Shimmerspell: The Shimmer Trilogy, #1 Read online

SHIMMERSPELL

  A Faerie Tale Girl Novella

  By Kimberly Spencer

  Copyright 2011 Kimberly Spencer

  https://kimberlyspencer.blogspot.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author.

  Cover Art by Claudia McKinney

  Chapter One

  “Ok, who can tell me the additive inverse of twenty-seven?”

  Crickets chirped.

  Mr. Tanner lifted his deep brown eyes from the textbook, staring over the rim of his glasses and out into the classroom as he scanned each row for a victim. Soon those shrewd eyes would fall on Jensen and then he’d pounce. He always did.

  She held her head up, trying to exude confidence. But somehow he knew she hadn’t studied over the break, knew she didn’t know the answer. And that knowledge gave him a power he wielded mercilessly. “Well,” he grabbed a broken piece of chalk from the blackboard, and walked around his cluttered desk, sitting on the edge, “since no one wants to volunteer, Ms. Mead—”

  The bell sounded and Jensen released the breath she’d been holding. It was a close call too. If Tanner had put her on the spot one more time, she planned to walk out. Her sister Lauren would have been mad about it, but Jensen just couldn’t find it in her to care.

  “Homework for tomorrow is on page sixty-five. Odd numbers. And class, don’t forget to show your work this time. I’d hate to have to give out anymore goose eggs.”

  Jensen dropped her books inside her khaki messenger bag, and slid out the door in front of two football players in a shoving match. If she’d stayed about a minute longer, Tanner would have cornered her and that just couldn’t happen. He’d never yelled at her or anything like that. And had always been nice, in an overly concerned, yet non-pervy way. But, for reasons unknown to her, Tanner always knew when she lied. And that was just … weird.

  Jensen navigated through end-of-school traffic, finding her best friend Zoe waiting at her locker, fresh off a field trip to the Rolling Hills Science Center.

  Zoe glanced up from her cell phone and smiled. “Ooh cute,” she said, twirling her finger through the violet streaks in Jensen’s bangs. Violet streaks that weren’t supposed to be violet.

  Jensen rolled her eyes. “Yeah right.”

  “No, it really is.”

  “Zoe, it’s supposed to be pink.”

  “Your hair is too dark for that and I think it’s cute this way.” She crossed her legs and leaned against the locker beside Jensen’s. “So, did you get it?”

  Jensen swirled the dial on her padlock, avoiding Zoe’s gaze. “Get what?”

  “Come on, you know.”

  Of course Jensen knew. Most thirteen-year-olds had it by now and she’d just turned sixteen. Without it. She sighed and shook her head, wondering why she’d ever told the girl in the first place.

  Zoe’s eyes widened. “Really? I was sure you would’ve gotten it over Spring Break. Well, look at it this way, at least you don’t have to deal with cramps yet or bloating. Or worry about ruining your brand new Vicki Secrets. Or have some Neanderthal steal your tampon and toss it around the classroom like a football.” Her eyes darkened and she glanced away. “That’s not very fun.”

  And apparently not something you could live down either. Even the teachers had taken to calling her Scarlett Rose now. And the name actually fit. Her eyes were green, just a shade darker than Jensen’s, and her hair, the color of … well, a rose.

  Jensen put her pen in her mouth, opened her locker, and grabbed her sketchpad, sliding it into her messenger bag. “So you and Benji still on?” She needed to change the subject. Fast.

  Zoe scowled. “Hell no! Can you believe the idiot forgot our anniversary? I mean, who does that?”

  “Haven’t you only been dating for like, two months?”

  Zoe cocked her head to the side, staring up at Jensen like she had just flown in from another planet. “Yeah, but you’re supposed to celebrate it every month until you’ve been together a full year.”

  Jensen raised her eyebrows, but said nothing else to incur Zoe’s wrath. Once she got started on the Zoe and Benji show, there would be no timeouts or take-backs.

  “Anyway, Mackenzie’s party.” Zoe angled the locker door and touched up her lip gloss in the mirror. “Are we a go?”

  Jensen scratched her elbow, still chewing on the pen. Mackenzie, Jensen’s lab partner, had invited them to a party at her beach house on Saturday, a party she’d never be able to attend. “Can’t. Lauren wants to check out this art gallery in Tampa. And at some point, I’m supposed to practice driving on the interstate.” The truth. Just not this weekend.

  “Look, she has that pen in her mouth again,” a raspy voice said. “I wonder what else she likes to put in there.” Shrill giggles followed and someone slammed a locker door.

  Jensen ground her teeth against the blue pen top, not needing to see the face that voice belonged to. The sugary sweet stench pouring off the girl said enough. Shelby. Zoe’s twin.

  She walked up beside Jensen, holding a bubblegum-pink scrapbook against her chest. “Zo, can we please go?” she asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

  “I’ll be right there,” Zoe said, still staring in the mirror.

  Shelby sauntered off, having accomplished her bitchy deed for the day. And one finger at a time, Jensen relaxed her fist. “I don’t know what her problem is.”

  “In a word. You.”

  Jensen slid her pen into her messenger bag and started twisting her emerald ring around and around on her middle finger. “Zo, I’ve never done anything to her and you know it.”

  Zoe raised her eyebrows, sliding her lip gloss into her pocket. “Yeah you have.”

  “Ok, so tell me what I did then?”

  “Well let’s see.” She tapped her chin, flicking her gaze upward. “You transferred here.” That’s all she would ever say, which both frustrated Jensen and endeared her to the girl at the same time. She had to hand it to her. No matter who did what, Zoe never played sides.

  “Well, that was insightful.”

  Zoe laughed. “I do what I can.”

  “But seriously, don’t be mad when I start fighting back.” And she did mean fight, because so far in the game of social warfare, Shelby held down the lead with a whopping three to Jensen’s zero. And that just wouldn’t do.

  Zoe smiled, mischief twinkling in her eyes. “I won’t.” It was just that easy for her.

  Jensen snapped the padlock back into place. “Well, you better go before the little witch has a hissy fit.”

  “Ok, text me later and be careful driving. I think it’s supposed to storm all weekend.”

  “You worry way too much.” The understatement of the year. The girl kept a gas mask and anti-radiation pills in her car. Just in case.

  “I’m serious. Driving in bad weather is dangerous.”

  “Zoe just waking up in the morning is dangerous. And so is going to the bathroom. I mean, do you have any idea how many people never even make it out of bed? Or the ones who sit on the toilet and never get off?”

  “No, and neither do you,” she countered, walking backward toward the exit.

  Jensen squinted her eyes and nodded. “Touché my friend. Touché.”

  Barking a laugh, Zoe backed into a boy wearing jeans so tight you could see the imprint of his balls. “Bye,” she giggled, then out t
he door she went.

  Jensen cut through the lunchroom exit, then walked around the side of the building to the back of the school by the auto mechanics building. Guided by the smoker’s cough of the dusty blue Mazda-3, she strolled right up to the spot Lauren had chosen to occupy. A quick glance at the backseat had her frowning at her sister’s continual disregard for her privacy. But it made no sense arguing over the Ipad. Lauren would only point out that she bought it, so it technically belonged to her.

  Biting the side of her lip, Jensen yanked the door open and climbed inside.

  Lauren stared in her pink studded compact, slathering on a bright red lipstick, not that she even needed it. With natural carmine tinted lips, Jensen could swear Lauren had been orally assaulted by a strawberry in a past life. “Hey Button; how was your day?”

  Button—as in, cute as a button. Jensen hated the nickname. She shrugged and reopened her door, pulling her seatbelt inside. “Long. Boring. How about yours?”

  She smiled and tilted her head to the side causing soft blonde curls to cascade across her shoulder. “More or less the same.”

  Jensen reached into her pocket for her cherry Carmex and immediately noticed the loss. “Shit. I left my cell phone.”

  “Language Jensen.”

  “For Pete’s sake Lauren, it’s just a word.” And one of the tamer ones at that.

  “And I’ve already told you; words have power.”

  Jensen rolled her eyes and shoved her door open. “Yeah, because saying the wrong one might just make me crap in my pants.” Then she hopped out of the car and ran back toward the school before Lauren could respond.

  Would she pay for it later? Yep. But it still felt good to push Lauren’s buttons. Sometimes she seemed to forget they were sisters. Not mother and daughter. And besides, the last time Jensen checked, con-artists didn’t make the best parental figures anyway.

  Jensen found her cell phone right where she thought it would be. Tucked inside her pencil case, where she’d hidden it during a history quiz. With a smile, she closed her locker and snapped the padlock back into place.

  But that smile melted away when she noticed a tall golden-haired boy staring at her questioningly. At first, she thought she imagined it, but his cerulean eyes continued to bore into her, unwavering in their intensity. Weird, especially when she’d never seen the boy before.

  Refusing to be intimidated, she narrowed her eyes and returned an equally intense stare until she passed him. Surely, that’ll get him to back off, she thought.

  But no, the boy turned around, resuming his visual bombardment, the force of it burning a hole in the back of her head and making it difficult not to squirm.

  Not wanting to turn into salt, she stared straight ahead, focusing on planting one foot in front of the other, while praying it didn’t look like she had a stick shoved up her ass.

  What the hell have I ever done to him? she wondered. Then a locker door slammed behind her and she decided she never wanted to find out.

  Chapter Two

  “Please tell me you’re free tonight,” Zoe said, leaning against the locker beside Jensen’s.

  Surprisingly, they had both made it to school early, running into Zoe’s boyfriend Benji soon after. Jensen shoved some books into her locker, grabbed a water bottle, and pulled the cap off. “I don’t know yet. Why?”

  “Three words. Horror movie fest at the Luxe Theater,” Benji answered, excitement blooming across his face. Sadly, that face was riddled with acne.

  “That’s like seven words, you idiot.” Zoe shook her head and took a bite out of her Hello Kitty cake pop. “I’m sure it’s gonna be lame. All ketchup blood and fake sausage guts. You should come.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Benji added.

  Zoe smacked his chest. “Fun to watch Benny here scream like a little girl. That’s always fun to me.”

  Benji hunched his shoulders and laid his hand over hers. “How deeply you wound me.” Then before she could stop him, he grabbed her other arm and bit into her cake pop, leaving only a tiny piece behind.

  Zoe’s eyes darkened. “Do you want me to kill you, Benjamin Stevens?”

  He winced. “Sorry. It was an accident.”

  “So you’re saying you accidentally ate my cake?” Her voice had gotten higher, squeakier.

  He pouted and nodded. “I originally just intended to lick it.”

  Jensen giggled and Zoe scowled, pinching her arm. “Don’t encourage him.”

  The bell rang, signaling the start of first period and bringing an end to another funny episode of Zoe and Benji.

  Jensen pulled the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder. “Well, I guess I’ll see ya’ll at lunch.”

  “Why of course, Jenny from the Block.” Zoe wrapped her arm around Benji’s, dragging him around the corner. “Come along Benjamin. We wouldn’t wanna piss off dragon breath again. And when lunch starts, you’re buying me a slushie to make up for being such a jerk-off.”

  “Whatever you say, ma love.”

  Thinking it best not to fall on her face today, Jensen crouched, tying her shoe. And that’s when she felt it. That strange feeling you get when you know without looking that someone, somewhere is watching you. Mouth wide open. Heavy breathing. Hand down pants. She had the creeps.

  “Already friends with the wrong people I see.” The golden-haired boy leaned against the trophy case, his eyes fixed on her with the same ferocity from days before.

  She straightened, raising her chin. “Funny, I don’t recall trying to be friends with you.”

  He smiled then, though the severity of his gaze did not lessen. “You should stay away from them.”

  “Really? I’m thinking I should stay away from you,” she replied, refusing to be bullied by anyone.

  He shrugged. “You might be right. Question, who picked you up Friday?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “My cousin, not that that’s any of your business.” And because it’s not your business, I have no reason to tell the truth.

  Blue eyes churning, the boy stepped forward, closing the distance between them and blocking her path. Jensen didn’t know how it happened, couldn’t recall who challenged whom. But one second they were talking and the next, somehow locked in the ultimate battle of wills. A staring contest. And lamely, she blinked first. “I should get to class.”

  “You should.”

  Seconds passed before she found the courage to move, to turn her back on the strange boy, hoping he wouldn’t stab her in it with a pencil.

  She brushed past him, stepping once, twice before glancing back to find him already gone. As if his cerulean gaze had never existed. As if the heat of his body hadn’t scorched her skin. And as if his nearness hadn’t totally freaked her out.

  ***

  “I don’t know how I feel about this Jensen,” Lauren said, her voice tense. “Just let me think about it, ok?”

  Jensen sat in the grass, her head leaning against the trunk of a tall oak, her usual spot for lunch. She had called Lauren as soon as lunch period began, eager to fill her in about the movie fest. Now, that eagerness tripped, fell, and landed in a puddle known as regret as she held the phone to her ear, shocked that Lauren was on the verge of telling her she couldn’t go. “What’s there to think about? It’s just a movie with some friends. Maybe some food.”

  “Since when do you care about hanging out anyway?”

  “Since I was invited. Look, I just wanna see what it’s like to go to the movies for once, with someone other than my sister.”

  Lauren paused for a moment, sighing. “I’ve been thinking it might be best for us to move on soon.”

  Jensen stiffened. She knew it would happen eventually. With Lauren being a con-artist, they never stayed in the same place for too long or used the same name twice. But knowing that still didn’t lesson the blow, because this time, she had something she’d never had before. Zoe. “Exactly how soon is soon?”

  Lauren hesitated. “I’m thinking
we should start packing now.”

  Jensen slammed her fist down beside her, squashing an innocent donut she had yet to even taste. “Lauren, I never ask you to go anywhere. I’m going to this movie. We can pack tomorrow.” She was whining now and a lump had formed in her throat, which only pissed her off more.

  “Do you really think it’s wise to get attached to these people? We cannot stay here forever.”

  “I don’t care. I’m going to the movies with a couple of friends like a normal freaking teenager.” She grabbed a napkin rubbing the strawberry jelly away harsher than she’d intended. “You know, you’re not my mother, so you can stop trying to act like you are!”

  “That may be the case,” Lauren replied, her voice strained now, “but I am an adult and you are a child. What I say goes. Now, if you insist on going to the movies, I won’t stop you. But I think it would be best if we leave when you get home.”

  Jensen laughed, but the sound held no trace of humor. “Home? Yeah right.”

  “What was that?”

  Jensen blew out an angry breath. “Nothing. Leaving then is fine with me.”

  “Ok Button, I love you. And I’ll see you when—”

  Jensen pressed the end button and dropped the phone into her bag.

  “Hey, mind if I sit down?” Zoe asked, her head tilted and her eyebrows arched in question.

  Jensen moved her bag to the other side of her leg, not surprised she hadn’t noticed Zoe’s approach. “Be my guest.”

  “Everything ok?” Zoe asked, her voice soft and hesitant.

  Jensen cleared her throat. “Yeah and it’ll be even better if you tell me what I did to Shelby.” Way to go Jensen. Project onto someone else.

  Zoe frowned, placing her sack lunch on her lap. “Come on Jen. I already told you.”

  “And now you can tell me the real reason. What have I ever done to her?”

  A sigh escaped Zoe’s lips. “You transferred here.”

  “But I’m not the only new student, so it’s gotta be more than that.”

  She nodded, removing the soggy tomatoes from her mayo drenched sandwich. “True, but you are the only one Liam seems to notice.”

  Jensen passed her a napkin. “Who?”

  Zoe laughed. “Wow that just makes it so much worse.”

  “Makes what worse?”