I had the worst day at Stellaluna because I met the WORST person in divination class! Mrs. Sibley gave us assigned seats and I was paired with this mean-looking guy, Tristan Stormcroft. We had to divine a secret out of each other with more than one divination tool. Tristan figured out that my best friend is a mortal and called him pathetic for practicing “fake” magic. I should’ve let Lord Sourpuss handle this idiot, but I shut him up. I needed to tell Tristan that HE was the pathetic one, getting all insecure about what Lucas can do without our magic. Then Tristan gave me the nastiest smile and reminded me that Lucas will get old and die, and I punched that smile right off his stupid face!! (I did feel a bit bad about his scorpion familiar, though. She got knocked off his shoulder. But she didn’t tell him to stop!)
Thankfully, I wasn’t expelled, but Mrs. Sibley gave both of us detention tomorrow. Her idea of detention is making us divine something good about each other, if there’s even anything remotely “good” about someone like Tristan.
Maybe he’s so nasty because his portal is in the toilet. I should’ve told him that and embarrassed him in front of everyone!
Chloe said she would’ve been tempted to punch Tristan. Skyler sympathized with me too, but told me not to waste any energy on him. Mom couldn’t entirely blame me either, but Tabitha expected more self-restraint. She wanted to ground me, but Mom managed to persuade her otherwise as long as I didn’t act out like that again. (Dad would absolutely not have considered grounding me — he despises the attitude some witches have against mortals!) So, thank the Heavens, I get to see Lucas this weekend! Besides, I’m already going to be tortured in detention tomorrow with an edgy, white-haired freak. Lord Sourpuss is at least making the thought more bearable with his jokes.
Meditation was the class I needed to start the day, and it helped to know that Mr. Blackwood accepted my homework on Lord Sourpuss. Some kids were whispering about me behind my back, but they left me alone and I ignored them, anyway. Maddox joined my friends and me at lunch (he sat by himself before) and told me he was sorry about what Tristan said. He gave me this small, malachite-carved alien head that dispels negative energies like regular malachite, but also gives you a broader perspective of the issues causing you pain, according to him. And I guess it worked because I divined something totally unexpected about Tristan in detention:
HE'S HALF MORTAL!
I did not dare reveal that I possessed this information. Tristan would’ve surely cursed me to the Pluto realm. I didn’t glean all the details, but I think his mother was a witch who had an affair with a mortal, and she paid the price for breaking witch law and the mortal left her. I don’t know what the consequences were because, at that point, I had to divine something “good” about Tristan or fail.
He could be loyal? He’s not a coward, that’s for sure. But he doesn’t really have anyone to support him, and becoming his friend was thankfully not part of the assignment, so I will not be doing that regardless of his excuses, thank you very much. The good he divined about me was my creativity. Even after detention, I could sense he was still holding a grudge. I’m going to have to ward against him in case he plans to sabotage my muse.
Ingredients:
Incantation:
Shield my thoughts, sharp and clean,
Ensure no hidden spell slips in between.
What I make stays fully mine,
Cut off every malevolent line.
It’s now Saturday night, and so far, my muse is fine. Tristan hasn’t bothered me since and he seems to be keeping to himself. I do feel watched sometimes, especially at lunch. I was afraid his scorpion familiar would pop up somewhere unexpected and sting me. I’m trying not to worry about either of them, though. The spell is working (if Tristan is doing anything at all), and I have more important things to focus on.
I met up with Lucas today at our favorite Internet-slash-bookshop cafe, Books and Bytes! We had our usual snacks and talked about his website plan for his magic acts. He showed me the progress he’s made so far and it’s so exciting! He’s a wizard with HTML and CSS. I might not even need to enchant it to help spread the word because it looked that magical! I was very curious about the outcome, so I persuaded Lucas to get a Turkish coffee reading by Yasmin, a local witch who visits every Saturday to give guidance to inquiring mortals. She’s never been wrong, but Lucas is sooooo shy around her, considering how pretty and older she is. And the fact that she’s a witch (not that he actually ~knows~ for a fact).
After Lucas finished his coffee, he noticed a prominent star shape in his cup instantly, and Yasmin confirmed it was an omen for success!
But there were other symbols, a heart and a snake. The snake almost looked like it was wrapping around the heart. Yasmin warned that there could be possessive love in his near-future. She said to be careful of a partner who might try to control or take advantage of him. Whoever it might be, it definitely isn’t me and Lucas knows that! We’ve never been more than best friends and I have zero interest in relationships. I’ve never even had a crush on someone!
Yasmin didn’t give any more information because, now that Lucas is aware of what lies ahead, he knows to be more careful and alert to red flags, so the future is given to change. He’s super observant and a good judge of people as it is, so I’m not too worried about him.
I wish I could see Chloe, Skyler, and Maddox outside of school. We exchanged phone numbers, at least. I’m getting my flying permit in November, but I can’t fly beyond a certain distance. As of now, we’re still waiting for the Instant Transit Network to begin construction in Candlelight Falls. Teleportation isn’t as easy and seamless as fiction makes it look, not when the real world has ley lines, energy vortexes, cosmic forces, and mortal eyes to take into account. The celestial realms don’t have these problems.
Speaking of ley lines, sacred geometry is driving me insane! How much of it is actually necessary for spell work? Sure, the more detailed the spell, the more complex requirements it’ll have, but I don’t envision myself casting anything that needs exact patterns and coordinates. I don’t dream about fame and fortune. I don’t care about making a name for myself in the witch history books. I just want to be with Lucas and travel the world, magician and assistant!
Maybe that is a dream because Lucas is a mortal, and he might settle down with someone in the future and forget about me. If I had a dream that could come true, it would be to persuade the Heavens to make him a witch. I wonder if that could really happen. We’d definitely be in the witch history books. Maybe certain witches would even be nicer and more understanding toward mortals, knowing that ANYONE could become a witch!
But all I can really do is cherish the time I have with Lucas. Why would the Heavens listen to me? Plus, he has his mom and dad and little sister. They’d have to become witches too. Would he actually want to become a witch without them?
I’ve been super curious lately about how some mortals are selected to become witches. I just couldn’t drop it. So, I caved and visited Stellaluna’s library during lunch. It’s colossal, but the librarian, Mr. Chambers, knows exactly where every book is. He uses a wheelchair to get around and his mind to manipulate objects. I didn’t ask if that were his witch’s talent, but I wouldn’t be surprised since telekinetic magic is ridiculously hard to master without hands and fingers. I was almost afraid to ask him where to find the kind of book I was looking for, thinking I’d be considered suspicious or something. Instead, Mr. Chambers just smiled and led the way and found the right book for me, no questions asked.
The book is a tome. It covers everything from the origins of witchery to notable and lesser-known historical interactions between witches and mortals. Mr. Chambers assured me that knowing the history in its entirety would lead me to the answers I sought, and with a wink, he told me that I could borrow the book for as long as I needed. So, I have a load of homework on top of more homework. Great! I thanked him, anyway.
When I got home and started reading, I was curious about an unrelated thing. I flipped to the Salem Witch Trials chapter, and guess what? Mom and Tabitha’s names weren’t omitted like they were from standard history books. My mom was (secretly willingly) brought over with Tituba from South America, and Tabitha was already with the Puritans, trying to keep the peace between everyone. You can imagine how well that played out. I’m not sure why publishers anonymized them. They helped prevent some innocent people from being tortured and killed. My best guess is that Mom made trouble for mortals and witches alike, and Tabitha always found herself trying to clean up the messes.
The author knew details about what my mom had done in Salem that I didn’t, so I asked her about them at dinner and she confirmed the truth. She laughed and reminisced while Tabitha rolled her eyes and shook her head. None of us recognized the author’s name (Aurelian Stone), but Mom assumed they were a friend she’d (probably drunkenly) babbled to somewhere in her past. Of all the stunts Mom pulled, my favorite is still the one where she had a noose around her neck and jumped before she could be “hanged,” and she just laughed and laughed while swinging around, scaring the Puritans out of the village. It cost her some time with the High Coven, but it was worth it, even though the Puritans had that erased from their memories.
