Chapter 6: Leaven

Batibat taught her how to cloak herself in shadows. It only really worked at night and in dark places but it was all she needed to sneak into Trish’s room that night. Thankfully, Trish’s roommate didn’t have a familiar but Callie threw a sleeping spell at the other girl in case she was a light sleeper. She threw another one at Trish as Batibat had been very clear that victims waking up mid-nightmare made trapping them again harder.

Plunging into somebody’s mind was like falling off a chasm and into a sea of memories. She spent hours going through significant memories and memorizing details. Trish’s mind unconsciously tried to fight back, hiding the worst memories, but Callie chased them down and broke down her mental barriers until she could see. Finnegan had been right that Trish was insecure.

The girl was scared of losing Nicholas. She had done a lot of things to get his attention and to retain it. She was more callous than Callie would’ve given her credit for. Armed with the knowledge of Trish’s worst fears, Callie began weaving a nightmare.

She imagined her magic like a ball of yarn and she twisted it around her fingers until it resembled a spider’s web. She was in a church filled with people. It was a wedding. Trish walked down the end of the aisle in a big, white gown shaped like a cake.

The brunette beamed at the sight of Nicholas at the altar. He was wearing a nice suit and looked especially handsome. Callie resisted rolling her eyes and twisted the web in her hands. As Trish walked up to the altar, Aubrey in a wedding dress pushed her out of the way to get to Nicholas.

Trish stared in horror as Nicholas and Aubrey kissed. The wedding guests clapped and cheered. The priest declared, "I now pronounce you man and wife!"

"No!" Trish wailed. "This is my wedding!"

"Oh poor Patricia." Trish’s mother appeared beside her. "Did you think Nicholas would want you, dear? You’re not pretty enough for him."

"Not smart enough either," Trish’s father added. "You’ve always been such a disappointment."

"And with the weight you gained recently, what did you expect?" Trish’s mother shook her head gravely. "Big girls have it harder, Patricia. Who will have you now?"

Aubrey stopped kissing Nicholas and chimed in. "Did you think Nick would choose you over me, Trish? Look at what you’re wearing!"

Trish looked down and realized she was only in her underwear. She dropped her bouquet of roses and tried to cover herself with her hands. The guests started pointing and laughing. Her friends started chanting, "Trish is a bitch! Trish is a bitch!"

Callie decided it was time to leave. She slipped out of Trish’s mind and stared down as the other girl tossed and turned in her bed. Trish would be stuck in that nightmare till morning. Having done more than enough damage, Callie cloaked herself and went back to her room and left Trish to have the worst night of her life.

Callie began to wonder if the nightmare she induced even did anything to Trish. The girl was visibly grieving the loss of her familiar and everyone was sympathetic but otherwise she was the same as before. It was possible the nightmare wasn’t terrible enough but Callie didn’t want to irreversibly traumatize the girl. Batibat taught her how to induce the most disturbing dreams and she didn’t want to subject anybody to that.

The only difference she noticed was that Trish and Nicholas were practically attached at the hip. They were rarely seen separately. Trish sat in the stands during Nicholas’s lacrosse practice and they did their homework together in the library. Trish would’ve moved into boyfriend’s room and kicked out his roommate if it was allowed.

Callie considered what to do next when Aubrey came over carrying a box of homemade desserts. Aubrey’s mom sent her a care package weekly and she always had sweets. Aubrey generously shared them with her friends. Callie’s massive sweet tooth appreciated the care packages.

"Did your mom send ice cream again?" she asked.

"She sent more after I told her you like them." Aubrey smiled at her and handed her one. "Thank God for cooling spells."

Callie’s mood brightened as she tore off the ice cream wrapper and began eating the popsicle. She loved eating ice cream even though the weather was getting colder. Aubrey was the same and they talked as the ice cream melted in their hands. They had some time left before lunch was over and they had to get to class.

They passed by Nicholas and Trish in the hallway. Nicholas was another one of the people Aubrey shared her care packages with and she handed him a few snacks.

"Mom couldn’t get the chocolate pies this time. They were out of stock at the Korean store so she’s going to check again next week," Aubrey explained. "But she did send more ice cream."

"I love those!" Nicholas exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"I know. I’ll ask my mom to send more next week."

"That would be amazing, Bree."

Callie was watching Trish during the entire exchange. She saw the suspicion and jealousy become more visible on the other girl’s face. Neither Aubrey nor Nicholas seemed to notice. Trish rested her hand on Nicholas’s arm and cooed, "Are you sure about that sweet stuff, babe? You need to keep fit for lacrosse and all that sugar is bad for you."

"Thanks for the concern, Trish, but I’ll be fine." Nicholas smiled at her. "I’ve been eating this stuff for years and I can always work it off."

"Maybe we should switch to healthier snacks." She took the sweets from him and shoved them back at Aubrey. "They’ll help you sleep better and give you more energy."

"Yes, but(-)"

"But what? Healthy is always better." Trish looked at Aubrey like she was a walking diabetes commercial. "And we should avoid things that will harm us in the end."

Aubrey didn’t know how to react and clutched the spurned snacks to her like a lifeline. Nicholas didn’t seem to know what to say and let himself be dragged away by his girlfriend. Trish looked over her shoulder to shoot them a triumphant smile.

Trish was on a campaign to not let Nicholas have any snacks. Aubrey was on the counter campaign and was advocating Let(-)Nick(-)Eat(-)Sweets. Nicholas didn’t know what to make of what was going on. And Callie was unwittingly dragged into the Wars of the Snacks as Aubrey’s sugar mule.

"Why do I have to deliver Nicholas’s contraband snacks?"

"Because you have some secret invisibility spell you’re using with you appearing and disappearing all the time," Aubrey pointed out and scoffed at her shocked face. "Yes, I have noticed. Like I noticed you have a big crush on Nick. I’m handing you a way to be alone with him. You should be thanking me."

Her roommate was more observant than she gave her credit for. She tried denying, "I do not have a crush on him."

"Callie." Aubrey raised both lilac eyebrows at her. "You stare at him all the time. You look for him when you enter a room. And you ask me personal details about him."

Her roommate was really observant.

"And that proves I’m crushing on him?"

"Or you’re stalking him for nefarious purposes." her roommate gave her a look. "Give it up. You’re as transparent as glass."

Callie’s heart skipped a beat before replying, "Fine. You got me. I have a crush on him."

Aubrey nodded. "What was it that got you? The hazel eyes? The perfect smile?"

It was better that Aubrey think she had a crush on her childhood friend than have her get closer to the truth.

Callie shrugged. "It was everything. From the first moment I saw him. I couldn’t resist. He’s so…him."

Aubrey laughed and handed her a box of those chocolate pies Nicholas was addicted to. "Put this in your bag. Don’t let Trish or her friends catch you."

Callie opened her bag and shoved the box in, contemplating keeping it instead. Aubrey wouldn’t know if Nicholas never got it. She could say she got caught or that Nicholas decided that having those flavorless biscuits Trish kept forcing on him was the better choice. She knew she was being ridiculous as Aubrey was giving her a way to interact with Nicholas.

"You know if Nick breaks up with Trish, you two would be cute together," Aubrey remarked.

"I thought you liked Trish."

"Not since Snackgate. Now I fully condone you two eloping and running off into the sunset together."

"Good to know."