I take a deep breath and walk to Kelsi's door. I hesitate again. Well, she is the one with secrets, to begin with... I open the door very slowly. She sleeps with night lights on? Three rows of fairy lights are lit up above her bed, but Kelsi is soundly sleeping and... looking exactly like normal. I'm a bit disappointed, and feeling even more guilty now. I sigh and close her door. My mistake, then... Apparently, this thing gives humans their normal appearance and shows me a werewolves form, but I'm the one with a creepy appearance.
I get back into my room quickly, closing the door behind me. Spark is already ahead. I can't get used to this giant-shaped thing, but from the way it starts scratching the carpet on the side, it's definitely my cat.
"Alright, I’ve had enough of this," I say. "How the hell do you turn it off?!"
Spark is just staring at me. I walk to the circle, doing my best to avoid looking in the mirror. I am not ready to see that girl again, not yet. I glare at that stupid circle, clueless as to how to go back to normal. There has to be a way!
"Stop!" I say, sitting back inside it.
Nothing happens. I frown and for a dozen minutes, I keep saying all the words I can think of to make it stop, including a couple of swear words and foreign ones. I really feel like the kid who made a mistake and has no idea how to repair it. After I'm out of ideas, I sigh.
"I swear you're getting a treat if you help me shut this thing off, Spark."
I see my cat come over, and under my shocked eyes, he starts licking the pattern. What the heck? He keeps licking, and I suddenly get what he's doing. Don't tell me it was that easy! I grab the end of my sleeve and start rubbing too. As soon as we erase a portion of the circle, everything is suddenly back to normal. Wow...
I look around, a bit shocked. It's really back to normal. At my feet, the circle is still there, with a chunk wiped off. Damn, I hope I'll remember whatever was there in case I need it again.
"Meow."
I turn to Spark, who's sitting there and waiting.
"Seriously, Spark? You let me say all that stupid stuff for ten minutes and waited until I promised a treat to help me?"
"Meow..."
I let out a long sigh and lay down on the floor.
So, I've found a new way to use my witch powers... A magic circle. I didn't know it could do that, aside from invoking demons... I'll be careful not to mention that next time. I don't want to have a goblin thingy all over the room. Damn, Kelsi would be proud.
I feel a pinch in my heart, thinking about Kelsi. I really thought she was my friend... Is she? The image of her sleeping in her bed comes back to me. She sleeps with fairy lights on... What kind of villain sleeps with fairy lights on? Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself she isn't really bad. My sister isn't a bad person. She's just... Oh, whatever.
"Meow."
"Oh, I get it, Spark, stop it..."
I get up and grab a Sharpie to try and draw in the circle as it was. Spark even tries to grab the pen a couple of times, though I don't know if he's telling me I'm wrong, trying to play, or just getting impatient about his treat. When I think I'm done, I roll the carpet back down and move my bed into its usual spot. Damn, that's a lot of exercise just for one magic circle; I guess that's how it wasn't found until now, though... I hear something just as I'm moving my bed, like a little creak or something. What the hell?
I look down under my bed, and suddenly, I spot something brown between the slats. Crap, more secrets? I need to crawl under the bed to go get it. It's a kraft envelope... What the hell now? I wriggle back out and agitate it in front of Spark's whiskers.
"And that one, you couldn't have helped with that one? Or were you hoping to extort me for a tuna can with this? Hm?"
The cat gets impatient as I keep teasing him with the envelope, and pushes it with his paw, sniffing it a bit too. Well, maybe he only helps with witch stuff. I open the envelope. What did I hide now…? To my surprise, a big bundle of money falls out and a little key. What the heck? Every time I think I find an answer, two new questions pop up just like this. Where the hell did this money come from? What is this key for? It looks too small to be a door key, more like it’s for a locker or something?
"Meow..."
"Oh, fine, fine, Spark, I'm getting you your treat! Anyway, I'm thirsty after you let me say all that stuff without helping..."
I leave the money on my desk; from the thickness of it, I can already tell it's a lot more than a twenty-year-old should have. I keep the key with me, though, putting it in my pocket while heading to the kitchen.
Ben is still there, though I see him in his human form this time. I chuckle for some reason. Human or wolf, he's the same... sleeping with his mouth wide open and his horrible snoring. I walk to the kitchen and find an olive left from the pizza, giving it to Spark to play with while I pour myself some water and find a real treat for him. Didn't we have a bag somewhere?
"...Mara? What are you doing?"
I turn my head toward Kelsi, who just stepped out of her bedroom, rubbing her eye.
"I don't know," I retort. "If I tell you, are you going to text my sister about it?"
She stares at me, completely stunned like a deer in headlights. Even I am surprised by how calm and composed my tone was, despite the hint of irony. Kelsi opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, at a loss.
