The Demon Notebook (5 page)

James beamed at her as he wrapped the jacket around Grace's shoulders. Grace shrugged it off and surreptitiously kneed Adie in the leg.

“I'm fine,” she said. “My jacket's enough. You should keep your own, James. You'll get cold.”

“Don't be silly. You have it.”

He tried again to close it around her and, again, she shrugged it off. In the end, he made do with placing it clumsily over her feet, patting it gently as if it might slip off and expose her ankles to a deadly chill. Grace pretended not to notice and kept her head turned toward her friends in the hope that he would think them deep in conversation. But the girls offered no help, they just stared, round-eyed, from Grace to James and back again as if they were at a tennis match. Eventually James settled himself on the ground beside Grace, and the only way she could avoid his eyes was to close her own. The others sat silently, waiting to see what would happen next. But James's loving glances and Grace's lack of response soon grew tedious, and they each drifted off to sleep in the uncomfortable cold.

***

“Rise and shine, people! Time to get up!”

It was just after dawn and the principal's joyous voice rang out through the main hall. Half-asleep students began climbing to their feet.

“In another bizarre twist to the weather, the snow has cleared up completely. Your parents have started arriving outside. Everyone is excused from school today, teachers included. I think you all need a real rest at home after such a horrendous night. Thank you for your patience, and have a safe trip home.”

The girls followed the stream of uniforms heading for the door, and Grace finally managed to lose James in the jostling crowd. The girls struggled to keep their eyes open. Their backs and necks were stiff from sitting or half-lying on the hard floor of the hall, and they rubbed their shoulders to try and ease the discomfort.

“Well, there's my dad,” said Jenny. “Anyone need a ride home?”

“My mom's over there,” Grace replied, pointing.

“Mine just texted,” said Adie. “She's on her way.”

“Mine too,” said Rachel.

“Okay then.” Jenny sighed. “I guess I'll see you all tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” said Grace, “see you, guys.”

She dragged her feet as she made her way slowly to her mom's car. Patricia Brennan was already out of the car and hurrying toward her. She caught her daughter in a big bear hug.

“Are you all right, sweetheart?” she gasped, hugging her tightly. “I was so worried. We all were. Nobody's parents could get through. It was awful!”

She pulled Grace back so she could look at her.

“You look so tired, love. Are you okay?”

Grace's nose was stinging with the tears that threatened to pour out, so she simply pursed her mouth in a tight smile and nodded vigorously.

“Oh, you poor thing!” her mother said, hugging her again.

Grace wished her mom would let go and get back into the car. She was afraid she would burst out crying in the middle of the school parking lot. She leaned back, indicating she was ready to leave, and they both got into the warm car, her mother occasionally glancing at her with a sympathetic smile.

Back at home, Grace's mom reheated a hearty stew and placed a big bowl of it in front of Grace. On a large blue plate she piled homemade muffins and scones.

“When did you make all this?” asked Grace.

“During the night. I was too worried to sleep,” her mom said with a tired smile.

Grace bit back the tears again and began devouring the hot, tasty stew. Still hungry, she managed to finish off two muffins and half a scone with butter and jam. When her belly was full, her eyelids became suddenly heavy.

“Off to bed now, love,” her mom said softly, almost lifting her off the chair and up the stairs. “You need to get some rest.”

“I have to talk to the girls,” Grace muttered, barely awake.

“Later, hon,” her mom said, tucking her into bed.

“It can't wait,” Grace continued to mumble. “Poor Una.”

“Are you worried about Una?” her mom asked. “I didn't see her with you at the school. I can call her parents, if you want.”

“They don't know,” Grace's voice was barely audible. “They weren't there.”

Her mom frowned for a moment, then decided her daughter was probably already half asleep and dreaming. She kissed her forehead and left, closing the door gently behind her.

“Girls, give me a hand with this, would you?” Ms. Lemon called as Grace and Adie crossed the school parking lot.

They hurried over to help the teacher with the large suitcase she was trying to haul out of the boot of her car.

“It's really heavy, Miss,” said Grace, struggling with the weight as they lowered the bag to the ground. “What's in it?”

“Oh, just some odds and ends,” the woman replied. “You know, for class.”

“For class?” said Adie.

“Hmm, well not
your
class. Another class.”

“It smells funny, Miss,” Adie said, turning up her nose as a puff of dust flew up from the tattered-looking material.

“It's old, Adie,” said Ms. Lemon. “It's been gathering dust for a few years, I'm afraid.”

“Do you need help carrying it in, Miss?” asked Grace.

“No need, girls. See?” Ms. Lemon pulled up one end of the bag by the handle, and it began to roll along the ground on a pair of very squeaky wheels.

“Thanks, you two,” she said. “You can run along now. Don't be late for class.”

Obediently, they headed into the main building and toward Grace's locker, which had become their regular rendezvous point each morning. The other two arrived a few minutes later.

“Anything to report?” asked Grace.

“Only that my parents nearly lost it over the snow thing,” replied Jenny. “You should have heard the stuff my dad was going to try to get to the school. He went halfway across the state to rent a tractor and trailer. He was going to try and fit all the stuck students on top of it! Luckily, my mom talked him out of it. I would've been mortified.”

“At least we got a day off from school out of it,” said Rachel.

“Wasn't worth it,” said Grace.

“No way,” said Adie. “My mom was nearly in hysterics about it. She's still worried I might have delayed frostbite or something. It'll be ages before she calms down.”

The piercing sound of the school bell rang out loudly through the halls, followed by a low collective groan from all of them.

“Fudge,” Jenny said, picking up her backpack. “I really don't feel like math this morning.”

“Where's Una?” asked Grace suddenly.

“What?” said Jenny.

“Who's got Una this morning?”

“Adie,” said Rachel.

“No,” said Adie, frowning. “I don't have her 'til English. After the break. It was Grace's turn.”

“No,” said Grace, beginning to worry. “I don't have her 'til after lunch. Jenny?”

“She's in none of my classes today.”

Grace looked from one to the other of her friends. “Then where
is
she?”

They stood on tiptoes to look over the crowd and down the corridors, but Una was nowhere to be seen.

“We have to go look for her,” said Grace. “Jenny, you and Rachel head that way. Me and Adie will take the other side. Go all the way up, and we'll meet you at the opposite end of the building.”

The girls spilt up and hurried toward the corridors that linked the large blocks of the school. As Grace and Adie passed the doorway that led out the gym, they heard the now-familiar monotone reply.

“I'm fine, Tracy. Thank you.”

“Oh, God,” said Adie, grabbing Grace's arm and pulling her through the open door.

Una stood surrounded by Tracy, Trish, and Bev. The Beast stood right in front of her, hunching over so they were nearly nose to nose. Una seemed completely unaware of the danger and replied to Tracy's snarl with her strange wide-eyed smile.

“I have to go now, or I'll be late for class. You should probably go too, Tracy.”

“We're not going anywhere,” Tracy growled, grabbing Una by the collar and pushing her back until they were out of sight of the doorway.

“You're hurting my neck,” Una said calmly.

“Leave her alone!” Grace's voice was shaking.

Adie sheltered behind her friend, still holding on tight to her sleeve, and peeked her head over Grace's shoulder.

“Yeah!” she said, and ducked down again.

Tracy barely seemed to notice them. She twisted Una's collar in both hands, pushed her back against the wall, and lifted her clear off the ground.

“Put me down, please,” Una said, her voice a little constricted.

“Ha, ha!” laughed Trish. “Did you hear her?
Put
me
down, please
. Ha, ha!”

“Put me down, please!” Bev echoed, and grinned at her friend.

Tracy leaned in, glaring at Una with her dark, menacing eyes. She bunched one fist. Then suddenly her expression changed as she watched Una's eyes. They were turning red.

Una drove her knee upward until it connected sharply with Tracy's stomach, forcing the Beast to drop her. Then, with her face as passive as ever, Una swung her right arm and caught Tracy on the cheek with her fist, knocking her clean off her feet to the ground.

Grace and Adie stood shocked, frozen to the spot even as Jenny and Rachel ran into them from behind.

“What happened?” gasped Jenny. “Is Una okay?”

Grace tried to answer, but her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't take her eyes off Una as she made her way toward the girls, her bright red irises fading back to their usual gray.

“Her eyes,” Rachel croaked. “Did you see…?”

Grace still couldn't speak. As her friends gripped her sweater, and each other, she desperately wanted to run as Una stopped in front of her, but her legs were too weak to move.

“Hello, girls,” Una said pleasantly. “I'm afraid we're late for class.”

Grace stared into the sweet gray eyes, hardly able to believe that just a few seconds ago they were burning bright red, like fire—they weren't her eyes. They belonged to someone else.

Her friend wasn't in shock. She hadn't had a nervous breakdown. Rachel was right—someone or
something
else was inside Una.

“What's going on here?” the vice principal's voice suddenly boomed.

Tracy's henchmen wasted no time.

“Sir!” yelled Bev. “Una punched Tracy in the face. For no reason, sir.”

“Yeah, sir,” followed Trish. “I saw it as well. Tracy wasn't doing anything, sir.”

“All of you to my office.
Now!
” said Mr. Collins.

Trish and Bev helped the Beast to her feet and faked concern as she cradled her face in her hand and put on a slight limp. As they passed the
non
-Una, Tracy flashed her a look of pure hatred. This was not over.

“Sir,” said Grace quietly. “It wasn't…
Una's
fault, sir.”

“I said everyone to my office, Grace,” said Mr. Collins. “And you can all explain yourselves there.”

The chaos that ensued in Mr. Collins's office eventually required the summoning of parents to the school. Petrified that whatever had control of their friend would lose its temper once more, Grace and her friends tried to explain that Una had been bullied for weeks, while Trish and Bev described a nunlike Tracy set upon by a vicious girl for no reason at all. Mr. Collins, like all the teachers, was well aware of Tracy's reputation, but he could not ignore the enormous welt that had quickly appeared on Tracy's cheek. In the end, it was decided that both were at fault, and so both were to be suspended.

“This is outrageous!” Tracy's diminutive, but ferocious, mother shrieked. “My daughter gets punched in the face by this little delinquent, and she's sent
home
? You'll be hearing from my lawyer about this.”

The Beast was easily a foot taller and wider than her mother, but she leaned against her like a wounded kitten. When Mr. Collins wasn't looking, she scowled at Grace.

“If you feel it necessary to contact your lawyer, Mrs. Murphy”—Mr. Collins sighed—“I can't do anything to stop you. But both girls are still suspended.”

Mrs. Murphy left quickly with her daughter when she realized the vice principal was not to be dissuaded. Una's father seemed a little perplexed by the whole thing. His daughter had a penchant for getting herself into trouble, but certainly not the violent kind. Her recent calm, polite reaction to any situation just seemed to confuse him even further. He left the school in a little bit of a daze, with his perfectly serene daughter marching brightly behind him.

The girls were now free from babysitting Una for the rest of the week, but they would much rather have been saddled with her weird conversation than have witnessed that morning's events.

“That's it, then,” said Rachel in their lunchroom. “We
have
to go back to the Ouija board.”

“No!” Adie cried.

“No, no, no,” said Jenny, shaking her head. “We need an exorcist or something. To drive the spirit out.”

“If it does that to Tracy Murphy for holding it against a wall,” Grace said gently, “what'll it do to us for trying to drive it out of Una's body altogether?”

“Exactly,” said Rachel. “Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it fast. And before Una realizes what's happening. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that thing if this doesn't work.”

“Her eyes were red,” mumbled Adie.

“I know,” replied Grace. “And her face was so…so
calm
. Like she was swatting a fly or something.”

“Come on,” said Jenny, getting impatient. “We need a plan. Does anyone have any ideas at all?”

“I vote we just tell our parents,” said Adie firmly. “We don't have a clue what we're doing here.”

“Neither will they.” Grace frowned. “They won't believe this was any kind of magic. They'll just have her taken to the hospital or something. No, we need someone who knows magic. Someone who knows all about the supernatural.”

“What about Old Cat Lady, Grace?” Rachel suddenly blurted out.

“Mrs. Quinlan?”

“Some kids at school say she's a witch!”

“She's not a witch,” groaned Jenny. “She's just some old woman who's gone around the bend.”

“How do we know that?” asked Rachel. “Maybe she
is
a witch.”

“Who lives in a duplex in Wilton Place?” Adie sighed.

“Maybe,” replied Rachel. “How do
we
know how a witch would live? I mean, she's got lots of cats.”

“Oh, well, that confirms it then,” said Grace.

“Hey, at least I'm trying.”

“You're right, you're right. I'm sorry,” soothed Grace. “I guess we could at least go talk to her. What do we have to lose?”

“Not a thing,” said Jenny.