Page 58 of Clichés & Curses

‘What’s with the giant smile on your face?’ I heard Nina ask.

‘Hmm?’ I hummed in question, lifting my head to meet her.

She narrowed her eyes at me, a suspicious look on her face. ‘Are you texting someone? Who is it?’

I didn’t even get a chance to answer her when she let out a gasp, her eyes widening. ‘Colton texted you.’

I told my brain to act nonchalant, but it seemed the message got delayed, and my eyes immediately widened at her accusations. My cheeks heated up, as if I was caught doing something scandalous.

My silence was all the confirmation she needed.

‘So, you guys are texting now,’ she said, her voice filled with excitement. ‘Well, what did he say?’

‘We just started texting today and it’s nothing major.’ I shrugged, trying to brush it off as nothing to be excited about. ‘He has an away game on Thursday, so he won’t be attending class this Wednesday, and we won’t be able to practice ASL this week. But it’s just one week, so I think we’ll be fine.’

Sensing my lack of excitement about the situation, her happiness started to fade too. ‘What’s wrong?’

I shook my head and let out a sigh. ‘Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I can’t help but be disappointed that I won’t be able to see him this week. And I also feel this sadness, you know? Like the sadness you get when you’ve been looking forward to somethingonly to have it cancelled? And I know for a fact, I wouldn’t be feeling this way, if it weren’t for this stupid crush on Colton.’

‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with being disappointed with not getting a chance to see your crush,’ Nina replied. ‘And what’s so wrong about a crush?’

‘It’s not the matter of a crush, but more ofthiscrush.’

A confused look came over her. ‘What do you mean?’

When I had returned home last Saturday night, fully prepared to tell her about the curse, Nina quickly stood up from the couch, with a very concerned look on her face. ‘Is everything okay?’

Not wanting her to think of the worst things possible, I had quickly reassured her. ‘Everything’s fine. I had a great time tonight,’ I paused before adding, ‘but there’s something I have to tell you.’

Her eyebrows had narrowed slightly at my request. From the look on her face, I could tell her brain had been trying to decipher what it could be. ‘Okay,’ she said, her tone suspicious. ‘But how urgent is it?’

While I hadn’t understood the relevance of her question, I still answered, ‘I would say, not too urgent.’

Nina had stayed quiet for a moment, before replying, ‘You know you can tell me anything, right?’

I gave her a nod. ‘Of course I do.’

Giving me a smile, she had said, ‘Look, I’m here if you want to talk about whatever it is you wanted to tell me. But from what I could see,’ she paused while making it a point to look at the jacket, ‘and from what you said about having a great night, maybe we can save the conversation for another day. You deserve to have a memory of the night without having it spoiled by whatever it is you wanted to tell me.

‘We can talk about it now, or we can talk about it later,’ she concluded with a shrug.

I might have been ready to lay down whatever it was that had been bothering me about this thing with Colton, but Nina was right. And if that was the only time I would ever get to go on a night out with him, I wanted to preserve it as best as I could.

So instead of me revealing the curse to Nina, we had ended that night with rewatches ofGilmore Girls.

But now, it was Monday. A different day.

And I wasn’t high on late-night brain fogs or adrenaline rushes any more.

The way I saw it, I didn’t really have to talk about it then—or ever. And if I could have it my way, I would have forgotten about it altogether.

But being a hopeless romantic and knowing that she is one as well, I knew Nina would love to hear all about my not-date with Colton. And boy, was I dying to tell her all about it.

And that meant it was time to tell her about the curse.

Here goes nothing.

‘You know, how my parents got divorced and Eliza called off her engagement?’ I asked.

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