Page 50 of Spelling Disaster

It’s not a bad place for me to be.

My imaginary scenario with a server isn’t far off, either. A waitress walks over and although she doesn’t have a pad and a pencil, she asks for our order.

“We’ll just take a plate of mozzarella sticks and some fries, please. Two cokes.” Theo orders for both of us.

“Sounds great,” I manage.

When we’re alone again, I pull out my notes on spellcasting from the bag Theo dropped on the opposite side of the booth.

It’s so much easier to focus on him and what he needs rather than myself. It’s the way I’ve been trained my entire life. I’m the one with the power, with the knowledge, to serve my people. To join the caste of Clerics and give back to the community. It’s my only purpose.

“You’ve got an exam coming up and I think that’s where we need to focus,” I say.

Theo looks less than enthused. I hardly blame him. Exams aren’t my happy place either.

“Before you get into the actual spell casting portion, you need to start with the basics, learn them intimately, and go from there.”

“I’m moderately familiar with the basics. I guess I stumble somewhere between knowing and executing,” he says, pausing to offer one of those heart stopping grins to the waitress as she delivers the two cokes for us.

She’s an older student with her hair twisted in an easy bun and she looks as flustered as anyone at the potency of his smile.

“It’s symbols. Sigils. The intentions behind the magic. All of those things are going to be integral toward the execution portion of it,” I say. “It might take a few days for you to get the hang of this but I know you can do it. At least it’s the weekend.”

“Yeah. You know, I always think Sunday is a sad day. But the day before is a Sat-urday.”

Despite how horrible it is, I chuckle, a genuine laugh.

“And here I wasn’t sure I’d get to see that smile of yours,” he replies in a low tone.

Uh oh. My breath catches and I bite down on my lip.

“You…you shouldn’t say those things.”

“Why not?” He wants to know. “You’re my girlfriend. Aren’t you?”

“I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend,” I say. “This is going to take me some time to get used to, Theo.”

“I know. But it’s okay.”

I chuckle and say, “How do you think this is anywhere near okay?”

“Because I’m a fighter. And you’ve agreed to help me, so now I’m going to do everything in my power to fight for you.”

The moment shatters when the server returns with our fried food. And I’m thankful she did because I’m not ready to hear what Theo really thinks about me being perpetually single for twenty-one years.

The door to The Shed opens and in walks a group of people I instantly recognize. Theo’s clique, the one he hangs out with on a regular basis. Crap. They’re going to know immediately that this is a sham, whatever is happening between us. They know him better than anyone else.

He might be confident in his acting skills, but he severely overestimates mine.

The group of three beeline straight toward us. I’m pretty sure their names are James, Piper, and something with a B. Betsy? Becky? Whatever it is, the determination on her face has me nearly forgetting my own name until Theo turns to me.

“Don’t worry. I got this.”

He’s asking me without saying the words to trust him and I want to. I desperately want to believe he has this handled. He sees the fear in my eyes and nods before he swivels around to face his friends, his arm thrusting easily behind my neck in a possessive gesture.

“Hey guys.” His voice is as smooth as glass. “What’s up?”

“Theo,” James replies.

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