Page 5 of Bewitch

“I could,” Kaylie muses, “or I could use my double-edged sword on him.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Eliza says patiently. “You can’t go around threatening to use your sword on people. I’m not even sure you’re allowed to have it on campus.”

“Let’s not worry about the sword,” Brooke says. “Tell us about the janitor.”

Eliza makes a face. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I misheard him, but…”

“Sometimes, it’s not just the words that are said that matter,” I say. “It’s attitude, tone, how close he is, if he’s invading your space…”

“What exactly happened?” Brooke asks darkly, her light blue eyes flashing.

Eliza hangs her head so her long dark hair falls forward as if to hide her, I brush it back.

“I can talk to my mom, but only if you tell me what’s going on,” I say.

“A few girls and I were talking,” she said. “He came up and asked me to pick up something. I bent down to get it, and it was just creepy the way he watched me, when I was bent over and even after I came back up again. One of the girls noticed too.”

“What did he have you get?” Kaylie asks.

“A piece of trash.”

“That’s his job to get. You’re right.” Kaylie scowls. “There’s something there.”

“Can you find out if any other girls have had issues with him?” I ask them all. “I would rather go to my mom with all of the ammunition if I can.”

They nod.

Kaylie holds up a finger, and the waiter approaches as if she had tugged on a string. “Can we get some more salsa please?”

“Of course, but only the first two cups are free.”

“Is that so?” She pouts. “I guess that’s all right. Please.”

He grins at her and walks away.

Brooke makes a face. “What was that about?”

Eliza laughs. “Watch and look at the bill. You’ll see.”

Brooke shrugs. “Okay…”

“Kaylie is great at haggling,” I say. “We went shopping the other day, and she got a great deal.”

“It’s all about relating to the person,” Kaylie says. “Sometimes, they’ll say they have to honor the sticker price, but that’s not always the case. You can haggle just about anywhere. You just have to know the game.”

“But if you can afford it,” Brooke says.

“Sure, I can, but saving a few dollars here or there doesn’t hurt,” Kaylie says, “and it’s why I can pay for us all to eat here. Are you sure you don’t want to order something to go, Dawn? I feel bad. I hadn’t realized you ate already.”

I hesitate and shake my head. If I cave and let her order me something, I’ll eat all of it. We’ve been here for so long that the girls are all on their third round of drinks, so if I eat once we’re in the dorm, I’ll have to go to bed basically right after, and then it’ll all turn to fat overnight.

I’m sure that’s not exactly how the body works, but it would definitely affect my quality of sleep, and it would also serve to undermine any headway I might’ve started to make with my trek to the gym.

I will prove Lucas wrong. I will lose weight. I can do this, and I will.

Soon enough, we get the bill. Kaylie takes it, looks it over, and grins at the waiter, who smiles back and walks off.

Eliza snatches the bill out of her hand and holds it up for me to see. There’s no charge listed for the salsa, but even more surprising is that there is only a charge marked down for six drinks, not nine.

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