“Wait. Really?” I blurt out. I’ve been trying not to really picture the program, but now I can’t help it. I’ve never been to an actual observatory, and the thought of even getting close to one of those giant telescopes sends heat rising through my body. “I’d love that.”

“Thought you might. She also invited us to a meteor-watch party at the end of summer. I can’t remember what it’s called. The Pers… Perse—”

“Perseids,” I say. “You can see them in July and August. Some nights you can see more than a hundred meteors an hour. They were the first meteorite shower I saw. The girls would love it.”

“Then I’m glad I accepted that invitation too.” She gestures to the dining room. “Speaking of the girls, they wrote you a note. I assumed you’d be on the computer again tonight, so I put it on the desk.”

My chest freezes. Emma apparently knows about my nocturnal computer habits. I always clear out my search history, but is it possible she knows what I’m doing? I’m about to stutter out some excuse about why I’ve been staying up half the night on the computer, but before I can come up with anything, she says, “Night, Mason,” and disappears down the hallway.

I can’t figure her out. Not at all.

On the computer desk I find a large note written in crayon. MASON DRESS REHERSUL TOMMORW DO NOT BE LATE WE HAVE A COSTUM!!! Like everything related to the girls, it’s covered in glitter, which immediately transfers to my body and I have to spend several minutes trying to pick it off my shirt and jeans.

I do not like the sound of a DRESS REHERSUL/COSTUM, but I’m too excited about my night with Willow and my conversation with Emma to worry much. Besides, I’m dying to start researching Willow’s ancestor Cordelia.

I pull up the website with Salem’s newspaper archives, but as I type Cordelia Bell into the search engine, I feel a tug of guilt. This is my time of day when I search for my mom, not the history of random Salem inhabitants. Shouldn’t I be using it to its fullest?

Obviously, yes.

My fingers hover over the keyboard.

I stare at the screen for a long time. I need to check to see if any of her social media friends responded. The problem is that tonight felt so good. It’s been a while since I had fun like that, and the thought of more zero-results pages makes my insides go cold.

I’ll see what I can find on Cordelia first.

– 27 – Willow

I have never met anyone even a little bit like Mason.