They do a travelling party every Christmas Eve. I’m really late, but my parents are busy getting ready for their party, and hardly notice when I walk in. I drop Penny off at her house, and she’s still so pissed off that she slams the car door. That’s all we’re good for.”īut neither of us speaks for the rest of the trip. If we were in a movie, one of us would have to die while Simon watched. When have we ever been any help, Penelope? Like, real help. Because I can’t actually do anything to help. “Well, then, yeah, I think I would rather just stay home. “In the scenario I’m describing, none of that would be happening!” “No!” I lean forward, squeezing the steering wheel. “We’re supposed to watch telly while Simon fights the Humdrum? And Baz gets kidnapped by numpties?” I don’t want to have secret meetings! I just want to hang out! Like, make biscuits and watch telly. “I want to be friends,” I say, “but I don’t want to be, like, comrades-in-arms. Are you really saying you’d rather we just left you out and ignored you for the rest of the year?” “I thought you’d want to be included, Agatha!” Penny only lets me ignore her for twenty minutes or so before she bursts. “You just took it?” And then she said, “Oh, Agatha, purple varnish.
“We would buy you cosmetics,” my father said. I went through a shoplifting phase when I was 14 and got grounded for an entire summer when my parents found my stash of unopened eyeliners and nail varnish. I really hope she doesn’t tell my parents. I hope Penny’s mum doesn’t realize I stole it. Or maybe he’s such a prat because she broke up with him, and he never got over it. Maybe that’s why Lucy broke it off with him. I don’t get why he wants to be headmaster-does he even like kids? Penny says he’s sexist, but the fact is that the Mage hardly talks to anyone at Watford. But I’m not sure the Mage even knows my name. I’ve known the Mage since before I was in school he and Dad have been on the Coven together forever. Once he showed up at our door in the middle of the night with his ear in his hand.
He’s always dressed like Peter Pan, and he carries a sword.
Ages ago-and, honestly, I don’t relish the thought of talking to the Mage by myself.