Free So Mote it Be by Isobel Bird Page A

sure that girl gets her letter back.”
    The librarian returned the card to the circulation file, and Kate walked away. She was still having a hard time accepting the fact that Annie had been reading the book. Annie seemed like such a logical type. Kate couldn’t picture her lighting candles and saying spells. She was just too, well, normal for things like that.
    I wonder if that’s how she does so well in chemistry , Kate thought as she left the library. It would certainly explain why Annie was always at the top of the class. Kate remembered the look Annie had given her when Miss Blackwood had announced her grade, and she wondered what Annie would say if she knew Kate was using magic, too.
    Still, Kate didn’t know how she was going to approach Annie for help. She’d never really even spoken to her. She didn’t want to just walk up and say, “Hey, tried any spells lately?” If Annie had been reading the book for some other reason, she might think Kate was crazy. Everyone already apparently thought she was up to no good; she didn’t need it getting out that she was playing around with witchcraft as well.
    But she definitely needed to figure out what was going on, and Annie seemed to be the only person who might be able to help her. She checked her watch and saw that her next class would be starting in a few minutes.
    Kate thought through the rest of her day. She had art and English next. Annie wasn’t in either of those classes, so the earliest Kate might run into her would be at lunch. She tried to remember whether or not she and Annie had the same lunch period. She couldn’t remember ever having seen her in the cafeteria. Then again, she thought, she’d never looked for her before.
    She tried to keep a low profile for her next two classes. For one thing, she didn’t want to run into Terri Fletcher or any of her friends. Besides, she could tell by the way that people shot glances at her in the halls that she was still public enemy number one among a good portion of the student body.
    Worst of all, she had to avoid Scott. She knew things would get even worse if people saw them together, at least for the moment, so she tried to stay away from him. After art, when she saw him walking down the hall toward her, she ducked down the stairs before he could catch up. And she almost ran into him again outside her English class, where he’d gone to look for her, but she managed to hide in the girls’ room until he had to leave for his own class. She knew he would be confused about her behavior, but she couldn’t risk causing a scene. Not until she sorted out a few things.
    After English class was over, she raced to the cafeteria. Scott would be there shortly, as would her friends, and she didn’t want to run into any of them. She just wanted to find Annie. But as she scanned the tables and the food service line, she didn’t see her anywhere. She was just about to give up and go spend the period in the library when she noticed someone tucked into a corner of the cafeteria. Her back was to Kate, but Kate recognized the single long braid that fell down the girl’s back. It was Annie. She was all alone, and there was a book open in front of her. Before she could lose her nerve, Kate walked over to the table.
    â€œHi,” she said, not sure of how to proceed.
    Annie looked up. She was eating an apple and had just taken a bite. She looked at Kate and then looked around with a confused expression.
    â€œAre you talking to me?” she asked doubtfully.
    Kate nodded. “Yeah,” she said, suddenly incredibly nervous. “I’m . . . um . . . Kate.”
    â€œI know who you are,” Annie said. She didn’t sound either pleased or annoyed.
    â€œI guess you do,” Kate said nervously. “Look, I know we don’t know each other very well—”
    â€œWe don’t know each other at all,” Annie said, interrupting.
    Kate paused.