Page 2 of The Sea Witch's Son

My mother laughed in her face and by the time we left the school, she had given me a cookie for my efforts. I threw out the cookie and went to the library to find out whatnarcissisticmeant.

And so it would seem, I was not like the other children.

The only reason I did not get kicked out of school was because a new challenge had arrived. Another girl, the fourth one in my grade, had enrolled and all the boys couldn’t stop talking about how she looked like a princess.

Golden curls, a heart-shaped face, big green eyes. This girl looked as though she was destined to be a queen someday. She was the only person not in my report which meant there was only one person she could be.

“Calista Drache.” She smiled, sliding onto the bench next to me at recess, “A pleasure to meet you, Marlin Seaborn.”

I stared at her, studying the easy way she opened her lunch and started eating right next to me. There was no simple tell on this girl, no hint as to what her fear might be.

“The first day of school was four weeks ago.”

She shrugged, “I didn’t feel like going.”

I looked back at the playground where the other kids were playing. Instead of joining the girls playing tag or the boys playing grounders, she had chosen to sit next to me.

It made me suspicious.

“I don’t believe you.”

She laughed, “No need to be scared, Marlin. I won’t bite.”

“I’m not scared of you.”

“Of course you are. I am the only person not in your notebook, aren’t I?” She smiled, raising her hand to show me the notebook that had been safely tucked in my pocket, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me.”

She was teasing me but I took it as a challenge.

After that day, I spent hours looking up the infamous Drache family, searching for information on the daughter of the most powerful woman in Wolf Hollow. Nothing turned up, not a birth certificate or a single document stating Calista’s sports history.

It was as infuriating as it was intriguing.

For as sweet as she looked, this little princess was vicious in the same way I was cunning. Cutting off Freya’s hair for insulting her, shoving Jack off the monkey bars when he accused her of cheating; Calista did not wait for punishments to be handed out by teachers. She enjoyed handing them out herself.

Her small frame was not delicate so much as it was agile and sharp, trained to cut through people like a razor blade. Where I preferred the mind games, Calista liked the physical threats, the action that could be taken in vengeance.

I never did discover her fears. Once, I thought I got close, catching sight of the bandages running up her legs after winter break, but even that was foiled by the girl with the wicked green eyes.

“They’re from my uncles.” She lifted the hem of her dress to show me the cuts running up the inside of her thighs, “They come around every few months and add more to the collection.”

I had never seen a girl’s panties before. Nor had I seen such hideous scars.

“That’s kind of gross.” I told her, reaching out to touch the fresh knife wound, “Why would they cut your legs?”

“It’s not my legs they’re after.” She told me simply, “It’s my vagina.”

This time I did snatch my hand away.

She laughed, “Are you afraid of vaginas, Marlin?”

“No.” I said, face bright red.

“Do you want me to show you mine?”

I shook my head vigorously and Calista laughed again. She was older than me in some ways, younger than me in others.

“Are you afraid of them? Your uncles?” I asked her eagerly, dying to finally have something to put next to her name.

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