studying it a moment. “Similar,” she murmured, reaching out to trace the black flag with a skull and crossed daggers beneath it. “It definitely had a Jolly Roger…” Her lips parted as her wide eyes glanced up. “Jolly Roger.” She flipped open one of the books. “Calico Jack.” She beamed up at them. “Calico Jack!”
Kaitlyn gave her a slow nod. The girl was strange sometimes, especially when it came to researching history or magic.
“What the heck are you talking about?” Julia blurted out.
“The Jolly Roger—that black flag with a skull and crossed daggers—Calico Jack was the first to use it. He’s the guy I saw in my vision, the clothes are the same. He got his name because of the brightly colored calico fabric he loved to wear.”
Kaitlyn performed a search, quickly finding Calico Jack on her screen. “It says the Jolly Roger first flew on Jack Rackham’s ship… The Revenge.”
Angie nodded, flipping through pages of a thick book. “Jack Rackham was Calico Jack’s real name. He was alive during the Golden Age of Piracy. He was most active around 1718… that narrows it down for us. It says, he was born in Cuba but was half-English, maybe that’s why you saw that Spanish sign, Julia—”
“There’s no way I’m remembering any of this,” Julia groaned. “Why does magic have to be about learning?”
Kaitlyn couldn’t help thinking that Julia could use a little extra learning, and was about to tell her exactly that, but as she kept reading the passage her heart skipped a beat. “He sailed with Anne Bonny.” She bit back the gush of information that sprung to her lips, thinking back to junior high and the way she used to go overboard nerding out over the things she liked. “I did a report on her… I used to be obsessed with her.” She swallowed, almost biting her lip like a little kid. “Anyway, Anne Bonny was best friends with another girl-pirate, Mary Read.”
“It’s pretty rad that girls were pirates,” Julia said.
“Agreed,” Kaitlyn said. “No one messed with them.”
“Imagine all the treasure?”
“Imagine walking through a room with a sword on one hip and a gun on the other?”
Julia grinned. Heat crept up Kaitlyn’s cheeks as she realized she was smiling back. She ducked her head, letting her inky black hair fall across her face like a curtain to hide her scar. She ran a glossy, black-painted fingernail down her screen, more to appear busy than because she wanted to read more.
“Hey, Kaitlyn?” Julia said, still grinning. “I think we just had a moment.”
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. “Is that what that was?”
Julia scooted closer to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us to the beach?”
Kaitlyn did want to come with them. That was the problem. She didn’t want to start liking these two. They already had each other, anyway. She would just be a tag-a-long. Besides, she didn’t want to feel like she could count on their friendship when at any given moment they were going to change their minds about her and leave her alone and isolated, safe with each other while she had no one. They didn’t need her and that was fine, because she didn’t need them either. She didn’t need anyone.
She took out her phone and looked at her empty text message screen, pretending to start a message to someone. “Can’t go. I already told friends I’m meeting them for a party.”
“’Kay, then,” Julia said.
“If we’re done here I should go,” she said, hearing the cold tone of her voice… and she didn’t like it. She saw the way Julia flinched. She noticed Angie tucking her hair behind her ear.
Kaitlyn felt a pang of uncomfortable heat in her chest. Whatever . Since when did she care what they thought? Since when did she want to be their friend?
Since never.
They unfroze time and Kaitlyn found her boots, slipping them on and tossing her hair back. “I’m out.”
“Catch ya later,” Julia said.
“You know where we’ll be,” Angie
Kaitlyn gave her a slow nod. The girl was strange sometimes, especially when it came to researching history or magic.
“What the heck are you talking about?” Julia blurted out.
“The Jolly Roger—that black flag with a skull and crossed daggers—Calico Jack was the first to use it. He’s the guy I saw in my vision, the clothes are the same. He got his name because of the brightly colored calico fabric he loved to wear.”
Kaitlyn performed a search, quickly finding Calico Jack on her screen. “It says the Jolly Roger first flew on Jack Rackham’s ship… The Revenge.”
Angie nodded, flipping through pages of a thick book. “Jack Rackham was Calico Jack’s real name. He was alive during the Golden Age of Piracy. He was most active around 1718… that narrows it down for us. It says, he was born in Cuba but was half-English, maybe that’s why you saw that Spanish sign, Julia—”
“There’s no way I’m remembering any of this,” Julia groaned. “Why does magic have to be about learning?”
Kaitlyn couldn’t help thinking that Julia could use a little extra learning, and was about to tell her exactly that, but as she kept reading the passage her heart skipped a beat. “He sailed with Anne Bonny.” She bit back the gush of information that sprung to her lips, thinking back to junior high and the way she used to go overboard nerding out over the things she liked. “I did a report on her… I used to be obsessed with her.” She swallowed, almost biting her lip like a little kid. “Anyway, Anne Bonny was best friends with another girl-pirate, Mary Read.”
“It’s pretty rad that girls were pirates,” Julia said.
“Agreed,” Kaitlyn said. “No one messed with them.”
“Imagine all the treasure?”
“Imagine walking through a room with a sword on one hip and a gun on the other?”
Julia grinned. Heat crept up Kaitlyn’s cheeks as she realized she was smiling back. She ducked her head, letting her inky black hair fall across her face like a curtain to hide her scar. She ran a glossy, black-painted fingernail down her screen, more to appear busy than because she wanted to read more.
“Hey, Kaitlyn?” Julia said, still grinning. “I think we just had a moment.”
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. “Is that what that was?”
Julia scooted closer to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us to the beach?”
Kaitlyn did want to come with them. That was the problem. She didn’t want to start liking these two. They already had each other, anyway. She would just be a tag-a-long. Besides, she didn’t want to feel like she could count on their friendship when at any given moment they were going to change their minds about her and leave her alone and isolated, safe with each other while she had no one. They didn’t need her and that was fine, because she didn’t need them either. She didn’t need anyone.
She took out her phone and looked at her empty text message screen, pretending to start a message to someone. “Can’t go. I already told friends I’m meeting them for a party.”
“’Kay, then,” Julia said.
“If we’re done here I should go,” she said, hearing the cold tone of her voice… and she didn’t like it. She saw the way Julia flinched. She noticed Angie tucking her hair behind her ear.
Kaitlyn felt a pang of uncomfortable heat in her chest. Whatever . Since when did she care what they thought? Since when did she want to be their friend?
Since never.
They unfroze time and Kaitlyn found her boots, slipping them on and tossing her hair back. “I’m out.”
“Catch ya later,” Julia said.
“You know where we’ll be,” Angie
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