A/N: Well, I told you to expect updates soon, didn't I? Another short one, I know, but at least this time the plot goes somewhere! I think there's maybe one or two chapters and an epilogue left to write, all of which should be very fun. They'll take longer than this, because I have summer reading I'm supposed to be doing, but I really am going to try having this done within the next two weeks. And I know that the previous chapter spent too long focusing on one thing, but I also knew when I was writing it yesterday that if I didn't write a full chapter and post it, I would not get back to this story for another couple of weeks. Some of the same goes for this chapter. I probably could have done better if I'd spent more time on it, but the truth is that I don't have more time to spend. Maybe I'll come back to this story someday after I've finished it and fix up things like that. Until then, I thank everyone for sticking with me and continuing to review! I don't know what I'd do without you guys. (Especially you, Jasen Morgan! My Captain's advice is always welcome.)

Chapter 10: Whodunit?

Kit sat in silence, waiting politely for Nita to speak. He knew that, whatever she said, he would stay here and listen.

"This might sound a bit weird," she finally began, "but please, hear me out before you do anything…?" She looked at him for acknowledgement, her eyes pleading with him to agree.

"I promise," he said formally, still nervous, but trying not to let it show, not in front of Nita, who was obviously just as anxious as he was—if not more. He could not break such a promise, not just because he was a wizard but because she was his friend and deserved his respect. Nita knew that, and relaxed visibly upon hearing his words.

And then she told him. "A bit weird" did not even begin to do the situation justice, in Kit's opinion. It was, without a doubt, the weirdest thing he had ever run across, on errantry or off—if "weird" could even suffice as a description. The only thing that kept him silent during Nita's calm explanation of her sudden feelings for him was the thought that, however hard this was for him, it had to be at least a thousand times harder for her, and any interruption o his part would undoubtedly make it worse.

"I don't know why it's happening," she said finally, staring off at the gently revolving Earth. "I don't think it's me, but I can't think of what else it could be." Cautiously, she looked at Kit, for the first time since the start of her explanation. "Help me?" she asked simply.

Not trusting his voice, Kit nodded. How could he even consider doing anything else? She was, above all else, his friend. If he could help her in any way, he would. So he sat, trying to sort out everything she'd said, looking for something, anything that might hint at a solution. Beside him, Nita waited, immersed in a similar silence.

Finally he asked, "So this all started Saturday at Grand Central?" Mutely, Nita nodded. "Do you remember anything odd happening Saturday morning? Or maybe even Friday?" he continued, hoping that she would remember something.

"Nothing Saturday," Nita said. "It was pretty normal. I woke up late, ate, transited to Grand Central. Friday…" She paused, thinking. "School was normal. I took a few tests. I thought I did really well on the math test."

"That certainly counts as odd," Kit said, trying to be humorous. Nita just glared at him and continued.

"I got home, went upstairs, read a little, ate dinner, watched TV, went to sleep. And that's it; I really don't remember anything else." She sighed. "I feel like one of those suspects in the old crime movies."

" 'Where were you on the morning of April the first?' " Kit asked pompously, in the manner of old TV detectives.

He'd expected a laugh, or at least a smile from her. He got neither. Nita went rigid, and Kit could see her mouth open in shock. "What," he asked, "did I do that good of an impression?"

She looked at him. "April first," she said simply. "April Fool's was Saturday."

Kit couldn't quite see where this was going, but remained silent. It looked to him like Nita was on to something.

"She was talking to me about it," Nita muttered under her breath. "The little twerp! When I find her, I'm gonna…" She turned to Kit. "I've got to go," she said. "I think I know who's behind this." She knelt down, traced a spell in the whitish moon dust, then stood up and brushed off her pants. "Dairine is gonna pay," she said before reciting the spell and vanishing from sight.

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Nita appeared in her backyard with a louder pop! of displaced air than normal. She didn't care. There was only one thing on her mind, and that one thing was her conniving, malicious, good-for-nothing younger sister. How she had not seen from the start that this was Dairine's meddling, Nita had no idea. She had even neglected to remember that Saturday had been April Fool's, the day on which Dairine customarily pranked Nita because it was the one day she had an excuse for it. I don't care what excuse she gives me, Nita thought, swiftly crossing the backyard and entering the back door. Nothing could excuse away this.

Especially since Nita was sure Dairine had used wizardry to pull this particular prank. There was something so wrong about that that Nita was surprised the Powers hadn't swooped down on Dairine on the spot and begun to scold her in person. Nita was only too pleased to administer that scolding in the Powers' place. She stormed upstairs and forcefully swung open the door to her sister's bedroom.

Dairine, who was sitting at her desk and copying math problems out of a textbook, looked up at the noise. Seeing the expression on Nita's face, Dairine flinched, her own features betraying her fear. "Nita—" she began tentatively, but her sister cut her off.

"You have got some major explaining to do."