Author Note: Chapter 2 here we go.
A week passed since the library incident with only some pranks being pulled. Emira was trapped in the house except for going to school and when Mittens needed to be escorted somewhere. Sure, she and Ed would find things to do between school and getting home, but it wasn't nearly as much as they were doing before. They tried to sneak out one night too, but as expected that only led to their father catching them red handed and threatening to extend their sentence.
As for escorting Mittens, well, her sister wasn't keen on the idea. The first time Emira asked if she could go with her, just a couple days after the punishment started, Mittens had snapped back that she didn't need to be escorted and would be fine on her own. With Ed's help, Emira was able to get that no turned into a very reluctant yes.
It was a short-term win, they got to go to the market that day and re-arrange the lettering on some signs, but a long-term loss. Mittens stopped telling them when and where she was going somewhere, which was definitely to avoid the two tagging along.
This meant that Emira was again stuck in the house. Maybe she deserved it, no she for sure deserved it, but that didn't make the punishment any easier to bear.
Today, she was sitting downstairs in one of the side rooms of the house. Normally she would be in her or Ed's room, but this afternoon was different.
Mittens had come home from school with a couple of friends. These were two girls she'd known for many years, or at least Emira could recall seeing them at least once that long ago. This wasn't the first time they'd been by. Mittens had brought home friends before, but Emira could count those instances on one hand.
She used to have another friend too, though Emira couldn't remember her name or the last time she'd seen her. That was before Mittens started at Hexside, so it was quite a long time ago.
The younger teens were in another side room, which of course just happened to be next to where Emira lurked. What a delightful coincidence, she chuckled silently as she moved a chair into exactly the right position. Ed hadn't wanted to participate in this, claiming it was boring and pointless. Emira would prove how wrong he was.
While sitting against the correct wall and with the right spell, Emira could easily listen in on the conversation between Mittens and her friends.
This was a great chance to pick up some gossip about underclassmen and Mittens herself. Also, Emira had unfortunately made zero progress in getting to know Mittens better. She had asked a couple of easy questions, but was rejected or ignored every time. Mittens still seemed to be mad at her for what happened at the library. Maybe eavesdropping would provide better results. If was definitely easier and way more fun.
With a spin of her finger, Emira cast the spell so she could listen in.
"And I thought, no way her test score is higher than mine." That voice belonged to uh, the one with pink hair and three eyes. What was her name again? Bash or something like that? "But when I took it, it really was!" Bash's voice rose as if to convey her absolute disbelief.
"What did you do?" This was the other friend, was it Scare? That sounded close enough.
"You know I couldn't just leave it." Bash responded smugly. "She'll get a swelled head. I left a note on her locker, so she can remember her place." From the tone alone, Emira could tell that the note was not a kind one. Were they talking about bullying another student? It sure sounded like it. "Amity helped get it just right."
"I barely did anything." Finally Mittens spoke, surprisingly surly considering she was speaking with her friends. "That was all you."
"Whatever, Willow is so gonna freak when she sees it tomorrow." Bash cackled, drawing a chuckle from Scare as well. "She won't challenge me again."
"As it should be." Scare sounded satisfied.
They were kind of mean, weren't they? Emira thought as she listened to the exchange. Not exactly the witchlings she would want to befriend. Sure, she and Ed played pranks at school, but they didn't bully anybody.
The conversation continued, shifting away from their classmates to homework. Most of the talking was done by Bash and Scare, with Mittens only contributing when asked something directly.
It was strange to listen to. Not like Mittens was much of a talker in the first place, but Emira thought she would open up more with friends. She wasn't getting any good material here, not on underclassmen or on Mittens.
Emira stuck with it only because there was nothing else to do. Well that was a lie; there was her homework, but even this was better than that.
Exactly on the hour, which was about thirty minutes after Emira started listening in and basically one hour after they had arrived, Mittens friends got up to go. They both bid her a brief farewell and left the room together. Emira could hear their footsteps as the walked past the room she was in, headed towards the front door.
Mittens hadn't gone with them. At least, the sound of her footsteps hadn't.
Emira cut off the listening spell and stood from her chair with a stretch. She opened the door to the hallway and poked her head out to see if Mittens was just sneaking by, but it was empty.
It was tempting to just go up to her room, or to Ed's to fill him in on how boring the experience had been, but not today. That was what the old Emira would've done, pre library Emira. The new Emira, who was trying to learn about her sister, would take this opportunity to have some one on one time with her.
Giving herself a little pep talk of, "you can do it!" Emira approached the room Mittens remained in. She didn't bother knocking, just pushed the door open and entered.
As expected, Mittens was there alone. She sat in one of the chairs with her school bag next to her and was writing on a piece of paper, likely the homework she started while her friends were there.
"Oh, your friends are gone?" Emira played it as if she hadn't been listening to their conversation for the last half hour. "Bash and Scare right?" Might as well get their real names, since Emira was pretty sure she had them wrong.
"Boscha and Skara." Reliable Mittens corrected her, not even looking up from her homework.
"Ah right that's it." Emira had been closer than she thought. "Too bad. I wanted to get to know them, since they're your friends and all."
This brought Mittens eyes up, and not in a friendly way. Her gold eyes were narrowed with suspicion. "Why?" If a word could bite, that would've stung.
"Is there something wrong with wanting to know my sister's friends?" Even though she really wasn't trying to start trouble, Emira still felt the need to act innocent and smooth things over.
"Yes." Was the flat response she got in return.
Emira resisted a sigh; this was exactly how Mittens had been responding to her efforts all week. She knew it would be difficult to build trust after the library incident, but hadn't been prepared for what exactly that meant. In retrospect, the 14 years of teasing and pranks probably didn't help either.
"Really, I'm just curious. How long have you known them anyway?" Emira sat down in an abandoned chair near Mittens, where one of the other teens probably sat before. This was an easy question, not too probing, so hopefully she would answer.
Mittens' expression softened minutely, which was a good sign. "I'm not sure, 5 or 6 years probably." That was about what Emira thought too.
"What do you usually do with them? They don't come over to the house much." Might as well keep asking questions, since Mittens had answered the last one.
"Nothing really, shopping I guess." Mittens looked like she had to think hard about that answer. "And homework." She nodded. Of course, Mittens was ever the studious child.
"Do you do anything fun with them?" Emira pressed again, still looking for a hobby or something new. She already knew Mittens liked to do homework and sometimes went to the market.
Mitten's shook her head. "I don't spend that much time with them. They can be…" Her voice trailed off, as if already regretting the words she wanted to say.
Emira took a slow breath, giving Mittens a chance to finish the sentence. When her sister didn't continue, she took the plunge.
"They're kind of mean aren't they?"
Mittens golden eyes widened in surprise, looking right into Emira's. After a moment's pause her expression softened into what could almost be considered a smile. "Yeah, they are." She quickly shifted back to a frown and sighed, a big sigh for a 14 year old kid. "Nothing I can do about it." She muttered and looked down, as if just talking to herself. Mittens looked so concerned over this, Emira couldn't help but try to help.
"Why don't you hang out with someone else? I thought you had another friend before, I can't remember what her name was though." Emira looked into the distance and brought one hand to her chin, trying to remember that kid's name. It was no use; she didn't know it.
When she looked back over at Mittens, her expression had changed. It was like a cloud had slammed down over her face, replacing any softness with clenched teeth and a sharp frown. "I can't." Mitten's spoke tersely, bringing palpable tension to the room.
Emira was surprised, but she could adapt to the conversation. "They say there are plenty of other fish in the sea. I'm sure lots of other witchlings will want to be your friend." She offered with a smile, hoping to be encouraging. Mittens was the top of her class, and despite all the teasing Emira did think highly of her magic and her ability to make friends.
This did not seem to be what her sister wanted to hear.
Mittens stuffed her paper into her bag and stood abruptly, taking a few terse steps towards the door. She didn't even look back as she spoke in a low biting tone. "You wouldn't understand." She left before Emira could muster her thoughts to call after her, all but slamming the door behind her.
Well, Emira thought as she sat stunned with one hand extended towards the closed door, that could've gone better.