Page 36 of Spelling Disaster

“You can ask me anything,” I reply.

A little too eagerly, in my opinion, but Theo stares ahead, too lost in his head to notice.

“Would you be willing to tutor me? You never have a problem in classes. In fact, you’re the only witch I know who manages to get through each assignment without a single hiccup.” He rushes to get through the statement and since his face gives nothing away, I have to wonder why. “What you do is admirable no matter what the others say.”

Immediately my heart leaps to thud against my ribs and demands I tell him yes.

It would be an opportunity to get close to him, it reasons. To show him the real me. To win his affection.

My brain forces my heart to reel it in.

“You saw me?” I ask instead.

He nods slowly. “You’re a little hard to miss.”

I blush again, wondering if he’d say the same if he saw me in my street clothes rather than the school uniform. “Here I thought…never mind what I thought.”

“Apparently,” he continues with forced lightness, “and as I’m sure you already know since you see everything, I’m not doing as well in classes as I might be. To the point where I’m close to flunking out if I can’t make it through the next round of tests. They’re coming up.”

“And you want me to tutor you?” I repeat, like saying it out loud with my own mouth makes it real.

“I’d like that, yes.”

Yes, say yes. My heart begs me. What comes out instead is, “Sorry, I have enough problems.”

In fact, several of them approach as we speak.

A glance at the building ahead shows me several girls who must have been waiting for him to get to his next class. There are Courtney and Kimberly, although Helena doesn’t seem to be in their midst. They gather in a pack and although they offer smiles to his back, for me, it’s thunderclouds.

A clear question as to what the hell someone like Theo is doing with me.

I’m asking myself the same question.

“You’re right, I notice things. Helping you is going to put a bigger target on my back than is already painted there.” I stop a split second away from smacking myself in the forehead at my bluntness. “I’m not sure why I told you that. Suffice it to say, there are better people out there to tutor you. People who are more on your level in terms of social status.”

Not to mention actual tutors. Or an upperclassman.

“What if I told you I know of something that can fix both our problems?” Theo offers. “I had a little time to think about it when you bolted out of the classroom.”

He’s not backing down.

“I’d say you have my curiosity piqued.” I wrap my arms around my midsection, holding tightly to keep myself from splintering in a thousand different directions.

“We don’t really have a lot of time to talk right now, considering our audience.” Theo stops and steps in front of me to get me to hear him out, blocking me with his body. “It really is the best solution for both of us, Yasmine.”

There he goes, saying my name again.

“I’d say that’s a hell of a proposition,” I squeak out. “I’m also not buying it.”

“You should meet me tonight. Before curfew, of course, at the Merlin statue at the center of campus.” He adjusts the strap of his bag over his shoulder, hair flopping into his eyes like one of the guys on Blaire’s boy-band posters, and my heart stutters. “You’ve seen the monument, I’m sure.”

Not beseeching me to consider his offer this time, either.

“Who?” I ask.

“Okay, so it’s not really Merlin. Everyone calls the statue that but it’s really just an unknown witch who founded the place.” Theo turns up the heat on his grin. “What do you say? Please say you’ll consider hearing me out.”

I say I’m sunk.

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