Chapter 42 Work left to be done
Izabella sighed. It sounded as if she was attacking Reeba and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She felt as if an apology was due.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything…” Izabella started.
“It’s okay,” Reeba smiled. “I get it. It probably hasn’t been easy being you these past few weeks.”
Izabella smiled back. She appreciated the understanding.
“Just, be careful. Something fishy is going on around here,” Reeba seemed worried.
“Don’t worry. I plan on getting to the bottom of it.”
Izabella had no time to be worried. Not when there was so much work left to be done.
The following day at school, Izabella felt a strange kind of anxiety. It was with her when she woke up, as she gazed at herself in the mirror, trying to figure out what was wrong. It was with her during every single class that day. It was with her when she stumbled onto Raphael and had a pleasant chat with him in the hallways, when she even allowed him a peck on the cheek. It was with her when she accidentally slammed her locker door, causing much more noise than she wanted to.
“I guess that’s the only way you can attract attention to yourself,” Izabella heard a familiar, unpleasant voice behind her, “by causing unnecessary noise.”
These words were followed by giggles, then the twins appeared before her, cornering her. Izabella looked to the left, then to the right. The students in the hallways were dispersing in record speed, heading out after their last class for the day and the twins had strategically waited for their moment to approach her.
“There’s no use looking around, new kid,” Morgan grinned. “There’s no one to help
you.”
The two giggled again and, at that moment, Izabella knew this was probably what had been causing all that discomfort throughout the day. She had sensed this meeting was coming. In all honesty, Izabella wasn’t in the mood for this kind of conflict right now. She had already arranged it with Hendrik to meet later on and head over to the Bunker, in hopes that it would improve her mood, and maybe, just maybe, something might happen. She was also hoping that the guys would be on board with her version of what a
relationship should be, but so far, she was sure that Renwick and Raphael shared the same idea.
“So, a little birdie told us that you didn’t listen to our warning from last time,” Madison said, and they both laughed again hysterically, as if they came up with the funniest joke in the world.
Izabella frowned. A birdie? Was it a hint or just a coincidence? She wouldn’t put it past them to put a dead bird in front of her door. Plus, if Reeba was right about it being the opposite of a love spell, then it all made sense. The twins found out about Renwick and Raphael somehow, and now, they were using a different strategy to get her to stay away from them.
“Obviously, we need to remind you again,” their voices sounded harsh and unpleasant, as they continued talking. “You see, we can’t figure out if you’re really that stupid or just pretending. My bet is you’re pretending. You can’t possibly be that stupid, can you?”
Madison took a menacing step towards her and Izabella moved backwards, realizing that her back was now pinned against the lockers. There was nowhere to go. She was surrounded. Her first instinct was to play dumb, but when she thought about it better, she knew it wouldn’t work. It didn’t work the first time, either, so why would it work now? She ended up doing exactly the opposite and now the twins were pissed. Maybe it was time she put them in their place.
“I know what you said,” Izabella shot back. “I didn’t approach either of them.”
She tried to remain vague about her answers and comments, for as long as she could.
“Liar!” Morgan shrieked and started to jump at her, with her hands aiming at Izabella’s throat, but her sister pulled her back, like a wild animal on a leash, waiting to be allowed to attack someone.
“I’m not lying,” Izabella answered, calmly, glad that she had gotten a rise out of Morgan.
People who acted rashly, on impulse, were usually easy to take down, without too much effort. Izabella knew that much from experience. Still, she needed to be on her guard.
“Renwick and Raphael would never want to have anything to do with you,” Morgan hissed like a wounded snake. “The point is that you didn’t listen to us, even though we were very clear about what needed to be done,” Madison spoke more calmly and it was her that Izabella was more afraid of.
“I didn’t do anything to you,” Izabella tried to explain.
“Oh, but you’re wrong, so very wrong,” Madison kept on talking even more calmly. “And it seems mere words won’t cut it with you.”
“What do you mean?” Izabella asked, swallowing heavily.