I couldn't help laughing, though it hurt and I put my hand to my face and said," Ungh—doan make me laugh."
As soon as Mom saw I was decent she left, even though she was obviously uncomfortable about my having a boy in my room.
"Doesn't she look great?" Mary K. said. "Too bad Halloween's over. I bet by Thursday everything will be yellow and green." I noticed she was holding a white teddy bear wearing a heart-shaped bib.
"For me?" I asked.
Mary K. shook her head, looking embarrassed. "It's from Bakker."
I nodded. Bakker had been sending flowers and leaving notes on our porch all day. He'd called several times, and when I had answered the phone, he had apologized to me. I knew Mary K. was weakening.
She perched in my desk chair, and I gave her a look. "Don't you have homework?"
"I promised to chaperon," she objected. Then, seeing my expression, she held up her hands. "Okay, okay, I'm going."
As the door closed behind her I looked at Cal. "I didn't want you to see me like this." Because of the swelling in my nose, my voice sounded clogged and distant.
His face grew solemn. "Tamara told me about what happened. Do you think she did it on purpose?"
I thought of Bree's face, of the fright in her eyes when she saw what she'd done to me.
"It was an accident," I said, and he nodded.
"I brought you some stuff." He held up a small bag.
"What?" I asked eagerly.
"This, for starters," Cal said, taking out a small potted plant. It was silverly gray, with cut, feathery leaves.
"Artemesia," I said, recognizing it from one of my herb books. "It's pretty."
Cal nodded. "Mugwort. A useful plant. Also this," He handed me a small vial.
I read the label. "Arnica montana."
"It's a homeopathic medicine," Cal explained. "I got it at the health-food store. It's for when you're had a traumatic injury. It's good for bruises, stuff like that." He leaned closer.
"I spelled it to help you heal faster," he whispered. "It's just what the doctor ordered."
I sank back gratefully on my pillows. "Cool."
"One more thing," Cal said, taking out a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. "I bet you can't eat much, but a Yoo-Hoo can be sucked down with a straw. And it's got all the major food groups-dairy, fat, chocolate. You could say it's the perfect food."
I laughed, trying not to move my face. "Thanks. You thought of everything."
Mom called upstairs: "Dinner will be ready in five minutes." I rolled my eyes, and Cal smiled. "I can take a hint," he said. He sat carefully on the edge of my bed and took my hand in both of his. I swallowed, feeling lost, wanting to hold him to me. Muirn beatha dan, I thought.
"Is there anything you want me to do for you?" he asked with quiet meaning. I knew he meant Do you want me to get back at Bree?
I shook my head, feeling my face ache. "I don't think so," I whispered. "Let it go."
He regarded me evenly. "I'll let it go so far and no farther," he warned. "This sucks."
I nodded, feeling very tired.
"Okay, I'll get going. Call me later if you want to talk."
He stood up. Then he very gently put his hands on my face, barely touching me with his fingertips. He closed his eyes and muttered words I didn't understand. Closing my eyes, I felt the heat from his fingers warm my face. As I breathed in, some of the pain dissipated.
It took less than a minute, then he opened his eyes and stepped back. I felt much better.
"Thanks," I said. "Thanks for coming."
"I'll talk to you later," he said. Then he turned and left my room.
As I sank back down in bed my face felt lighter, less swollen. My head hurt less. I opened the arnica and popped four of the tiny sugar pills under my tongue. Then I lay quietly, feeling the pain wash out of me.
That night before I went to sleep, both my black eyes were almost gone, the swelling had gone way down, and I felt like I could breathe through my nose.
I stayed home from school the next day, although I looked tons better, except for the ugly black stitch on my lip.
At two-thirty that afternoon I called Mom at work and told her I was going over to Tamara's house to pick up some homework assignments.
"Are you sure you feel up to it?" she asked.
"Yeah, I feel almost fine," I said. "I'll be back before dinner."
"Okay, then. Drive carefully."
"I will."
I hung up the phone, got my keys and my coat, put on my clogs, and set off toward school. It's pretty much impossible to hide a huge white whale like Das Boot, but I parked on a side street two blocks away, where I thought I could see Bree's car pass as she left school. I could have waited for her at home, but I wasn't sure she'd go straight there.
It wasn't like I had a totally fleshed out plan. Basically I was hoping to confront Bree, to hash everything out. In the best of all possible worlds, it would have a positive result. I felt like I had reached a breakthrough with my parents, and Mary K. and I had bonded again after the Bakker incident. Now I wanted to get things straight with Bree. The habits of a lifetime aren't easy to erase, and I still thought of her as my best friend. Hating her was too much to bear. The scene in gym showed how desperately we needed to work things out
But it wasn't only that I had other reasons for wanting to mend things between us, too. Magick was clarity. According to my books, to work the best magick was to see the most clearly. If I lived with an ongoing feud in my life, it could seriously hamper my ability to do magick.
I almost missed Bree's car as it passed the corner at the end of the block Quickly I started up mine and crept slowly behind her, as far back as I could.
Luckily Bree headed straight home. I knew the way well enough that I could hang back at a great distance, staying behind other cars. Once she had pulled into her driveway and parked, I pulled over myself at the very end of her block, behind a big maroon minivan, and shut off my engine.
Just as I was about to get out, though, Raven pulled up in her battered black Peugeot. Bree ran back out of her house.
I waited. The two girls talked for a while on the sidewalk, then headed to Raven's car and got in. Raven roared off, leaving a trail of foul exhaust behind her.
I was nonplussed. This hadn't been in my plan. Right now I was supposed to be talking to Bree, possibly arguing with her. Raven hadn't figured into it. Where were they going?
A sudden fierce curiosity took hold of me, and I started my car again. After four blocks I caught sight of them once more.
They headed north, out of town on Westwood. I followed, already suspecting where they were headed.
When they reached the cornfields at the north of town, where our coven had had its first meeting, Raven pulled off onto the road's shoulder and parked.
Slowing, I waited until they had disappeared into the recently stripped cornfield, then drove to the other side and hid Das Boot under the huge willow oak. Though the branches were almost bare, its trunk was thick and the ground dipped slightly so that no one casually glancing over would spot my car.
Then I hurried across the road and began to pick my way through the crumpled, messy remains of what had been a tall field of golden feed corn.
I couldn't see Raven and Bree ahead of me, but I knew where they were going: to the old Methodist cemetery where we had celebrated Samhain just ten days ago. Ten days ago, when Cal had kissed me in front of the coven and Bree and I had become true enemies. It felt like much longer ago than that I stepped across the trickling stream and headed uphill Into a stand of old hardwood trees. I went more slowly, casting my senses, listening for their voices. I didn't really know what I was doing and felt kind of like a stalker. But I had been wondering about their new coven. I couldn't resist finding out what they were up to.