"Articulate as ever," Margo says. "But I'm sure we can put you in the play-by-the-rules category."

Dani looks like she's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"And to make sure you stay there," Margo adds, "I suggest you avoid Evan. The guy looks as desperate as you do-I can just picture the sparks flying over the periodic table."

Margo hands my homework back and tilts her head toward Zahara. "Let's get to cla.s.s, Z."

"I'm coming, too," Sascha says. "I want to hear more about Dreadlock Boy."

Dani and I sip our coffee and watch them walk into the building.

"I hate her," Dani says when the door shuts behind them. "And we were just studying."

"I know," I say, even though it's painfully obvious Dani does have it bad for Evan. I get up, sling my backpack over my shoulder, and head for the door. "Connor came over last night." My heart flutters as I let the big smile return to my face.

Dani rushes up next to me. "What? Why? Well, I can guess why-but what happened?"

"He wanted to see me, and we kind of-you know."

"Oh, my G.o.d, Jules, you didn't?"

I shake my head. "We didn't do it, if that's what you're thinking-but we-well, you know.

Stuff happened."

Dani's smiling back at me, and I'm so relieved she didn't get all Margo-coven-cop on me.

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, you know-'I don't know if I'll be able to look him in the eye today' kind of stuff.

Seriously, I don't know if I can. My stomach is in knots waiting to see him. We can't go public yet-you know with all the stupid rules-but the important part is he wants to."

Dani tugs on my sleeve and points at the bathroom. We open the door and she bends down to look under the stalls. "Just one," she whispers. Cloak? she mouths.

I nod and whisper the cloaking spell just in case it's someone really obnoxious we don't feel like dealing with.

The toilet flushes and we watch some freshman pick food out of her teeth instead of washing her hands. Dani wrinkles her nose, and sticks out her tongue.

When the girl leaves, I twirl my finger in a spiral. "Why can't the teachers monitor the d.a.m.n bathrooms-I can't stand breathing this in! Vanish," I say, pointing toward a sink. The cigarette smoke hanging in the air pulls together into a funnel cloud and disappears down the drain. I smile in the mirror and check my teeth.

"I'm in love with Evan," Dani blurts out.

"What?" I ask, trying to sound surprised.

"I know, I know-keep away from boys, especially non-coven boys-but I like him so much, and every time I'm with him I practically pa.s.s out. And yesterday he asked me for my cell number-and I gave it to him."

"Hey, Helena can't come down on you for just giving a guy your number-especially if you're just getting together to study."

Dani giggles and blushes. "Oh, he can study me anytime he wants." She looks in the mirror and then reaches into her purse for some face powder. "Actually," she says, dusting her nose, "between the hunt and me staring at my phone hoping he'd call last night, I should probably cut my first cla.s.s and do some real studying."

"And they say romance is dead."

"Seriously, my mom will kill me if I bomb this test." She lifts her bangs and swipes the brush across her forehead, and then breaks out in a huge smile. "Oh, G.o.d, who am I kidding? I don't even care anymore. All I can think about is what am I gonna to do if he calls?"

"Not if-when!"

Dani gives me a sly look. "We should run away-leave the stupid coven and the stupid rules behind. We can hang out with our taboo boyfriends by day and be hunters by night."

"Who says we'd keeping hunting?" I ask.

"Could you live with yourself knowing there were vamps and such running around?"

I shake my head. "I guess not, but have you thought about what Evan would think if he knew your after-school job involves killing monsters instead of flipping burgers?"

Dani slings her backpack over one shoulder and looks me in the eye. "As a matter of fact, I have. In my fantasy world, Evan is very supportive and always has doughnuts waiting for an after-kill treat. He lovingly sharpens my stakes, and rolls binders for me. I also imagine him coming up with some cool techno ways to track the bad guys-when we're not practicing martial arts together, that is."

We both laugh. "In mine, Connor just tells his mother to shove it and we move to Canada, where there aren't so many nightmares."

"Actually, there's that nasty black arts coven in Montreal-not to mention more than a few werewolf packs up north," Dani says. "There's that inbred group in Alberta, and the one in northern Manitoba that's always ripping apart the newest alpha male during the full moon. Oh, and-"

"I know! I know! I can fantasize about a werewolf-free Canada, can't I?"

Dani sighs. "I guess if I can imagine Evan buying me doughnuts, you can have a supernatural-free Canada."

The bell rings, and we uncloak and head out.

"Hey, what are we going to get Margo for her birthday?" I ask.

"I know what I want to get her."

"What?"

Dani looks around, and then whispers in my ear. "A spell to remove the stick from her a.s.s."

I stifle a laugh-and look around, too-hating that I'm afraid of Margo sneaking up on us.

"I'm dreading the meeting this weekend. It figures Margo turns eighteen first. She's bad enough as it is-once she's part of the inner circle, she'll be insufferable."

"Look," Dani says, pointing down the hall. "There's Connor."

I follow her hand and meet Connor's eyes. Goose b.u.mps run up my arm as I wave to him.

He turns away, and continues walking down the hall.

"I don't think he saw you," Dani says softly.

My stomach does a slow, uneasy turn as my blood turns cold. "Yeah, I guess he didn't," I say, but I know it's a lie. I'm thinking I'm the biggest idiot in the world for listening to Connor last night-for doing what we did.

But maybe I was wrong. Maybe he didn't see me.

"Hey, Jules! Dani, wait up!"

We turn around and Michael comes puffing up to us. "What's the matter, ladies? You two look like you couldn't conjure up a pair of gla.s.s slippers with a fairy G.o.dmother's wand."

I roll my eyes. "That's so lame."

"Sorry," Michael says. "Growing up sheltered in an enclave of witches has limited my exposure to real humor. And let me tell you, the guy's locker room isn't a much better source. At least not in mixed company."

"We were just trying to think of what to get Margo for her birthday," I say, scanning the hall to see if Connor will come back.

"Ah, yes, the she-devil comes of age," Michael says, waggling his eyebrows. "And Sat.u.r.day she gets to go where no male coven member will ever set foot-Mrs. Keyes' inner sanctum to learn the dark secrets of the coven. Mwha-ha-ha!"

"Aw, you guys get no respect," Dani says.

"d.a.m.n straight we don't! We track the haunts down, we liquor them up, promise them all sorts of unspeakable things, and then we get to be the coven garbage men, cleaning up the mess after you ice them."

Dani shakes her head. "Not with the vampires. They just turn to dust, so there's really nothing to clean up after."

Michael and I look at each other, and shake our heads. " We know," we say together.

"Seriously," Michael says, "if I were you, I'd skip the presents for Margo, and arm yourselves with b.i.t.c.h-repellent because after Sat.u.r.day she's gonna ride your a.s.ses like a broomstick through a hurricane."

I nod. "That's what we're afraid of."

"Hey, Connor wanted me to give you this," Michael says, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulls out a piece of paper folded into a two-inch square. I take it and try to keep my hand from shaking.

"Uh, thanks."

I let Dani and Michael walk ahead of me as I unfold the note.

We need to talk- Connor s.h.i.t.

4.

Dani stretches out oft my bed and leans over my night table, reaching for a handful of pretzels. "So, any luck getting through to Connor?"

"No. For someone who thinks we need to talk, he's doing a d.a.m.ned good job avoiding me." I look at myself in the mirror, and realize I'm way overdressed for a coven meeting, even if we are "celebrating" Margo's birthday and initiation.

"He's probably just scared. I mean if his mom found out you guys were messing around, who knows what she might have said to him? Can't you just picture it-Helena looking up at him with her beady little eyes, 'Darling, if you so much as touch that girl again, I will magically shrink your b.a.l.l.s until they look more like raisins than t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es.'"

"Oh, my G.o.d, Dani!"

"What?"

"What you just said!"

Dani rolls her eyes. "Well, maybe I'm not the goody-goody everyone thinks I am! And tell me you couldn't picture Helena saying that."

"OK, actually I could, but Connor said he'd do everything possible to make sure we'd be together. He said he'd stand up to her if he had to." I sigh. "Of course, that was before I got half naked." I take off my sapphire earrings, and pull the black cashmere sweater over my head, and hang it back up. "I don't know what to wear."

"Who cares?" Dani says through a mouthful of pretzels. "This is Margo's big night, no one will be looking at us."

I turn and give her a "do I have to spell it out for you" look.

"Oh, Connor," she says nodding. "What are you so worried about? He never cared what you looked like before."

I give her another look. "Thanks-not that I really care what he thinks anymore."

"Oh, you've been agonizing over what shirt to wear for the last hour for my sake?" She bites down on another pretzel, and shakes her head. "But you know what I mean-Sascha's got the regal-freaking-gorgeous hair thing, and Z's got the hard-a.s.s-exotic Amazon look-I have no clue what Margo's got, beside a pointy face and a bad case of the b.i.t.c.hes, but Connors always been into plain old you. Uh, not that you're plain."

"I think I felt better before you tried to cheer me up." I grab the sweatshirt I wore two nights ago off the floor and bring it to my face, breathing in Connor's sandalwood aftershave.

"You're not going to wear that, are you? It was on the floor."

I throw the sweatshirt into my empty laundry basket and take out my purple wool sweater-not too fancy, but not too casual. "How about this?"

Dani nods. "Perfect. Margo hates purple."

I put the sweater on and run my fingers through my curls to tame the static. "Do you think Margo will like our presents?"

"I'm still iffy on the book."

"As Margo likes to say, 'it's just a joke.' Anyway, let's pack it all up and get something to eat before the meeting." I sit at my desk and open the black gift bag we bought, and hand it to Dani. "One bar of lavender soap, lavender oil, and lavender lotion-for improved mood."

Dani takes each one, wraps them in pink tissue paper, and drops them in the bag.

"One copy of The Crucible."

Dani grabs the book and laughs. "It is kind of funny," she says, wrapping it up. "At least she'll like the necklace-I think."

"She'll like it," I say, holding the silver star necklace up. The opal in the middle flickers with color as it swings from my hand. Dani and I bought a necklace for each of us to celebrate our upcoming birthdays, and to try to recapture some sort of cohesiveness in the group. Not that I really believe matching necklaces will turn us back to the tight-knit group we used to be, but who knows?

"What does the card say about opals?" Dani asks.

I take the small card out of the box and open it up. "'The opal, October's birthstone, is thought to contain captured lightning. Opals bring the wearer inner beauty, success, and facilitate the abilities of foresight and prophecy.'"

"Well, Margo could sure use a dose of inner beauty. What does mine say?"

I take out the boxes with Dani and Zahara's names on them. '"The topaz, November's birthstone, protects the wearer against enemies, untimely death, and is a symbol of beauty and splendor.'"

Dani gets up and takes her box. "You know-with all the night calls we've been going on lately, I think I'm going to put mine on now."