Chapter 10

The Talk

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE INTERFERING WITH? DO YOU?" Carl bellowed, face cherry red. Tom covered his eyes with one hand and shook his head. Nita didn't look up from her shoes.

"I WANT AN ANSWER!"

Nita, her eyes full of rebelliousness, looked up and stared him in the eye.

"No."

Dairine winced and plugged her ears.

"YOU WERE INTERFERING WITH THREE OTHER ABDALS' ORDEALS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT COULD DO?"

Nita stared at him again.

"Yes."

"APPARENTLEY YOU DON'T! NOW THAT YOU'VE INTERFERED, WE'VE GOT MORE TROUBLE ON OUR HANDS! HE'S GOING TO COME AFTER YOU IF HE GETS HALF A CHANCE!"

Nita's face set. "I had no idea. If I did, do you think I would have done that?"

Dairine went white, and Kit squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip.

Carl went straight through the roof.

"NITA! NEVER, IN ALL MY YEARS, HAVE I MET A WIZARD AS ABYSMALLY FOOLHADRY AS YOU, AS FOOLISH AS YOU, AS STUPID AS YOU!"

He glared at her.

"Sometimes, Nita," he said icily.

"Sometimes I wonder if you deserve to be a wizard."

Tom's jaw dropped. A shocked silence reigned. No one moved a muscle until Tom seized Carl by the back of the collar and dragged him out of the living room. Nita stared after them, steely-eyed, face set and rigid. Kit, sensing something coming, slowly came down the stairs and stopped by his best friend. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she wrenched forcefully away. She stood abruptly, then, seizing her windbreaker, dashed out the door. Dairine sighed.

"Hoo boy. I'm at your place tonight, Kit."

"Huh?" Kit asked, staring after Nita.

"Oh, never mind. Just go."

Kit sighed. "C'mon, Ponch."

The black dog bounded down from the stairs and followed Kit out the door.

Nita had never been so angry, so upset in her entire life. In a rage, half-blinded by hot tears, she ran as hard as she could. Her heart pounded in her chest, every beat of it reminding her of Carl's words. …as foolhardy as you…as stupid as you…don't deserve to be a wizard…

"NO!"

The cry was ripped from her throat, an inhuman cry of rage and of pain as she raced toward her house. She slammed into the door, panting, sobbing, and, with a great deal of effort, unlocked the door and slammed it behind her, dashing up to her room. She leapt onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow, trying hard not to let any more tears leak out. She lifted her face for a second, then saw a small brown teddy bear that had been her favorite stuffed animal. She lifted it from its position- wedged between the bed and the wall, and hugged it tightly. With that one bear clasped to her heart, something inside of her snapped. Tears poured down her face as she clutched the bear and sobbed into its furry brown head brokenheartedly. A gentle knock on the door sounded. Nita lifted her face.

"C-come in."

Kit poked his head in, grimaced slightly, then paced over and sat down beside her. She sniffed loudly, then buried her face in the bear again. Kit touched her arm, and she looked up at him.

"Wh-what?" she asked, her voice shaking horribly.

He sighed.

"Nita…hey, Nita. Look at me."

He lifted her chin so she was looking straight into his eyes.

"I swear, you got the worst of it from Carl. Seriously. Dairine almost started crying at what she was given. So don't feel bad. I'd probably be crying, too, if I got what you got."

Nita made an attempt at a smile.

"I-it's okay, K-kit. I'm f-fine."

She wiped her eyes, sniffed again, and looked up, startled, as another knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

Tom walked over to Nita and, giving a slight grin to Kit, knelt before her.

"Hey, Nita. Look, Carl and I had a long talk, and when I say long, I mean loooooooooong. Anyways, I decided it was good time for you and Kit to take a vacation. So, where to?"

Nita looked at Kit.

"Somewhere warmer than here. Uh…California?"

Tom grinned.

"You guys' kind of place. Alright. You're free in California for however long you want…as long as it's not over a year and a half. Or after summer break ends, for that matter," he chuckled, looking at Kit's face. Kit rolled his eyes.

"Spoilsport…" he grinned.

Tom pushed him over, making Nita laugh. He smiled.

"Well, get going! Get outta here. Expenses paid. You guys are 16, right?"

Both Kit and Nita nodded.

"Okay. Uh, you guys have enough money on your cards to buy a couple of good hotels…so don't waste it. It has to last you a while."

Nita seemed kind of disappointed.

"What about Dairine?"

"Oh, she's going. She's going with Ethan."

"Ethan?" Kit asked. "You mean…"

"Yeah. Apparently, she's known him before."

"Huh," Nita muttered. "From where?"

Tom grinned. "Anyway, you're covered. So get going! Take some luggage, so no one gets suspicious."

Nita smiled. "Will do. Thanks, Tom."

Tom nodded and, standing, went to the door. Before he left, though, he turned and addressed both of them.

"You'd do well to get to know each other on this trip. Love does funny things to stress."

With that, he was gone.