Chapter Twenty-Two
I was in the middle of destroying my entire closet when Mum came into my room. All my clothes were scattered around me, Rani was on a call and there was a very big chance I was going to have a breakdown in the middle of the day.
‘I have nothing to wear,’ I said, irrationally aggravated at all the sweaters I owned. None of them screamed be my soulmate and that was just not going to work. I’d spent the morning at the Treasure Trove, and the rest of my day with Raven and Sofia, working out my plan of action for the party.
But now, I had three hours to go and no outfit.
‘She says as she sits in a pile of her clothes,’ Rani intoned from the phone.
I glared at her. ‘I can’t wait till you’re here next week, and then I can’t just glare at you.’
‘What’re you going to do?’ Rani asked, leaning against her bed. She was surrounded by grimoires and spellbooks, and her roommate had dozed off on the bed beside hers.
‘She could charm you into silence,’ Mum said from the doorway.
I whipped around to see her standing there. In her hands was my charms paper, with the B scrawled on it.
‘Where did you find that?’ I asked, incredulously.
‘You left it on the counter,’ Mum replied, with a grin on her face. ‘Why wouldn’t you tell me, Maya? This is amazing.’
‘What is it?’ Rani insisted, peering into the screen. Mum stepped past me to show Rani, who let out a happy squeal. ‘Look at this practical! You did such a good job, Maya.’
Joy buzzed through me – I couldn’t remember the last time Mum had sounded this proud of me, especially for something to do with school.
Mum pressed a kiss to my head. ‘I’m really proud of you.’
A glow sat deep in my chest at her words.
‘You know what this calls for, right?’ Rani said, a sly smile on her mouth. ‘A shopping spree! Mum, Maya needs some new outfits.’
‘No, no, it’s fine,’ I said, hurriedly. I didn’t want to have to explain why I needed something to wear. All I’d told Mum was that I was going to Raven’s later. ‘You’re probably slammed with work.’
Mum looked at me, and I watched as determination settled on her face. ‘Grab your bag, Maya. We’re going shopping.’
‘Really?’ I squeaked.
‘Really,’ Mum said, with a gentle smile. ‘I’ll meet you at the front door.’
It was the perfect hour before the party – I had found a royal-blue dress embellished with gold designs of the sun and the moon and fitted with flared sleeves. As I twirled in it, back in my bedroom, and got ready to leave the house, I felt a surety in my bones.
Everything was going to be perfect.