Page 108 of Witch You Would
I pulled the contract out of the envelope and tried to read it. The words shifted and swam and blurred as if they were enchantedto be illegible, on top of being lawyer ninja language.
What did it even matter? I needed a job, and she was giving me one. This was the whole reason I’d come on the show, and nowhere I was, getting exactly what I wanted. Charlotte and I wouldn’t be driving into the sunset in that imaginary convertible,but at least I wouldn’t be hitchhiking down Alligator Alley in the dark.
Rosy would be happy for me. So would Emelia. As long as I didn’t tell either of them about Gil, or losing on purpose, or howI almost wished I had never applied for this fucking show in the first place.
Could someone take secrets like this to their grave? Asking for me.
At least Gil would be okay without me dragging him down. What had he said? No sneaking around, no worrying about gossip. Hecould move to LA and get his own show and be super famous. Live that dream.
I wished I could hate him for dumping me like this, the night before the final round, but I couldn’t. All I could do was dropa fresh round of tears onto my already-soaked pillow.
“Suck it up, Penelope Frances Delmar,” I told myself. “Do what you have to do.”
I washed my splotchy face for the second time in a day and signed the contract.
Quiet knocks at my door woke me up from stress dreams of Ofelia firing me and my mom sending me to live in a dark room inthe basement she didn’t actually have. I nearly fell out of bed trying to get up too fast, and went to see who it was throughthe peephole.
Gil.
“Yeah?” I asked, without opening the door.
“Just checking on you,” he said. “Breakfast is almost over.”
Shit. Of course I overslept, today of all days.
“I’ll be right down,” I said. Just had to throw some clothes on and go. Fina and Bruno could fix me.
“I’ll save you a banana,” Gil joked.
How could he be so cheerful? Maybe someone was outside and he was faking it for their benefit. Maybe he was honestly relievedto be done with me.
I felt like I had missed a step and fallen down the stairs.
People were already getting into vans when I finally made it down. Gil waited for me with a travel cup of coffee and a muffin.
“Thanks,” I said, taking both. My stomach felt full of rocks, but I bit into the blueberry goodness anyway. Instant regret.Not even sugar and carbs could fix me.
“Nervous?” Gil asked as I tossed the rest in the trash.
“Yeah.” Among other things.
Little Manny passed us, did a double take, and backed up. “Whoa, what happened to you two?”
“What do you mean?” Gil asked.
“You don’t match.”
I looked down, then at Gil. Little Manny was right. For the first time in almost two weeks, we wore completely different colors. I had on a plain button-down black shirt, and he was wearing cream, brown, and red.
Gil’s eyes went wide behind his glasses, and his mouth dropped open in a silentoh.
“I guess it had to happen eventually,” Little Manny said. “Honestly, it was getting weird.”
“Yeah, haha,” Gil said, fake smiling through the awkwardness.
“It’s fine. Wardrobe will fix it. See you guys there.” With a wave, Little Manny left us standing there, alone in a sea ofpeople.
I followed him out, drinking my coffee. Maybe I’d get lucky and spill it like I did on day one.
