The Witch Is Back (8 page)

My blood began to boil as the small brunette talked about my boyfriend. The conversation they were having very publicly meant that Brooklyn already was talking about her encounter with Asher. She obviously wasn't worrying about anyone hearing her, that was for sure. I wondered what she was planning next.

“Well, we
do
have a history, you know,” Brooklyn responded, just slightly quieter than Eve had been. “We were each other's first
loves
. It takes a long time to get over something like that. Much longer than it's been at least.”

The rest of the Cleri listened to the conversation as the girls talked, and each of their eyes was growing wide with shock. My hands clenched into fists and I prayed for the strength to keep from drop-kicking Brooklyn and Eve onto the stage.

“Do you think you'll work things out?” Eve asked.

They were right behind us now, and I turned my head to show them that I could hear every word they were saying. They already knew that, of course, and were unperturbed. It was the whole reason for this show, anyway. Brooklyn was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't about to stoop to her level. She wasn't worth it. Asher was, however.

“We're supposed to talk things over later,” Brooklyn said. She passed by us then, staring me down like she was challenging me. “When we can be alone.”

I started to move toward her, either to confront her or claw her eyes out, when a hand clamped down on my arm, holding me back. I expected it to be Jasmine, possibly Colette, but when I looked back, I saw that it was Fallon.

“Down girl,” he said quietly. “You're giving her the daggers that you used to reserve just for me.”

“Guess the torch for World's Most Annoying Person on Earth has finally changed hands,” I said between clenched teeth, but not dropping my gaze at Brooklyn as she walked away.

When she was at a safe distance, Fallon let go of my arm and clutched at his chest dramatically. “You're killing me, Bishop.”

I could tell he was trying to diffuse the situation, and for the most part, it had worked. The fire that had been brewing inside me started to burn out.

“What are you doing over here, anyway?” Jasmine asked. “Aren't you supposed to be on the boys' side of camp?”

“Boys' side?” I asked, confused. “What are you guys talking about?”

Jasmine looked at me for a moment before a huge smile appeared on her face. “Ooh, can I tell her? Let me tell her,” she said. Then, not waiting for anyone else's okay, she continued. “Brighton's motto is: boys with the boys, girls with the girls.”

“As in, segregation?” I asked incredulously.

“As in, less PDA opportunities with your man,” Jasmine said, happily.

“You've gotta be kidding me,” I said, a little more angrily than the news called for. But it was like I was seeing the time I thought I'd have with Asher this summer disintegrating right before my eyes. And given Brooklyn's surprise appearance, I felt like we needed couple time now more than ever.

But it looked like that wasn't going to go my way, either.

“It's always been that way,” Colette chimed in. “Ever since Brighton opened up in 1864. They say it helps everyone to concentrate more if they're not ogling each other's goodies.”

“But that's why I came to camp,” Sascha said, play-pouting.

“Gag me,” Jasmine said and made a face. “Better yet, gag her.”

“So, we don't share any classes?” I asked, disappointed to hear there would be whole parts of my day that would be Asher-free.

“We have meals and free time together, but typically, no,” Colette answered, brightly. “Guess it's just us girls for now!”

I frowned in response.

“So what
are
you doing over here then, Fallon?” I grumbled.

Fallon took a step back, like he was afraid to become the first victim of my less-than-stellar mood.

“I walked over with Abby since she was by herself.” And then I noticed that Abby had entered our circle at some point and was standing there silently. I wondered how much of my run-in with Brooklyn she'd witnessed.

“That's actually . . . really nice of you, Fallon,” I said, surprising even myself with the compliment.

“You act like I'm usually a jerk or something,” Fallon said, glancing over at Abby and then again to me.

Gee. I wonder where I got that impression.

But I held my tongue. “Did Asher come with you?” I asked, leaning around him to see if he was in the area.

“Nope. Haven't seen him since we checked in,” he said. “He's probably already over with the guys.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to hide my disappointment. Well, at least if I couldn't see Asher, that meant that Brooklyn wouldn't be seeing him either.

Silver linings.

“As much as I'd love to be a fly on this wall, I must get going,” Fallon said, tipping an imaginary hat and then taking off around the far wall to where the boys' side of camp must have been. Once he was out of earshot, Colette turned back to me excitedly.

“Um, how cute is he?” she said.

I blinked in disbelief. “You're kidding, right?” I said. Obviously Colette didn't know Fallon well enough. If she had, she'd be washing her mouth out with a soapy concoction right about now.

“No,” she said seriously. “He's a little on the young side, but totally crushable. Am I right?”

She looked around at the rest of our group, waiting for someone to agree. Abby shrugged noncommittally, but there was a hint of a smile on her face when she did it, which threw me for a loop.

Unbelievable. Was there something in the water here that made everything backward?

“Hello, Brighton campers!” an obnoxiously bubbly voice suddenly called out from the stage behind Jasmine. We all looked up to see Miss Peggy standing there, in the same Brighton T-shirt that the angry check-in guy had been wearing, only most of hers was covered by her vest. “Let's get started!”

“What was that all about?” Jasmine asked, nodding in the direction of Brooklyn and her cronies. Despite the fact that our session had officially started, the others were still focused on me.

I glanced over at Brooklyn with annoyance. “It's nothing,” I said, wanting to move on.

“That
wasn't
nothing,” Sascha said. “Were they talking about our Asher?”

“Because the name is so common that it could be another guy?” Jasmine said sarcastically.

“I'm confused,” Colette said, looking at me, and then over at the others, as if she were waiting for someone to clue her in.

“What are we talking about?” Abby asked, for once more intrigued by our conversation than by a story from one of her books.

Ugh. I
so
didn't want to talk about this in front of Abby in case she told Asher about it. He'd either think I was overreacting or would confront Brooklyn about her taunts. And the last thing I needed was for a guy to try to fight my battles for me.

I think I'd proven I could take care of myself. Especially against jilted ex-girlfriends who were the size of a toothpick.

When I didn't answer Abby right away, Jasmine jumped in. “That Brooklyn girl was just spouting off about how she used to date your brother, and made it sound like she was planning to do some shady stuff to try to get him back,” she said.

“Wait—
your
boyfriend is the guy who broke her heart last summer?” Colette said, wide-eyed.

Last summer? That meant he'd broken up with her right around the time we'd met.

And suddenly another thought popped into my mind: Had Asher been forced by the Parrishables to break up with Brooklyn like he was forced to get close to me? If that was the case, then the breakup hadn't necessarily been voluntary. Which meant that I had bigger problems than I'd thought.

“Wait, what are you talking about, Colette?” I asked, interested in knowing more about the breakup.

“Brooklyn was all depressed, for like, half the summer last year,” Colette explained. “Then, she suddenly seemed to get over it, and drowned her sorrows in the other guys at camp. I mean, I never saw anything myself, but that was the rumor at least. Once she'd recovered from the breakup, it was like a switch was flipped and she turned from Suzy Sad-Pants to, well—the girl she is now.” Colette gestured in Brooklyn's direction.

“Nothing sad about
that
,” Jasmine muttered as we watched Brooklyn pose like she was at a photo shoot.

“Look, can we talk about this later?” I said, trying to change the subject. The fact that Asher had a girlfriend before me wasn't exactly something I wanted to have a coven-wide conversation about. “Or like, never again?”

I could tell the others didn't want to let it die there, but Miss Peggy was calling for our attention again, and I was relieved to have something else to distract us. Even if it was an overly enthused camp counselor romping around onstage.

“How are you all doing?!” Miss Peggy screamed out to the thirty or so of us gathered under the shaded section of the amphitheater. I briefly wondered if she was living out her dreams of commanding an audience while onstage. At least she had the costume part down.

So sad.

We all assured her we were doing fine, some of us with less enthusiasm than others. Jasmine responded with a growl that made us all turn around and give her a look. She just motioned for us to turn around and pay attention to Miss Peggy, who was in the middle of doing her own little happy dance.

How is this one of today's finest witches?

“For those of you returning this summer, it's good to have you back! And for those who are brand new, I'd like to give you all a huge Brighton welcome!” Miss Peggy snapped her fingers and a huge scroll appeared behind her, rolling down from where it hovered fifteen feet in the air. We watched as it revealed a painted welcome sign, nearly matching the earlier one she'd held up for us at the airport. No doubt this little deco was her idea, too.

As the banner fully expanded, glitter and confetti exploded above us, raining down like it was New Year's. Jinx yelped and dropped down to the ground, not realizing that it was a surprise meant for our enjoyment. Others around us “oohed” and “ahhed” at the display.

“Well, that was . . . unexpected,” I said, reaching out to catch some of the reflective bits in my hand. It was a little cheesy, but it was also kind of fun. It made me feel like a kid again, like anything was possible. A look over at the others showed that they were all smiling, too. Except for Jinx of course, who climbed back into her seat shakily.

“We anticipate that this will be one of the best summer sessions yet!” Miss Peggy said. “But before we start the lessons, we need to see where you each stand. Although you're all superior in your magicking skills—otherwise you wouldn't be here—everyone excels differently. We at Brighton want to make sure we challenge each and every one of you during your tenure here.

“So, we're going to start by breaking up into groups, and a counselor will be by to observe you cast your top three spells. We'll be examining the difficulty of the spell, accuracy, and follow-through, and then will place each of you in a level appropriate to your skills. This isn't to embarrass you, but instead, to guarantee that you get as much out of camp as possible. Okay, find your roommates and stand in your groups. We'll be along shortly!”

Everyone began to get up from their seats and we all played a quick game of musical chairs until we were divided by rooms. With Abby and Colette on one side of me, and Sascha, Jasmine, and Jinx on the other, I started to brainstorm which three spells I was going to showcase. Once I'd figured that out, I helped the others choose theirs, and then waited for our counselor to show up.

A woman with fire-red hair walked up to our group, seemingly out of nowhere, and I nearly did a double take as it dawned on me who she was. The matriarch of the world's most famous family on TV was standing right in front of us dressed in a sparkly black sequined suit. I knew from watching every episode of her reality show that she looked
really
good for her age. And I noted with admiration that she looked even better in person.

I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn't get anything out. I'd had no idea that Rose Bradshaw was actually a witch. Of course, this part of her life had never been explored on her show, which pretty much proved that reality TV wasn't totally based on reality at all. Oddly, this didn't make me like her or the show any less. In fact, it was rather impressive to know she'd been able to create balance in her personal and professional lives. And now, here she was, teaching at our camp.

This was a woman I'd admired for years. Her ability to create an empire out of almost nothing, securing deal after deal for her kids as well as herself—it was a feat unmatched. As far as I was concerned, she was one of the most powerful business-witches in the world.

And there was so much I could learn from her.

“Hi girls, I'm Mrs. B!” she said, enthusiastically. She was even more of a presence in real life, and I found myself standing a little straighter to emulate her. “Lets see what you've got. How about we start with you.”

She pointed at Jasmine and then led the group out into the sun and away from the clutter of the seats.

“Okay, dolls, what are you going to show me first?” Mrs. B asked, placing her hands on her curvy hips.

“I thought I'd do a twister spell,” Jasmine said. When Mrs. B nodded in approval, Jasmine widened her stance and relaxed her body to prep for the spell. Experience had shown us that the more open our hearts and minds were, the better the spell went.

When she was ready, she yelled out, “Aeromus une cyclenae!”

Almost immediately, all the pinecones that had fallen underneath a nearby tree began to lift off the ground and circle around in the air. After a few moments of this, Mrs. B told her she could stop.