“Yes, define away!” he says. “Thanks for bearing with me on my hair and makeup notes, guys. I’ve got strong opinions, and absolutely no idea what words to use to explain them.”

“You can say that again,” Brittany says. And for once, I agree with her.

Chapter 22

If your magic level reaches the 50 to 75 range, you will experience a great leap forward in your magical abilities. At that point, you can learn to cause multiple magical effects at once. You will also be able to store magical instructions in objects, which is a key skill if you hope to work in magitech fields.

—Your Magical Body: A Health Textbook for the Magical Teen

When I wake up on Saturday, my hair looks even worse than it has for the past two days. I pull it into a messy bun and wait for Mom’s inevitable side-eye. She doesn’t disappoint. I can tell she thinks my hair is making me look unkempt, and there’s nothing she dislikes more than me going outside looking like she didn’t teach me proper grooming.

Surprisingly, she doesn’t say anything about the sweats and hoodie I’m wearing when I show up at the kitchen table. She just offers to share magic with me so I’ll have some extra power for MAT tutoring that morning. The magic sharing lessens my exhaustion, but it also lets me sense Mom’s current frustration, which puts me on edge. The feeling thankfully lessens as we load into the car to go to MAT tutoring. Once I’ve fastened my seat belt, she hands me a to-go cup of coffee and rubs me comfortingly on the back. “All set?” she asks.

I nod, taking a sip from the cup. The liquid nearly burns my mouth, so I tug lightly on the magic in the coffee to cool it down. My second sip is the perfect temperature. Thank god for Mom’s special coffee.

A text comes through on my phone.

LEX: lol Ana’s got jokes

For a second, I’m confused as to what she’s talking about, but then I see that last night I was texting her a story about something funny Ana said in choir.

SHAY: you’re up early

LEX: wanted to go to the gym before work

She sends me a photo of an archery target. There’s a flaming arrow stuck in the ring second from the center.

LEX: do you want to go play terraball after our shift?

I sigh and take another sip of my coffee. I’m exhausted, so that doesn’t sound fun to me right now. But I haven’t gone to play with her in, like, a month. This is exactly what she was worried about—that I would be too busy to hang out with her now that I’m doing the show. I’ll just have to rally between now and then.

SHAY: sure!