The XYZs of Being Wicked by Lara Chapman

Author:Lara Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

Thirteen

We have to find the library custodian,” I tell Ivy. We’re walking to lunch, but I can’t eat. I’m focused on getting this amulet back into the library case. Too many weird things have happened already.

“What about lunch?” Ivy asks, following me as I zip past the dining room.

I don’t answer, just walk into the library to see if she’s there.

But it’s empty again.

“Hallie,” Ivy says, touching my shoulder gently. “What’s going on? You’re acting really weird.”

I point to the amulet beneath my sweater. “This thing has powers. Powers I can’t control.”

Ivy’s eyes light up. “What kind of powers?”

“I don’t know. Powers. Like I think something, and it just happens.”

“Like what?”

I tell her about Miss A’s hair, about her hair, about Jo’s bacon, and my conversation with Kendall last night.

“I told her she’d need me, and bam! Today she’s my research partner. And, trust me, this girl needs me to get this report done. I don’t think she’s ever completed a single assignment without her friends’ help. She’s never once made the honor roll. I don’t mean to brag, but having me as a partner guarantees she’ll get an A. Even if she doesn’t earn it.”

I can practically hear the gears in Ivy’s head spinning faster and faster. “Wait a minute. You’re the reason I left my hair down?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I think so.”

“Don’t ever do that again!” Ivy points a finger at me. “Do you know how much I’ve been teased today?”

“Whatever. Your hair looks wonderful.”

Ivy pulls her curly hair down in an attempt to control it. “Have you looked at me?”

I force my eyes to focus on Ivy’s hair. This morning her hair was still damp, and the curls around her face were soft and loose. Now her hair is a puffy, frizzy mess.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Honest.”

“This is why I never wear my hair down. I forgot how much I hated it.”

“It won’t happen again. Promise.”

She gives me a grin that lets me know she isn’t mad.

“Let’s go find your custodian,” she says, linking her arm in mine. “I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you, aren’t I?”

We walk the halls, doing our best to ignore the empty rumbling in our stomachs.

We pass several custodians—one in the GC, one in the lobby, and one in the bathroom.

“Are you sure you remember what she looks like?” Ivy asks.

“Positive.”

We turn the corner to the wing of the building containing our classrooms and run into a cleaning cart. I don’t see a custodian, so I look in the classrooms around us, but all of them are empty.

“Dang it,” I whisper to Ivy. “Where is she?”

A heavily accented voice speaks behind us, nearly giving both of us heart attacks. “Can I help you find something?”

We turn around, and I practically jump up and down. It’s her.

“No, thank you,” Ivy says.

Ivy begins to walk away, but I stay where I am, memorizing her face and her nametag. Esme.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.

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