never get tired of hearing him say cool things about me. But after a couple of minutes . . . I got bored. He was just saying the same stuff over and over again. The same with everyone else.
There were about three more messages by the time I pulled up to the mall. I didnât bother listening. There was no need. Because unless I could figure out a way to reverse what Lanceâs mom had done, I was about to hear all the compliments live and in person.
My public was waiting inside just a few feet away.
This was going to be a total mess.
chapter 16
I put the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and pulled the strings tight, making sure to keep my face toward the floor. Itâd be a lot easier to deal with this without a group of people following me around.
With a deep breath, I pushed open the door to the mall. I wasnât greeted by flames or a demon army. It was just the mall. Busier than usual. But still, just the mall. I wasnât relieved, though. On television, the devil had said it was his show. Lou had to be up to something. The question was what.
Trying to avoid people was harder than I thought it would be. Staring at my feet made it impossible to see where I was going. Or what was going on around me. I needed help. I needed Gabi.
I made my way to the security desk and begged the guard to page her. A few minutes later, Gabi rounded the corner.
âAngâ,â she screamed.
âShhh,â I warned her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the Juicy Couture store. I pulled a dress off the rack and went back to the dressing rooms. Gabi followed.
âThatâs going to look amazing on you. But everything does,â she gushed.
âKnock it off,â I told her. I hadnât brought her back there to get compliments. I brought her back there to try and undo the spell so that she could help me with my other problem. My Lou problem. âYouâve been infected by my powers. Theyâre whatâs making you think Iâm a superstar.â
âYou are,â Gabi said.
âGabi, listen to me. You need to snap out of this. Think about it. Isnât it much more likely that youâre under a spell, and Iâm still the same regular girl I was this morning? The same girl you were furious at for messing with your love life. Come on, you have to know Iâm not some idol?â
I could almost see her processing what I said.
âNope. Youâre Angel Garrett, the most fabulous, incredible, wonderful person ever. And
And my mom?! What was with her? I wanted to blame Louâsay it was his powers making her act this way. Only I had a feeling that wasnât the case. Lou made her accept her circumstances, but he didnât turn her into a flirt or a troublemaker. That was all her. What happened to the goody-two-shoes woman who punished me for every little thing? Like even sticking my tongue out when I was five? This Mom wore sexy clothes, engaged in PDA, and dated a bad boy. How dare she be so hard on me all these years when Iâm way better behaved than she ever was? She had some serious explaining to do.
To get my mind off my parents, I checked my voice mail. The inbox was full. There were messages from Max, Cole, Gabiâeveryone who had my cell phone number. Even Courtney, Lana, and Jaydin, who all had it from the three seconds we were friends.
They all thought I was incredible. And Iâll be honest, the first few messages were fun to hear. Cole gushing about how he was the luckiest guy ever to get to have me for a girlfriend. How he needed me to come back to the mall for him. And how I was beautiful, smart, funny, breathtaking, inspiring, etc. Basically every nice adjective he could think of before the phone cut him off. But that didnât stop him. He called back and listed a slew more until the message reached the time limit again. I thought Iâd never get tired of hearing him say cool things about me. But after a couple of minutes . . . I got bored. He was just saying the same stuff over and over again. The same with everyone else.
There were about three more messages by the time I pulled up to the mall. I didnât bother listening. There was no need. Because unless I could figure out a way to reverse what Lanceâs mom had done, I was about to hear all the compliments live and in person.
My public was waiting inside just a few feet away.
This was going to be a total mess.
chapter 16
I put the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and pulled the strings tight, making sure to keep my face toward the floor. Itâd be a lot easier to deal with this without a group of people following me around.
With a deep breath, I pushed open the door to the mall. I wasnât greeted by flames or a demon army. It was just the mall. Busier than usual. But still, just the mall. I wasnât relieved, though. On television, the devil had said it was his show. Lou had to be up to something. The question was what.
Trying to avoid people was harder than I thought it would be. Staring at my feet made it impossible to see where I was going. Or what was going on around me. I needed help. I needed Gabi.
I made my way to the security desk and begged the guard to page her. A few minutes later, Gabi rounded the corner.
âAngâ,â she screamed.
âShhh,â I warned her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the Juicy Couture store. I pulled a dress off the rack and went back to the dressing rooms. Gabi followed.
âThatâs going to look amazing on you. But everything does,â she gushed.
âKnock it off,â I told her. I hadnât brought her back there to get compliments. I brought her back there to try and undo the spell so that she could help me with my other problem. My Lou problem. âYouâve been infected by my powers. Theyâre whatâs making you think Iâm a superstar.â
âYou are,â Gabi said.
âGabi, listen to me. You need to snap out of this. Think about it. Isnât it much more likely that youâre under a spell, and Iâm still the same regular girl I was this morning? The same girl you were furious at for messing with your love life. Come on, you have to know Iâm not some idol?â
I could almost see her processing what I said.
âNope. Youâre Angel Garrett, the most fabulous, incredible, wonderful person ever. And
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