“You bitch!”

Ester barely had enough time to turn around away from her locker before someone had grabbed her by the collar. It was Abby, the leader of the debate team, and her soft gray eyes were hard with fury.

“You’ve ruined everything, Eli,” she snarled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ester insisted, “I haven’t done anything to you.”

There was a hard slam as Abby rammed her knee into Ester’s gut, causing her to double over in pain.

“What was that for?!” Ester cried, getting attention from other students nearby.

But Abby just grabbed Ester’s face in her hands and dug her nails into her cheeks. Ester started clawing at Abby’s hand, but she wouldn’t let go. Other students had started whispering among themselves, but weren’t getting any closer.

“Just who do you think you are?” Abby demanded, “Turning my Girls against me?”

She grabbed Ester by the arm and, with one large heave, threw her to the ground. Ester landed flat on her and cried out in pain. As soon as she got her bearings, though, a foot slammed onto her nose and Ester screamed.

By the time Ester’s vision stopped swimming, several large boys had grabbed loosely onto Abby. She was flailing against their grasp and frothing at the mouth. Ester started scrambling back while Abby continued to babble.

“—undid years of hard work to become as popular as I am. How dare you! You’ve ruined my life!”

She managed to pull free from the boys who were holding onto her and leapt as Ester. Ester barely had enough time to raise her hands and block her face before Abby was on her, clawing and screaming. Ester begged her to stop, but Abby couldn’t hear her.

Suddenly there were arms everywhere. Ester was being pulled to her feet and Abby was struggling against the five boys who had grabbed tightly onto her arms and legs. Several girls got between her and Ester, who was shaking. Her arms were covered with scratches, some of which were bleeding. There was blood dripping from her nose onto her outfit.

“Are you okay?!”

Ester didn’t recognize the girl who was asking, but she nodded. Then she spotted Duela pushing her way through the crowd to get to her. Duela grabbed onto Ester and pulled her away from the mass of students.

“What happened?” she demanded.

“I don’t know!” Ester cried, pinching her nose, “She just went crazy!”

“You’re okay,” Duela insisted, “Don’t worry, Ester, you’re okay.”

Ester nodded, but she was crying. Her entire body was shaking. Somebody pushed a bunch of paper towels onto Ester, and Duela used them to cover the spots that were bleeding.

“I’m taking you to the nurse,” Duela said, dragging Ester away.

Ester followed along silently. People were still muttering and whispering to each other, but Ester couldn’t hear. She kept scanning the crowd for Carla, but didn’t see her.

She was glad. Carla would have pulled a knife on Abby and turned this whole thing into a bloodbath. Ester focused on that thought, that things could have been much worse. As long as she focused on the good, she wouldn’t break down in tears.

The nurse blanched when she saw Ester’s condition and forced her to sit down on the bed. Duela explained what happened while Ester tried desperately to wipe the drying blood from her face. The nurse handed her some wet wipes to use instead.

“You just can’t catch a break, can you, sweetie?” she asked. Turning to Duela, she added, “Go on to class. I’ll call her mother.”

“April’s mother,” Duela corrected.

“I’ll take care of it,” the nurse insisted.

Both of Ester’s arms had to be bandaged. The nurse determined that her nose wasn’t broken. Ester caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she hadn’t slept in forever.

The nurse continued to drone on, but Ester wasn’t listening. Then there was a knock on the door. Ester perked up when the nurse opened it and Stephanie walked in. She took one look at Ester and her expression fell.

“Oh Ester,” she said, bending down and hugging her, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. I wish I could have been here to stop it.”

Ester didn’t respond. The nurse said a few things to Stephanie, who replied with short, curt answers. She didn’t let go of Ester.

“This is my fault,” she eventually said, “I should have found some way to pull Ester from school. I knew that that was going to be hard for her. I didn’t imagine that they’d do this.”

“I’m okay,” Ester lied, but her voice was weak and strained.

The nurse pulled out a pen and pad, then told Ester, “I need you to tell me what happened.”

Ester nodded and started talking. She kept a brave face, even when Stephanie sat down next to her and grabbed onto her arm gently. The nurse didn’t say anything but scribbled out the story with a stony expression.

“…and that’s when Duela pulled me in here,” she finished, struggling to keep her voice steady.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” Stephanie said, “I thought for sure that the school would be able to take care of you.”

The nurse interrupted, “I’ll make sure that the student responsible is appropriately disciplined, Mrs. Nelson.”

“Cold comfort, now.”

“It’s okay,” Ester insisted quietly.

“It is not!” Stephanie cried, looking hurt, “This should never have happened to you. You need to be safe here.”

She placed her hands on Ester’s cheeks, forcing her to lock eyes.

“I promised that I’d take care of you, Ester.”

Ester sniffed. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes. Her breathing was short and shallow. She sniffled again, then shut her eyes and grit her teeth.

She was crying. Ester pressed her head into Stephanie’s shoulder and let loose a sob. For a few moments, she just let go of all the emotions she’d been holding onto. Stephanie patted her on the back, whispering softly into her ear.

“I-I was just so… so afraid!” Ester managed to stutter, “I don’t understand! Why did she hurt me?!”

“It’s going to be okay, Ester,” Stephanie insisted, “I’ve got you now. I’m going to make sure that you’re safe from now on. You don’t have to come back to school again if you don’t want to.”

“No!” Ester cried, pulling away, “I have to. All my friends are here. I can’t… I can’t just run away from them.”

“Are you sure?”

Ester nodded.

“Alright,” Stephanie said, “But you’re coming home with me. And you’re getting a good night’s rest.”

“Okay,” Ester said quietly, “Thank you, mom.”

The whole room went quiet. Slowly, it dawned on Ester what she had said, and she pulled away from Stephanie.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” Stephanie insisted. She reached over to place a hand on Ester’s shoulder, but the girl just flinched.

After a moment, Stephanie cleared her throat and stood up.

“Let’s go, Ester,” she said softly, “I’ll message April and I’m sure that the nurse can tell your other teachers that you won’t be in class for the rest of the day.”

“Of course,” the nurse agreed, staring awkwardly at the pair.

Ester said nothing more. She stood up and curled her arms around her waist, keeping her head down. Stephanie didn’t address her again as they walked out and got into the car.

“Ester, it’s okay, really,” she finally said once they were on the road.

Ester didn’t reply.

She spent the remainder of the day in her room, picking at the bandages on her arms. What must have been several hours later, she heard Stephanie talking with someone else. Then Isaac knocked on the door and asked if wanted anything to eat. She dismissed him with a brief “no!”

For a while, Ester sat and listened to the faint sounds of TV in the other room. Eventually the noise stopped. She waited a few more minutes before standing up and unlocking the door. She was actually pretty hungry, but didn’t want to risk running into either of April’s parents.

“Hello Ester,” she heard when she opened the door.

They were both sitting at the table, waiting for her.

“Can you sit down?” Isaac asked her, pushing a bowl of chips toward an empty seat, “We’d like to talk.”

Ester sighed, but sat down anyway.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, “Please don’t yell at me.”

“Why would we yell at you?” Stephanie asked her.

“Because I called you mom by mistake!” Ester cried.

“I told you, it’s okay.”

“Absolutely,” Isaac said, “We understand that you’re going through a real tough time and you need some stability.”

“It’s not okay!” Ester cried, standing up, “You’re not my mom and dad. I can’t just pretend that you are. I’d… I feel like I’m taking advantage of you enough already.”

“Why?”

Ester shook her head. She couldn’t tell them about the true nature of the curse. She couldn’t tell them that the only reason they were willing to put up with her was because of magic.

“You didn’t ask for this,” she reminded them.

Isaac insisted, “Life is never that simple.”

But Ester shook her head and continued, “Besides, I’d have to turn my back on my own parents. And I’m not going to do that to them. Not even for a little bit.”

“Please sit down, Ester,” Stephanie said.

Ester did so, but wouldn’t look at them.

Isaac told her, “We’ve talked it over. You can have two sets of parents if you really want, even if it’s only temporary. We’re glad to do anything we possibly can to help.”

“Do you mean that?” Ester asked.

She finally looked at them. They weren’t smiling, but they weren’t scowling either. They were just waiting for her answer.

“Okay,” she said, very quietly, “I won’t stop myself from calling you… but I’m not going to make myself do it, either.”

“You don’t have to make yourself do anything, especially not for us,” Stephanie insisted, squeezing Ester’s hand gently.

Ester tried to smile.

“I’m actually really hungry,” she said, picking at the bowl of chips, “It’s not too much to ask for a real dinner, is it?”

They laughed, and Isaac stood up to head to the fridge. Ester smiled, for real this time, and let go of a deep breath she’d been holding.

Ester was silent the next morning, mostly from exhaustion. Fighting the specter in her dreams was exhausting. Remembering the day before was exhausting. Stephanie seemed to understand. She muttered a few comforting words to Ester as she handed her a plate of scrambled eggs, but left her alone otherwise. Isaac patted her on the back when he came down before kissing April on the forehead. He nodded to Stephanie and picked up his briefcase to head out.

When he had left, Stephanie turned to the kids and and said, “April, I’m taking Ester to school today. I have something to attend to anyway. Can you take the bus alone?”

“Oh…” April glanced at Ester with her brow furled, but replied, “Okay, that’s fine.”

She waved to Ester on the way out, and Ester gave a half-hearted wave in return. Stephanie sat down at the table with her and folded her hands. Ester’s stomach turned over; she was starting to wish she’d skipped breakfast.

“I hope you won’t get in too much trouble for missing homeroom,” Stephanie said, “But this is important. I’d like you to tell me about your parents.”

“My parents?” Ester pulled her arms to her chest in a shielding motion. “What about them?”

Stephanie didn’t respond right away. She seemed to be studying Ester closely. It didn’t do anything to calm Ester’s nerves.

Then Stephanie asked, “Can you describe your relationship with them to me?”

“They were my parents,” Ester replied with a shrug, “That’s all. Why?”

“I’m just trying to understand you, sweetie,” Stephani said, “Specifically, I’m trying to understand why you feel so afraid of making me and my husband angry.”

“Because it’s your house!” Ester cried, “I don’t want you to get mad and kick me out. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Stephanie pursed her lips.

“Why do you think we’d kick you out?”

Ester didn’t respond.

“That’s not a normal thing to do, Ester, no matter how angry a parent gets.”

“That’s not fair!” Ester scowled at Stephanie. “They couldn’t help it. It’s just the magic affecting their behavior.”

“Alright,” Stephanie replied, gesturing for Ester to calm down, “Then did you eat as a family? What were dinners like in your household?”

“Yes, they were quiet.”

“Anything else? Tense, maybe?”

“No. Can we go now?”

“Just one more thing,” Stephanie promised, “And please answer me honestly. Did you see home as a place to retreat back to or a place to get away from?”

Ester slammed her hands down on the table.

“What is the point of this?!” she demanded, “Why do you care what it was like?”

Stephanie placed her hand on Ester’s arm and squeezed it gently.

“You don’t act a lot like April,” she explained, “You act more like I did when I was your age. Let me tell you from experience, Ester: once kids get away from a bad environment, they start to second-guess just how bad it really was for them.”

“I want to go to school now,” Ester said, but it was getting hard to see Stephanie through the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Okay.” Stephanie stood up, but added, “I just worry that you think it’s going to be all sunshine and rainbows when you return home to your parents, and that you might be disappointed if it’s the same as when you left.”

Ester didn’t respond, nor did she stand up from her seat. Stephanie waled around and stood behind her. Then she wrapped her arms around Ester and leaned down to hug her. Ester grabbed onto her arms and closed her eyes, fresh hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I just want things to go back to normal when this is over!” she cried.

“I know,” Stephanie cooed.

“I don’t want my mom and dad to be bad parents!”

“Of course you don’t,” Stephanie told her, “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t want to give them the benefit of the doubt. But Ester, listen to me. Whatever happens, boy or girl, you will always be welcome in my household.”

“T-Thank…”

“Shh, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

Ester sniffed, then gulped. They sat there for a few minutes more while Ester recovered. When she finally wiped away her tears, Stephanie let go and stepped back.

“Go fix your makeup dear,” she said, “and I’ll take you to school.”