“When I was twelve, all I cared about was riding my bike and playing on my Nintendo 64.”
“I loved my Nintendo 64.” The host smiles, and the two of them are locked in a tight, nostalgic romance.
“This isn’t about sex or Nintendos,” the queen says, confused. “This is about letting these kids be who they are without fear of violence.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Aaron smiles. “Exactly. Let kids be kids. Without it being sexual.”
“I have to say, I agree,” the host says. “It’s all gotten so complicated now.”
“I can’t watch this,” Roe says flatly. “Can we turn it off?”
“Sure,” Fiona says, and switches it off. We’re silent for a moment.
Fiona has dug out the spell book from my school bag.
“It’s all a bit suburban, isn’t it?” Fiona says, flicking through. “I mean, where’s the intense stuff?”
“I don’t know if we really want to go messing with black magic,” I say. “According to every movie ever, it usually doesn’t go well.”
“How about we take your sailor knot spell, and just … you know, joosh it up a bit?” says Roe, his voice bending strangely on “joosh”.
“Joosh it up?” I say flatly. “Please explain.”
“So, more white satin, more of us tying the knots. We could take it all to the river,” he says. “Look, here, it says that the new moon is the most powerful time for casting spells that are trying to ‘banish unwanted entities’. When is the new moon?”
“March sixth,” says Fiona, searching on her phone. “Five days away.”
Roe and I look at each other silently.
“What?” Fiona says.
“March sixth,” I say. “Lily went missing on February sixth.”
“I can’t believe it’s been a month,” Roe says glumly. “I can’t believe so much can have changed, but we still haven’t found Lil.”
Silence. How can so much have changed? In a month I have gained and lost a boyfriend, discovered witchcraft and been involved in a riot. A month for the country to have publicly embraced homophobia and survive a snowstorm.
Jos looks up from an imaginary call on his toy phone. “You all have to go home now,” he says. “I’m for bed.”
We laugh, wash our cups in the sink and go.
On Wednesday morning Fiona and I are sitting on the radiator in the bathroom when Miss Harris marches in.
“Maeve,” she says. “My office. Now.”
“What? Why?”
“Now, Maeve.”
I shrug at Fi and follow Miss Harris through. What’s this about? I haven’t “acted out” once. I’ve been carrying on doing the bare minimum to get by, and my grades haven’t become any better or any worse. Not that they could get much worse.
I’m sitting in front of her desk, and my face is blank. For once, I have no idea what I’ve done wrong, rather than just pretending I don’t know what’s wrong.
“Maeve, I think you know why you’re here.”
“I don’t, Miss. Genuinely.”
“I take stealing very seriously, Maeve. It can be grounds for suspension.”
“I haven’t stolen anything,” I say, still confused.
“Please, Maeve, lies will only make things worse.”
She breathes heavily and massages the bridge of her nose. “Maeve, when I took those tarot cards from you, it was for your own good.”
Oh.
Oh, crap.
“Miss, I didn’t take them,” I respond, truthfully.
“Maeve, no one else knew that I had them. They were locked in my bottom desk drawer. I only opened it today to get a file from there, and you can imagine my surprise to find that they were gone.”
I say nothing, and just bite down on the inside of my cheek.
“I didn’t take them,” I repeat. How can I explain to someone like Miss Harris that the cards just reappeared in my bedside locker weeks ago?
“Well, then, Maeve, who did?”
“I don’t know,” I say, the tears rising to my eyes. God, why do I cry so much lately? I never used to cry before.
“Look, I don’t care about the cards, Maeve. I just need to know how you got the key.”
“Miss, I promise, I didn’t touch it.” A tear rolls down my cheek. “Genuinely.”
She looks at me, hard. “Well, Maeve, I don’t know what to say. You’re the only one who knew where they were.”
I lower my head and imagine myself coming home with another note from school. And Mum and Dad are so convinced that things are looking up for me.
She sighs. “But I suppose I have no proof.”
I look up.
“All right, Maeve. I’ll forget about this whole thing, the tarot cards and all, if you stay after school and help with some odd jobs again. You did such a great job with the Chokey the last time. Deal?”
“Deal,” I say eagerly. I’m terrified she’s going to open up my bag and find not only the tarot cards, but my bags of crystals too.
“Right,” she says brusquely. “Be here at 4 p.m.”
I nod and get back to class like a cat with a hot arse.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
MISS HARRIS TOLD ME I HAD TO DO ODD JOBS.
She did not tell me I had to do them with Sister Assumpta.
“Miss, no,” I protest. “Look, if I can just clear out one of the old classrooms myself, I can get it done way faster than if Sister is supervising me.”
“I’m not leaving you unsupervised in this building again, Maeve. We all know what that leads to. Just do what she says.”
“But…”
“Do as she says. And have some respect, for God’s sake.”
I wait in Sister Assumpta’s lemon-walled office until the old nun eventually wanders in. She’s over a foot shorter than me and is wearing her habit, something that comes and goes depending on her mood. She hasn’t been a nun in years and years, but I think she got used to wearing it. Or maybe she just wants to remind people that she’s still, in her heart, married to Jesus.
“Hello, Sister,” I say in my most respectful voice.
She gazes at me suspiciously.
“I’m Maeve,” I say. “I’m going to be helping you today.”
“What did you do wrong?” she asks, her voice rasping.
“Nothing,” I say staunchly. “I’m just helping.”
“You did something,” she corrects, looking
