Page 10 of Witchy Chick

It smelled nice, like lavender and vanilla, but the stuff looked handmade in someone’s garage. I usually liked safety labels for things I put on my face, but desperate times and all that.

It didn’t take her long to wrap up. “What do you think?” she asked, beaming at me and holding up a large handheld mirror, like the Victorians had.

I stared at my reflection. I looked pretty good for her two-minutes of effort. “Good products,” I said, giving her whatever I had left that resembled a real smile.

“Mrs. Cooper, Miss Miller, the principal is ready to see you now,” the secretary said with a nod.

I stood and so did the sallow lady. She gave me a worried smile. “Cooper? That’s your name?”

“And you’re Miss Miller. I’m Mary,” I offered, trying to keep things from getting weird. Was she related to the person Sage had hit with a garbage can?

“Scilla. Sorry, I just didn’t realize you were a Cooper.”

I stared at her. “You say that like we’re celebrities.” Did she know my husband? Did she have an affair with him?

She blinked at me then gave me a shaky smile. “Oh. No, I just thought…” She gave a strangled laugh. “Never mind. I just got you confused with someone else.” She stopped looking at me, staring at the floor like she didn’t want to give anything away.

Seriously, did she have an affair with Clark? Why else would she be acting so weird? My stomach was twisting viciously while I followed her into the office.

“Sit down,” Principal Stokes said, gesturing to the chairs next to Sage and a boy with purple spiked hair with several glints of metal in his face. It was so weird how hard some people tried to look ugly. It didn’t work, because he was still a very pretty boy.

I sat next to Sage, looking the boy over for signs of damage. He glowered at me, a red imprint down his left cheek.

I whirled on Sage. “You did that to him?”

She glared at me. “It wasn’t me!” The words hit wrong, and I knew she wasn’t telling the truth.

“I see his face. Why did you hurt him?”

She glowered at the kid past the adults. “I didn’t. It’s his word against mine. I saw him messing around with the garbage can and made fun of him, because he’s an idiot, then he lost his balance, and it fell on his face and made a mess all over. Messed up my shoes.” She held out her foot, and there was a definite smear across her pink high-top.

I frowned at Sage. Her words had a weird buzzing that made me itchy. When I was a kid, it had felt like that when people lied, but it hadn’t noticed the sensation for ages. Since I got married. My husband’s lies…

My heart and stomach twisted in different directions, but I shoved it all down and gave the principal a stern look. “Is it his word against hers?”

Principal Stokes frowned at the boy then at me. “No. He won’t say anything, but another kid saw it from a distance.”

“Who saw it?” Sage demanded, eyes stormy.

I stood up. “Sage, whether you’re guilty or innocent, your behavior doesn’t reflect the manners and respect we need to show everyone, whether they’re in a position of authority or not. Your fellow student and particularly your principal deserve respect even if your shoe is messed up. I’d better take you home so we can talk about how to respond appropriately to disappointment.”

She stood up, took a deep breath, and gave a sudden sweet smile to the principal. “Sorry, Principal Stokes. I just don’t like being accused of something I didn’t do. I’m sure you understand. But if you do have a witness, I guess you have to trust that even if it’s a mistake.” She shot a glare worlds away from her polite mask at the boy then grabbed my arm and dragged me out.

Miss Miller stared at me as we left, confused. Like she’d never expected to actually run into her lover’s wife. Was that who Clark wanted? Someone so friendly and nice who didn’t know how to choose appropriate hair dye for their skin tone?

No one else was waiting, so Jenna must’ve already left for the dentist with Milly.

“Seriously, what an idiot,” Sage muttered as we stepped out of the large building and into the lovely autumn afternoon.

“Who?” I asked, letting her drag me toward the SUV. Did Clark have an affair with Jenna? Was that why she’d looked at me weird? Was I going to spend the rest of my life paranoid? Yes.

“Miller. He’s always been creepy, but today was the worst.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “I know you were lying in there. What really happened?”

She scuffed the pavement with her shoe and then looked up at me in defiance. “He said I was a witch. He actually believes in all of that mumbo jumbo, like Gloria. He wanted me to touch his crystal, and I told him to take a hike, and he wouldn’t so I kind of knocked the garbage can into him.”

The buzzing ran over my skin stronger this time. I hated that feeling. “Another lie.”