The Water Curse

Part 8 - Let Me Ask You Again

The next day, I woke up feeling like I was going to be sick. Nervousness fluttered in the pit of my stomach as I rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes. Goddammit, I wasn't ready for this. Only this weekend had I gone up to Callin, asked him the same question I was approaching him with today, and he had brushed me off without hesitation. How was I supposed to be successful this time? 

I'll help you, Twelve comforted me. 

How? You're inside my head. 

Remember how I appeared when Jason pushed you in the water? I've been saving energy, and I can do it again for a couple seconds if needed. 

You'd do that for me? 

I've spent quite a lot of time listening to you think. Just like you have heard me thinking too.

It was true, actually. If I focused hard enough, and it was quiet, I could hear the murmurings of Twelve's thoughts. I knew her - how she thought that Alex was hot and approved of him, how she was annoyed with Callin for being so shut-in, and how she was proud of me and all the courage and bravery I'd shown this weekend. She also had a simmering hatred for Jason. 

I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry on my way out. My mother was upstairs still; I could hear her blow-drying her hair. And my dad had already left. Hooray for a quiet morning. I unwrapped my granola bar and pulled a banana from the fruit rack and poured myself a glass of orange juice. We were out of cereal. I would have to ask Mom to grab some on her way home. After shoving the rest of my homework in my backpack, I sighed, facing the garage door. Back before my life was ruined by one fricking boy, I didn't need to stand and collect my courage before going to school. I didn't need to ignore the relentless fluttering in my stomach and tell myself that I could do it. 

So I told myself that I could do it, and walked out the door. 

******

Surprisingly, I didn't see Callin at all for the first half of the day. I didn't have a single class with him. Either luck worked against me, or he was way dumber than me or way smarter. I didn't know. So I spent most of the classes half taking notes, and half talking to Twelve, bouncing ideas of what to say off of her. In the end, we both got pissed at the whole situation. 

Boys are dumb, I told her. 

Tell me about it, she grumbled. Just wait until you know the whole story. 

I can't wait. If we can pin down Callin. 

You will, Ariel. There's no way he's getting out of this one. And this time, you'll know when the truth is the truth. 

Hell yeah. He's going to tell me the whole story, not restricted by the Spell or whatever. 

They did their best, Ariel. 

I know. It's just, I'm so ready to get out of the fog and figure out what actually is going on. 

The bell rang, startling me. I gathered up my things when Alex came up to me, looking very nice in a tight t-shirt and light washed jeans. 

"Hey Ariel," he said happily. I smiled at him. I had actually kind of forgotten him, my mind so filled of the current problem. 

"Hi Alex," I said shyly, my cheeks turning pink. He touched one, grinning. "It's cute when you do that." 

That made me blush deeper. "Thanks, I think." 

"It's definitely a compliment," Alex said. "We still on for tomorrow?"