Chapter Five �“ Honestly, I’m Lying
In his day, Justin had been a bit of a player. He was never what Izzie liked to refer to as a “man whore,” but he’d had his share of short, not so chaste relationships that were lacking in meaning. He’d even been known to have a few of said relationships at the same time. It was not something he was necessarily proud of, but it was something he was known for and it was this knowledge that caused Trace to stare at Justin blankly the next day as they and Izzie played a game of pool.
“So, wait.” He paused after sinking a ball into one of the pockets and handed the stick to Izzie. The two of them had teamed up against Justin and were systematically kicking his ass. “You didn’t kiss her?”
“Nope.” Justin shook his head and stared at the pool table thoughtfully, trying to decide what the easiest shot for him to make would be.
“And…why?”
“Because he’s a pussy,” Izzie interjected before her cousin had a chance to respond. Justin glared at her briefly, then returned his attention to the pool table, bending down to aim his shot.
“No.” He paused to miss the shot and kick the table in frustration. “I don’t think she wanted me to kiss her.”
“What’d she do? Punch you in the face and tell you to get away from her?” Trace inquired sarcastically. “Because I was sitting across from the both of you all night, listening to all the talking and laughing, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t hate your dumb ass or anything.”
“I never said she hates me,” Justin retorted, his tone reflecting how annoyed he was by this conversation. He was definitely regretting having told Izzie about the lack of a goodnight kiss after his date with Mina, as she had quickly forgone a “hello” and greeted Trace with, “Justin got less action than a nun last night.”
“Then why didn’t you kiss her?” Trace asked again, still unable to grasp the concept. In his world, if a date with a hot girl went well, you were supposed to kiss her. He had always thought that he and Justin were on the same page on this matter, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that his best friend had forgone to opportunity to mack on a girl as beautiful as Mina.
“Pussy,” Izzie reiterated in a singsong voice.
“Isabella, what the fuck are you doing?” Justin exclaimed in exasperation. Izzie was circling the pool table as they talked and had yet to take her turn.
“I think you know what I’m doing, Justin,” she replied in a knowing tone, stopping on the other side of the table, frowning, and then continuing to circle. “And don’t try to change the subject. My pool stick gets more action than you, okay? And that is not right.”
“Hey, I get plenty of action sometimes.” Justin held up a hand in protest as he spoke. He was getting a little tired of his friend and cousin acting as though he had announced his plans to join the priesthood simply because he’d gone on one date without a goodnight kiss. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. He certainly had. But Mina’s body language had stopped him. She had kept one arm folded across her and didn’t hold eye contact with him for more than a few seconds at a time. Those were not the actions of a woman who was waiting to be kissed. He should know.
“It just wasn’t the right time that’s all,” he continued to explain to his friends in vain. The disbelieving looks they shot him were not helping his self esteem.
“Pussy.” This time the statement came from Trace, who was shaking his head in disgust.
“See?” Izzie looked at Justin pointedly and finally stopped circling the pool table, having apparently found the perfect angle for her next shot.
***
“So, let me get this straight,” Ralph began, his dark brown eyes sparkling with more than a hint of amusement. “You bowled a gutter ball, so you made it bounce up out of the gutter and bowl a strike?”
“Yes.” Mina nodded as she took a sip of her iced tea with lemon. She was back at the Daily Brew, surrounded by Ralph, Belle, and Ivy. The three had finally been able to take a break from their other customers to hear her relate the story of her first date with “New Research Guy,” as they called him, seemingly unable to remember Justin’s name.
“Okay, so I’ve only watched a few games on TV, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how the game is supposed to work.” An amused smirk adorned Ralph’s dark features and Mina glared back at him as the other two women laughed.
“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose,” she insisted. “It was just one of those things, you know? I was concentrating too hard and I lost control. It happens.”
“Yeah, it happens,” Belle agreed skeptically. “But the last time it happened to me was when I was 15. I’ve never heard of something like that happening to a witch of your age and talent, Mina.”
“It happens,” Mina repeated with a shrug. She didn’t want to admit that she’d had the very same thought when it had happened. She could barely remember the last time she’d lost control of her magic. It was probably the time she’d accidentally blown up Avery’s broomstick when she was 12. He had refused to give her a turn on it one too many times, and she’d just lost it. It had never happened again.
“Maybe she just really wanted to win the game, you guys,” Ivy broke in with a mischievous grin. “I haven’t done much bowling of my own, but I hear it’s very humiliating to lose.”
“You are a very supportive group of people,” Mina observed sarcastically. “I’m so glad to call you my friends.”
“You know we love you,” Belle told her with a laugh. “So, are you going to see him again?”
“Well, sure.” Mina shrugged nonchalantly, glad to finally have the focus off her bowling ball incident. She had worried about it enough without them harping on it. “I mean, that’s the whole point of this. To stay in a relationship with him long enough that when I tell him I’m a witch it won’t be such a big deal.” She paused. “I hope. Or else my whole thesis will be about how much I suck at coming up with hypotheses.”
“This is so exciting,” Belle squealed. “I wish I’d gone to University so I could do fun things like date non-magics and write papers about it.”
“Well, there’s still time,” Mina reminded her, ever the advocate for going to college. She tapped her iced tea with her wand, turning the glass into a Starbucks to go cup in order to make it appear more normal to the outside world. She hopped off her stool, brushing a piece of black hair out of her eyes. “I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll see you all later.”
Her three friends said their goodbyes and turned their attention back to their other customers as Mina strode towards the door. She was on her way to meet her first interviewees for her thesis. Andrea and Fred were a couple whose relationship had survived Andrea’s confession that she was a witch. Mina had met them through Ivy and she was extremely excited to pick their brains.
No sooner had Mina stepped out of the Daily Brew and into the bright sun of Los Angeles than she heard a male voice speaking her name. She slipped on her sunglasses as she turned towards the voice, confused.
***
“Mina?” Justin asked, surprised to see her walking out of an abandoned building down the street from the pool hall. She turned to look at him, her full lips turned down in a confused frown.
“Oh. Justin! Hi.” The frown turned to an awkward smile as she greeted him.
“Hi,” he replied, returning the smile. “What are you doing here?” He gestured towards the brick building on the corner that had been deserted as long as he could remember.
“Oh.” Mina turned towards the building, looking at it as though it were the first time she’d ever seen it. “Well, my cousin Ivy and I are looking into…buying this building and turning it into a shop. You know, sort of an investment for the future.”
“Oh, interesting.” Justin nodded, genuinely interested. “What kind of shop?”
“Hmm?” Mina seemed confused by the question.
“What kind of shop?” he repeated.
“Oh, you know. The kind where people buy things…like books. And things of that nature.” Mina stumbled over her words. She took a sip of her iced tea and silently congratulated herself for wearing sunglasses so that Justin was unable to see the way she was avoiding eye contact, a sure sign of lying.
“A book shop?” Justin suggested with a smile.
“Perhaps.” Mina nodded, returning the smile. “We’re still working through the details.”
“Sounds good.”
“Yeah. Listen, I’m on my way to an appointment, so I’ll talk to you later.” She turned to continue down the sidewalk, but stopped when Justin reached out and touched her arm lightly.
“Where are you headed? Maybe I could give you a ride.” He nodded towards his car, which happened to be parked right in front of the abandoned building in question.
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Mina replied, shaking her head slightly.
“No, come on. Where are you going?”
“Jefferson Park.”
“Great. I’m headed that way anyway. I can just drop you off on my way,” he insisted. Mina bit her lip uncomfortably.
“I don’t want to put you out or anything.”
“It’s no problem, I promise,” Justin assured her, flashing a winning smile and suddenly Mina didn’t really feel like arguing anymore.
“Well…okay,” she finally conceded. Justin grinned.
“Great!” he exclaimed, trotting over to open the passenger side door for her. Mina thanked him and slid inside, looking around the inside of the leather furnished car as Justin walked around to the other side and got in.
“This is only, like, the third time I’ve been in a car ever,” Mina admitted absentmindedly as Justin turned on the ignition and pulled out of his parking spot.
“Really?” he asked incredulously. “No bowling, no cars. Good God, woman, were your parents some kind of crazy hippie flower children or something?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Mina replied. She laughed but she was silently cursing herself for saying something that so easily drew attention to her abnormalities. She hastily covered her tracks with a lie. “Yeah, they made my brothers and I walk everywhere.”
“Wow.” Justin shook his head in disbelief. “What about school? Didn’t you ride the bus or anything?”
“No, I went to boarding school,” Mina told him truthfully.
“Really? Where?”
“Canada.”
“Harsh.”
“I really liked it, actually.” Mina laughed at Justin’s response. The affection she had for her school was apparent in her voice when she continued talking about it. “Both of my brothers went there and most of my cousins, so it wasn’t like I was cut off from my family or anything. And I learned so much there.”
“That’s actually really cool.” Justin took his eyes off the road briefly to smile at her and he saw that she was smiling to herself, clearly reminiscing about her school days. “I’m sorry to report that my schooling wasn’t nearly as interesting, though. I went to public school, was in the middle of my class, and spent all breaks devising new ways to trick the girls on the playground into kissing me. I didn’t even have hippie parents. Just call me…normal guy.”
Mina chuckled involuntarily. “Well, I think there’s something to be said for ‘normality,’” she assured him. “There’s something charming about the whole picket fence, football, prom queen thing.”
“Unfortunately, I was not the prom queen,” Justin sighed.
“That is unfortunate,” Mina agreed, her faux serious tone destroyed by the giggle that escaped from her lips.
“Can’t have everything I guess. And here we are,” he announced as he pulled up in front of the very park where he had first officially met the woman in his car. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m interviewing some people for my Master’s thesis. Nothing particularly exciting.” Mina opened the door and turned to Justin before sliding out. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem,” he replied with a smile as she got out and swung the passenger’s side door shut behind her. “Hey, can I see you again sometime? Like, on purpose?”
“Of course,” Mina told him with a smile. “Call me.”
“Oh, I will.”
***
“Honesty,” Andrea stated matter-of-factly, responding to Mina’s question of what made her relationship with Fred work. “Definitely honesty. I told Fred the truth about me the minute I had even an inkling that he was getting serious about me. And even before that, I made a point to never really lie to him about things, so when he did find out he didn’t feel like I’d been pretending to be a completely different person or anything.”
“Do you agree with that, Fred?” Mina inquired of the male half of the couple, her pen flying hastily across her paper of its own free will.
“Absolutely,” the small man agreed with a vigorous nod of his head. “Obviously I was still a little freaked out at first when she told me, because who wouldn’t be, right?” He paused to share a chuckle with his wife. “But once I realized that she was still my Andrea and that she had been as honest with me as she could, I was okay with it. It’s been an adjustment, but I don’t even think about it anymore really. It’s pretty convenient having a witch around the house.”
Mina nodded and smiled at the happy couple in front of her. It was people like these that made her want to continue pursuing her current field of research; they were different, but they loved each other, and there was no reason they shouldn’t be together.
“Did you two have to deal with any sort of prejudices from your friends and family?” Mina asked her next question. “Andrea, for dating a non-wizard? Fred, for marrying a witch?”
“Oh, definitely.” Andrea rolled her eyes, showing her complete disgust with the memories that she then proceeded to relay. Mina took a sip of her iced tea and listened intently as her pen took everything down in excruciating detail.
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