Grimalkin Academy: Kittens Books 4-6

Chapter 1

Chapter One

I resettle the goggles on my nose, and seriously consider adding a peg to my nose. I've never brewed this potion in a room without a lot more ventilation than this one has. It's a good job I thought to have Caspian take the kittens before I started.

Daphne walks in and wafts air across her nose instantly. "Are you trying to kill us?"

I shrug. "I can open the window more, but I don't think it'll help." The little camping stove I had delivered is doing a good enough job, but if a member of the staff finds it, I could get into serious trouble.

Then again, I'm almost always risking serious trouble between jailbreaks, black magic, and the amount of tripping hazards in my room.

Speaking of which, Daphne gingerly steps over one of the many kitten beds and goes to sweep her hair away from her face. She must have forgotten her hair is in a plait though, as she drops her hand almost immediately.

"Will it allow us to breathe easier?" she asks, eyeing the tiny window that barely opens.

"I doubt it. You could put the light in the shower on? The extractor might help..."

She's doing just that before I can even finish speaking.

"It's not that bad," I protest, my eyes lingering guiltily on the peg still sat on my desk.

Alright, yes it's that bad.

Daphne sighs as she comes properly back into the room. "And this is really necessary?" She gestures towards my bubbling potion and the stack of paper beside me.

"If you want us to create spells and curses, then yes, it's necessary." I drop a couple of slices of ginger into the pot and it hisses at me.

Daphne jumps back, even though it doesn't get anywhere near her.

"Is it safe for me to be in here?" she asks nervously.

"It's fine. It's not a corrosive one," I say, not fully paying attention to her. I have more important things to focus on, like the potion pot bubbling up in front of me. "It's almost ready anyway."

"Then what do we do with it?" she asks.

"We put the paper in."

"Like developing photos?"

Huh, I've never once thought about it like that. "I suppose so." I drop a slither of snakeskin into the potion, glad this one was okay to use shed skin with and not one from a dead snake.

"What then?"

"We leave it overnight, dry it tomorrow, and by Monday we can create our spells." I don't know whether to admit it or not, but I'm excited about that part. I didn't think I would be, especially not after what Mum said happened with her friend, Magda. But somehow, I know things are different for Daphne and me.

She won't steal my limelight, and I won't steal hers.

"Any ideas what you want to create?" I ask as I give the potion one last stir and turn the gas off.

"I'd hoped you would," she admits sheepishly.

Lucky for her, I've had a few ideas.

"We need a curse and a spell, right?" I check.

She nods even though that isn't new information. It's something we've been reminding ourselves of since we started making the papers.

"Then I think we need to keep the curse simple. But something we can easily hide. I was thinking something like a hiccup every time the word hippopotamus is said?"

Daphne giggles. "That's ridiculous."

"It's kind of the point," I say with a shrug. I pick up a pinch of pink salt and sprinkle it over the surface of the potion. It hisses and bubbles, spitting potion onto the desk. I grab a cloth and quickly wipe it away. I'm not sure if it's going to stain or not, and I'd rather not lose my security deposit if I don't have to.

"I suppose most people don't say hippopotamus by accident."

"Especially not if we know that it'll cause a curse," I point out. "Then we can just avoid it."

She sighs loudly and flops down onto my bed. "I'm guessing it's me that's going to end up cursed?"

I grimace. "I think it's best if it isn't me. We don't know how it's going to interact with the one I already have on me." One that Caspian's mother put there. I try not to think about that too hard, it's an easy way for us to end up with a complicated relationship, and with two other guys in my life, it's complicated enough.

"I know," she says slowly. "And I'm ready for it."

"I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be." She flashes me a reassuring smile as she fiddles with a cat toy. "I knew what I was getting myself into. And if I'm honest, a part of me is really excited. Do you realise what we could uncover if we manage to do this? We'll change the history of curse breaking forever. That's neat."

"Huh." The enormity of that crashes over me. To some extent, I know that's what we've been working toward, but I've been so focused on the fact that it's going to help me that I forgot about the bigger picture.

"Do you suppose we could use this for the honour roll?" she asks sheepishly.

I look up sharply. Not because of what she's said, ever since I found out about the honour roll, I've assumed my best friend will want to get her name onto it. She's wicked smart, there's no reason she shouldn't be. What surprises me is the sheepishness with which she's asking about it. Does she think I'll say no?

"Of course we can." I want to ask what she's thinking. Wait, she's my best friend, I can ask her that and it not be insulting. "Did you think I'd say no?"

"No, I knew you wouldn't. It's just, you'd be our case study and I don't know if you're okay with that."

I stir the potion. As much as I want to comfort her right now, I can't let this bubble over or there's going to be a mess. Plus the risk that the potion itself may not work any more.

"If it works, then I'll be your case study a hundred times over," I point out. I'm not even saying it to make her feel better.

"Thanks, Mona."

"Any time." She pauses for a moment. "How long until the soup is going to be ready?"

I chuckle. "I wouldn't drink it, there are at least thirty poisonous ingredients in it."

"That's a shame. It smells so good." She gets to her feet. "But how long?"

"Another day," I answer honestly.

"You're going to sleep in this stench?" Her eyes widen.

I feel the heat spreading over my cheeks and don't even have to look in the mirror to know I'm blushing. "I'm staying the Caspian tonight," I murmur, grateful it isn't her brother who offered to put me up. While she's fine with the two of us dating, I know she doesn't like reminding of the fact.

"Ah." Understanding dawns on her face. "Well, if you want a shower that won't leave your hair smelling like a sewer, then come use mine."

"Thanks, I might take you up on that."

"You should, this potion is seriously bad." She waves her hand in front of her nose, dramatically trying to make the smell go away.

A slow smile crosses my face. I'm lucky to have come here and found a friend as amazing as Daphne. She's stuck by me through all the tough stuff so far. I'm not sure many people would. Even when I kept her out of breaking Caspian out of jail, she stood by me.

Saying that, she's out the door now the smell is getting stronger.

"That's how it is, then," I mutter to myself. "Best friends through thick and thin until the stench gets too much." I chuckle and throw some willow ash into the pot.