Love Charms and Other Catastrophes

BOOK: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
10.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

 

Begin Reading

Table of Contents

About the Author

Copyright Page

 

Thank you for buying this

Feiwel and Friends ebook.

 

To receive special offers, bonus content,

and info on new releases and other great reads,

sign up for our newsletters.

 

Or visit us online at

us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

 

For email updates on the author, click
here
.

 

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way.
Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author's copyright, please notify the publisher at:
us.macmillanusa.com/piracy
.

 

To those with small hearts:
They're much bigger than you think.

 

prologue

THE BARGAIN

Love played with the key around his neck as he strolled through Grimbaud. Ran his thumb along the rough ridges. Felt the teeth against his skin. He was
home
. The streets were filled with high school students exploring with their parents, gathering school supplies and charms for the new school year. Love tried to be gentle with them as he passed—a touch on the shoulder, a breath on the back of the neck—and they never saw him.

“Turn around again,” he whispered in a senior girl's ear. “That boy with the glasses. You should say hello.”

The senior girl rubbed her ear, frowning, and noticed the boy.

Love laughed like a toddler, bright and happy. He didn't need to look back to know the teens were talking; tendrils of attraction curled around them like vines. But for every new romance blooming, another withered. Love sighed when he saw a couple bickering over a bruised plum at the fruit stand. The poor stand owner tried to show them other plums, but the argument went far beyond that. Love knew a breakup was coming. For once, he didn't have the stomach to stick around and hear it.

His town was lovely but lost, off-kilter without Zita's love fortunes to anchor it. Sure, the townspeople would listen to him, even if they didn't know it, but he hadn't the time to repair Grimbaud cobblestone by cobblestone. Not when the rest of the world grabbed at his ankles, always tugging him this way and that. He couldn't stay long. But he also couldn't abandon the town, not after Zita.

At first, Grimbaud had seemed to benefit from the bargain he'd struck with her; he shared his power with her and Zita used it to craft love fortunes that revealed each person's romantic future with 100 percent accuracy. But as time passed, Zita had abused that power and twisted the fortunes for her own gain, ruining lives and loves in the process. It was only thanks to a few brave teenagers that Love finally took back the town and set it to rights.

Not to rights, exactly
, Love thought,
not yet,
as he saw the town council gathered around the flyer they'd just taped to a lamppost. He slipped behind a café, shifting his form until he looked like Mrs. Visser, the missing council member. Love patted her perfect blond perm and walked over.

“There you are,” said one of the council members. “The new flyers are up. Verbeke Square is an odd choice for the competition venue, what with Zita's shop gone.”

“That's precisely why I pushed for it,” Love said. Thankfully, Mrs. Visser had suffered from chronic stomach cramps all summer, allowing Love to take her place and encourage critical decisions. “Grimbaud needs a new beginning. Sometimes, in order to do that you must build upon the past.”

Sensing the real Mrs. Visser on her way to the council, Love excused herself and took his previous form again.

Grimbaud was recovering, on the way to becoming Love's town once more, but attracting love charm-makers back after Zita's monopoly had been harder than he thought. The love charm-makers who
had
set up shop over the summer worried him and made Love think more and more about Hijiri Kitamura.

Hijiri's talent in love charm-making was exceptional for a girl her age. Yet when Love had offered her Zita's position, Hijiri refused. Maybe he had been too hasty with his offer, but he had felt her potential as fireworks under his skin. She still needed to grow. Her heart was cold, despite her love charms, and Love was determined to show her what she was truly capable of.

“Almost time,” Love said, checking his watch. He changed direction, crossing clogged streets as he made his way to the Student Housing Complex, a boardinghouse for nonlocal high schoolers to live in while attending Grimbaud High.

He had taken the form of a man with a hard jaw and a clear gaze, someone trustworthy. He needed Hijiri to trust him.

He'd made a new bargain on behalf of Hijiri. This time, he had the upper hand. No mistakes. No bending and twisting his rules.

Love's stomach rumbled. One quick detour first. He needed a chocolate-drizzled waffle.

 

Chapter 1

PARTY

Hijiri Kitamura suspected that her heart had a limited capacity for love. A
small amount
. Her friends took up enough room already. There just wasn't room for a boyfriend. She spent the summer trying to measure it, to put math to her frustration, but no ruler or calculator in the world helped.

“Put the ruler in your suitcase,” her mother said, “before you end up poking someone with it.”

“Never mind the ruler,” Mr. Kitamura said, grimacing at his watch. “Hurry to the platform. You can't be late.”

You can't be late either
, she thought, reluctantly shoving the ruler in the suitcase's front pocket. The train whistle blew. Lejeune's train station had been built outside the city limits, where the tracks ran uninterrupted by the city's numerous lakes and skyscrapers.

The Kitamuras worked for the same insurance company, though in different departments. On the drive over, her parents had complained about the meetings they were missing. Hijiri tried to ignore how often they checked the time and muttered about their bosses. They were
here
right now and she wanted to enjoy that. She carefully grabbed her overstuffed suitcase; she didn't trust the porters to be gentle with her precious supplies.

Mrs. Kitamura kissed Hijiri on both cheeks, leaving faint pink marks from her lipstick. “Do well this year,” she said.

Mr. Kitamura squeezed Hijiri's shoulder affectionately before pushing her forward. “Try to get some fresh air.”

When the train arrived, she ran through the open doors. The first passenger in her train car, Hijiri chose a window seat and settled in.
Grimbaud's only a few hours' ride away
, she reminded herself, curling up tighter when a heavyset man took the seat next to her.

If only the train could fly. She couldn't wait to be back.

*   *   *

The town of Grimbaud no longer smelled like roses, but Hijiri enjoyed the other scents that took their place: musky canals and bitter chocolates sprinkled with salt. Teetering on the end of summer, the town was hot and bright. Hijiri pulled her hair into a bun, leaving long pieces in front to frame her face—a curtain for when she felt anxious. Her bangs were uneven from having trimmed them herself over the summer; Sebastian needed to fix them. Fortunately, Fallon and Sebastian were probably in the Student Housing Complex already. They always came early before the new semester.

Hijiri dragged her suitcase into a cab; the distance wasn't too great, but her arms already hurt from tugging on the suitcase handle. Even with upkeep, the Student Housing Complex had a lived-in, well-loved energy to it, with chipped paint on the doors and a creaky wooden gate separating the three-story stone building from the street. Mrs. Smedt, the caretaker, waved at Hijiri before disappearing around the corner. Hijiri had helped Mrs. Smedt take care of the complex last year as a part-time job—a job she hoped to have again, since she enjoyed the solitude that came with it.

Her apartment was the same as last year's. First floor. Hijiri slid her key into the lock and pushed, surprised when the door got stuck. A thick piece of folded paper wedged under the door was the culprit. She bent down to pick it up and was pleased to find the De Keysers' weather-charm shop logo: swirling font surrounded by a halo of storm clouds, lightning, and a beacon-like sun at the top. Femke's careful handwriting covered the page:

Dear Hijiri,

Your summer could not have been as fun without us. Mirthe and I (mostly Mirthe) firmly believe this. Time to right that wrong with a party at our house!

Drop your suitcase off and come now. Yes, right now. Our little rebellion must reunite before the new school year starts. We have gossip to discuss and plenty of good food to eat. Besides, today's supposed to be hot. If you come to the party, Mirthe and I promise cool breezes. You might even need a sweater.

Your troublemaking seniors,

Femke and Mirthe De Keyser

Hijiri re-folded the letter with a grin. The invitation warmed her. Her usual anxiety flared up at the thought of crossing town to see the group again, but she quickly pushed it down. Fallon, Sebastian, Nico, Martin, and the twins were her friends. She
wanted
to see them.
I'm just rusty after a summer at home
, she thought. Her voice had been severely underused with her parents at work every day and having the entire house to herself. Alone. Just the way she had liked it.

Her suitcase fell over when she let go of it, but she didn't care. Hijiri unzipped the front pocket, withdrew a crumpled cardigan, and dashed out the door.

*   *   *

The eggplant-colored cardigan came in handy when she reached the De Keysers' house. The weather had been sticky hot on her way through town but fall had taken up residence at the blue colonial house. Promised breezes cooled her face and blew her bangs back. The pinwheels in the shrubbery bled colors as they spun.

BOOK: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
10.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Tango by Angelica Chase
Her Evil Twin by Mimi McCoy
Unknown by Unknown
The Amistad Rebellion by Marcus Rediker
For Kicks by Jenna Bayley-Burke
Blood of the Maple by Dana Marie Bell
The Promise of Change by Heflin, Rebecca