Page 64

Penny

LATER THAT DAY, THE BASS OF THE PREGAME MUSIC SHAKES THE ground all the way to Idlewood Central’s parking lot. People are dancing and shouting as they walk in groups to the football field, taking selfies and talking trash on the Muncie team going up against the Idlewood Central Tigers.

Penny and Naomi walk side by side, the crowd carrying them forward. Around her neck is the pure silver chain with a tiny, cold glass vial of honey. The football stadium looms like Mordor.

“When is Milton getting here?” Naomi asks, her white heels clacking on the pavement. Her dark red eye makeup is flawless, but Penny can see the exhaustion in her eyes.

“Anytime now.” Penny considers her best friend. “Didn’t sleep?”

“I’m glad my abuela died without knowing witches exist. This is going to haunt me forever.”

“Excuse me,” a voice says, “but that’s offensive.”

Dylan is walking behind them, clearly eavesdropping.

“What god did we piss off to deserve your attention?” Naomi asks without turning around.

“You know, Naomi, I can’t believe we aren’t friends. You are a supreme bitch.”

Naomi almost looks flattered, and then something clicks. She looks to Penny with wide eyes. “Please explain why she’s here.”

“Because I’m a witch,” Dylan says.

“You?”

“Yes, me.” Dylan forces her way between them so they’re all walking shoulder to shoulder. “I’m weak as fuck, though, so you don’t have to be scared of me yet.”

Naomi’s brain might be short-circuiting, but she manages to ask, “Does Corey know about this?”

“I texted him on the way here,” Penny says.

“Hope that didn’t throw off his game,” Naomi mutters.

The roar of an engine drowns out all the conversation, and Penny stops in her tracks. She recognizes that sound. It’s part of the soundtrack of this past summer—along with whispered spells, the squeaking of bicycle wheels, and the hum of the air-conditioning in Horizon Café. Penny needs to anchor herself on something, so she grabs Dylan’s arm as her eyes search the parking lot.

“Don’t touch me,” Dylan says. “What are you even looking—”

There’s a flash of blue and the Shelby comes into view, speeding around the circumference of the parking lot and pulling into a nonexistent spot right next to Penny, Dylan, and Naomi. The passenger-side door opens, and Milton stumbles out, looking carsick.

“Fuck that shit,” he mutters, slamming the door.

Then the driver’s door opens, and Alonso climbs out.

He’s wearing tiny sunglasses, John Lennon style. He whips them off, and Penny’s mouth goes dry.

“Hey.” He nods at Naomi. When his eyes find Penny, though, Alonso loses his nonchalance. He shifts awkwardly and tries to put his sunglasses in his pants pocket before he realizes the pants are way too tight. He hooks them on his shirt instead.

“Good job,” Dylan says.

“You’re here,” Penny manages to say.

Alonso shrugs.

“Aw, you two are cute,” Dylan says, looking from Alonso to Penny. “Have you bought your cemetery plots yet? Gonna intermingle your ashes, Heathcliff-and-Cathy style?”

Alonso frowns. “Why is Dylan Mayberry here? And why is she making Wuthering Heights references?”

“I’m from the Barnhardt coven, remember? Penny begged me to help you out. And Wuthering Heights is my favorite book. I’m basically Cathy, except with a skin-care routine.”

“Ooookay. Anyway.” Alonso digs into his jacket pocket and holds out his hand. “I made these for everyone.”

There are five necklaces, each threaded with a small glass vial of blue liquid. They also hold silver charms, each one a circle overlaid with a twisted shape that comes to three points.

“It’s a protection charm,” Alonso says, sliding one necklace over his head. “Corey has his already, so I need you all to take one. We’ll all drink the vials at the same time when we’re in position, before we say the spell.”

“Wait,” Penny says. “ You made these? That means—”

Alonso nods at Milton. “My whole family visited the Council yesterday.”

“The De Luca coven officially has their magic back,” Milton says. “Don’t make me regret it.”

Penny’s heart swells. She wants to ask Alonso so many questions—How are his mom and aunts? Do they feel different now? Will they be coming back to Idlewood?—but it’s not the time. There may never be a time, depending on how this goes. But knowing the De Lucas have their magic back is enough.

It has to be.

Naomi holds up her necklace. “We’re supposed to toss this back without knowing what’s in it?”

“It’s water, with some lavender and basil and—okay, and a little ground-up bird feather. No birds were harmed in the making of this potion.”

“I’ve put worse substances in my body,” Dylan says, grabbing one of the necklaces. Naomi takes hers, too, though she seems more reluctant.

“Think of this potion like a tuning fork,” Alonso says. “It’ll get us on the same wavelength and solidify the boundary of the spell.”

“How do we make sure we’re drinking this at the same time?” Naomi asks.

“Watch your texts,” Penny says. “We’ll start at halftime.”

Dylan considers the necklace, and for the first time, she looks uncertain. “What if something goes wrong?”

A slow grin spreads over Naomi’s face. “You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared of anything,” Dylan snaps, but color rises in her cheeks. Something catches her eye, and she frowns. “They’re here.”

Penny follows her line of sight to see almost the entire Barrion family. James Barrion leads the pack, waving and saying hello to people as they make their way to the front row of the home team’s bleachers. Julian follows him, hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jeans and eyes cast downward. Helen is there, looking even more somber than Julian. Principal Ames runs to meet them, removing the RESERVED placards from their seats one by one.

“No grandfather?” Penny says.

“That’s good, but we still need to stay far away from them,” Alonso mutters.

After Dylan rejoins the cheerleaders, the rest of them find seats near the top of the bleachers. Penny’s hands are shaking. It’s only August, so it’s not cold that’s making her shiver. A second later, a weight lands on her shoulders. It’s Alonso’s leather jacket, which is entirely too heavy for the season, but he’s never been one to sacrifice aesthetics for the sake of weather.

“Thanks,” Penny says, but inside she thinks Please don’t let this be the last time I’m with him. Please let this work.

The music cuts off, replaced with the voice of the emcee over the loudspeakers. “Good evening, everybody! How are we all doing tonight?” The crowd roars in response, and he laughs. “Sounds like you’re ready for some football. I’m Jeff Riley, and when I’m not teaching history, I’m emceeing for our very own Tigers. Before we welcome them, let me introduce tonight’s visiting team, the Muncie Marauders!”

The Idlewood fans boo as the Marauders line up on the field, their white-and-yellow jerseys vivid under the floodlights.

“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Please join me in welcoming our very own Idlewood Central Tigers!”

As every member of the team gets their own introduction, Penny tries to steady her breathing. Dylan is on the field with the other cheerleaders, shaking her pom-poms as everyone is announced.

“And, last but not least, give it up for our quarterback! Welcome number three, Corey Barrion!”

Penny’s ears ring with the crowd noise as Corey runs onto the field, high-fiving his teammates. Everybody stands and cheers, and even Alonso claps, his hands high above his head.

“And with that, let’s officially begin this year’s football season!”

Down on the field, the teams get into formation. Corey’s voice echoes as he calls out the first play, and a few seconds later, the teams are a blur of motion, crashing into each other. Corey dodges two members of the opposing team, and suddenly the football is sailing toward him. He jumps to catch it and then he weaves between the Marauders. He’s so quick that it almost looks like the rules of time don’t apply to him. He makes it all the way to the twenty-yard line before someone rams into him, knocking him over. The crowd holds its breath as the referee whistles. The Marauders disperse, and Corey is on the ground. At first it looks like he lost the ball, but then he rolls onto his back and—

The ball is clutched against his chest.

The crowd roars. “Would you look at that?” Mr. Riley says. “What a way to start off the game!”

“Damn,” Milton says as Penny and Naomi scream.

“I could do that,” Alonso says, but he’s grinning.

The first quarter passes in a blur, and the second goes even faster. The Tigers are winning, but Penny’s cheering loses its energy. It’s almost time.

With one minute left on the clock, Milton nods toward the opposite bleachers. “You should probably get moving, Naomi.”

“Pray that the Muncie fans don’t attack me.” Naomi’s smile fades as she pulls Penny into a hug. “You’ve got this.”

“Love you, Nay,” Penny whispers.

“Love you, Penz.”

When they’re alone, Alonso says, “So your week was… good?”

Penny’s throat goes tight. “Not really.”

“Yeah. Sorry, I say weird things when I’m nervous.”

Penny has been trying not to look at him, but now she has to. “That’s my line.”

Alonso stares back at her. His jaw is tense, but his eyes are soft. The feeling makes Penny feel like a liquid instead of a solid, like she’s discovering something universal but also entirely unique to them.

Still, there’s hesitation in Penny’s gut. Even though he’s here now, she remembers the way he looked at her in the record store parking lot. It was like he wanted nothing to do with her.

She can’t take that kind of rejection again. Not right now. But she has to tell him one last thing.

“Alonso… if something bad happens—”

“Don’t.”

“We have to talk about it.” Penny looks back out at the football field, taking it all in. Her school. Her Idlewood. Her home.

This could be the last time she sees it. The final late-summer evening of her life. Instead of fear, Penny is filled with something else. Maybe it’s love, or gratitude, or something greeting-card corny. Whatever it is, she’s ready to do this.

“If a poltergeist takes over my body, what do we do?” Penny asks.

Alonso won’t look at her. Instead he bites his thumbnail and stares out onto the football field. “I’ll figure it out.”

“If I’m dangerous, then… I don’t know. Do what you have to do.”

Now Alonso looks at Penny, and his gaze burns right through her. “ No. Exorcism exists for a reason.”

There’s a sigh from Penny’s other side. “Sorry, but this isn’t some C-list horror movie,” Milton says. “If Penny’s spirit is lost across the Veil, performing an exorcism will leave her body an empty shell. She’ll die immediately.” He looks almost ashamed. “Sorry, Penny. Don’t want to give you false hope.”

“I’ll bring Penny back if it kills me,” Alonso growls, and he says the words with such force that Penny believes him. Despite all odds, he would find her.

A few people glance their way, probably because Alonso was kind of yelling. Penny isn’t even bothered by it anymore. She understands now that Alonso’s body is too small for everything he feels. He’s constantly bubbling over, sometimes with anger, sometimes with joy, sometimes with—

Love. This is what love looks like in Alonso’s language.

She grabs Alonso’s hand. He softens, and his eyes rove her face. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“I’m not changing my mind.”

Alonso tears his eyes away from her. “I hate you for that.”

Penny can’t help it: She smiles. “No, you don’t.”

Milton clears his throat. “I’ll need both of you in front of me, inside the circle.”

“Both of us?” Penny says.

“Alonso is going to send you across,” Milton says. “It’ll be safer if he’s in the circle with you.”

They move down a row. Somehow, Penny feels better knowing he’ll be next to her body, even if she is somewhere else.

Alonso is still holding her hand. He brings it to his mouth to press a kiss to her knuckles.

“For luck,” Alonso says.

Briefly, Penny loses herself in this roller coaster. In the strange, unexpected adventure that happens when another person changes your life forever.

Then it’s halftime.

As the football team exits the field before the halftime performance, Corey breaks off, shouting something to his teammates. Then he runs to the left side of the field, turning back to look at the bleachers. Alonso waves, and Corey pumps his fist in the air before he takes his place by the concession stand. Dylan is on the opposite side of the field, standing beyond the goalposts, and Naomi is a spot of maroon among the blue and gray of the opposing team’s bleachers.

North, south, east, and west.

“Ready?” Milton asks.

Penny nods. And then she sends the texts.

COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB

AUGUST 22 6:44 PM

PENNY EMBERLY added COREY BARRION, ALONSO DE LUCA, NAOMI SALAZAR, DYLAN MAYBERRY, and MILTON PIERRE to the chat.

At 6:45, bottoms up.

DM

Dylan Mayberry

Is there alcohol in this?

AD

Alonso De Luca

no.

CB

Corey Barrion

Ready.

Naomi Salazar

ready!!!

CB

Corey Barrion

Good luck, Penny.

MP

Milton Pierre

After you drink, repeat after me.

NS

Naomi Salazar

we’re kind of far, i don’t think we’ll hear you.

AD

Alonso De Luca

trust us.

DM

Dylan Mayberry

I really don’t.

NOW!!!!!