tomorrow, we’ll find her at PE and then freeze time and go after school to Indira’s.”
“All right,” she relented. One night to sleep on it. One night to reconcile herself to the fact that Kaitlyn would become apermanent part of her life. She would need a lot of cookies to make it through.
Her eyes rested on Julia, whose hair spilled in a wild mass as she bent over her book. Something came back to her mind, something Julia said right after she told her about Kaitlyn.
And there’s more.
She sat on the grass beside her friend. “What else did you have to tell me?”
“Hm?” Julia flipped through her book without looking up. She unsnapped her binder and took out a sheet of paper. “Oh!” She bit her lip. “Nothing.”
She watched Julia’s pencil as her friend scribbled barely decipherable numbers across the page. “You said there’s more. Is it something to do with the Fates?”
Julia’s pencil hovered a moment above her paper. Her face turned a nice, deep shade of red, but she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is you deciding whether to be sealed with Kaitlyn.”
Angie blinked at her dismissive tone. Julia had never kept anything from her before. For a moment she thought about establishing a connection to Julia’s mind and peeking into her thoughts. She shook her head at herself. “We should unfreeze time,” she said softly.
Julia didn’t pause in her writing. “Can’t. I have to finish my homework.”
“But—” Wasn’t that cheating?
“I was too busy finishing that stupid history paper to do homework last night. I was going to take a zero in math, but now I have all the time I need.”
“That doesn’t really seem ... right.”
“Don’t care.”
“I’ll bet if you unfreeze time you can still finish before the bell rings.”
“Not a chance,” Julia murmured, flipping to the back of the book to copy the answers to the odd-numbered questions.
Angie placed a hand on her friend’s arm and sent her some magic. She meant to encourage her friend to unfreeze time, but Julia’s thoughts flowed alongside hers. She had been hiding something, and Angie ached with the desire to figure out what it was. The magic was right there. She could dive into Julia’s consciousness, search out her thoughts. Lies were so easy to find. They stood out, feeling different than the normal thoughts in a person’s mind. Curving out of place. Wayward.
Before she realized she was doing it, Angie brushed against the edge of Julia’s consciousness. The membrane separating them was almost nonexistent. She could feel her friend’s worry over something. Her uncertainty.
A wave of icy shock washed over her mind. Julia glanced up, locking gazes with Angie. Surprise shone there, mixed with accusation and disbelief, all echoing in their shared emotion. She let go of Julia’s arm. That had been wrong. Much more wrong than working on homework during frozen time.
Julia’s lips parted. After a moment she lowered her eyes and returned to her work, but her pencil moved more slowly.
Guilt filled Angie’s chest. She shouldn’t have even thought about searching her friend’s mind. There had to be boundaries between them. Julia had a right to her own thoughts, her own secrets.
Angie settled back on the grass, wishing she was home with a big plate of cookies. A bird had been in mid-flight when they froze time. It hung in the air at an impossible angle below motionless clouds. There was no wind. No life. No anything. She could think for as long and hard as she wanted. Maybe this wasn’t such a good thing after all.
“Done,” Julia said. She stuffed her binder in her backpack, then stood up and reached for Angie. “I’ll unfreeze time now.”
“Okay. I was standing here,” Angie said. “And I think you were closer to the tree.”
“What the crap? Who was even watching us?”
“You never know,” Angie answered.
Julia rolled her eyes. “Is this close enough?”
Angie
“All right,” she relented. One night to sleep on it. One night to reconcile herself to the fact that Kaitlyn would become apermanent part of her life. She would need a lot of cookies to make it through.
Her eyes rested on Julia, whose hair spilled in a wild mass as she bent over her book. Something came back to her mind, something Julia said right after she told her about Kaitlyn.
And there’s more.
She sat on the grass beside her friend. “What else did you have to tell me?”
“Hm?” Julia flipped through her book without looking up. She unsnapped her binder and took out a sheet of paper. “Oh!” She bit her lip. “Nothing.”
She watched Julia’s pencil as her friend scribbled barely decipherable numbers across the page. “You said there’s more. Is it something to do with the Fates?”
Julia’s pencil hovered a moment above her paper. Her face turned a nice, deep shade of red, but she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is you deciding whether to be sealed with Kaitlyn.”
Angie blinked at her dismissive tone. Julia had never kept anything from her before. For a moment she thought about establishing a connection to Julia’s mind and peeking into her thoughts. She shook her head at herself. “We should unfreeze time,” she said softly.
Julia didn’t pause in her writing. “Can’t. I have to finish my homework.”
“But—” Wasn’t that cheating?
“I was too busy finishing that stupid history paper to do homework last night. I was going to take a zero in math, but now I have all the time I need.”
“That doesn’t really seem ... right.”
“Don’t care.”
“I’ll bet if you unfreeze time you can still finish before the bell rings.”
“Not a chance,” Julia murmured, flipping to the back of the book to copy the answers to the odd-numbered questions.
Angie placed a hand on her friend’s arm and sent her some magic. She meant to encourage her friend to unfreeze time, but Julia’s thoughts flowed alongside hers. She had been hiding something, and Angie ached with the desire to figure out what it was. The magic was right there. She could dive into Julia’s consciousness, search out her thoughts. Lies were so easy to find. They stood out, feeling different than the normal thoughts in a person’s mind. Curving out of place. Wayward.
Before she realized she was doing it, Angie brushed against the edge of Julia’s consciousness. The membrane separating them was almost nonexistent. She could feel her friend’s worry over something. Her uncertainty.
A wave of icy shock washed over her mind. Julia glanced up, locking gazes with Angie. Surprise shone there, mixed with accusation and disbelief, all echoing in their shared emotion. She let go of Julia’s arm. That had been wrong. Much more wrong than working on homework during frozen time.
Julia’s lips parted. After a moment she lowered her eyes and returned to her work, but her pencil moved more slowly.
Guilt filled Angie’s chest. She shouldn’t have even thought about searching her friend’s mind. There had to be boundaries between them. Julia had a right to her own thoughts, her own secrets.
Angie settled back on the grass, wishing she was home with a big plate of cookies. A bird had been in mid-flight when they froze time. It hung in the air at an impossible angle below motionless clouds. There was no wind. No life. No anything. She could think for as long and hard as she wanted. Maybe this wasn’t such a good thing after all.
“Done,” Julia said. She stuffed her binder in her backpack, then stood up and reached for Angie. “I’ll unfreeze time now.”
“Okay. I was standing here,” Angie said. “And I think you were closer to the tree.”
“What the crap? Who was even watching us?”
“You never know,” Angie answered.
Julia rolled her eyes. “Is this close enough?”
Angie
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