Quite a few people turned to look at us. I stared at the remains of my coffee. Zoe muttered something under her breath.
‘What did you say?’ I asked them. Zoe had her eyes closed and was still muttering, too quietly for me to make out the words.
‘We’re saying there’s a stink. Coming from you two.’ The others held their noses and waved their hands.
Just then a woman strode over to them. ‘I’ll have to ask you to leave,’ she said.
The gang burst out into protests. Zoe and I turned to stare.
‘We haven’t done anything,’ Maxine said, while the others stood with their mouths open. ‘You can’t chuck us out.’
‘It’s quite obvious you’re trying to cause trouble,’ the woman said. ‘I can hear you making rude remarks about other customers. You can see there are no free seats, anyway. Please leave.’
‘I want to see the manager,’ said Maxine.
‘I am the manager,’ said the woman.
Zoe and I grinned at each other.
As the girls turned to leave, one of them spat on the floor, in our general direction. ‘That’s it,’ said the manager. ‘You’re all barred, permanently. Now get out.’
Then she came over to us. ‘I’m very sorry,’ she said. ‘I heard what those girls were saying and I didn’t like it at all. I’ve seen you in here a few times and you never cause trouble. I’ve seen them too and I swear they once left without paying. Choose a cake and another drink – on the house.’
We chose something from the menu and she went to get us a freebie. ‘I can’t believe that just happened,’ I said to Zoe.
She gave me a slow smile. ‘I willed something to happen to them,’ she said. ‘I just felt like I could do it. It was amazing, wasn’t it?’
Afterwards, we went mooching round the shops. Zoe suddenly suggested buying Kerry a new top. ‘I’ve only got a couple of quid, but if you lend me that money your mum gave you, I’ll pay it back,’ Zoe said, picking a T-shirt from the rack.
‘Why?’ I said. ‘I mean, I think it is a good idea. But you said you wanted to get rid of Kerry.’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Call it karma,’ said Zoe, peering at the size label. ‘What do you think she is – size 12? Or 14? If we get a size too small, she’ll be mortified and if I get one that’s too big, it’ll look like I’m making a comment about her size. I just feel a bit guilty, that’s all. I don’t want to be like that crowd from school.’
I squeezed her arm.
Guilt made us spend all our money on the top for Kerry and a bracelet in the same colour. The sort of shiny, pink-y thing she would wear. We knocked at her door with the new top in its bag. Her mum answered, shouted for Kerry and left us standing at the door. The way she looked at us made me shrink. It was like her mum-radar had picked up something rotten. Kerry sniffed when she saw us.
Zoe held out the top, which was wrapped in tissue paper. ‘Got you this,’ she said. ‘To say sorry. I was a cow.’
Kerry’s face lightened straight away and she tore at the tissue paper. She held it up against herself.
‘Thanks,’ she said and leaned forward as if she was going to give Zoe a hug. Zoe shrank back.
‘Really, thanks,’ Kerry said again. ‘You were pretty horrible though.’
Zoe shrugged. ‘One of those days. Can we forget it?’
Kerry nodded vigorously and as we turned to go, she followed us, closing her door behind her. ‘So,’ she said. ‘What shall we do tonight?’
Zoe closed her eyes.
After we’d shaken Kerry off again, by an elaborate process of pretending we were each going home and then meeting up again near The Cut, Zoe persuaded me to go and look at her cleaning efforts in the empty flat. She still had the key and said she was planning to keep it, unless Jodie directly asked for it back.
Zoe gave a long sigh. ‘We’re back to Square One with Kerry,’ she said. ‘What was I thinking? Maybe she would have stayed away this time and then we’d be finished with her. Like cutting off an infected limb.’
‘Don’t let’s go there again,’ I said, blinking at the strong smell of bleach when we opened the door. When Zoe said she’d cleaned the place, she wasn’t kidding. It smelled worse than a hospital. ‘I felt awful. It was like shooting Bambi.’
‘Yes, but,’ said Zoe, rhythmically kicking at the wall with her toe, ‘she gets on my nerves so much, Anna. I was sorry for her, for a few minutes, but now she thinks she’s one of us, part of a little gang. I only want it to be just us two again.’
‘So do I. But we’ve been through this again and again. She hasn’t got anyone else. I think we’re stuck.’
Zoe punched the wall then said, ‘Owww’ and examined her hand. I laughed at her and after a second or two she joined in.
‘What about that café, though?’ Zoe’s eyes were firelight. ‘Since we’re talking about karma.’
We went over and over what had happened. Zoe insisted it was all down to our magic working.
‘Or they brought it on themselves,’ I said. ‘Mouthing off like that.’
‘Yes, but, when does anyone ever stop them? When do they ever get caught out like that? That Maxine strides round school like she owns the place and even the teachers think she’s a saint. Magic, Anna. We’ve got the power.’
Zoe held out her hands. Her fingers were long and pale. Witch’s fingers. I half expected to see bolts of lightning coming out of them. ‘Tomorrow,’ she said. ‘We’ll try again. Thinking about what we really, really want and ask for it. Imagine it happening. Imagine it coming true.’
‘I guess. OK.’ Zoe took my hand and I squeezed
