Cassie was in town running errands when the rich aroma of the Witch's Brew Coffee Shop filled her lungs. Coffee, she thought. What a good idea. The Witch's Brew was a gimmick, plain and simple, capitalizing on the town's Salem witch trial - related history. At night it featured strobe lights and white cotton cobwebs, and was a favorite place for anyone from out of town looking for an overpriced drink with a gothic name. The locals, and Cassie's friends especially, avoided the place for obvious reasons. But in the light of day, the Brew could almost pass as an ordinary coffee shop, and they'd just set up their outdoor tables.
Cassie figured it wouldn't be so bad if she could sit outside sipping her drink in the sun, so she looked for an empty seat.
That was when she noticed that familiar dyed red hair she knew belonged to Scarlett. She was bent over a book, reading and mindlessly chewing on a pencil. Cassie's first instinct was to go sit with her, but then she remembered the new rule. Outsiders were off limits for now.
It wasn't fair. The Circle shouldn't be able to dictate whom Cassie had coffee with. But even Faye was willing to relinquish some of her personal freedom for the good of the group. And Cassie had to get to the lighthouse anyway. In lieu of being able to do magic, Melanie and Laurel were resorting to herbology to pass the time. They'd asked resorting to herbology to pass the time. They'd asked Cassie to bring over the flowers from a rare herb in her garden - the Plymouth gentian. Cassie felt for the paper bag containing the flowers in her tote, as if to remind herself of the errand's importance. She turned to go just as Scarlett noticed her.
"Cassie?" Scarlett's face instantly lit up. "It's so good to see you," she said. "Come sit with me."
"I can't," Cassie said, scanning the surrounding area. "I only have a minute."
"Sit for only a minute then." Scarlett closed her book and pushed it aside.
Scarlett looked so lonely sitting there by herself. It would have been cruel to decline.
"What are your plans for today?" Cassie asked casually.
Scarlett raised her hands and looked left and right.
"This," she said. "It ain't much."
Cassie offered her a polite chuckle. "Thanks again for coming to Melanie's the other day. I'm sorry I kind of lost track of you and didn't get to say good-bye." Scarlett's dark eyes radiated affection. "No problem," she said. Then she took a long sip of her iced coffee and seemed to be weighing something in her mind or trying to figure something out.
Cassie felt like she was being examined so deeply that Scarlett could have been counting each of her pores or every one of her eyelashes, but Cassie just let her. For some reason, it didn't make her feel self-conscious. She didn't know why, but she wanted Scarlett to know her, and to really see her. to really see her.
After another moment passed, Scarlett said, "I really like your friends. And since I don't know anyone on the island, I was hoping to make a good impression."
Cassie knew this was the moment where, if she were a regular girl without a Circle to answer to, she would ask Scarlett to hang out. Instead, she offered her a pathetic-sounding conciliation. "I was the new kid not long ago," Cassie said. "And I know how brutal making friends in this town can be."
Scarlett's full red lips broke into a wide smile. "That's why I'm going to guilt you into being friends with me." Cassie
laughed.
She enjoyed Scarlett's unpretentiousness. She was just the kind of no-nonsense girl Cassie would have been friends with back in California.
"For example," Scarlett said, "I'm going to remind you that I moved here with a single pathetic suitcase to convince you to go shopping with me."
Cassie remembered Diana's snarky comment about Scarlett's suitcase and was embarrassed by it all over again. She glanced at her watch. She had another two hours before she had to be at the lighthouse. What could be the harm in going around to a few stores for an hour?
"Lucky for you, shopping is one of my favorite leisure-time activities," Cassie said.
"Does that mean you're in?" Scarlett asked.
"Why not?" Cassie stood up. "My errands can wait." Scarlett shot out of her seat. "That worked even better than I thought it would."
Shopping with Scarlett was the perfect diversion from all of Cassie's troubles. Since she couldn't talk about any of the Circle's issues, she had to put them out of her mind entirely.
It was like getting to be somebody else for a few hours, somebody with normal concerns. Concerns like, Is forty dollars too much to pay for a tank top even if it's really really soft? And Scarlett was a master shopper; she could pluck out the best item on a sale rack with the speedy foresight even a witch could admire. She somehow talked Cassie into buying turquoise-blue feathered earrings.
"These are more your style than mine," Cassie said, just after the impulse buy.
"We can share them." Scarlett smiled brightly. "In fact, we can share most of this stuff. That's the beauty of being the same size."
Cassie agreed and then suggested they unload their shopping bags into the trunk of her car before searching out the perfect summer shoes. She and Scarlett slipped so easily into friendship that Cassie forgot she was supposed to be keeping her distance from her. So the sight of Diana stepping out of her Volvo across the parking lot didn't strike Cassie as an immediate cause for alarm. Her panic didn't set in until Diana's eyes met hers - first with the delight of a surprise encounter, followed by a narrowing, painful displeasure. Cassie had been caught blatantly defying a promise she had made to the Circle.
Diana approached them gradually. Her "hello" sounded more like a snub than a greeting. "I see you two have been having a good time," she said, gesturing to their shopping bags.
Scarlett, sensing the coldness in Diana's voice, smiled politely but said nothing.
"I ran into Scarlett unexpectedly," Cassie said.
Diana derided Cassie with her eyes. "I guess there's a lot of that happening today."
Cassie bit her lip but said nothing.
Scarlett shifted uncomfortably and said, "Maybe I should get going."
"No," Diana said. "I should." She stepped past them toward the mall 's entrance. "I'll talk to you later, Cassie."
"That girl really does not like me," Scarlett said, once Diana was out of earshot.