More than Magic: Semester Aboard (57 page)

I wondered how long it would be before I was
changed too. I had already started taking my own night vision for
granted. What other spells would I master and use frequently? What
other traits and habits would I pick up just because I was a witch?
And when? I was already in the habit of keeping my wand in my
purse. I kept my eyes open for other magics the entire time I was
in the airport, and on the plane. I was almost positive that I saw
a wood elemental in the airport after my plane landed, but it was
too crowded to get a good look.

And then I was in a cab. The streets became
increasingly familiar and my thoughts started to turn from magic to
the fact I was finally home. It was almost surreal climbing the
steps to the porch. I took my final step to the door. Then, for the
first time in what felt like a lifetime, I took out my key and
unlocked the door. I smiled to myself as I did, wondering if
someday I'd just flick my wand instead.

"I'm home!" I had barely announced my arrival
when my stepmother flew into foyer and grabbed me.

"Welcome home, Jenny!" she cried. "Oh, look
at you!" I had deliberately worn things I had bought on the voyage,
right down to the purse I was carrying. "How was it?"

"It was amazing!" I threw my arms around her
and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Rachel. Thank you!"

"Jenny! Jenny!" Emily crashed into me and
wrapped her arms around me. "Jenny!"

I hugged her back. "Hey, Emily."

"We're having pizza for dinner!"

"Great," I laughed.

"If your voyage was anything like mine,
you're ready for some familiar food," Rachel said.

"Yeah."

She smiled. "I've got the pizza stone in the
oven and all of the toppings ready to go."

"Wait, wait! Are we doing
make-your-own-pizza?"

My stepmother's smile widened. "Just for
you."

I hugged her again and ran into the kitchen.
There was someone there, rolling out dough. I stopped short and my
jaw dropped.

"Shannon!" I gasped.

She grinned. "Hey, you."

I mock glared at her. "You're supposed to be
down at school already!"

"I have a couple of days. I haven't seen my
favorite cousin all summer!"

We both laughed and hugged. "You brat! You
said you wouldn't be here," I said.

Emily was eager to eat, so we started
stacking toppings onto our personal pizzas.

"When do we open the boxes?" Emily asked.

"Boxes?"

Rachel pointed into the other room. "Those.
They got here a little while ago."

I went to check the boxes out after the
pizzas went into the oven. I opened one and gaped. It was my
suitcase. I laughed in disbelief. I had just shipped it a few hours
ago and, not only had it already arrived, it had gotten here before
me. I had just enough time to unpack it and give Rachel, Emily, and
Shannon their gifts. Then the pizza was ready to go.

We spent the entire meal talking about our
summers. Shannon told us all about her amazing sounding kayak trip
and then I talked all about my voyage. It was really hard to tell
them about the others, and what we had done, without telling them
everything. I wanted to tell them the truth, but knew I
couldn't.

The moment she was done eating Emily jumped
up. "Can I show her?" she asked eagerly. Rachel nodded and Emily
raced from the room. I could hear her shouting. A few minutes later
she was back, looking upset.

"I can't find him!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Lord Whiskers!" Emily said.

"Who?"

"My kitty!"

"I'm sure he's around somewhere," Rachel
said.

"Lord Whiskers!" Emily yelled, running back
out of the room. "Lord Whiskers Fluffington the Fourth! Where are
you?"

"That's...quite the name."

Shannon laughed. "He's a big, sweet cat; he
doesn't deserve a name like that."

Rachel smiled a tolerant, motherly smile.
"Your father never wanted pets," she said. "And after...well I was
so busy with you and the baby I just never got any. Emily was so
happy to finally get a cat that I just had to let her name
him."

Emily whirled back into the room. "He's
gone!" she cried. "He isn't anywhere! What if he ran away? I'm
going to go outside and look for him."

"Wait, Emily, I'll come with you after I do
the dishes," Rachel said. She turned to me. "Whiskers was a stray
Emily started feeding, she's terrified that he has a real owner
he's going to go back to."

"I've got the dishes, Aunt Rachel," Shannon
said. She cleared her plate and grabbed Emily's. "You can go out
with Emily."

I stood with mine but Rachel grabbed it from
me. "You just got home, Jenny," she said. "You don't have to do the
dishes!"

"It's fine," I said.

"Your wicked stepmother isn't going to put
you to work yet," she laughed. "Why don't you go get your pjs on or
something? After we find Whiskers I'm going to get out the sundae
fixings and you can choose any movie you want to watch." She
grinned. "Unless you've gotten too mature for a sundae bar?"

"Be right back down!" I cried eagerly.

We all laughed. I grabbed my purse and
suitcase of dirty clothes, and raced upstairs. Emily and Rachel
went outside to make sure the cat hadn't slipped out and I could
hear Shannon banging around in the kitchen. I tossed my bag in the
direction of my bed with one hand and reached for the light switch
with the other hand. There was an awful yowl! I screamed and turned
on the light. On my bed a big cat, who looked even bigger because
every hair was standing on end, was hissing at my suitcase.

"I'm sorry, Mister Whiskers!" I said. "I hope
I didn't hit you!"

I went over to my desk and set my purse
down.

"Lord," said a voice. A male voice.

I whirled around. Nobody was there but the
cat. "What?"

The cat stretched and sat down on my bed. He
blinked his bright yellow eyes at me and curled his long, black
tail around his legs until it disappeared against the rest of his
inky fur.

"Lord," he repeated. "If you're going to
insist on referring to me by that ridiculous name at least say Lord
Whiskers instead of Mister Whiskers. I find that Lord makes it seem
a little less demeaning. However, I would prefer if you just called
me Rak. Which is my name."

"Oh," I managed to say.

He jumped off of my bed, vanished in
mid-leap, and reappeared right over my desk. He landed softly and
sat down. Thin wisps of black smoke hung in the air between my bed
and desk and where he was sitting.

"I'm your familiar." I could swear he was
smiling. "That is if you'll have me."

Before I could say anything Shannon appeared
in the doorway.

"Did you scream?" she said. "Oh! You found
Lord Whiskers. Good."

"I almost hit him with my suitcase and he
startled me," I said.

Shannon walked in and started scratching him
under the chin. "Poor kitty," she said. "You have a terrible name
and now people are throwing things at you."

Rak closed his eyes and purred. "Is your
cousin trying to mollify or insult me?"

I bit back a partly incredulous giggle.
Shannon gave him one last scratch and then headed back out the
door.

"I'll tell Aunt Rachel you found him," she
called. "Hurry up! It's almost ice cream time!"

"So," I said softly after Shannon was gone.
"Do we have to do something to bond or are we already?"

Rak shook his head. "We aren't exactly bonded
yet, but we don't have to actively do anything. We just have to
spend time together and the bond will start to form on its own. In
a few weeks, unless we decide we don't work together, we'll be
fully bonded. And, unless you share your sister's penchant for
putting dresses on cats, I don't foresee any problems with
you."

"I promise I won't put any dresses on
you."

"Jenny!" Rachel called. "Ice cream!"

"That's it then?" I asked.

"That's it," Rak said.

I turned and went downstairs with Rak
trotting along beside me. Emily cried out happily and grabbed him
and spun him around in circles.

"You found Lord Whiskers Fluffington the
Fourth!" she cheered, whirling around.

"Your sister is the reason cats get
declawed," Rak told me as he swung from her arms.

I knew that normal humans couldn't hear
familiars, but it was very strange to see it firsthand. Nobody
reacted to his comment or knew that I was laughing at anything but
Emily. After she released him I dug out a Star Wars DVD. Part of it
was filmed where I had been in Guatemala and I was eager to show
Shannon and Rachel. Halfway through Emily fell asleep and Rachel
went to put her to bed. Shannon talked me into waiting while she
put away the ice cream dishes. After she was out of the room Rak
jumped into my lap and curled up.

"You can scratch my ears you know," he said
when I didn't pet him.

"Oh, you won't mind?"

"Just because I'm a talking cat doesn't mean
I'm going to say no to petting," Rak said. "Besides, being close
physically will give our bond a little jump-start."

"I see you found a buddy," Shannon said,
coming in.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"And under the chin," Rak demanded. I moved
from his ears to his chin.

Shannon flopped down onto the couch and
grinned at me. "Glad to be home?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Miss it already
though."

She nodded. "Aunt Rachel was saying today
that even twenty years later she still misses the boat."

"Ship," I corrected. I hadn't cared back in
June, but now I found it actually mattered to me.

"Whatever," Shannon laughed. "She went on and
on about how life-changing it was and what a great experience she
had. What do you think, Jenny? Was your voyage life changing?"

I glanced over her shoulder at the boxes that
had been sent across the country at the same time I had boarded my
plane, yet had still arrived here before me. I thought of the wand
tucked away in my purse upstairs and of my friends. What were they
up to right now? Dani and Mariana were probably somewhere in the
middle of the ocean. Charlie was home with his family, maybe
blacksmithing with his bare hands. I pictured TS and his brothers
on their road trip; driving too fast with their windows down and
tongues hanging out happily as they went. Thomas was hopefully
feeding and already on his way to getting better. And here I was,
with a talking cat, my familiar, on my lap.

I gave Rak another scratch behind an ear and
said, "You have no idea."

###

About the Author

Elizabeth Kirke has always loved writing and
the ocean, but it wasn’t until she was sitting out on deck during
her first cruise that she decided to combine them. She wrote the
earliest draft of
Semester Aboard
somewhere in the middle of
the ocean. If she isn’t writing then she’s baking, crafting, or
sleeping.

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Special Thanks

My parents
: for the upbringing,
support, encouragement, and most of all, for letting me go abroad.
I would never have dreamed this up if you hadn’t.

My husband:
for always being there and
encouraging me, even if it meant ignoring you for hours while I
wrote.

Laken
: for always being around to
bounce ideas off of.

Sarah
: for sticking with me through
tons of editing and always taking the time to leave me
feedback.

Emily
: for always having a suggestion,
making me think harder, and always encouraging me. I’m just mad you
beat me to it and wish you success!

And most of all,
Erin
: for
everything
- the countless hours on the phone, the drawings,
the ego-stroking, and the constant support. You know my characters
nearly as well as I do, and this book wouldn’t be the same without
you!