A Farewell to Charms Read Online Free PDF Page B

special emotion was? Mind reading. Even selective, Reed-mind reading would be great.
    “It does sound cool.” He slid next to me on the bench.
    Not super close. Maybe two feet away close. Not that I was mentally measuring the distance. “But you know what I don’t get? Why does everyone think glitter equals magic? Do you know how much glitter we have at Specter? Zip. It’s the second most magical building in the world after Façade, and the only thing you’ll see twinkling there is the gold.”
    “What is Specter like?” I tucked my knees under my chin, grateful for the subject change.
    “It’s in London—a big time boys’ club. Not football games and potato chips; more like expensive gadgets and open space and power. I imagine Façade is different.”
    “You haven’t been there?” I asked. “But you’ve been working for them for so long.”
    “Specter has everything subs need to perform, so there was never a reason to go to the main office. I was actually invited to Genevieve’s costume party, but that was our play’s opening night, and it felt like too much to manage.”
    “I went. Sort of. I mean, I was at Façade that night. But for other reasons.” Other reasons being Meredith took me to the sub-sanitation room to see colorful canisters of stolen, synthesized magic. In case you didn’t hear about that. “Specter was there, actually, doing all these games.”
    “Yeah. Big rivalry. Did you know they didn’t have guy subs until the Victorian era because they were worried that men would be less noble with the power? So the women run the show. I think some of the guys look at the competitions as a chance to show their manliness.”
    “They had a pie-eating contest.”
    “I know. I trained for months for that. I even tried rhubarb.”
    I made a face. “I didn’t even know Specter existed until I figured you out.”
    “Figured me out when you snuck up on me.”
    “You were the one with your manual in plain view.”
    Reed wiggled his eyebrows. “You consider a male dressing room plain view?”
    Something crashed in the rink. We both startled. Reed recovered first and stuck his head out the door. “Hello?” When no one answered, he slipped into the darkness in pursuit of the noise.
    I hugged myself. Meredith’s little note attached to my BEST list made me nervous that Façade was watching, and I didn’t want anyone interrupting us right now. I needed to tell Reed about the sub-sanitation room, and then I needed him to help me come up with a clear plan.
    Reed shrugged when he came back. “I didn’t see anyone. Hope no one was trying to get in.”
    “Maybe a bubble crashed back there.”
    “We better stay low, then.” Reed pushed some boxes over and sat down on the table. “This is so weird that you even know about bubbles. I’ve never talked to anyone about my job before. I have my parents, but it’s been so long since they subbed.”
    “At least you have them,” I flipped open a shoe box and started relacing another skate. “I feel like I’m living a double life. Kylee went off on me today because she thinks we have a secret, which we do, and then there were the rumors—”
    “What rumors?”
    “Oh.” Of course he wouldn’t know. Celeste had spread the gossip at my school, but Reed was in high school. “Nothing.”
    “Did it have something to do with the party?” Reed’s expression was bemused. “Did she give us three kids or four?”
    “Shut up. Bathroom bonding is big stuff in junior high.”
    “What did you say to everyone?” Reed asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You know what I mean.” Reed stared at me with a gaze so intense I could swear his magical talent was X-ray vision.
    “Just…the truth. At least the part of the truth I could say.” I looked down. I couldn’t handle him when he looked at me like that. “That we were just friends talking.”
    I’d missed one of the holes and had to undo the laces. I yanked at them furiously, relieved I had a task to