And then there was Jenna. I'd offered to make her a dress, but she'd looked at me like I was completely stupid and said there was no way she was going to that "idiotic dance."
We'd been working on the spell every day in Ms. East's class, but so far everything I'd attempted had come out a little too poufy. Ms. East said that was just because I was too excited, but I didn't really buy that. There was nothing all that exciting about the ball for me. I wasn't "giving myself"
to anyone.
"Shut up," Archer said good-naturedly, lifting his arms over his head to stretch. "For your information, only my bow tie will be pink, and I plan on rocking it, thank you very much."
I tried to smile back, but I was trying not to stare at the ribbon of skin that was showing beneath his T-shirt as he bent over.
As usual, my mouth went a little dry and my breathing sped up, and that weird, almost sad feeling settled in my stomach.
I never thought I'd be glad to hear the Vandy's braying voice, but when she shouted, "All right! That's it for today!" I could have kissed her.
Well, on second thought, no. Maybe a firm handshake.
"Holy hell weasel," I muttered an hour later.
I was staring at my latest attempt at a ball gown. At least this one had avoided a serious case of the poufies, but it was also a noxious shade of yellow-green usually found in baby's diapers or around nuclear disasters.
"Well, Miss Mercer. That's . . . an improvement, I suppose," Ms. East said. Her lips were pursed so tightly, it was a wonder any words had come out at all.
"Right," Jenna said. She was sitting on a desk next to me. She spent most of the class reading those mangas she liked so much. "You're getting better," she said encouragingly, but she frowned as she took in my latest creation.
"Yeah, at least this one didn't knock over three desks," Elodie sneered from beside me.
Her dress, of course, was gorgeous.
I'd assumed the ball was like the monster version of prom, and that the dresses would be similar to anything you'd see in a regular high school.
Yeah, not so much. The dresses most of the girls were working on looked like something out of a fairy tale.
But Elodie's dress was easily the prettiest in the class. High-waisted with delicate cap sleeves and frothy skirts, it looked like something you'd wear if you were in a Jane Austen book. I'd teased Archer about it being pink, but even I had to admit that the shade of pink was really lovely.
Nowhere near "Electric Raspberry," it was more the pale pink that you sometimes find inside shells. It seemed to glow like a pearl, and Elodie was going to be devastatingly beautiful in it.
Damn it.
Frustrated, I turned back to my own dress. I put my hands on either side of the dummy's waist and thought, Beautiful dress, beautiful dress, something blue, as hard as I could. It was so annoying to know that I could now make something as big as a chair appear out of thin air, but I couldn't seem to make a dress that wasn't completely heinous. Okay, so the chair I'd conjured up last night was toddler-size, but still.
I felt the material shift and slip under my hands. Please, I thought, my eyes squeezed shut.
Then I heard Elodie and Anna burst out laughing.
Crap.
I opened my eyes to stare at a bright blue tulle monstrosity with a skirt that would hit me at mid thigh. I'd look like the really slutty bride of Cookie Monster.
I muttered a really bad word under my breath, which earned me an evil look from Ms. East, but surprisingly, no punishment. I guess she couldn't really blame me after she looked at the dress.
"Wow, Sophie, that's really something." Elodie sauntered over to me, one hand on her hip. "I think you have a real future in fashion design."
"Ha-ha," I muttered, which, as far as comebacks go, is about as cool as saying, "So there."
"I can't believe I actually invited you to join my coven," she said, turning those bright green eyes on me.
I groaned inwardly. Elodie's eyes were only that bright when she was about to deliver a huge smackdown. The last time I'd seen her like this was the night she'd called Jenna a bloodsucking freak after they'd found Chaston.
"Here you are, the head of the Council's daughter, and you can't even make a dress. Pathetic."
"Look, Elodie, I don't want to fight. So just . . . just leave me alone and let me work on my dress, okay?"
But she wasn't remotely finished with me.
"Why do you even care about making a dress for the ball? Who have you got to look pretty for? Archer?"
I fought very hard to keep cool, even as my hands tightened around the material in front of me.
Elodie leaned in closer, so I doubted anyone else heard it when she whispered, "You think I don't see the way you look at him?"
Keeping my eyes on the dummy, I said in the lowest, calmest voice possible, "Stop it, Elodie."
"I mean, your crush on him is just so sweet. And by sweet, of course I mean tragic," she continued. From the corner of my eye, I could see that almost everyone had stopped working and was watching us. Ms. East was pretending to ignore us, so I knew I was being thrown to the wolves on this one.
I took a deep breath and turned around to face Elodie, who was smirking at me in triumph.
"Oh, Elodie," I said in a voice that was so sweet it practically dripped syrup, "don't worry about me and Archer. After all, I'm not the one planning on having sex with him at the ball."
The class erupted into giggles, and Elodie did something I'd never seen her do: she turned bright red and actually sputtered in her attempt to come up with a serious put-down.
Ms. East chose that moment to shout, "Miss Mercer! Miss Parris!
Back to work!"
Smiling, I turned back to my dress. But the feeling of triumph was immediately deflated by the bright blue disaster in front of me.
"Does your magic feel off or anything?" Jenna asked softly.
"No, it feels the same as always. Water rushing up from my feet and all that."
"What?" Anna sneered, propping a hand on her hip. " How does your magic feel?"