* * * * *
That day in science, Caera had to explain to the teacher, Mrs. Johnson, why Claudia was absent. Such was the lot of a twin, she sighed. So far, everyone who was talking about Claudia's outburst in history seemed pretty sympathetic. Everyone except one person.
Caera couldn't possibly have anticipated that Emily Miles would remember the discussion she had had with Claudia earlier that day. While Mrs. Johnson was writing on the chalkboard, Emily turned around in her seat and began conducting her own investigation of the situation. Caera began sending thought messages to Mrs. Johnson to turn around.
"Did your sister really finish her project on time, or is she just playing sick so she won't have to turn it in today?" Somehow Caera knew from the smirk on Emily's face that Emily didn't believe Claudia was sick. Nevertheless, Caera loyally defended her sister.
"She looked sick to me."
"That so? Then why didn't she stay home this morning? If you ask me, she got sick just a little too suddenly."
"No one asked you, Emily." Caera thought darkly.
"Emily, would you care to share your conversation with the class?" Mrs. Johnson had turned around and was giving Emily a stern look. Hooray for Mrs. Johnson! Caera felt relieved.
Emily was silent.
"No?" Mrs. Johnson continued after a moment. "Well then young lady, you can serve detention tomorrow morning. Come by after class and I'll give you a slip for your parents to sign."
Emily nodded, then glared back at Caera when Mrs. Johnson returned to the chalkboard.
Caera tried to ignore Emily's hostility, but she just couldn't. Caera was good at imagining things and overlooking tricky little details when it suited her, but even Caera's powerful imagination couldn't imagine Emily away. Why couldn't time just hurry up and bring her to the end of the class? she wondered.
Caera sighed to herself, wishing life were as easy as it seemed to be in books, or at least as fun as it seemed to be in Half-Magic, her favorite Edward Eager book. In real life, she thought, you couldn't just magically make a villain disappear in a puff of smoke.