Free Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1) by Dzintra Sullivan Page A

you’re talking about, Diane,” Arkadia said trying to show enough concern to appease the extremely agitated beauty queen. Diane, like her brother, was used to getting what she wanted when she wanted it. Their father had been mayor for years, and while he was a good mayor, when it came to his kids, he had more of a “whatever will keep you quiet because daddy is working” attitude. Diane had entered and won all of the local beauty pageants, was the star of the school’s theater production every year, and had her own personal assistant for goodness’ sake, who was just there to help her get organized. She even got a brand-new car for Christmas. Arkadia was never going to see a new car; she would be lucky if she got a bike before she was thirty, and a second-hand one at that.
    Diane took a step closer to Arkadia, getting right up in her face. The massive crowd waited with bated breath to start shouting “Fight! Fight! Fight” as soon as one of us took the first swing. “Your family tree is littered with,” Diane whispered, and looked left, then right, “witches, and overnight, Sebastian developed webbed toes and has added flies to his daily diet intake. He tries to hide it, but being his twin, I feel him, and even found myself looking at a fly with far more interest than is right, so I’ll ask you once more,” Diane’s voice was dripping hatred right now, and her brown eyes looked like cauldrons of bubbling brown lava as she started directly into Arkadia’s eyes and asked, “What did you do?”
    Arkadia didn’t know what to say. She could tell the truth about Sebastian’s visit to swampy time central. It seemed that most of the school was now watching her to see her reaction. “Diane, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. I went on a date with Sebastian; we watched a movie, had a hotdog, and went home. That’s it, and as for my family heritage, if I was a witch and you were threatening me, I would simply remove you, PERMANENTLY. But lucky for you and your life, there are no such things as witches.”
    Quick as lightning, Diane launched into Arkadia, screaming as she wailed a fury of flying fists and feet, a few blows landing. Arkadia adopted the tuck-and-protect pose on the ground. She wasn’t a fighter with fists. Within seconds, Diane was being ripped off her and held back. She stopped and looked directly at Arkadia, extended her finger, and directed her accusation directly onto Arkadia’s shoulders. “This ain’t over, bitch, I will find out what you did, and I’ll tell my dad; I’ll tell the school; I’ll tell Good morning, Huntsville on the TV; everyone will know your secret. EVERYONE!!!”
    Arkadia's eyes were wide as she watched a now-crazed Diane be carried toward the school nurse. Getting up slowly, she tried a weak smile to the dispersing crowd, some of them murmuring about being robbed of a good chick fight. Others looked at Arkadia, and she could feel them questioning her with their eyes, making their assumptions based on rumors and stories from way back in her family history. Most of which even she didn’t know due to her mother refusing to talk about her craft. Dusting off her jeans, a visibly shaken Arkadia allowed herself to be hugged by her friends, while she wondered what the flip she was going to do about Diane.
    Cheyanne was the first to hug Arkadia, both of them sharing the same secret; they didn’t need to say anything, it was a hug of camaraderie, of the sisterhood of witches, a family of sorts. Cat and Vi both gave a sympathetic hug, both of them asking questions Arkadia simply wasn’t calm enough to answer. “Let’s just go to class, I am sure the bell is about to ring,” Arkadia said, her voice quivering. It wasn’t so much the confrontation from Diane that had Arkadia so upset, it was a combination of things. One part was having hurt Sebastian in some way; she didn’t love the guy, but he certainly didn’t deserve to be eating bugs for the rest of his