Chapter 4, Revelations

Some strange things happen to Olivia, and she is giving a shocking explanation.

Greta came up and patted me on the arm in gym class on Tuesday.  

"So, Ethan Shaw? Is he your boyfriend now?" she said. 

"Hardly," I said dryly. "We were just chatting and a slow song came on and we danced. No exchange of phone numbers, no dates, no kissing..." 

"Well, I should certainly hope no kissing. It's way too soon for that." 

I nodded. I made a mental note to be careful what I shared with her. I got the impression she was the judgemental type.  

"I hope Donovan MacGregor wears the same shorts as last week," Greta added. "That was a fine tushie to watch." 

Tushie? Just a minute before, Greta admonished me not to kiss a boy too soon, and the next she was talking about butts like it was no big thing.  

Donovan was one of the hottest guys in the sophomore class. He was the star of the hockey team and looked like that guy from Outlander only with shorter hair. He had gym class at the same time as Greta and I.  

The weather was still nice, so we went on another walk. The guys were playing a game in the gym, but we went past them and Greta's face lit up when she saw Donovan in his shorts.  

"I call him Big Mac," Greta whispered while we walked. "And I'd love to get ahold of those buns!"  

Ethan was friendly as usual when I saw him in class. He didn't act any differently towards me though. He had an ongoing fascination with my brightly colored pen collection, and before Spanish he asked me what color I was using that day. 

"I feel like purple today," I said.  

He sat behind me in English, and he tapped his pencil on my dangly earrings. That might seem like flirting, but he did it every time I wore those earrings. Was I reading too much into it? Or not enough? 

I mentioned it to Helen at lunch.  

"I thought Ethan was going out with Mia," she said. I nearly choked on my salad.  

"Where did you hear that?" 

"Oh, I thought I heard someone say it in one of my classes. People talk about all kinds of things in front of me. I think they think I'm not paying attention. I heard Mia was dating Ethan and Sarah was dating his friend, Blake." 

"That's funny, because a bunch of people from our class were at the game and then the Pizza Pub afterwards. Sarah didn't sit with Blake or even talk to him. And I was talking to Ethan at the pub. Mia and Hayley sat at a table by themselves. Well, whatever. I'll ask Mia later." 

"Maybe it was old information," Helen said. 

Old information? It was only the second week of school. 

"I do think I heard the guys talking about you over the weekend," Helen said. 

"When?" 

"They hang out in the woods behind my house a lot. I'm pretty sure I heard your name." 

"Who was it? Do you know?" 

"It sounded like Seth and Ethan. Blake might have been there too." 

"I guess you don't know what they were saying." 

"No, I couldn't hear. But I'll try and spy on them the next time they're in the woods." 

"A spy mission! This is getting intriguing." 

"It is!" Helen said. She rubbed her hands together.  

* 

After school, there was another incident. Austin and Mackenzie were fighting. Not just arguing, but really getting into it. Austin started punching her in the arm and she kicked him between the legs. I yelled at them to stop but they ignored me.  

A glass of water flew across the room, getting them both wet. I was across the room from the glass and Austin and Mackenzie were fighting on the couch. There was no way any of us could have thrown it. The kids were stunned into silence.  

"What. Was. That." Mackenzie sounded shaky. 

"I don't know," I said truthfully. 

"That was the freakiest thing I've ever seen," Austin added.    

"Do we have ghosts in here?" Mackenzie said. 

"Of course not," I said. The last thing I wanted was to have them getting nightmares or afraid to go to bed at night. It made me think, though. I watched a TV show on cable about hauntings and it said a person can be haunted, rather than a place. That would explain all the weird things happening lately: Charlotte in the kitchen, the flying glass, and Madison's water bottle at the dance studio.  

Another weird thing was that all the occurrences seemed to involve water, and the changing of the water temperature. When I thought about it, I could add the incident in the cafeteria, with Claire getting water up her nose. I'd been focused on Claire and whether she was talking about me at the time.  

I wondered if it was Buddy. Was he trying to send me a message? A message involving water? I thought about it really hard. Buddy and I often spent time together at the beach. Was that his way of letting me know it was him?  

I thought about what else was going on during those incidents. They were tied to my emotions somehow. I was feeling upset or overwhelmed every time one of those things happened. Did I do it with my own mind?  

Maybe it was a poltergeist. On a show about poltergeists, it said they often manifest in homes with teenagers, particularly teenagers with emotional issues. That definitely sounded like me. 

* 

When Charlotte got home and I told her I was going to Hayley's house, she gave me the third degree.  

"Who else is going to be there?" 

"As far as I know, just Hayley and Mia."  

"Are Hayley's parents going to be there?" 

"I don't know. I'm sixteen. I've been to friends houses before without their parents being home. We're starting a book club, not raiding Dr. Grimmel's liquor cabinet." That was probably the wrong thing to say. My mom trusted me because I was always a good kid and never got into trouble, but Charlotte didn't know that.  

"Why don't you talk to Bonnie about Hayley and Mia? She knows every single kid in that school, and she can tell you they're both honors students like me." If Bonnie Smithfield said they were okay, I was sure Charlotte would take her word for it. 

"So, is this a school thing?" 

"No. I think they're just starting it on their own." 

"Have you joined any school activities? It might be nice to participate in things at your new school." 

"Well, I wanted to be in Drama Club but apparently St. Mag's doesn't have one. I think I'm going to join chorus next semester, even though singing isn't my best talent. I might join Pep Club too. It seems like just about everyone is in that." 

"Well, what about the band? Or a sport? Bonnie said Julia plays two sports, she plays cello in the concert band, and takes piano."  

"I am terrible at sports and I don't know how to play any instruments," I said. I tried to tamp down my annoyance. My dad and Charlotte weren't used to having a teenager around. I was like an instant teenager pill. Just add water and she appears. But that didn't mean everything Bonnie Smithfield said was gospel.  

"When you get to know the other parents, you'll figure out what's normal," I said. "Julia is a little over-scheduled with activities, if you ask me," I added. "I have dance three days a week. I might join community theater too if there's one in Laurel Falls." 

"Well, at least you're making friends at your new school," she said.  

* 

As it turned out, Hayley's parent's weren't home. Her mom was delivering a baby and her dad had just left his office to go do rounds at the hospital. Hayley had a brother in eighth grade at South Side, and I got the feeling she and her brother were home alone a lot. Her grandmother, Audrey, lived in an apartment in the finished basement of their house. She was out shopping though.   

We sat at the big kitchen table and Hayley got out iced tea and some snacks. Her kitchen was very well-stocked. Hayley's brother, Ryker, politely said hi to us and then left for a friend's house.  

After Ryker left, Hayley asked me a question that stunned me. 

"I wanted to talk to you about the thing that happened in dance the other day. Have you noticed any other weirdness, especially when you're around water?" 

I didn't know what to say. I looked at the two of them, stunned. How could they know?  

"It's okay to tell us," Mia said. "I'm sure it freaked you out, but we can help." 

"I was starting to think maybe I had a poltergeist. The first few times something happened, it could be explained away. But then a glass of water flew across the room." 

"Does the water sometimes change temperature? Like the way Madison's seemed really cold?" 

I thought of Charlotte at the kitchen sink. "Yeah," I said. "My stepmom was at the sink and I was upset and suddenly the water spurted in the air and it burned her hand." 

Hayley and Mia glanced at each other. 

"So, it happens when you are having strong emotions?" Hayley said. 

"That's definitely when it seems to happen. And I've been feeling emotional a lot lately." 

"Your stepfather died recently, right?" 

"Yeah, that's why I moved here." 

Again, they glanced at each other. 

"What?" I said.  

"How did your stepdad die?" Mia asked. 

I let out a deep breath. "It's still hard to talk about. He was in the military, and he had PTSD. He...killed himself." 

This time there was no mistaking the look they shared.  

"What is it? What's happening to me and what does it have to do with my dead stepfather?" 

"OK, let me start at the beginning. Do you know anything about St. Margaret? The person, that is, not the school?" 

"No. She doesn't seem to be a particularly well-known saint and although I was baptized Catholic, I have been going to United Methodist churches with my mom since I was five or six years old." 

"Well, if you look her on Wikipedia, it says she was the daughter of a Pagan who converted to Christianity." 

Again with the Pagans. I nodded for Hayley to continue. 

"The truth is, she was the leader of a coven, the Coven of Antioch." 

"So, she was the leader of a group of witches?" I asked. 

"Exactly. She had special powers, and so did members of her coven. And their descendants." 

"That's us," Mia chimed in. 

"Special powers? So, you think the thing with me and the water means I have powers passed down from St. Margaret." 

"I know it sounds crazy," Mia said.  

"And why would I have power with water? What does that have to do with anything?" 

"That's just because you were born under a water sign. Pisces. I'm a Virgo, an earth sign. Hayley is a Sagittarius, which is a fire sign." 

I looked at Hayley, stunned. "Are you telling me you can set things on fire?" 

Hayley nodded. "Look at the candles in the middle of the coffee table." I did, and they all lit up, just like I'd seen Bonnie do on The Vampire Diaries. That was special effects, though. I glanced around the room, looking for a hidden camera. Maybe this was all rigged up and they were secretly filming me. This was some kind of prank. An elaborate prank played on the new girl. 

"What do you think?" Mia said. "I know it sounds crazy." 

"Is this some kind of prank you play on new students? Are those trick candles?" 

Hayley laughed. "No. It's not a joke. You have to be really careful. There has to be a balance. When you do something, the effects ripple out. Mia, show her yours." 

Mia closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating really hard. Suddenly, the floor beneath me began to shake. It was like tremors I felt once when I was in California.  

Could this really be true? I was a witch, with actual powers? I remembered my conversation with Ethan. 

"Ethan was asking stuff about my birthday and he mentioned that my last name means Pagan in Italian. Is he a witch too?" 

Hayley and Mia looked surprised when I told them that.  

"It's passed down to the oldest female in the family," Mia said. "So he couldn't be." 

"We need to find out why he was asking Liv those questions," Hayley said to Mia. Then Hayley looked in my direction. "Don't tell anyone about this. There are groups out there who still try to kill witches, and you don't know who they are. It's not safe to trust anyone." 

"Do you really think Ethan is one of them?" I said.  

"Just don't tell him anything about this conversation. I'll read up on my Book of Shadows and see if there's anything that points to Ethan being a witch hunter." 

"Am I supposed to have a Book of Shadows?" I said.  

"No, not necessarily. Some families don't pass them down. Your family may not even practice or acknowledge their power, and if you don't work on it,  it's starts to fade," Mia said. 

"Is it passed down through the mother's side of the family?" I asked.  

"Yes. I'm guessing your mom never told you anything?" Mia said. 

"No, definitely not." 

"Maybe she moved you away on purpose." 

"Are there descendants of St. Margaret all over the world? Or just here in Laurel Falls?" 

"We're not really sure," Hayley said. A bunch of witches fled Salem during the witch trials and settled in Laurel Falls. Some of them probably went other places, and there's others who aren't descended from St. Margaret. It's been over a hundred years since the different covens have met in any kind of organized way. If there's a threat, though, they have ways of contacting one another." 

"What kind of threats?" 

Hayley shrugged. Mostly witch hunters, I guess. I really need to do some reading." 

"Me, too," Mia agreed. 

I decided to do some research on St. Margaret and maybe the city of Antioch.    

"So, do we meet on a regular basis?" I asked. 

"No, it's pretty casual," Mia said. "It depends on our schedules. Give us your cell number too, so we can reach you if something comes up." 

Hayley drove me home in time for dinner. When I stood in front of the house, I noticed a crow on the sidewalk. It seemed to be watching me. I was already on edge from the things I'd just learned, and it creeped me out a little. I'd seen a similar crow on the railing of the porch at Hayley's place.  

During dinner, Charlotte asked me what book my club was going to read. I had a feeling she would, so I had an answer prepared.  

"It's called Eleanor and Park," I said. "It's a young adult novel. I read it last year." 

"What's it about?" Charlotte asked. 

"Two teenagers named Eleanor and Park. Eleanor is poor and kind of an outcast at school. She becomes friends with Park and it leads to romance. Also, it takes place during the Eighties." 

That seemed to satisfy Charlotte. I couldn't decide if Charlotte asked for so many details because she didn't trust me and wanted to confirm I wasn't lying to her, or if she was just genuinely interested in my ersatz book club. It wasn't a total lie. I mean, we did read the Book of Shadows and stuff. The thing is, if I told my mom I was going to a book club, she'd just say 'okay' and that would be the end of it. I was a good kid who hung out with other good kids, and she knew it.  

I did some research that night, but everything I found on the internet was pretty basic. I checked the bibliography on Wikipedia, and checked to see if any of the books listed were available at the Laurel Falls Public Library. A few of them were. I also followed a few Wiccan themed blogs on Tumblr.  

I also thought the school library might be a good place to find information on St. Margaret. The school was named after her, so it seemed likely there would be information about her at the school. I doubted I would find anything about St. Margaret being a witch or pagan, but at least it was a starting point.