She stuck her tongue out. Lena enjoyed flirting with
me. She didn’t like to be labeled, but she dated more
women than men. Lena joked about us getting
together all the time. I knew she wasn’t serious. I
wasn’t a lesbian and even if I was, what Lena and I
had went beyond sex. We were BFFs. Since we were
the two most powerful witches at the academy, most
people left us alone, but if you went against one, you
had to deal with two.
She snickered and did her best Bern impersonation.
“It makes her eyes go all squirrely and her lips
disappear into that thin line.”
“You are evil.”
“Moi?” My roommate batted her long eyelashes at
me.
For two years, we had shared the same tiny dorm
room at the Halifax Academy of Magical Arts. From
day one, we had hit it off and when it was clear we
would both be at the top of the class, we found it was
nice to have someone you could talk to that wasn’t
either jealous or afraid of you.
“See how funny you are. Life is going to be so boring
with you gone.”
“Come with me. We can get into Dad’s homemade
wine and torture my mother by making her think
we’re couple.” I wiggled my eyebrows in a suggestive
manner.
Her eyes lit up at the thought of tormenting my
mother. “Well, now, that sounds interesting, but Tony
and Bern already hate me; if they think I am snogging
their virginal daughter, it might tip the scales to
homicide.”
“I’ll bring you pie.”
Lena reached up to give me a hug. She was a hair over
five feet and I was a little over 5’8”. Mom said we
looked like Mutt and Jeff. I had to Google it to find
out what she was talking about, but she was right. I
also had long blonde curly hair and no tattoos,
making us look like the Odd Couple; that reference I
knew. I wasn’t the huggy type either, but Lena had
been working on me. Apparently, I go all stiff when
someone puts their arms around me. She calls me
repressed.
“Promise me we’ll get super drunk next weekend. We
will start two minutes after our last exam and we will
not sober up until it’s time to receive our diplomas.”
“I promise. Morven has been riding my ass all
semester. Once my practical is over, I never want to
see that old bag again.”
I shook my head at her use of the word “snogging.”
She never liked to use the same name for sex two
times in a row. “Suit yourself. I’ll be back as soon as I
can on Monday. I am sure my parents will be more
than happy to get rid of me by then.”
“Amen. Hey, maybe the nun might actually pick up
next weekend.”
Lena gave me her whiniest voice. “Please?”
“Cass, you have all these guys falling all over you and
you have never shown any interest in any of them. I
think maybe you are saving that sweet little cherry for
yours truly.”
“Okay, now you are just being annoying. It is three
days. Stop the drama.” I didn’t believe for a minute
that Lena wanted me to stay that badly. Now she just
wanted to get her own way.
“Don’t call me that.” She knew that nickname got
under my skin.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay, will you at
least bring me back a piece of pumpkin pie? Bern
does make a mean pumpkin pie.”
“Lena Celeste Lobenberg, that is over the line.” Lena
liked to think she was shocking and told it like it is,
but sometimes she went too far. “For one, I am not a
virgin. Just because I don’t go home with everyone
one that wants me to doesn’t mean I am a nun.”
“Maybe my mom doesn’t like you because you call
her ‘Bern.’”
She looked sheepish. “I know, but we are only
nineteen; we are supposed to be experimenting and
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