Frog Kisser

chapter eight

The way I handle most fights was to pretend they never happened.

I helped clean the kitchen, and once we separated to change into comfier clothes, the storm had settled. Everything normal. Nothing wrong. No hurt feelings. I nurtured my fragile heart, adding yet another layer of super glue, filling in the pieces that were too broken to put back. Soon, I'd be more glue than person.

"You can answer it," I said as if I needed to remind David that was a thing that was possible for him to do. His phone hadn't stopped buzzing since we sat down.

David didn't stop scrolling through Netflix. "It's fine."

Unconvinced, I crawled over David's lap to catch a glance at the screen brightening the other half of the couch. David tensed, but didn't try to stop me. I read the caller i.d. aloud, "Gretchen. Captain of the damned." I twisted to meet David's eyes. "Why are you so afraid of Gretchen?"

"I'm not afraid of her-"

My phone buzzed next. Gretchen's picture glaring at me. "When did I get this picture?"

"Don't answer it."

I snorted. "Who's not afraid?"

"I told you. I'm not afraid of her. She just always wants something from me."

There was a rattling against the window that made my bones jump and hit the ceiling of my body. On the other side of the glass was a little black crow tapping the glass. "I recognize that bird."

I jumped up. The moment I opened the window, the crow, Norbert swooped inside and perched itself on top of the tv. Norbert opened its maw, but it didn't squawk, Gretchen's voice poured out like it came bouncing out of an empty canyon. "David Hale. If you don't come to the Spring Fling, I will find a way to make sure you don't see graduation, whether that's framing you for an underground familiar fight ring, or—"

I gasped.

David rolled his eyes. "That's not a thing."

"Or I will just murder you in cold blood. Either way, you and I both know I passed my advance curses exam with top scores, so if you know what's good for you, I would make yourself present at the Spring Fling. Oh! Hello Calvin. I hope you're doing well—"

"Don't let Norbert go yet!" I yelled, quickly dashing into the kitchen. I grabbed a palm full of seeds and let Norbert peck my hand clean. As he munched, I gently stroked his neck feathers. "Why does Gretchen need you at the dance?"

"She wants to do this stupid auction thing to raise funds for the dueling team. It's grossly outdated. We're supposed to be sold for slow dances to make a few bucks that should just be given to us by the university. What's the point of paying that gigantic tuition, if I have to sell myself like a slab of meat—what are you doing?"

I had been pushing David across the floor for a while. "I'm taking you to the closet. You're the least dressed for the dance and it's too late for me to call a spare Fairy Godmother to get you changed."

"You want me to go?"

"They need you, David." I rolled my eyes when that obviously wasn't a compelling enough reason. I decided teasing might work better. "Oh, poor David Hale. He's so popular and handsome. How do mere mortals like Calvin Keys cope with being so average? His own mother wouldn't spend a dime to slow dance with him."

"Okay, okay," David grumbled, but I wasn't done.

"It must be so hard to be forced to go to a fancy dance where you'll get free drinks and food. Ugh, and you don't even have to stay all night—"

"Okay, I get it." David gave up and walked on his own into the coat closet. The door snapped shut and I grinned, feeling more than a little satisfied. On the other side of the door, there was the sound of snaps, pops and a pretty jingle like a hand passing through wind chimes. Little sparks whizzed from the corners and through the bottom of the door. Finally, the door creaked and bent as if sucking in a full chest of air before spitting David out.