I was beginning to think boarding school was maybe a bad idea seeing as I'd spoken to the police twice in the same day, about two different things that they didn't know were probably related in the weirdest way possible. School should not be this exciting. No, was exciting even the correct word?
I was sat on a bench near the schools playing fields and athletic track not far from where the body was found. The entire track was filled with police cars but now there was the addition of two ambulances, one of which had Francesca in it wailing her head off. They were treating her for a few cuts, scraps and bruises but nothing major. The sound coming from the ambulance said otherwise as she was being quite the drama queen as per usual.
The police had already interviewed Liam and myself and were attempting to get something out of Francesca whilst she was being sorted out by the paramedics. Liam had been chatting to his friends for a brief moment before he came over and sat down beside me on the bench.
'How you holding up?' He asked.
'Fine I guess. You?'
'Same.'
Silence. Thankfully it was soon broken by the arrival of my Auntie M and Mr Evans.
'Hey are you two okay?' Mr Evans asked us both. I've never been asked that question so much before it was starting to get irritating. We just both nodded in reply.
'Well I heard the police say they don't need you for any more questions. Mr Banks has called off classes for the rest of the day I think he's having a melt down.' Mr Evan's sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
'Daniel and I have had an idea though. You two go and get changed and meet us in the staff car park in an hour, we're going out for tea tonight. Casual-smart okay?' Auntie M addressed Liam and I. Wow, Auntie M moved quick we were going on family outings now.
I didn't need to be told twice so I nodded. Same went for Liam. My Auntie M gave me the biggest hug, which I needed after what had happened. We quickly made our way back to our dorms to get ready. I was in dire need of a shower, I wanted to wash the sweat and dirt off me and get in to some nice clean clothes. Back in my dorm I was greeted by Katie and Victoria who didn't quiz me about what the police had been asking, which I was grateful for but they simply gave me some hugs. Apparently it was all about the hugs today but to be honest I wasn't complaining. I told them I was off out with my Aunt Tonight before I went for a quick shower, deciding not to wash my hair as it would take too long for me to dry and style. I threw on a green V-neck knitted jumper with white stars dotted all over it and a pair of black jeans, my black Chelsea boots I fished out of the back of my wardrobe and the leather jacket my Auntie M bought for me. After tying my hair up in a messy bun and applying a quick bit of make up, I was ready to go; not forgetting my cute little black handbag with my purse and my phone in it.
I bid my friends goodbye and quickly made my way out to the staff car park behind the faculty dormitory. Auntie M was already there deciding to change in to comfier clothes too; black skinny jeans, army boots, a Royal Stewart tartan checked shirt and a long chunky knit black cardigan. It was jeans weather, made apparent by Mr Evans and Liam walking over to us minutes after I had turned up; both in fashionable jeans, Liam in a black and white striped jumper and Mr Evans in a white V-neck tshirt and black cardigan combo. I had to admit, they both looked rather handsome but what got both my Auntie M and I was the smell of cologne. I don't know what it was but men just seemed to have this thing with dousing themselves with cologne whenever they weren't wearing their regular clothes and were off out somewhere. I did recognise the scent emitting from Mr Evans though, it was Joop. And right before my eyes I could see my Auntie M having some nostalgia based flashback type thing. I remember her talking to me a little while ago about her teenage years back up North where our family came from and where both her and my mother were born. She had this knack for telling stories in a really funny but really gross way sometimes.
'Honestly we spent most of our time in shopping malls in Manchester when I was your age, you could walk all the way round the Arndale and all you could smell was Paco Rabanne and pussy. Teenagers were so disgusting then.'
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And she laughed. She told me she always went for the boys who wore Joop as the Paco Rabanne stinking boys were trouble in those days.
Like I said, it was gross but funny.
We ended up going in to town in my Auntie M's BMW which gained some nods of approval from both Liam and Mr Evans when she started the engine. It erupted to life, roaring and growling when she put her foot on the accelerator. While we might be in strange circumstances now what with there being horrible stuff going on in school and the dead body that was found on the rounds, we all seemed to be in relatively good spirits; made evident by the fact that we all started singing when "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness started playing on the car stereo. It was Auntie M's car that did it, you couldn't not sing along to whatever was coming out of the speakers. In fact, none of us spoke a word on the way in to Hitchin, we were too busy singing. But it didn't take us that long to get there. We managed to through "I Was made For Lovin' You" by Kiss and sang an interesting rendition of "Mr Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra before we got to our destination; a nice little Italian restaurant that barely had any customers in it that night. Perfect.
The young waitress who introduced herself as Sandra sat us in a nice cosy booth at the back of the restaurant and handed us all menus. I sat next to Liam while Auntie M sat next to Mr Evans. We ordered drinks first; Liam and I had cokes, Mr Evans had a pint of Moretti. Auntie M got herself an Appletiser as she was driving.
'How are we all doing then?' Auntie M spoke up. We all sort of nodded in a half arsed reply. It had been a tiring day and I think we were all feeling it.
'Morrigan and I have been talking.' Said Mr Evans. 'Now we know who and what we all are we figured it would be a good idea to get on friendlier terms. Y'know, given our situation and all that.'
'And because you two' Auntie M looked at Liam and I, 'are both fledgling magic users we thought it would be nice for you to help each other. That's if it's something you'd like to do?'
Liam and I looked at each other and smiled, shrugging our shoulders.
'I'm okay with it.' I confirmed.
'Same, I'm kinda glad I'm not the only one going through this.' Liam added.
'Me too, I mean no offence Auntie M to you and the coven but it's a bit daunting taking it all in on your own, especially when everyone else is so experienced.'
Liam nodded in agreement. I started feeling a bit better now knowing he felt the same way and that my Auntie M and Mr Evans were thinking about us like that. However I did have this little voice in my head saying this was their excuse for them to get together. I don't think that was the case though, my Auntie M wasn't that manipulative and Mr Evans was a genuinely nice guy.
The waitress Sandra returned after about five minutes with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. We had all decided on pasta of some variety and ordered bread for the table. It really was a carb day, Italian was a good choice indeed. Sandra left with our order and took our menus which gave us plenty of time to chat about today's events before our food arrived.
'So I may have an idea about what's going on, I'm not one hundred percent sure but it's the first thing that came to mind.' Auntie M announced to us all in a slightly quieter than normal volume voice as while the restaurant was quiet, there were a few other diners in. We all leaned in as if it would make her voice more audible.
'Maddie after I borrowed your eyes I saw that vision you had.'
Liam looked confused after what she had said. Mr Evans decided to explain to him.
'Liam there's some pretty advanced magic out there, so advanced I haven't even got to that level yet. And Morrigan is possibly the most powerful magic user I've met so, listen carefully you could learn a lot that I can't teach you.'
My Auntie M beamed at Mr Evans' reply.
'What I did is what we call Bond Magic. I have a familial bond with Maddie as she's my niece so it's easier to do than with somebody you don't know, but it's still a tricky spell to cast.'
'How did you cast it Auntie M?' I asked her, genuinely curious.
'It involves an incantation in Latin and drawing some magical symbols in fresh blood. And quite a bit of energy. Took me a few years to master actually. It means you can see through the eyes of whoever you've chosen.'
Both Liam and I sat in awe. We really were novices.
'I've been meaning to ask actually, how far are you with your training Liam?' Auntie M asked him as she took a sip of her drink.
'I've not done much but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I've done some protection spells, some healing spells, the basic stuff.'
'He's doing quite well actually.' Mr Evans interjected.
'Oh! Have you ridden a broom yet?' I excitedly asked Liam. He raised an eyebrow at me and shook his head to say no.
'Sorry Maddie I didn't tell you, Warlocks don't ride brooms it's witches only.'
'Oh.'
'Don't worry Maddie. There really is a lot to get through sometimes the little details get lost.' Auntie M reassured me with a smile.
Well that was a new one. Hovering around on cleaning utensils was strictly for the ladies apparently. Sexist much.