Page 56 of The Lone Wolf Café
I spun around, peeling my gaze away from the pumpkin patch. Mabel, Juniper, and Willow stood a few feet away, near the caramel apple vendor. Mabel gave a big, enthusiastic wave, and I noticed all three witches were holding containers of stir-fry and glasses of pumpkin juice.
And they were headed right toward my table.
Uh oh.
I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions. On one hand, I needed to get to know the other witches in town. The more I fit in, the less people would become suspicious about my true identity.
But I also wanted to spend time with Rowena. Which meant as soon as the trio plopped down at the table, with Juniper and Willow across from me and Mabel squeezed in against my cloak, dread engulfed my stomach like a swirling storm.
My gaze shot back over to the stir-fry line. Rowena had barely moved, but there were only a few people in line in front of her. She had her black cloak wrapped around herself like bat wings, and she was looking straight ahead at the food stall.
She hadn’t noticed what was happening.
“How’re you enjoying the festival?” Mabel asked as she pulled out a plastic fork and poked at her food. As usual, she wore a floral dress, but this one was black and covered in delicate, puffy hydrangeas. A lavender-colored cloak was slung over her shoulders, with a similarly colored witch hat on her head.
“Oh, it’s good so far,” I replied nonchalantly.
“Did you get food yet?” Willow asked. She was a young witch, maybe eighteen years old, with loose, frizzy, sandy-brown hairthat nearly reached her hips. “The stir-fry line is pretty long, but the caramel apple stand doesn’t have many people right now…”
“Uh, it’s alright,” I hurriedly insisted. “I’m not that hungry.”
“I wish we’d known you were here,” Mabel sighed. “We would’ve gotten you some food while we were in line.”
“I appreciate it. But…”
“Are you here by yourself, Nettie?”
“Uh, I…”
“Well, it’s a good thing we found you,” Mabel smiled. “No one should be alone during the pumpkin carving festival.”
But I’m not…
Mabel continued smiling as she took a few bites of her food, and my heart sank. These witches had been nothing but kind to me. Sure, they were secretive about certain parts of their pasts, but they’d welcomed me into the village as one of their own, despite knowing almost nothing about me.
I wanted to be friends with them.
But I also wanted Rowena.
And it was becoming increasingly difficult to have both.
There was a dark cloaked figure walking our way, and I realized it was Rowena carrying two platters of stir-fry. Once she got close enough to see me and the other three witches, she froze. Her facial expression was neutral, but I could see the glimmer of hurt in those deep brown eyes.
Panic bubbled in my stomach. My unexpected companions were deep in conversation, happily joking and laughing while they ate. I suddenly felt like I was drowning in a sea of witches, all wandering and chatting and cramming themselves into picnic tables, sitting so close together that their cloak-covered shoulders brushed.
But just as I began to fear that inviting Rowena was a bad idea, the witch on my left gathered up their plate and utensils and vacated the seat next to me.
Rowena quickly swooped in and squeezed herself into the picnic table, and I tried to relay with my eyes how sorry I was and how I didn’t mean for this to happen.
Then I felt it. A dark, dampening silence fell over Willow, Mabel, and Juniper as soon as Rowena sat down. They ceased their conversation, alternating between being engrossed in their food and shooting quick, cautious glances in Rowena’s direction.
I could feel it – fear, emanating from all three of them like a noxious cloud. And as usual, I had no idea why.
My stomach felt like it was about to boil over. I was amazed my ears and tail hadn’t popped out.
But there was nothing I could do. Speaking up or leaving the table would only make the situation more awkward. Despite the witches’ callous attitude toward Rowena, I still needed to make them like me. I needed to belong in this town so I wasn’t caught faking my identity.
So, I took a deep breath, lowered my head, and focused on my food.
