Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

Author:Jessica Lewis [Lewis, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

I cough into my arm, shivering, as I move up in line to buy some more cold medicine. Conrad watches me from outside the gas station, his face pressed against the glass. I’m sure the employees don’t appreciate him smearing his wet nose all over the window, but no one says anything. With the cold gleam in his eye and the flecks of blood in his fur, who would?

I feel like shit. My head and neck are killing me, and now I’ve developed a thick, wet cough. Will says I should take a break or stop altogether, but how can I? I have more money than I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Yesterday I bought a giant TV and put it in my room. The day before that, I bought a new laptop and a stereo system. I don’t even have Wi-Fi. I don’t like listening to music without headphones. And I still have thirty-one thousand, four hundred and thirty-six dollars. I had to get to fourteen thousand—that was the plan. But now I’m over, way over, and I can’t stop. I need a new money goal. I need to decide what I’m going to do with all this cash. My head throbs constantly now; it’s hard to think. I wish I could talk to Will about this.

I reach the front of the line and put the medicine on the counter. The cashier seems bored, completely uninterested in me or my purchase. “Is that all?”

“Yeah.” My voice sounds like a sixty-five-year-old smoker’s. Speaking of smokers…my gaze wanders to the cigarettes behind the cashier. “Actually, wait. I want some of those.”

The cashier follows my line of sight, his eyebrows raised. “Are you serious? How old are you?”

I pull out three hundreds and stare into his eyes. “Does it matter?”

His eyes widen and, after a moment, he says, “What kind do you want?”

I cough into my arm and take a deep breath. “You pick.”

He gives me a red pack and I slide him the three Benjamins. I slip the cigarettes into my pocket, grab the cold medicine, and leave the gas station, smiling.

Conrad and I get into the car and I pull out the pack of cigarettes. Marlboros. I open it and take one out, and put it in my mouth. Spongy paper sticks to my lips. I’ve never smoked before. I don’t even have a lighter. But I’m filled with giddy excitement at the thought that money can do anything, get you anything you want. How can I stop resurrections when I have the whole world in my hands? I could have it, if I wanted. I just have to keep going.

“What do you think, boy? Do I look cool?” Conrad looks at me, his eyes dull and calm. “Ah, what do you know.”

I take out my phone and raise it to take a selfie, but pause when I see my face. Dark bags are etched under my eyes and a delicate glob of snot leaks from one nostril.

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