‘Who’s first to disappear? As if I didn’t know,’ I said, imagining Kerry going up in a blue flash.
But Zoe just said, ‘Maybe.’ She tucked the book back into its wrapping. ‘Better not show them to Kerry anyway. She’ll have her priest come and do an exorcism on us.’ She gave me a wicked grin. ‘Hey, maybe the books will be enough to scare her away altogether. That’d be pretty magic, eh?’
I sighed. ‘Don’t count on it. We need to wave more than a wand to get rid of Kerry now. I reckon we could throw a bomb at her and she wouldn’t budge. I don’t know how it happened, but we’re stuck with her.’
Zoe clenched her fists and made a strangled sort of noise. And I wondered whether Luke realised the sacrifice I was making just for him.
Later on, I had to meet up with my dad. He was taking me out for lunch. It was his new idea for seeing me, because I wouldn’t go to his flat, where his girlfriend lived, and there was a post-nuclear atmosphere when he came to our house. I asked him on the phone if I could bring Zoe along.
‘Can I bring Ellie along?’ he asked.
‘No way,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with her, thanks. I’ve told you that, hundreds of times.’
‘Then it’s just us two,’ he said.
The only good thing was that when he was with me he flashed the cash a bit. A sign of guilt, according to Mum. So I suggested that we went to the Italian where Luke worked. I had no idea whether he’d be on shift or not, but it was a weekend, so there was a chance.
Turned out Luke was there and he was the one who came over and showed us to a table. I was really glad I’d made a bit of an effort to get ready that morning, even though it was more to impress Zoe than anyone else. My black net dress and jacket might’ve been a bit too goth for Luke’s liking. My dad made his usual comments about Halloween being still a few months away and I just curled my lip at him, Zoe-style.
Luke gave us the lunch menu and winked at me. My dad clocked it. As soon as Luke left us, Dad leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. ‘So, any reason why you chose this place?’
I shrugged. ‘We came here last week for Zoe’s birthday. I thought it was nice.’
My dad sniffed. ‘Bit like eating in a dungeon, if you ask me. Still, I suppose it beats McDonald’s.’
We ordered our food. I reckoned Dad was giving Luke the evil eye, and I told him so. He just laughed. ‘All dads are like that. They want to protect their little girls from big bad boys, that’s all.’
‘Protect me?’ I took a swig of fizzy water. ‘But you don’t even live with me anymore. I don’t think you get much of a say in what I do now, to be honest.’
Dad closed his eyes for a second. ‘All right, Anna. It’d be nice to know when you’re going to stop being quite so angry with me.’
I swallowed. I always got a hard lump in my throat when I had to talk to Dad about the divorce. ‘Don’t expect any sudden changes of heart.’
Dad nodded and picked at the bread Luke had put on the table. ‘Fine. I might not get much of a say in your life, for now. But your mum’s quite worried about you.’
I blinked. ‘How d’you mean?’
‘I think she’s concerned about this friend of yours – Zoe? The one you went to that concert with.’
‘What about her?’
‘She thinks she’s a bit of a – er – an overpowering influence on you.’
I’d been about to bite into an olive. I turned it round in my fingers and all of a sudden it seemed too oily, too sour to eat. ‘You mean you actually talked to Mum? That’s a miracle.’
Luke turned up with two big steaming plates of pasta. He said: ‘Extra helping for my fave customer.’
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to eat it and Dad didn’t look like he was hungry any more. I looked at the bowl and said: ‘Phew.’
‘How are you his favourite customer?’ Dad asked.
‘I’m not, really,’ I said. ‘He’s my friend’s big brother, that’s all.’ I paused for a minute. ‘Not Zoe, another girl. Kerry. I don’t think you’ve met her.’
‘Another witch-in-training?’ asked Dad.
‘Ha, ha. Nope, quite the opposite. Actually, she just sort of follows Zoe and me around and we wish she wouldn’t.’
Dad frowned at me. ‘What’s wrong with her?’
‘She’s just – we just don’t like her very much. She’s a bit nerdy and she acts like she’s five years old some of the time.’
‘Why does she want to hang around with you, then, if you don’t get on?’
‘She’s really thick-skinned, Dad.’ I glanced around me to make sure Luke was nowhere in earshot. ‘I think we’ve made it pretty clear we’d rather she wasn’t around, but she doesn’t take the hint. Probably ’cause she just doesn’t have any other mates either. And that school... there are kids who pick on you if you’re on your own.’
‘Right.’ Dad poked at his food with his fork. ‘So she has to tag along with you, otherwise she’d be bullied. And alone.’
I nodded. ‘What would you do, Dad? To get rid of her?’
‘I wouldn’t,’ said Dad.
‘What?’
‘I wouldn’t get rid of her. It sounds like she’s quite lonely. I thought someone like you might have got that.’
I put my fork down. ‘Well, I do get that. But why should it be my problem?’
‘Because you’re a nice person. Well, you used to be. I was always proud of your kind heart. I’m not sure I really like the person you’re turning into, though.’
It
