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might be listening.”
    “Rubbish! This is paranoia talking. Or are you assuming the spy role? I ’ve always told you, darling , you’d make a fine thespian.” Mum sometimes speaks as if her life is a play , which is not far from the truth . “But tell me, any progress?”
    “I ’ve just arrived. I’m still meeting people,” I say evasively.
    “Use your True Sight, find the Sister , and come back to me, darling . I miss you.”
    No, Mum , you think you do. If I ca me back, I’d get a week of attention, but soon you’d be back to your fellow actors, parties, intervi ews. And when you’re in a play , you sleep until 3 p . m . , leaving me alone and vulnerable to all kinds of dangers. Like Connor .
    As if reading my mind (a Charm I’m sure she doesn’t possess), she asks me, “So, any good-looking fellows on your side of the pond?”
    “M u m, please. ”
    “It’s only natural that I ask,” she says, defensively. Natural to her, maybe. “After Connor left, you never went out.”
    “I did, ” I say, but I know what she means.
    “With a group, yes, but not with a lad . That’s not healthy . Have you seen him yet?”
    “Y es, Mum. I saw Connor yesterday. ”
    “And?”
    “And he sends his love and says he misses you,” I lie, hoping to appease her.
    “Oh,” she says, delighted . “He’s always been a gentleman.”
    No, he hasn’t!
    She continues, “Oh, look at the time. I’m meeting friends for drinks later, and I need to get ready. Bye, baby. Kisses. I love you.”
    Out for drinks at two in the morning? Typical.
    “Love you too ,” I say. Because I do, nonetheless.
    ***
    The next day we have the dreadful PE class. I ’ve always hated sports . If only I had an Athletics Charm… But then I’d be o n the other extreme, with world- class skills. Most people think of steroids every time they see a great athlete performing beyond her age, or way above her peers. If she tests negative for performance-enhancing drugs, I’d bet good money she’s a witch with an Athletics Charm. I t woul d be fun watching the Olympics onsite some day; with my True Sight I could spot all Sisters from the stands.
    We Sisters don’t necessarily hide. I f everybody knew about magic , it would be easy to identify who’s a witch. Some of us possess Charms to grow old slowly , the reason some movie stars never seem to age. It amaze s me how people never look into how some actors can chang e appearances from role to role. T he Shifting Charm is handy.
    Many Charms enhance a Sister’s athletic abilities, but less obvious ones also exist . My True Sight is related to improved magical ability, and Judi, a friend of Mum ’s and my main tutor in the Craft, has the ability to perform powerful rituals. Mum has the Charisma Charm, while other actors clearly have the Lust one . Intellect-related Charms owners can have great business acumen, visual arts skills, or scientific inclination.
    However, some Sisters just waste their Charms . I can’t blame them. I could ha ve used my Allure to become a n actress or a model. But that woul d lead to a lif e too similar to my mother ’s . A fun life, granted, but that’s just not my thing . Also, I’d have to be a foot taller.
    “Come on, girls, look alive !” t he PE teacher yells from the locker room’s door. Running is terrible, but it’s better than organized sports: I have no strength, and my timing is always off. I think I cannot hit, strike, or kick even a stationary ball. I leave in a hurry.
    We are supposed to circle the school three times. It involves going around the school building, the football field, the yard with outside cafeteria tables, the giant parking lot, and crossing the street to circle the pool building. So, we run. Or rather, the other girls run . I just walk fast, a kind of step- walk. I see a girl who outweighs me two to one passing by me . I have no excuse . This girl with a determined look and rosy cheeks is leaving me behind in last place . I’m a