Page 115 of Witch You Would
Today I wore what Sam had called my “winner shirt,” which she had forbidden me from using unless I made it to the finals.It was the least wild-colored option in my Leandro Presto wardrobe, just black and white and red, but the design made up forit. Each of the front panels featured an old-timey stage magician with a cape and wand, holding a top hat with a deck of cardsflying out of it. The huge collar, side panels and sleeves were covered in tiny card suit symbols, diamonds and spades andclubs and hearts. Perfect for our spell.
Penelope sat at one of the tables in the restaurant, a plate of untouched food in front of her. We saw each other at the sametime, and she smiled in what seemed like relief.
“We match,” she said when I got to her.
We did. She wore a loose V-neck red shirt covered in white dots and black hearts. Hell yeah. All was right with the world again.
“What about your apron?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
We ate, I got Penelope’s coffee ready to go, and we waited in the lobby for the van, surrounded by hungover crew. Today wouldbe a long one, because after casting we’d have judging, and then final confessionals. Rain poured down outside, turning thestreet into a river; I hoped it wasn’t an omen, or if it was, that it wasn’t for us.
Felicia and Charlotte stood nearby, juntos pero no revueltos, as my dad would say. Together, but not close. Felicia had onher full resting bitch face, while Charlotte kept checking her watch like it would make time pass more quickly.
“I should have realized something was up the first time you made my coffee,” Penelope said suddenly.
“Oh?”
“It’s perfect. I was like, how did he know?, and I assumed you’d gotten lucky.”
Oh. “You told me how you like it in one of our emails.”
“I’m surprised you remembered.”
I squeezed her knee. “That was one of my failed attempts to set myself up to ask you out. I had this whole elaborate plan,where I’d ask how you liked your coffee, and you’d tell me, and I’d say, ‘I know this great place on Coral Way near the Turnpike,’and then bam! Coffee date.”
Penelope squinted, thinking. “But all you did was tell me how you liked your coffee and then we started talking about...that documentary on weather magic?”
“Yeah, I chickened out. Again.”
“So.” She nudged me with her knee. “Want to get coffee at that place you like?”
“It’s a date.” I held up my travel cup and she tapped hers against it.
The van finally came for us all, and we arrived, slightly moist, at the warehouse. Fina did her best on makeup, and Brunogave me this quietly desperate look and asked whether I would consider a different hairstyle, just for today. I had to turnhim down. Rule number two: stay in character.
“But don’t you want to look nicer for la novia?” Bruno asked.
“Yeah, but I have to look like this for the cameras,” I replied.
“Bueeeno,” he said. “Como tú quieras, brother.”
Liam, horrified as always by my shirt material, taped the mic on and left to fiddle with dials and buttons. Nate asked ifhe could maybe have my autograph if it wasn’t a bother—it wasn’t, and I promised I’d take a selfie with him later, too. LittleManny hugged me, Big Manny gave me a good luck fist bump, and as I was heading back to the greenroom, I ran into an enormouslyexcited Penelope.
“You’ll never believe what I found,” she said.
“What?”
She held out a walkie-talkie. Okay. Wait, it had a label.
“Is that... Just Manny’s radio?”
“It is!”
“Should I get a box and a stick?”
She smacked me with it. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to put it on a table and then hide.”
