Free Wraithsong by E. J. Squires

feel
slightly relieved, I must admit, but I also feel as though I have
failed as a Huldra. “I mean…yeah, I guess what happened was
somewhat of out of the blue.” I flip over onto my stomach, squeeze
my eyes shut and press my palm to my forehead.
    “ So just friends then?” he
asks, sounding unsure of himself. Maybe it’s my flair kicking
in.
    I don’t want to answer him,
but the words have to be spoken. “Sure, whatever—”
    “ Good, and I think it’s
best if we don’t work together anymore either—on the weeding, so
I’ll just take it from here.” He almost sounds happy about his
decision. I’m speechless. What happened? “Is that all right?”
Anthony says, now sounding surer of himself.
    Then an idea suddenly
flashes through my mind. I want to try and see if my kiss actually
worked, to see if my Huldra flair is as powerful as my mom and dad
said. Maybe I have to request or demand something from him so he
knows what I want? “Hey, I really want for us to continue to work
together on the weeding until we’re finished, okay?”
    It goes silent on the other
end.
    “ Hello?” I say.
    He makes a faint grunting
sound. “I…don’t think it’s a good idea, Sonia. We should really
just be friends from here on out. Besides, you probably need to
focus on your homework, don’t you?” He emphasizes the “don’t
you” part of his statement.
    How dare he tell me what
to do, and did he just use homework as a deflector? It’s the lamest
escape-line I’ve heard—ever. Not only that, he flatly rejected my
proposal. I wonder if maybe my powers only work in person. I decide
to be all right with his rejection for now, considering that it’s
the only option I have at the moment. I’ll try to see if my flair
worked again after school on Monday in person, and maybe I’ll dress
up a little, just to make sure he notices me. I huff at my lame
plan, but then I think: is this my plan, or my inner Huldra’s plan? Usually I’m a
very relaxed person like my mom, but it seems like I’m a completely
different individual now, trying to seduce Anthony. I hate this new
me, yet—I love this new me. I sigh at the thought, remembering the
warnings my dad gave me, knowing he would be ashamed of me for
acting this way.
    “ Fine, no worries.” I
scrunch my eyes shut.
    “ Really?”
    “ Really, anything you say,
Anthony.” I sit up. “Have a great weekend.” I don’t want to admit
it, but his rejection has hurt me pretty badly, and I don’t know
exactly how I’ll get through Sunday and all of school on Monday
before I see him again.
    “ Yeah, you too, and maybe
I’ll see you around,” he says.
    “ Yeah.” I hang up the phone
and let myself fall into the pillows on my bed. My Huldra flair
isn’t working on him like it did on Savannah. Maybe I need to give
it more time. Maybe it has to be past midnight or something before
the magic kicks in or maybe I should just be glad that it didn’t
work and that I have a chance to do the right thing, which is to
stay away from him.
     
    * * *
     
    Sunday seems like the
longest day of my entire existence. I stay busy with homework, and
even help my mom mop all the floors in the house, and then I head
to Siesta Beach with Ashley to kill some time. The thought of
Anthony is in the back of my mind all day; when I do my homework,
he’s there; and when I mop the floors, he’s there. I want to
understand what’s happening to me—if I’m attracted to him because I
genuinely am interested in him or just because I’m going through a
phase as a Huldra so I’m compelled to like him. I want to believe
the former, but I worry that it could be the latter.
    “ Hey—what’s up with you?”
Ashley asks. The sand that feels like powdered-sugar stretches on
for miles and long orange and peach clouds streak the blue sky as
the sunset approaches. It’s hot outside and I see beads of sweat on
Ashley’s forehead. I’m glad I don’t sweat.
    “ I’ve asked you three times
now, and