Chapter 3

The next day or so was spent putting the rest of our stuff in its place. Then before long we were mostly moved in, and the estate finally started to look like home. Dad was able to start getting the grass mowed while mom and I tended the gardens. As the garden took shape, I could really feel the magic blossom, almost as though the estate was thanking us for taking care of it. I made sure to charge my bandanna each night in my window seat so that I could veil myself every day. And tonight, it was very important that I charged it. I started school tomorrow and I needed to take every precaution.

“Hey sweetie, have you decided if you were gonna wear Amelia’s jewel?” my mom asked, peeking her head in.

“I’m not sure. I feel like she wants me to, but we don’t even have a chain for it.” I shrugged.

“Well, I actually came up to give this to you.” She walked up to me pulling out a beautiful thin silver chain out from behind her back.

“I found this while unpacking my jewelry and figured that if you wanted to wear it you could.”

She gently placed the chain in my hand before kissing my forehead and leaving for her room for the night. I grabbed Amelia’s box from my bedside table, I opened the box carefully and put the jewel on the chain and held it up to the light while I contemplated on whether I should wear her jewel or not. I got the feeling that Amelia wanted me to wear it, but did that mean I should? I didn’t know what purpose it served her, if any. Was there magic attached to it? Letting out a sigh, I placed the necklace back in the box before going to sleep. I was met with another dreamless sleep that I welcomed.

“Wear it,” a voice whispered. “It will protect you. You have to wear it.”

My eyes opened quickly that morning, well before my alarm went off. The sky was still dark, and the house was still quiet. Despite that, my heart was racing. I recognized that voice. I had heard it before, both in this house and in my dreams. But what disturbed me the most was the weight of the small red jewel that now hung around my neck by a silver chain.

I was unable to go back to sleep, so I just laid awake hoping that when my alarm went off, my eyes would open, and the necklace would still be in the box where I left it. Shortly after, I started to hear the sound of my mom cooking breakfast downstairs. I swiftly got out of bed and got dressed in some shorts and a t-shirt before heading to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth.

As I was rinsing my mouth, my mind wandered. How did Amelia get the necklace on my neck? She said it would protect me. Protect me from what? I spit out the mouthwash and went back to my room to grab my veil. I paused for a moment before reaching to unclasp the necklace.

“Don’t!”

I jerked my head to the door and Amelia was just outside it.

“Don’t what?” I asked.

“You have to wear it! You have to!”

I tried to ask her why, but before I could even open my mouth she was gone. Grabbing my bandanna, I rushed downstairs to the kitchen. Thinking about how adamant Amelia was about me wearing her jewel scared me. As I turned the corner to the kitchen I tied the bandanna around my head, and immediately felt calmer. My dad was still in bed it seems, cause my mom was alone at the stove. From the smell it seemed like eggs and French toast was for breakfast.

“Morning sweetie, how are you feeling?”

Letting out a quiet sigh I sat down at the counter. “Nervous. Being the new kid is always nerve wracking.”

She nodded before setting a plate full of food in front of me. Her eyes locked onto the necklace around my neck. A small smile graced her face, however she decided not to bring it up. I was grateful, since I didn’t feel like trying to explain how or why I was wearing it. To be honest I’m not sure I could explain it to myself. We sat in silence until my dad finally woke up and joined us. Breakfast was over relatively fast, and soon enough dad and I were walking out the door. Dad decided that he would drive me to school until I could take my driving test here.

The estate wasn’t far from the school, and the school wasn’t far from the fire station. So soon we pulled up to my new school. Nothing about it stood out as anything special. Seemed like any other school in America, dull and boring. The air was colder here than it was in Arizona, though it was still spring, so my bare arms wished I had worn a jacket. Saying goodbye to my dad, I got out of the car and made my way to what I assumed were the front doors. The empty parking lot and the quiet halls I was met with led me to believe I got here early. That being said, finding the front desk was easy enough.

Walking into the front office I was overwhelmed by the smell of artificial cinnamon. I could hear the chatter of the school secretaries, before I saw them. Adjusting the strap of my backpack I cleared my throat to make my presence known.

“Excuse me? Can I get someone to help me?”

There was some rustling before a short older woman came around the corner.

“Oh, hello dear. Sorry about that, what can I help you with?”

Right away I could tell that this woman had a kind heart. Her energy started to put me at ease, thankfully.

“Hi, I’m new here. This is my first day and I was hoping to get my schedule and stuff?” I questioned, playing with the ends of my dark brown hair.

“Of course, what’s your name sweetheart?”

“Wynter. Wynter Morgan.”

Adjusting her glasses, she started typing on her computer. While I waited, I took this chance to examine her. Her graying hair was pulled up into a bun, held together with what looked to be a pencil. The glasses that sat upon her nose were attached to a pale green cardigan by a clip-on chain.

“Wynter Morgan, from Arizona? Give me just a second, while I go and print this out.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Before long I was handed my schedule and sent on my way. My locker number and combination were printed on the top right corner. I’m not sure how long it took me to find my locker, but let’s just say that I was grateful I got here as early as I did. Looking over my schedule I planned out when I can come back to my locker and change my textbooks. Soon the halls started filling up and I had a general idea on where my classes were.

I was immediately a topic of conversation among the school. Everywhere I went whispers followed. I ignored them, only hearing snippets here and there. Mostly it was about my last name, “Oh my god, she’s Morgan?”

“She moved into Old Man Morgan’s house.”

Things along that nature were heard throughout the day. Of course, there were whispers of magic and curses. Ever since Amelia cursed the Mikhale family it seems though the townspeople never forgot. Eventually it was lunch, and the whispers and stares were harder to ignore then. As I sat with my food, I instinctively tightened my bandanna, as if it could hide me. I was at a small empty table by the windows, and it seemed no one dared sit with the Morgan girl.

I picked at my lunch until the bell rang. Throwing my food away and putting my tray with everyone else, I made my way to my locker and made my way through my classes in a daze; until I came back to grab my book bag for my last class of the day. I found the room quickly enough and was greeted by a cheerful art teacher.

“Hello, how about you introduce yourself to the class while I gather your supplies.” she smiled before scurrying off to gather who knows what.

I turned my attention to the students who sat in front of me, staring with a mix of curiosity and fear. “Uh, hello. I’m Wynter Morgan, I just moved from Arizona to my old family estate,” I announced before bringing my focus back to the teacher who was still looking for what she needed. Suddenly a loud clap sounded by my ear, causing me to jump back startled.

Laughter filled the room as a boy wearing a football jersey went to high five his friends. Almost immediately the teacher appeared again, handing me a small pile of supplies and calmed the class down once more. She sat me down at the table next to the football players before giving the assignment for the week. We had to do a charcoal drawing of something that fell under the category of historical. Most of the class quickly started discussing ideas with their friends or listening to music on their headphones. I went with music, while I tried to think what I could draw.

I was sketching some ideas, when suddenly my bandanna was ripped off my head. I turned in confusion to see the same football player from before waving my bandanna around as though I was a dog he was playing with.

“Give that back!” He pulled it back further from me as I reached for it. I could feel all the different energies start pushing against me, and my head started to pound.

“Come on, if you want it back, cast a spell to make him,” one of his friends laughed.

I looked for the teacher, but she was shut in her office on a call. My vision started to blur as the pounding worsened. I could almost hear my heartbeat in my ears.

“Please, just give it back.” They didn’t even hear me, or if they did, I went ignored. They started to pass it around, unfolding and inspecting it.

I was barely able to make out people asking about the ‘strange markings’ sewn into the bandanna. Another person made the comment that they were a curse against people who touched it, like a mummy. I reached out to grab it, but I didn’t know where it was anymore.

“Give it back!” I exclaimed as paint and sculptures flew off the shelf.

My legs quickly gave out as the room went silent. The teacher finally came out at the crashing sound. “What happened?” No one answered and they all kept their eyes on me. After a few moments someone finally spoke up.

“Kyle and his friends were bothering the new girl. They ripped her bandanna off her head and were messing around. I guess they went crazy cause everything fell off the shelves.”

I didn’t bother looking up as Kyle and the others were being reprimanded. The teacher had them give me back my bandanna before heading to the principal’s office. I tied it to my head as fast as I could in hopes that the pounding would ease once I was veiled again. “Wynter, I’m very sorry for their behavior.” The teacher walked up to me.

I just said it was okay and went back to work. I could not bring any attention to myself that could lead anyone into actually believing I was the cause of the stuff flying off the shelves. In Arizona I could give an explanation and that would be the end of it. However, people here knew my family history and may not accept reasoning so easily.

The rest of class was spent in relative silence until the bell finally rang. Everyone packed up as fast as they could and left without sparing a glance my way. I took my time leaving the classroom. I slowly made my way to my locker while I texted my mom to see if she could pick me up. She told me she had a video meeting with her publisher soon, so I had to walk home. I didn’t mind, it gave me time to connect to the town. By the time I made my way out to the parking lot, most cars had already left. I had a general idea on how to get home, so I just started heading in that direction.

Soon enough I came up to a crosswalk at a four-way intersection. I hit the button and waited for the red hand to turn into that little green walking man, so I could cross. Once traffic had come to a pause, the little man signaled it was okay to cross; still I checked both ways because you never know when someone decides they don’t want to wait. Nonetheless as I made my way, I suddenly heard someone yell to watch out. I turned just in time to see a boy with a panicked face running towards me followed by the sound of screeching tires. Just as I went to get out of the way I felt something collide with me, knocking me to the ground on the sidewalk.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” A voice asked from above me.

“Yeah, I think so. Are you?” I blinked, clearing my vision.

Sitting up, my head began to throb again, only this time it wasn’t because my veil was missing. “I think I hit my head when we fell.”

“Here, let me help you up.” The boy offered his hand to me.

I didn’t notice he stood up. Taking his hand I got to my feet, he wore an old ring with what looked like an obsidian center. “Nice ring.”

“Thanks, it’s an old family heirloom.”

I nodded, patting any dirt from my hands and clothes. Reaching up to adjust my bandanna back in place I felt something warm and wet touch my fingers. Hissing, I took my hand away, to see blood.

“Oh man, I’m sorry. How about I take you to the hospital?”

“It’s just a little blood, I should be okay. Plus, my mom’s home. If I really need to go, she can drive me.”

I wiped my hand on my jeans as I looked at the boy in front of me. He had light brown hair and wore casual clothes. The closer I looked the more familiar he seemed, like I had seen him somewhere before. It was on the tip of my tongue.

“At least let me walk you home. I don’t want you to suddenly pass out on the way with no one to help you,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.” My name’s Cameron by the way.”

“Wynter. Nice to meet you.”

I started walking to where I thought my house was, gesturing for him to follow. We walked in awkward silence for a little while before he spoke again.

“So, I haven’t seen you around before. You’re new in town?”

“Yeah, I just moved here from Arizona.”

“So where do you live now?”

“My family inherited the old Morgan family estate.” I watched his reaction from the corner of my eye.

He seemed to pause for a split second but didn’t say anything. He continued to walk me home, and even stopped me from taking a few wrong turns. Eventually we made it to my house. I thanked him for both saving me and walking me home before he said he had to go home so as to not worry his mom. We said our goodbyes before going our separate ways.