Chapter Three
When I came to, I was in the nurse’s office. Zoe waited by my side, going through her phone.
As soon as she saw me awake, she called for the nurse. “Miss Sheppard, she is awake.”
“Ow,” I groaned, rubbing my head.
“Sorry, dear.” The nurse appeared in her white coat, her short hair bouncing with each step she took. “How do you feel?”
“Awful,” I cried , trying to feel my numb face.
“The swelling has reduced, thank goodness.” She peered at my eyes and probed gently.
“Wait, swelling? Zoe, do I really look that bad?”
“No. You look like there regular you, only pale. All that purple black is gone.”
“You had a concussion but I suggest you go to the hospital for a CT scan just in case of brain injuries,” Miss Shepard said.
“Oh, god. I swear I will kill Reed this time.”
“Oh, God,” Zoe mimicked. “Stop your childish antics, Phoebe. I am taking you home.”
“I am not being childish.”
“Sure. Sure.” She helped me up and crouched to help me with my sneakers.
“Thanks, Zoe.”
“I am only doing this so you can suffer while I order you around in our eighties.”
“Yes, ma’am. Want to come over for ice cream? Uncle Al is going to be home today.”
“Okay.”
“Have some,” Miss Shepard said, handing out M and M bars. As I collected it, my hand brushed against hers and then, I saw an indigo halo float around her.
I drew my hand back, inhaling sharply. “What the-?” It disappeared as quickly as it came, as though it has never been there.
“What?”
“Did you see that light?” I asked, wondering if I even saw it at all.
“What light? Sunlight or the bulb light?” Zoe grabbed my hand, confusion etched on her face.
“The ball must have hit you really hard,” the nurse said.
It must have because I saw that weird halo on Zoe too but this time, it was yellow and slowly grew dark.
“You need to go home and rest.”
Like before, it disappeared when Zoe stopped holding my hand.
So weird!
“Here,” She said, handing me a small brown envelope. “Your bracelet is in here. It’s damage though.”
Good riddance? I never really liked it anyway. I collected the envelope reluctantly and followed her out.
After Zoe dropped me off, I spotted the red Audi A4 sitting in front of the garage.Excited, I hurried to the house. “Uncle Al!”
“Sugar!” His deep voice echoed in the quiet house as he appeared from the kitchen, his dark hair messy. Before I knew it, I was clinched in his arms, pressed to his chest, arms pinned to my sides, feet dangling. His hold was so tight, I wondered if I could breathe and just as quickly I was released.
Uncle Al is my dad’s older brother and less strict. He raised me with my dad which had raised a few eyebrows after my mother died. So when he is not on business, he is busy raising me.
Blinking away the strange dark red halo I saw, I asked excitedly, “When did you arrive?”
“An hour ago.” He drew into the living room where shopping bags littered the center table and sofa.
“For me?!” At his nod, I dug into each bag and brought out the items; a new designer bag, perfume, shoes, basketball t-shirt signed by Becky Hammon and Nikes!
“Do you like them?”
“Very much. Thank you.”
“So, how was school today?” He asked, helping me sort through the rest of the gifts.
I groaned. “Awful.”
“Does it have to do with that boy again?”
“Yes. He is so annoying.” I drew my voice down as I remembered. “I need your help, Uncle Al and you can’t tell Dad about it.”
He drew an invisible zip over his lips. “What is it?”
“I need to do a CT scan. Idiot Reed threw a ball in my face, giving me a concussion.”
“What are you two whispering about?”
I shot up when I heard my dad’s stern voice and turned. In his business suit, Dad pushed his glasses further up as he eyed the two of us.
“Hi, Dad,” I greeted.
When did he arrive?
“Albert,” Dad greeted. “You are back.”
“Happy to see me?” Uncle Al spread his arms for a hug.
Holding up a hand, Dad shook his head. “Just when it was getting peaceful around here.” His dark eyes fell on the gifts and narrowed in disapproval.
Noticing, Uncle Al said, “I brought you something too.”
“You spoil Phoebe, Albert.”
Rising to his feet, he retorted, “You are not doing enough spoiling, Juniper. She is our little princess.”
“Have you seen her grades?”
“Loosen up. She is a teenager, let her have fun.”
“And end up like you? Fun will only get her so far.”
“What’s wrong with me? I’ve got money and I work and I have fun. Unlike you.”
Dad’s lips drew thin with irritation. He turned to leave then paused and looked straight at me.
“What?” I asked nervously.
“Raise your hands.”
“Leave her alone, Juniper.”
“Phoebe, raise your hands.”
Frightened, I did as he instructed and watched his face contort with horror.
“Where is your bracelet?”
“Oh, it broke while practice in school.”
Dad dropped his bag and rushed over to me, holding my hands. “Where is it?”
I dug through the mess I made for my bag and drew out the brown envelope containing the broken bracelet.
He snatched it from my hand and took it out. “Impossible.”
“How did that happen?” Uncle Al asked. The shock on his face worried me.
“Well, it was during practice.”
“No. Tell me precisely how it happened. Do not leave a single detail out.”
I peered at my Dad who watched me expectantly. Was the bracelet that precious? Besides, Dad would go ballistic if he found out I got hurt.
“The ball hit my nose and in the confusion, I don’t know, it broke. Oh, there was blood on it but Zoe wiped it.”
“But even blood should never have allowed this to remove,” Uncle Al muttered then turned to Dad. “Are you sure you did the spell correctly?”
“I am absolutely sure, Albert. I doubled the strength of the spell every birthday.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, staring at the bracelet that seemed to lose its silvery appearance.
“Have you experienced anything strange?”
“Like what?”
“Levitation, telekinesis or mind reading?”
“What? No. What is going on?”
“If you have not experienced anything strange, I guess there is still time,” Dad said.
“Time for what?”
“To give you another bracelet.”
“Another tacky bracelet? Why?”
“It is to protect you.”
“Is it some sort of tracker, Uncle Al?”
“It is not a tracker.”
“Dad, wait.” I reached blindly for his hand. As soon as I touched him, he glowed white. The halo around felt so strong, I could barely breathe.
“Phoebe!”
Snapping out of it, I drew back in fear. “What was that?”
Realization dawned on my father’s face as he said, “Oh, no.”
Chapter Four“Is something wrong?”After the weird halo shit that happened, Dad and Uncle Al drew into the kitchen for a ‘private discussion'. They were not being very quiet about it as I heard my name and words like ‘spell’, ‘charm’ and ‘bracelet’.Frustrated, I leaned against the kitchen door with my arms crossed. They kept quiet as soon as they saw me then looked at each other with raised brows.“There is no point keeping quiet about it now,” Uncle Al said.“Keeping quiet about what?” I asked.“We cannot just tell her. There should be a way to reverse this,” Dad contemplated, rubbing his shaven chin.“Going back in time?”“It is against the rules, Albert.”“Then, we tell her.”“I promised her mother that I will not have
“Has anything out of the ordinary happened?”For the nth time, I shook my head then raised my hand expecting something magical to happen but nothing did.My father sighed and shook his head. “Did you learn the spells I taught you?”“Well…” I thought to my room in disarray and the dark cloud that formed on the ceiling. “I’m getting better,” I said.“Buckle up.” The car came to life as he turned on the ignition. The sun set behind as the car pealed down the quiet street.This was the first time this week I stepped out of the house. Instead of hanging out with friends, I was learning to ‘defend’ myself from whatever might want to harm me. It was beginning to feel ridiculous repeating spells my father taught me but what I could do with magic never failed to amaze me.“Why are we here?” I asked a
The burn in my stomach dissipated as soon as I ate the chocolate bar which tasted horrible and smelled like the wet mud.After Mama Owen kicked me out, the store sign switched to closed. I trudged down the lit but quiet, dark street. How fast does time go when using magic? I really need to learn that stupid teleportation spell. Perhaps Zoe could give me a ride home. I drew out my phone and tried dialing her number. My relief was short-lived as signal bars refused to come up.What happened to the network? Looking down the empty street, I drew my hoodie closer. Since when did cars not come out at the nine in the night? Why am I so bothered about that all of a sudden? Mama Owen’s words about the dangers danced around my mind. I wonder if I could call my Dad or Uncle Al?Yeah, right. No fucking bars.I hurried along the str
I slouched on the bleachers watching my teammates practice. While the other benchers cheered, I pretended to be fixated with my phone. It was practically useless but it served as a protective shield. I could not bare to look anyone in the eye after losing my cherished position.Why could I not just take it back? I’m back from my random disappearance.“Hey!” I froze in my seat and watched from the corner of my eye as the boys basketball team poured into the court.Fuck! I need to get out here without being seen. This was so mortifying.I rose up and began my descent down the bleachers. I bet they would barely know I left since everyone was too busy fooling around.“Phoebe, where are you going?”I cursed in my head. Who the fuck was that? Raising my head, I pulled a smile on as I faced the teams. “Bathroom. Why?”“Hey.&r
“Aer sit mihi pontis. Mitte quod peto,” I chanted in a loud, clear voice keeping my focus on the spade.The tool shook violently then rose from the ground and flew straight into my outstretched hand. I can’t believe I did it.Finally!“Again,” Mama Owen barked behind me.Rolling my eyes, I repeated the spell and tools flew into my hand, quicker and fluidly with each repeated chant. When training was over for the day, I slumped against the wall, exhausted and sweaty.“Hurry along now, I need to close up shop.” She threw the nasty chocolate bar into my hand. She called it Protein Bars, I call it crap but its energy reviving benefits outweighed my disgust for it.“Exams start tomorrow and I have a lot to catch up on. Can you like teach me a spell to retain memory?”“There is a reason why we forget things, Phoe
“What are you making?” I asked when I found Mama Owen hunching over and pounding herbs in a bowl.“Potions.”“What for?”She stepped aside to reveal small lid bottles with labels. “Foresight, Memory Retention, Invisibility, Keen Smell, Love, Plant Growing, Protection and Truth.”“Huh. How do you make these from scratch?”“Go water the plants.”“You have to teach me how to make these potions. Don’t you want me out of your hair?”“Trying to rush magic will not help you.”“Well, I got that memory spell right. I used my earrings. When does it wear off? Do I have to incant the spell again? How do I stop it?”“You remove the earrings and cleanse them off all spells. Phoebe, the longer you use this spell, the more you would forget important things.”“Why did you not menti
“Phoebe!” He called again.“Go.” The wolf did not wait for another word as it trotted into the night.“Phoebe!”How far has it gone? Was it somewhere safe now?“Phoebe!” I spotted my father in a distance, carrying a torch. He looked in my direction, unsheathed fury in his eyes.“What?” I tried to sound as unfazed as possible and stood up, ignoring the protest in my left knee.“What are you doing out here?”“Just jogging. Wanted some peace and quiet to myself.”“This forest is not safe! Nowhere is safe for people like us and I would not like you putting yourself in danger because you learned some spells.”“It’s funny how you suddenly care. I’ll walk myself home. You can teleport or I don’t know, fly home.” I tried to push m
Morgan guffawed as I jerked her arm off. “Look at your face, dude. Don’t worry, I’ve got better taste,” she said to Reed who sported a stunned reaction.“I would love to listen to your insults more than anything in the world but,” I said, pulling him closer to me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”“Your father told me to get you.”“What are you, my bodyguard?”“Unfortunately.”Unfortunately? I scoffed and shook my head. Wait, what? What was my father up to this time? I grabbed Morgan by the arm and pulled her out of the school building with me.“Hey, easy with the grabbing,” She said when we reached the parking lot.“Get lost with you and,” I stuttered for a perfect word as I regarded her and her masculine appearance. “Whatever this is. Wait, are you male or female?”