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Penny

“HEY!”

Penny jumps, suddenly wide awake. She hadn’t even realized she was dozing off. On the hospital bed, her mom’s chest rises and falls, the machines beeping in their now-familiar rhythm.

“Take a deep breath,” Naomi says. She’s standing at the entrance to Anita’s room, handbag hanging from her forearm. She’s wearing elaborate blue eye makeup, which must mean she recorded a makeup tutorial today.

“Hello eyeliner,” Penny says.

“It’s good, right?” Naomi drops her handbag onto the counter. “You were lost in thought.”

“Yeah. Dissociating helps.”

Naomi raises her water bottle. “Hear! Hear!”

Penny smiles, grabbing her mom’s hand. She came to the hospital after her fateful adventure at the library, her head spinning. Even now, a picture of the microfilm is pulled up on her phone and Penny quickly locks her screen.

Naomi purses her lips. “You haven’t been calling me back.”

“What?” It hits her. “Oh, wait. You called me yesterday.”

“Three times this week, actually.”

Penny groans, putting her face in her hands. “What’s wrong with me?”

“It’s probably all the dissociating .” Naomi says it as a joke, but there’s an undertone of hurt.

Shame blooms in Penny’s chest. “I’m sorry.”

Naomi’s features soften. “Ron called me this morning, actually. Said you haven’t been yourself lately.”

“Oh,” Penny says quietly. She’s a homebody under normal circumstances, and she wondered if her godfather was noticing how little she’s been around.

“He said you’ve been kind of frazzled, and you need a distraction. So! We’re going to that fancy movie theater in Indianapolis. They’re doing a special screening of Mean Girls , and I know one of the bartenders through the makeup community. She won’t card us.”

It’s as if Naomi wrapped her in a warm blanket. The two of them have had so many evenings at the movies, shoulders touching as they laughed behind their hands. It’s a chance to forget the curse, to forget the strange photo she discovered, to numb at least some of Penny’s anxiety. “That sounds perfect.”

For a second, it feels like everything is okay between them again. They’ve been spending time apart, but they can get back to where they were with the help of Regina George.

Naomi’s smile fades. “I need this, too. You know, Kyla and I—”

Penny’s phone vibrates with a text. “Oh sorry, one second.”

It’s the Cozy Mystery Book Club chat.

JULY 18 3:22 PM

CB

Corey Barrion

Can we meet?

AD

Alonso De Luca

why

Are you okay?

CB

Corey Barrion

Milton called. There’s still another coven in Idlewood.

AD

Alonso De Luca

WHAT

who??

CB

Corey Barrion

It’s that same coven you talked about. The one that gave you all the books.

AD

Alonso De Luca

wait you mean the barnhardts?? they’ve been gone for like a hundred years.

CB

Corey Barrion

Their descendants are still here.

Does that mean we know them?

AD

Alonso De Luca

that’s why you want to meet up, right?

we know them and you’re freaking out.

corey? are you crying?

CB

Corey Barrion

It’s the Mayberrys.

“Penny? What’s going on?”

There are other witches in Idlewood. And one of them is Dylan Mayberry.

The boys are still texting. They’re going to meet at IHOP. Quickly, Penny grabs her purse. “Nay, I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Can we reschedule the movie night?” She’s halfway to the door when she sees Naomi’s face. She’s watching Penny like she’s suddenly a stranger.

“Where are you going?” Naomi says.

Penny’s phone vibrates again, but she doesn’t let herself look at it. This is her best friend. Walking away from her now feels like severing something vital between them.

But it’s the right thing to do. Penny needs to keep Naomi at a distance until this is all over. This strange world of magic and curses and witches is hiding within their own, and it’s dangerous. There are too many unknowns—and what if Naomi gets hurt like Penny’s mom did?

That can’t happen. Penny won’t risk it.

“I promise I’ll explain everything as soon as I can,” Penny says. “It’s just… really personal.”

Naomi’s face shutters.

That was the wrong thing to say. Since when has Penny experienced anything that was “too personal” to share with her best friend? Penny scrambles, searching for a way to explain the situation without really explaining anything. But Naomi doesn’t give her a chance. She only nods and says, “Fine. I guess I’ll stay here.”

“You’re not going to the movie? You could ask Kyla.”

“Not today.” She starts texting, avoiding Penny’s eyes.

“I’ll see you soon?” Penny says.

Naomi doesn’t answer.

Later, as she drives to IHOP, Penny’s mind races.

I’ll tell Naomi everything as soon as this is over , she promises herself. She’ll understand. She’ll be so happy I left her out of it. I know it’s the right thing .

But it doesn’t feel right. Every mile Penny drives puts another ocean between her and Naomi—and between Penny and her old life.