Rich Girls Don't Date King Thrushbeard: Part 4
Larisa's plan takes two unexpected turns.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Slowly, I turned my head to look at Jocelyn. “What do you mean?”
She raised her left hand. Her fingers started to glow silver, and sparks swirled around them.
“You’ve got magic?”
“It’s OK,” she said, her voice soft and soothing. “I won’t hurt you.”
“Let’s just say my husband and I have made it our life’s work to help people who need it. That’s why we came to work at the sixth form: the Head asked us to watch out for students who needed a little help – and some magic as well.” She winked at me. “And we’re not the only ones.”
I was about to ask who the others were but then decided it didn’t matter. “You know, my friend Claire could really have used some magic. Sorry, didn’t mean to sound accusing, but how come you never picked up on her problems?”
“We did. Our friend knew something was wrong, he just couldn’t pick up on what it was until we found her comb. Our magic couldn’t have broken the spells affecting her; there are more amazing and powerful things in the world than the magic we have. But this is about you now, Larisa.”
Jocelyn looked me up and down thoughtfully. “I can give you a spell that will keep people from recognising you.”
I gasped. “Really?”
“Yes. How long do you think it will take you to get to your destination?”
“I should be there by midday tomorrow at the latest – if nothing goes wrong, that is.”
Jocelyn pursed her lips. “Let’s assume for your sake that something does go wrong.”
She had a point. The coach could break down, or I might need to book a hotel instead of a coach ticket tonight and then sort out transport in the morning.
“Have you got any jewellery with you?” She pointed at my watch with a grimace. “I’m guessing that watch isn’t waterproof, otherwise I’d use that to hold the spell.”
“What about this?” I pointed to a plain silver ring on my left hand. It had belonged to one of my grandmothers. “Can you use that?”
“That’s perfect! Before I cast the spell, you should know that it will only work if you don’t tell people your real name.”
“You mean I can’t tell them my first name or my surname? Does that mean I can use my middle name if someone gets chatty?”
Jocelyn nodded thoughtfully. “You could, so long as they’ve never met you before. Oh, one other thing. You’d better…”
My phone rang: Mum again. I pressed the red button and turned back to Jocelyn. “Sorry about that, what were you saying.”
“I was saying that you’d better hope that you don’t run into anyone with detection magic. If you do, they’ll be able to look past the spell and see you.”
I swallowed. “Is that a common kind of magic?”
“It’s an uncommon kind and the odds of running into someone with it are low, so hopefully you should be all right. I can make the spell last for three days.”
“That should be ideal.” I’d just have to remember to take the ring off when I reached the right town. “Thank you for doing this.”
She smiled at me warmly. “I help because it’s the right thing to do. Hold out your hand.”
I did so, skin prickling with anticipation. She gently touched the ring with one finger; the ring glowed a bright silver, and then a swirl of magic began to dance around my finger. When it faded, I studied myself, raising a hand in the air and moving it around.
“Has it worked? I don’t feel any different.”
“I guarantee you it’s worked.” She glanced over my shoulder. “Is that the bus you wanted?”
The vehicle was coming down the road towards us – and it was the right number.
“Yes, that’s it.” I held out a hand to Jocelyn. “Thank you again. I won’t forget this.”
She shook my hand, replying: “Look after yourself, Larisa.”
“I will.”
The bus came to a halt and the doors opened. I clambered inside and took out the right amount of money from my pocket. The driver didn’t look happy about being paid in cash, but I didn’t care. I wheeled the suitcases down the aisle and took a window seat.
Just before the bus pulled away from the stop, Jocelyn started waving to me. I waved back, giving her a beaming smile.
***
As soon as Topaz Coast was behind me, doubts began to creep in.
Was I doing the right thing? How could I just leave my family like that? How could I leave without saying goodbye to Claire? Mum and Dad had probably contacted her to find out if I’d told her where I was going. If they had, it was only a matter of time until I got a call from her.
My parents kept calling me; I rejected every call and deleted every voice message before I could listen to it. When guilt started settling, I ate my baguette to distract myself.
The area was beautiful, especially in the summer. Green fields and trees passed under a blue sky that slowly started to fade into gold. My eyelids started to grow heavy; I leaned against the window and let the rhythm of the bus soothe me into sleep.
***
“Wake up, princess.”
“Mmh?” I opened my eyes blearily.
The bus driver stood over me. “End of the line.”
What?
I sat up quickly. Outside was a cobalt sky, with stars starting to appear in the blue. There wasn’t a single building in sight.
“Where…where am I? And…” I looked down at my lap in horror. “Where’s my phone?”
“Beats me. It’s not my fault you can’t look after your stuff.”
Had it fallen on the floor and slid under the seats? I got up and peered beneath the seats, heart pounding in my throat. This couldn’t be happening.
I started to move down the aisle and look at the spaces on the floor, but there was no sign of my phone at all.
No. No, no, no!
“Are you finished?” asked the bus driver. “I have to get going.”
“How soon until we leave?” My eyes were starting to sting with tears. It was starting to look like my phone had been stolen. “I’ll pay for another ticket.”
The driver chuckled. “I said I have to get going. This is the final bus of the day.”
“So what am I going to do?”
He shrugged lazily. “Not my problem, princess. Should have thought of that before you fell asleep.”
He wasn’t wrong. And that stung.
“Well, can I at least look for my phone one more time? Just to check?”
The driver nodded. “Tell you what.” He picked up both my suitcases and said, with a huge grin on his face: “I’ll help you off with your bags!”
He strode off down the aisle.
“Wait!” I shouted, running after him. “What about my phone?”
He dropped the suitcases on the ground outside the bus. “Go on, out you go.” He took me by the upper arms and pushed me out as well; I tripped on one of the suitcases and went sprawling on the ground.
“If I find it, I’ll just call your mummy and daddy to come and pick you up.”
I scrambled to my feet. “You can’t just lea…”
“Bye now!” He closed the bus doors, waved merrily at me and drove away, sending dust flying up.
I raised a hand to shield my eyes, coughing as some of the dust entered my mouth. When I lowered them again, the bus was already in the distance.