"Not really. You may have made a kitten, but you also achieved exactly what you set out to do. I've seen it happen a couple of other times too."
"Huh." I haven't been thinking about it that way. To me, there's just something wrong with my magic. But actually, he's right. At first, my spells just wouldn't work at all. But now, they do seem to be.
"Can I ask you something a little weird?"
"Weirder than today's been already?" I raise an eyebrow and wait for his question.
"Could I borrow two of the diamonds? Just for a little bit, I'll give them back to you," he adds quickly.
I frown. Not because he wants diamonds, I don't mind on that front, but because that isn't at all what I expected.
"Of course. You'll have to dig them out yourself, though. My hands are full." I nod to the kitten squirming to get close to the human he apparently prefers. It's good to know where I stand with him. It's almost like he doesn't realise that I made him, or that I'm going to be the one looking after him.
"Or I could, er, hold Romeo while you get them?" His eyes fill with hope and I'm not sure if it's to do with the kitten, or something else.
"Are you scared of going in my bag?" I can't stop the amusement in my voice, even though I know I probably should.
"Yes."
Huh. That's blunt. "Here you go." I pass him Romeo and dig through my bag until I find the bag with the diamonds in. ."Just two? Or would more be better?"
"I can't take more," he insists, shaking his head.
"There's plenty though." Ten, if my quick count from the classroom is correct. I'm not sure if there's more value in ten smaller diamonds, or one bigger one, but anything is good when put against the cost of cat food.
"I only need two. And you can have them back by the end of the week." He almost trips over his own words, they come out that fast.
"Are you alright?" He's acting a little odd, that's for sure, and I don't know how to deal with it.
"I'm fine."
"Alright then." I separate off two of the diamonds, briefly wondering if I should add another one too. But he doesn't seem to want more than two, and giving him an extra one is probably too presumptuous. "Here you go."
"Thanks. I'll swap you for a kitten?" He hands Romeo back to me and takes the diamonds. "You won't regret this."
"I'm sure I won't?"
He doesn't seem to hear the question in my voice and just smiles like he has some secret in the works. I swear, guys are confusing. I should go back to my not dating phase and have done with them.
"I need to go meet Daphne," I say lamely, not liking the odd feeling between us.
He nods. "Tell her I say hi."
"Will do. Thanks for waiting for me." It's nice to have people watching my back, even if that's only when I leave lessons late.
"I'd wait for you forever, Mona," he says softly, though I'm not sure I'm supposed to have heard.
I wave goodbye and turn in the direction of my flat. The sooner I get to my room, the sooner I can get Romeo comfortable and I can start looking through the odd book the professor gave me.
Hopefully, it has some answers I need and isn't just a simple old spellbook like it appears.
Chapter Five
I drain the dregs of my tea, and place the mug down on my desk. This is starting to feel impossible. The spellbook appears to be handwritten by two people, and one of them has illegible handwriting. It's almost impossible to read the words on the page.
The other handwriting looks vaguely familiar, and I can see some similarities to my own, but I can't work out why it feels that way. Hopefully, it will slip into place. Probably at three am when I'm trying to sleep. That seems to be how these things normally go.
I reach out and scratch Isla's head. She seems to have taken to sleeping on my desk, on top of a scarf I suspect I'll never be able to wear again, especially not if I don't want to be covered in cat hair.