How to Become a Changeling

"Alright. You taking bets? Ghoulie or mafi?” Troy Meecham peered at the newcomer, a girl dressed in the latest fashion with a pixie haircut, standing spacey at the end of the hall. He rubbed his neck where it was bandaged, adjusting his turtleneck higher just in case she was vampiric.

Randon Spade, his best buddy and what people said was his twin brother separated at birth, patted his shoulder to let him know he was safe. Both dark haired boys watched her carefully.

“That’s a no-brainer. Totally ghoulie,” Tom Brown said. The platinum blonde fifteen-year-old peered at her through the dark sunglasses that masked his orange eyes.

Matthew Calamori looked and blinked. He was your average run of the mill Italian boy—mostly. “How can you tell?”

With a turn, Tom winked at his brown-haired pal. “No imps. She’s either really naughty, or she’s a changeling.”

“Same diff,” Troy said, tucking his money back into his pocket. “They’ll cure her then send her home when they’re sure it won’t happen again.”

“What’s up,” Rick Deacon strolled over. The group often lingered in the school’s main hall whenever something new or exciting was happening. Rick’s wolf-gray eyes barely glanced down the hall. He liked to hear their take on events first. They were older than him by two years, and they went about things in a fun way. Few people were foolish enough to challenge Matthew’s group of friends anyway.

“Newbie,” Troy said, gesturing over at the girl. “Tom says she’s a ghoulie.”

Rick lifted his head, brushed some of his rusty brown hair out of his eyes, and peered at her. As his eyes fixed on her face they grew wide. Backing up, he nearly tripped over himself. “That’s no ghoulie. That’s a witch! She’s from my hometown!”

He immediately ducked behind them.

The girl did not stir though, still staring straight ahead as though nothing would bother her.

“Are you sure?” Troy asked, glancing over at the girl once more. “We’ve never gotten a witch in here before.”

“That’s because my father would never have let one in!” Rick broke into a sweat, looking left then right for a way to escape. He then peered through them back at her. “Did she see me?”

“She’s not looking.” Troy stared down on Rick tiredly.

Matt shook his head then stood more largely to block her view of Rick. “She can’t see anything, I don’t think. If Tom’s right, she’s a changeling. And that means she is out to lunch.”

“A what?” Rick peeked up through his hands, still ducking low.

“A changeling,” Matt said again with a dry chuckle. “Someone who messed around with faerie property or did too many séance, usually the latter. They occasionally are sent to this school to be cured. Most of the time they are teens that are already up to no good. Juvie material, you know. Sometimes they dabble with those games at parties like Bloody Mary and the Candy Man, flipping out, or Hard as a Board Light as a Feather and they never come out of it. Most kids like these are sent to hospitals and lunatic asylums, but occasionally a doctor who knows about Gulinger sends them here, and the nurse here cures them.”

“A cure?” Rick shuddered, peeking over at her. “You mean she’ll wake from it and attend our school?”

The boys blinked at him.

“Not long,” Tom murmured, thinking it was the first time Rick had ever chosen not to associate with another classmate. “Eventually they go home since they aren’t mafis and they really aren’t ghoulies. But some of them end up back here again.”

“Repeat offenders,” Troy murmured, also agreeing Rick was acting weird.

Randon walked up, gesturing over to the girl. “Let me guess. The newbie’s a changeling.” He then looked down at Rick. “What’s wrong with you?”

Rick grabbed Randon’s arm, jerking him down. “She’s a witch.”

Randon yelped, dropping to the ground behind the others now. “Are you serious?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little, you know, prejudiced?” Matt asked, casting her another glance. She looked harmless.

Both Randon and Rick stared up at him with complete astonishment.

“Are you forgetting what witches did to me?” Randon snapped.

Rick nodded. “They used to follow me around school pulling hairs off my head. I’d still be back in Middleton if it weren’t for them.”

Tom jerked back, sneaking glances at her. “Because of that innocent-looking, cute, kinda sexy girl?”

“She was not the only one!” Rick snapped. He was shaking. “And how they look doesn’t matter!”

“His town is full of witches, the Bermuda Triangle of Massachusetts,” Randon said, slipping between them like a cat would. “They are the most dangerous ones. Besides, witches use pieces of werewolf in potions. And Rick is a rare one besides, so they’d really want to hunt him down. There are very few brown werewolves out there. Most of them are gray, just like your old man,

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.09.2010
ISBN: 978-3-7368-4022-5

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