"I need to go check on the music," the new guy says. "I'll see you around, Mona."
The way he says my name sends shivers down my spine. I don't think I'd ever be that kind of girl, but here I am acting like one.
"What was that about?" I ask Ryan, giving him a look that I hope comes across as stern, but probably falls very short.
"You looked like you needed saving." I can tell from his expression that he's telling the truth. And that he realises he might have overstepped.
"Thanks, but I don't need rescuing." I push pas
t him and go in search of Daphne. My heart is pounding in my chest. I like Ryan. I find him attractive, sweet, and all the rest.
None of that matters if he's going to treat me like a wilting flower. I'm my own woman and no one is going to get in the way of that.
My head feels a little fuzzy from the beer. All of my good intentions flew out of the window about two cups ago. I don't want to admit it, but I'm actually having fun and the party atmosphere is starting to catch up with me. Which means lots of beer.
"Mona… come and play." Daphne waves me over, a crazed look on her face. She's had even more of the beer than I have and clearly is in the mood for some fun.
I stagger over, eager to see what they're doing. I might not join in, I can't forget I'm not wanted by most of my classmates, but that doesn't mean no fun. I'm going to make the most of the last party I'm ever going to be invited to.
"What are we doing?" I ask as I sit down next to her. I cross my legs, noting that's what the rest of the circle are doing. "Please tell me it's not spin the bottle?" Considering Ryan is part of the group, I doubt it. It's not the kind of game Daphne would play while he's around.
"This." She holds her wand up to her face and closes her eyes. Moments later, her nose turns bright yellow and elongates. She opens her mouth and a weird quacking sound comes out.
The rest of the people around us burst into giggles. I have to admit it's fun, though it does seem kind of dangerous, what if one of them gets stuck with the facial features of an animal?
Daphne points her wand at her face again, putting it back to normal and at least assuaging some of my fears about that.
Someone else goes next, growing a mane and roaring like a lion. I'll admit, it's impressive magic and easy to get caught up in the laughter. By the time Ryan grows a trunk and causes all kinds of mischief with it, I'm almost on board.
"Your turn, Mona," one of the girls says.
I gulp down my nerves. It doesn't feel like I should be doing this kind of thing with the way my magic is acting, but I also don't want to be the one who chickens out and doesn't join in.
Daphne shakes her head at me, but I ignore her. My palm sweats as I close my hand around my wand and bring it out. I'm going to prove I can do magic once and for all. I point my wand towards my nose and think about a cat's face. I don't even like cats that much, but there's something fun about the way they twitch their noses and their whiskers move. It'll be fun for the rest of the group, and doesn't feel like it'd be too hard.
I close my eyes and concentrate on the image I have. Please, please, work.
A small jolt of magic travels from my hand to my wand and hope blooms within me. It's nowhere near what I used to experience when I did magic, but it's more than I've had in recent weeks.
I open my eyes, expecting to see the others laughing at my new face. Except they're not. Each one of them is wearing expectant expressions, as if they're still waiting for me to do something.
"It hasn't worked," Daphne whispers to me.
I sigh. "I'm sorry everyone, maybe it's best to skip me."
There are grumbles around the circle, but I ignore them. Learning how to do that has saved me a lot of heartache recently. They move on and continue playing the game, but I don't miss the sneaky glances they're sending my way.
Ryan takes the attention away by transforming his face into that of a dog and licking the person next to him.
A short giggle escapes me, and he turns his attention to me with a wink. A blush I don't intend flames to my cheeks. I don't want Ryan to affect me as much as he does.
I sit back and watch everyone else, enjoying the way they're interacting with one another despite the fact I can't join in. After five more minutes, they seem to forget that I can't do what they can. At least that's something, it makes me feel like less of a freak.
Daphne's face lights up as she smiles at me. I don't want to ruin this for her by telling her I'm not as comfortable as she is. She's my best friend and she's having fun for the first time in weeks, I'd be a terrible person for pointing that out.
I just have to hope that this changes the way my classmates see me. Though I do doubt it. One day, I'll be okay with being an outsider. But I doubt it's going to be tomorrow.
Chapter Three