"What?" I asked her. "I've never seen you like this"

"Yeah," she said, and looked away. "I don't know what it is. Usually, you know, we see a guy, and bam, we know what the deal is, how to handle him-no surprises, you know? They're all kind of the same. But this one-I don't know.' she said again. "I mean, I just got a funny feeling from him."

"You and me both," I said sincerely, looking at his phone number in my palm.

"It was like I instantly knew he was… really different," Racey persisted.

I looked at her, interested. She was one of the strongest witches our age in the coven, and besides that, she was my best friend. I totally trusted her.

"Different bad?" I asked. "I didn't see that. He totally knocked me off my feet, but it all felt good… Besides the scary stuff, I meant.

Racey shrugged, as if shaking off bad feelings, "I don't know what I'm doing," she said. "Don't listen to me. He is really hot. And I didn't even talk to him," Then she looked at me again. Just… be careful."

"Yeah, of course," I said, having no idea what that meant. We got up, and I paid for my new halter, which I planned to wear the next time I saw Andre.

Thais

Okay, one good thing- beignets-weighed against the katrillion bad things. Mostly, one incredibly bad thing-not having Dad, who had been there every day of my life, let me win at Monopoly, taught me to drive. He'd held me when I cried, and my eyes filled up now just thinking about it. He'd been quietly funny, gentle, maybe a little bit distant, but I'd always known he'd loved me. And I hoped he'd known how much I loved him.

I swallowed hard and moved on to all the other horrible things: Axelle, the rest of New Orleans, my entire life, Axelles creepy friends, being an orphan, my life, the heat, the bugs, the ridiculous humidity that felt like a damp fist punching your head when you stepped out-side, my life, missing my dad, missing Welsford, missing Mrs.