Read Spell Fire for Free Online

for foster teens?"
    "That's personal."
    "How so?"
    "Promise you won't say anything?"
    "Of course not!"
    "My best friend in elementary and middle school was a foster kid."
    Jazmin threw me a sideways look. "Was a foster kid? Did she get adopted?"
    I swallowed back the hurt rising like bile in my throat. "No. Sophia disappeared."
    "Crap, Ains. I'm so sorry. Was she found? Is she okay?"
    I shrugged, unable to speak. My fingers trembled as I lined up my fries like pickets in a fence. "I keep hoping I'll find her."
    "Would you still recognize her?"
    "Absolutely." I stared down at the fries. One, two, three, four, five, six—
    "How can you be so sure?"
    I closed my eyes, trying to block out the horror Sophia had described. She had sounded so detached, like it had happened to some other little girl whose parents were meth addicts. "She has a huge skin graft on her neck and the inside of her right arm from third-degree burns."
    Jazmin's eyes widened. "How awful. Was she in an accident?"
    I shook my head.
    Jazmin stared at me as if she were viewing me in a new light. "Word."
    ****
    I didn't see Jazmin again until after school, when she insisted on walking me to the bus before she headed for the Performing Arts building for show band rehearsal. As we strode to the parking lot beyond the Founder's Oak, Jazmin asked, "Are your aunt and uncle actual shamans?"
    "I guess so. My parents never talk about them."
    "Wouldn't it be cool if they taught you magic? You could use it to find a boyfriend."
    "Yeah, right. The boys in Palm Springs aren't going to be attracted to a girl with OCD any more than the guys here."
    "Maybe you could hide it?"
    "You mean I'm not?" I bugged my eyes so she'd know I was kidding. Then I said in all seriousness, "Face it. I'm doomed, on so many levels."
    "No you're not. You know what they say. Love turns up in the most unexpected places."
    "Says the girl who dates the drummer in her band."
    "Okay. So maybe I didn't have to look too far." Jazmin linked her arm through mine. "Let's think best-case scenario instead of worst-case, okay?"
    "Whatever."
    Jazmin pulled on my arm. "The self-help book my sister is reading says you should envision what you want. Then while you work toward making it happen, the universe will support you."
    "As a future astrophysicist, I'm not sure I envision the universe in the same way her book does."
    Jazmin batted her eyelashes at me. "You could try."
    I rolled my eyes.
    Jazmin brought me to a halt. "Come on. Envision Mr. Perfect. He is handsome and smart and sweet and he helps your OCD go away."
    "I have more important things to do than 'work toward' getting a boyfriend."
    "I know it's low on your priority list right now, but indulge me. Please?"
    "You'll make me miss the bus."
    Jazmin snapped her fingers. "Then you better work it, girl. Envision!"
    Since it would shred Mom's last nerve if I missed the bus, I closed my eyes and pictured the guy Jazmin had described. Handsome. Smart. Sweet. I envisioned a guy who diminished my OCD and liked me despite my psychiatric shortcomings. "Hmm."
    "What?" Jazmin said.
    "Nothing." Oddly, I could almost see the guy. Not his face or hair color, but I felt his vibe. Don't be stupid. I stepped forward and my heel sank into something soft. Cold water seeped into my blue stilettos. My eyes flew open, and I quick-stepped off the rain-soaked grass and back onto the concrete path. "Jaz!"
    She hopped sideways to get out of my way. "Sorry! I had closed my eyes, too!"
    "Why? You were supposed to be guiding me."
    "I was envisioning for you." She glanced from the wet stain spreading on the blue suede of my shoe to the parking lot. "The bus!"
    We sprinted — not easy for me, in spike heels while weighed down by a heavy backpack. Jazmin, wearing low-heeled boots, broke ahead and leaped for the bus step as the driver was closing the door. "Wait!" She blocked the entrance until I caught up, then clasped my hand and pulled me onto the bus. The driver frowned at