Page 35 of With a Little Luck

“I mean,” I add hastily, “not thatyouneed help charming anyone.”

Maya’s lips curl into a shy smile. She looks almost flustered.

The tag in my blazer starts itching again. Or is it just the feeling of mortification when I remember, once again, that I’m supposed to be normal tonight? Confident.Cool.

Not talking about wizards.

“That’s really sweet,” says Maya. “Does it help her?”

Or maybe talking about wizards wasn’tsucha terrible idea.

I consider for a second. “I think so. She hasn’t mentioned it in a while, but she said it helped once, a long time ago.”

“Excuse me, Jude? You must be Jude! The high schooler, right?”

I swivel to see an Asian woman in a neon-pink jumpsuit, a glass of wine in one hand. She looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place her until she puts a hand to her chest. “I’m Vanessa Hsu, from KSMT!” It clicks93then, and I realize that I’ve seen her on a billboard promoting her morning show before.

“Oh, yeah, hi. I’m Jude.”

“Iloveyour name. Please tell me you’re named for the Beatles song.”

“Yeah. My parents are big fans.”

“Who isn’t?” she says. She has one of those exuberant, over-the-top personalities, the sort of person who talks really fast and excitedly and never lets a moment of uncomfortable silence pass her way without being thoroughly crushed beneath an avalanche of rambling commentary.

Probably what makes her such a good radio personality.

“Oh my goodness, look at the two of you!” says Vanessa, stepping back and scanning Maya and me from head to toe. “You are just the cutest couple I have ever seen! I never looked this good when I was a teenager, let me tell you. I wore Hello Kitty sweatshirts until I was twenty-three, and don’t even get me started on my bangs. But you—wow! How are you doing tonight? Are you having a good time? Did you try the appetizers? Are you excited to meet Sadashiv?”

Maya beams at her, even as her hold tightens on my arm. “So excited,” she says, not quite meeting Vanessa’s energy level. “I’m an enormous fan. When Jude asked me to be his date to this, I almost passed out. I still can’t believe I’m really here, and I’m going to meet him face-to-face. It feels too good to be true.”

“But you’re so young!” says Vanessa. “Definitely younger than Sadashiv’s usual demographic. How did you become a fan?”

“Well,” says Maya, drawing out the word as her gaze flits to me, then back to the DJ. “This is totally embarrassing, but actually … it was kind of because of you.”

Vanessa starts. “Me?”

“Before I had my license, my mom would take me to school every morning, and she loves your show, so it was always playing in the car. And you would play Sadashiv’s music, and … I just fell in love with it. I swear, the first time I heard his voice, it was like having an out-of-body experience. I’d never heard anything so beautiful. Then one day you mentioned94how cute he was, so I looked up his picture, and …” Maya lets out a dramatic sigh and pretends to fan herself with one hand.

“Yes! He is so dreamy!” says Vanessa.

“Sodreamy,” Maya agrees. They laugh, like sharing an inside joke, and a part of me wonders if I should feel jealous of Sadashiv. I mean, I do feel jealous a little, I guess. Or at least, I used to, when I first heard about Maya’s humongous crush on him. But then, heisconsidered one of the world’s sexiest men, so … it isn’t exactly like we’re in competition.

And besides, she’s not hanging on tohisarm right now, is she?

“I better keep mingling,” says Vanessa, “but it was so great to meet you. Have a nice time tonight, okay?”

As she walks away, Maya turns back to me with an almost impish smile and whispers, “How’d I do?”

“What do you mean?”

She nudges me with her shoulder. “I was using my Charm spell on her. Couldn’t you tell?”

A surprised laugh bursts out of me. “Charm Person successfully cast. You’ve earned fifty experience points.”

At the other end of the room, a freckled woman with auburn hair and enormous earrings claps her hands a few times. The crowd falls into a hush. “Hello, and welcome! I’m Erika. I’m a publicist with Hearthfire Records, and we are so thrilled to have you joining us tonight. It’s going to be a great show! I know you are most excited to meet our star of the evening, so I’d like to have you all line up right outside in the hallway and we will guide you to the signing table, where you can meet Sadashiv and receive a signed tour poster. Pictures are allowed, but we ask that you remain on this side of the table, please. Now, if you’ll follow me, right this way.”

A few middle-aged women literally squeal as they hurry to be at the front of the line. Maya and I end up somewhere near the middle as we’re all shepherded into the hallway. It feels a bit like elementary school, actually, like we’re lining up to head to the playground. The line winds down the hall and curves around a corner, so we can’t see the signing table, but95it moves pretty quickly, and the entire crowd is buzzing with excitement and nerves.

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