Dawn Gibson turned back to Athena after watching her sister leave, swaying back and forth to display her skirt.
“So,” she prodded her friend, “what do you think of my new look?”
Athena smiled. “It’s nice to not be the only goth in class anymore. You think you’ll keep up with this once you’ve worn everything Zoe gave you, or are you going to go back to your old style?”
Dawn paused for a moment. What was her old style? Nothing came to mind. Did she have her own style? These clothes were new to her. What had she worn on Monday? Baggy jeans and a shapeless T-shirt? Was that her old style? Something didn’t feel right.
“I guess I’ll find out when that happens.” Dawn gave a flouncey curtsey. “What about you? You’re still wearing your sisters sweater. Is that your new style?”
Athena blushed at this. “You know all the meditation that I do? All my research into witchcraft?”
Dawn wasn’t sure where this was going. “Yeah?”
“I know this might sound stupid, but I think it makes me a little more sensitive to magic than most people,” Athena paused to look around, as though someone might be eavesdropping, then continued in a whisper: “and I think this sweater might be a little bit magic.”
“No!” This was a scandalous ‘no,’ not a disbelieving one.
“I don’t know what exactly it is, but I don’t think this sweater is supposed to exist,” Athena continued. “It’s a boy’s sweater, and it’s super-old. Karyn isn’t the girliest girl in the world, but none of her other clothes are boy’s clothes.”
“Why don’t you ask her where she got it from?”
“I did. She doesn’t remember. And someone wrote ‘Max’ on the back of the collar.” At this, Athena turned around and parted her hair to let Dawn flip the collar and see the faded letters. “And,” Athena continued, turning back, “I just have this feeling that I need to wear it, and I don’t know why.”
“Magic,” Dawn said matter-of-factly. Then she paused. Something Athena had said resonated oddly within her. “Hey, Athena?”
“Yeah.”
“Do I wear boy’s clothes?”
Athena tried to think about the kinds of clothes her friend wore, but it made her head feel… fuzzy. Like she’d just taken a sip of sour milk. “I can’t remember,” she admitted.
The two looked at each other for a moment, then gasped in unison: “Magic!”
