Chapter 3

Julia shakes her head and the bewilderment goes away. Mandy and Lily are standing on both sides of her looking pissed off. Mandy unceremoniously squeezes her elbow which is both painful and humiliating. They've never come to a physical altercation before.

"What are you doing? Let go of me," Julia says but the girls ignore her words.

"Julia, honey," Mandy grits through her teeth. "I thought I asked you to sit in the living room."

"Isn't it against my freedom of movement rights?" Julia asks. Mandy turns red. "What is the problem? Did your spells detect something?"

Of course, not. What could they detect? It's just that Julia doesn't play by the rules. She was supposed to be alone all night and these guys were supposed to lead the chase or join it at least but here they are, having a friendly conversation with an outcast. How on earth would Mandy Levinsky be okay with that? Her world will be ruined. But then-

"They did," Mandy says and Julia blinks. Of course. Idiot. She just thought about the magical lure. Obviously, the alarm would be triggered. "Someone was doing the love spell in the house." And obviously, Julia would be blamed for that. Mandy would use any excuse to make her life hell.

"Just the love spell? Really? I'm surprised you didn't come up with something worse. Why not me murdering someone, huh? I'm really in the mood for it."

"The spell did work! I checked it!"

"Then you know it wasn't me!" Julia frees her elbow from Mandy's tight grip. "This is disgusting! I'm sick of you! You'll just do anything to embarrass me!"

So much for staying cool and not letting Mandy get to her as she initially planned. She sounds like a ten years old. Sad, pathetic child. But for a moment, just a second really, that outburst seems to get to Mandy as she freezes and her face is unusually open, vulnerable. The moment passes quickly as Lily decides to meddle in the conversation.

"Damn it, Julia, you'll get us all in trouble!" Lily says and grabs her other arm. "Why couldn't you just stay home or wherever you spend your nights? Don't ruin it for the rest of us."

"I didn't do anything!" Julia yelps trying to push Lily away. She tries a little too hard because Lily gasps out loud and steps back, hurt on her face.

"She twisted my arm," Lily whines.

Several people come to the porch from the living room. They look at Lily who rubs her hand in tears, at Mandy's red face, at Julia, who stands in front of them, hostile and ready to fight. Why did she think it was a good idea to show up again? The damn cycle closed again. There is no way out.

"What did our queen of trash do again? Did she hurt you, Lily?" Peter asks.

"She did a forbidden spell and she attacked Lily!" Mandy says accusatory. Why does she keep lying? Julia gives a desperate glance to the Gata boys. If the alarm really worked, if Mandy truly checked the spell, she must know they did it. Why does she insist it's Julia's fault? Or maybe – Julia lets herself a desperate spark of hope – just maybe they didn't do anything. Maybe one of her classmates decided to have fun on her account. But that would have been stupid, too stupid, that would mean expulsion and everyone in Cheller knows it. Her heart drops again.

"So you are attacking people now, huh, Julia?" Peter asks in a dull tensed voice. "You think you can just do whatever you want?"

The crowd comes a little closer. Julia doesn't like the looks her classmates give her. This time, she thinks maybe they will cross a line where they do something that actually counts as bullying. Will Julia's mother let her transfer in this case? Hardly.

"Bullshit!" somebody says behind her back. Julia turns around and sees Dodie, standing up and coming near her. And despite the fact, that all of this is at least partly his fault, Julia feels a spark of gratitude. "Why don't you tell the whole story, Mandy?"

"Are you saying Mandy is lying?" Peter asks, his eyes squinting.

This is the part where the ball ends, Julia thinks. They will not want this, to be in a constant fight with the whole school over her. People always choose Mandy, they always choose to join the crowd that hustles her because it is much less effort.

"I'd say she does not tell all the truth," Jatan appears right near Julia, making everyone else in the room jump. "The part where Lily attacked Julia first. Or is it acceptable for your lot?"

"Is it true, Lily?" Peter asks.

"I only grabbed her hand," Lily says and her voice is so full of self-pity. "I was-it was all-I didn't-"

"Grabbed pretty hard, I must say," Kim says. "She and Mandy dragged her out of a chair, which in such a boring law-obedient school must be considered as some kind of violence, I suppose."

"Mandy?" Peter says. He tries to be reasonable to avoid quarrels with new guys. They must have really made an impression. Previously, any person trying to stand up for Julia was bullied along with her. None of them lasted more than a week. Julia sees how desperately Peter wants to rip her apart but this unexpected intersection makes it harder. For some reason, he is not ready for an open confrontation.

"We saw it with our own eyes," Nate supports his brother. "Or did it not happen, Mandy?"

"It did," Mandy says quietly. "But-but-she did a forbidden spell, you see. My alarm system worked. Somebody made a love spell."

Peter's lips twitch in a bemused grin.

"Again?" he asks Julia. "Seriously, girl, get yourself some self-respect. Or try a different outfit, I don't know?" There is a giggle everywhere. Julia screwed up again. Julia is so desperate that she needs to attract guys with spells. Well, those were not the worst words she ever heard. Julia is an ugly monster that has no idea what the concept of consent means, her former boyfriend said shortly after she was caught in a library with that stupid potion. Those were the last words he ever told her. She didn't even know what hurt her most, that he called her an ugly monster or that he believed it was her idea.

"It was not me!" Julia says.

"Sure, it's just an unlucky coincidence."

"Why did you decide it was Julia?" Jatan asks. "Does the spell point out who did it?"

"No. I mean usually it does but not this time. I don't know why. It just pointed out the location, and it was done here, on the porch."

Julia sees Gata boys exchanging dark looks. She doesn't know how to read them. She misread people again. She let herself open up just for a little while and this is where it got her. Idiot. Hasn't she learned anything at all?

"How do you know it was Julia then?"

"Well, Julia has a history-"

"Did the alarm show the exact spell that was used?" Jatan interrupts.

"Y-yes," Mandy says. The ghosty boy sighs.

"Well, what was it?"

"I don't know," Mandy admits. "I've never seen a spell like this. I could only recognize that it was one of the love charms."

"That's right," Jatan says. "You see, the system does not recognize the spell because it probably doesn't exist in your database. It's an old ghosty magic. Pretty rare."

"What?" Mandy asks. "You mean-you did this? Was it your spell?

"Uh-huh," Jatan confirms. "And the reason why it didn't point me out is because the spell doesn't recognize me as a person when I'm invisible. So it looks like magic comes out of nowhere. Old trick but very helpful," his voice is even, calm. It seems like he's bored to death.

"But-but why?"

"I wanted to impress the girl," Jatan says throwing Julia a look.

"What-Julia?" Mandy asks. Jatan nods, an apologetic smile on his lips. Is it why he transferred? Were new boys kicked out from the Gata for pulling something like this?

There is a long, long pause. Mandy looks at her boots, obviously trying to make a decision. Julia holds her breath. Déjà vu.

"Well," Mandy says finally. "You're new here, you don't know our ways yet. We-it was just a little misunderstanding, okay? Let's just all return to the party."

The crowd still is a little agitated but once Mandy invites everyone back in the living room they follow their hostess. They are passing Julia, omitting her as if she were furniture standing in their way. No one apologizes. No one acknowledges her existence anymore. This is silly but the unfairness of the whole situation makes her want to cry. Life isn't easy, her mother would say. Get used to it. She is eighteen. She spent the last six months building character. Still, she is unable to control her tears.

"Girl, pull yourself together," she hears Lily muttering under her breath while passing through Julia to come to the living room. There is a real disgust in her tone. Eventually, everyone comes to the house, and there are just Julia and new boys on the porch, and Mandy at the doorstep.

"Come, boys," Mandy says, avoiding Julia's gaze. "Let's have some fun."

They are looking at Julia as if they are awaiting some kind of a sign. What else do they want from her? Julia swallows her tears, turns around and walks away not bothering to say goodbye.