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A high school student finds a grimoire that shows how to make magical disguises. |
Previously: "Making a Splash"  by Mastrix Thereâs no way you can let your chance with Mark slip. You donât know what Todd and Marius want, but it canât be that important and youâve got a spotless record. So, instead, you flick your blonde hair and stretch out those long, smooth thighs right in front of Markâs eyeline. The boys talk; you laugh and try to say as little as possible as always. Yet while in your usual body that comes across as morose and dull, somehow Stephanie Wyatt makes it feel like youâve got a timeless allure. And when Mark âaccidentallyâ bumps his hand across yours, you donât fight it. You wish you could stay here forever. But you canât really; a wetsuit isnât particularly comfortable, and you need to switch back to your real self before the boys invite you somewhere. So, you make an excuse about needing to get home and stand up. It only takes a slight tap on Markâs arm to get him to follow you. âSo, Stephanie. Do you prefer something shorter?â âStephâs fine,â you say, trying to keep the air of command. âAlright. Steph. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out together sometime?â âOh?â âYouâve got incredible eyes. Has anyone told you that? Theyâre like emeralds.â You trace your fingertips up the sides of his arms. âYeah,â you lie. âBut you can keep on telling me.â And then it happens. He stoops, and your lips meet, and you feel the warm slip of his tongue inside your mouth, and your body quivers so hard to feel as if youâre going to melt into his chest. You swing Stephanieâs arms around his neck, and you stare deeply at each other until you know what eternity feels like. *** Your trip back to the St Francis Xavier School is a happy one, a dreamy grin on your (real) face. Your afternoon as Stephanie Wyatt, you think, might just have been the greatest of your life. Youâre going to be late for dinner, but thatâs fine: youâre not hungry. You walk into Founders Hall as dusk falls, still smiling stupidly, then make your way up to your room, swinging the door open. Tammy-Lynn leaps to her feet almost immediately, and youâre about to ask why when you realize your bed has been tossed. âThe fuck!?â you say, dropping your bag and rushing over. Your desk drawers are open and the lock on your footlocker has been smashed off, leaving it hanging meekly from its hook. âTodd and Marius,â Tammy-Lynn begins. âThey came up about 15 minutes back, knocked, then began searchinâ through your things.â You shove your personal items around looking for the book. You breath a sigh of relief when you spot the half-finished second mask and the leftover paste, but the book and the ingredients are all gone. âIt wasnât the whole girlsâ wing, just you. Apparently itâs Washington house business, soâŚâ , For the briefest moment you wonder if this is Maryâs payback for you putting paid to her messing with the townie kids. But sheâs more subtle and calculating, and sure as hell wouldnât have got the prefects involved. You turn on your roommate, face now as red as your hair. âWhy, Tammy? Why me?â you jab a finger at her. âWhat the fuck did you say?â âI didnât say anything!â she gasps. âI just mentioned to Todd that you were spending a lot of time reading that book and it was distracting you from your studies andâŚâ You dash off down the corridor, taking the stairs two at a time, second and third-formers scattering in front of you as you rush into the dining hall. At one of the tables, eating their dessert, Marius and Todd are sat. They look up at you. âAh, there she is,â Todd says with a malicious grin. âWhy the hell are you doing going through my stuff?â you snap. âJocelyn, please. Weâre trying to eat.â Todd says. âThe hellâŚâ âAfter our meal. Why donât you go wait outside?â Toddâs enjoying this. Marius sets his spoon down. âTodd told you about the meeting,â he says, calm and direct. âBefore dinner, in the dining room?â âHe never said what it was about.â âHe didnât need to, JM. Heâs a prefect. Weâre here for your safety and the safety of others.â âAnd how does that mean you get to raid my fucking locker?â âOooh, language, Jocelyn,â Todd says, barely able to hide his glee. Marius sets his food aside. âWhatâs done is done. Come with us, weâll get it straightened out.â Youâre shaking with fury as the duo put their trays away. Marius treats the whole thing like a business meeting, walking with you to the dining room and offering you a seat at the polished table, before sitting opposite, joined moments later by a smirking Todd. âFirst up,â Marius says, his face serious but voice light as he tries to sound measured and reasonable, âIâm sorry that we had to break into your footlocker. But the school operates on an honor system, and breaches of the code have to be investigated. I had hoped we could settle this amicably, but your no-show at the meeting meant we had to take a more direct approach for the good of the student body.â You look at him blankly. âMarius, what the hell are you talking about?â He takes a breath, giving Todd a chance to interrupt. âJocelyn Moss, do you denounce Satan and all his works?â You snort in surprise. âWhat?â Marius gives Todd a hard stare and goes back to his calm â and ridiculous â line of questioning. âJM, this is a Catholic school, although of course we accept and tolerate other recognized faiths. And, as part of the honor code you signed up to, the possession ofâŚâ he tries to think of the right words, âoccult paraphernalia is prohibited.â You blink, barely able to restrain your incredulity. âYouâre accusing me of, what, devil worship? Is this an actual witch hunt?â âJM, please,â Marius says. âThis is serious. For now, weâre keeping it a Washington house matter. But, and I know this sounds ridiculous, itâs written in the school bylaws that, uhâŚâ âThou shalt not tolerate a witch to live.â Todd interjects again with a grin, only to fall silent from a sharp gaze from Marius. âWe found your book, JM, with its stupid little pentagram and fancy-ass, creepy Latin. Acker told us how youâre looking at it virtually every night.â âItâs just an antique!â you protest. âI picked it up in town, and I thought it made a cool art project.â Itâs Todd. Heâs hoping on some bullshit old rule as a chance to cause trouble. âI get it,â Marius says. âBut rules are rules â I didnât write âem.â He scratches his nose. âThing is, if it was just the book weâd let it go. But when we searched your locker â as per school regulations â we found a few other things. A vape pen, lighter, and several chemical bottles marked as school property. You want to fill me in?â You close your eyes. âI told you! Iâm doing an art project, OK? As for the vape pen, you know half the kids in this place smoke or drink. Shit, Baldwin hereâsâŚâ âTodd isnât the one weâre talking about,â Marius says, his voice grave. âAny of this on its own, we could probably turn a blind eye. But all of it together?â He thinks a moment. âTwo weeks, no exeats. You stay on campus. And obviously the pen and the chemicals are confiscated.â âOh come on!â you say with a groan, watching Baldwin lean back and smile viciously behind Mariusâ back. âFine, sorry I took the stupid supplies. And I confess, you caught me vaping. What about the book? Itâs totally innocent.â âThatâs staying with us,â Baldwin says. âUntil we determine whether itâs,â his lips curl into a laugh at Mariusâ ridiculous phrase, âoccult paraphernalia. Iâm going to pass it over to Vee Macklin, Marius. Sheâs a Latin scholar, sheâll soon tell us what itâs about.â âOh no,â you interrupt, both prefects turning their attention to you. Thereâs no way you can let a bitch like Vee Macklin get hold of the book: if she realizes itâs real you have no idea what sheâd do. âNo. Like Iâm going to let you drag her into your dumb inquisition. You said this was a Washington house matter. Macklinâs in Jefferson. Pick someone in our own house.â Toddâs about to argue, but Marius nods his head. âSheâs right,â he says. âIâll get Mathilde to translate it when she gets back tomorrow, sheâs just as good as Macklin. In the meantime, Iâm going to hold on to your âart projectâ.â He taps the desk, as if calling a meeting to order, then repeats your punishment. âIâm disappointed in you, Jocelyn,â he says. âyouâre supposed to be a role model for younger students.â It takes all your restraint not to tell him to kiss your ass. Meeting over, you head out of the dining room and along the corridor to the games room, sinking against the wall and closing your eyes. You have to come up with a way to get that book back. Right now Marius has it, then he plans on giving it to Mathilde. But how youâre going to get the book without either of them noticing isnât going to be easy â at least not without help. Maryâs probably still pissed about you spoiling her fun with the townies, but there are other options. You doubt Tammy-Lynn meant the prefects to go this far: you could easily guilt trip her into helping you get the book back. Or maybe you could expand your magic conspiracy? Youâve got a working mask, after all, and itâs more than enough to convince Aiden you werenât messing around. And, you realize, you donât just have one mask: you have two. With a little time, you can get your spare mask ready. Maybe thereâs an identity you could borrow to sort out your prefect blues⌠Next: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Marius?" |
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