Witch way

It never ends

She arrived home, a familiar mix of chaos and calm greeting her as she stepped through the door.

“AGAIN, HARPER?” Reena’s voice was sharp, cutting through the haze of her thoughts. Their mom had called Reena after school, and Reena was clearly ready to lay down the law.

“She mentioned Dad again. I’ve told her not to.” Harper’s voice cracked with the pent-up emotion of the day.

“You can’t keep letting people get to you,” Reena snapped. “So what if she mentioned Dad?”

“It hurts, okay? When I see other people with their parents, it sucks,” Harper muttered, her voice soft but thick with emotion.

“I get it,” Reena shot back, softer now. “But that doesn’t mean you can slap someone because they piss you off. Get it together, Harper.”

“Harper in trouble again?” Holly piped up, her voice sing-song and annoying.

“Shut it, Holly,” Harper growled.

“Both of you, enough,” Reena said, her patience fraying. “We need to hold it together, for Mum. If she doesn’t get this job, we’re all screwed.”

Harper plopped down onto her bed, the familiar weight of her thoughts settling in. Her books were open in front of her, but her mind wasn’t in the work. It never was. But then a thought struck her — Nostradamus. She remembered the book, the sense of knowing that came with it. Maybe she could find a copy. Maybe it could answer the questions swirling in her mind.

“Homework done?” Reena’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Done. All of it. Already finished.”

“Really? All in one day?” Reena sounded impressed but skeptical.

“Yeah,” Harper said, her voice distant. “Because I’m going to see Charlie.”

Reena’s eyes softened. “Okay, after dinner. But then that’s it, alright?”

Harper checked her phone again. Charlie’s words burned her chest.

I’M COMING OVER

SORRY YOU CANT

WHY?

MY PARENTS SAY YOU’RE NO GOOD FOR ME. THEY DON’T WANT ME IN TROUBLE. SORRY HARPS, REALLY.

Harper’s fist clenched around her phone. She wanted to throw it across the room, but she stopped herself. If she did that, she’d be even more alone.

She grabbed her coat, muttering something under her breath about boys and their lack of depth. She needed to escape, just for a little while, so she decided to go to the bookstore. Maybe she’d find something, maybe not.

The city was alive, buzzing with energy. Harper weaved through the crowd, letting herself get lost in the pulse of it all. When she reached the bookstore, she sighed in relief. It was a sanctuary, the one place where she felt like she could be herself.

“Evening, Harps,” Mr. Smith, the kind old man behind the counter, greeted her with a knowing smile.

“Hi, Mr. Smith. Do you have something called Nostradamus?”

“Yes, it’s down by the occult practices section. No romance novels today?” His voice was teasing, but there was affection behind it.

“No, Mr. Smith,” Harper replied, rolling her eyes. “I don’t do romance novels.”

“Occult practices, then?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harper smirked. “Yeah, just for a change. I’ll take it.”

Mr. Smith chuckled softly. “Alright, sweetie. Take it, no charge. You always bring them back.”

Harper smiled, grateful. “Thanks, Mr. Smith.”

She walked to the back of the store, picking up the book. As she walked out, she noticed a hot dog stand and decided to grab something to eat before finding a quiet spot in the park. She sat beneath a tree, the spring night air cool against her skin, and began to read. She didn’t know what the future held, but for the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of connection. Maybe the answers were out there.

That night, as Harper stared out at the stars from her tiny bed, she made a silent promise to herself. One day, she would find the answers to the chaos inside her. One day, she would understand who she was—and why she felt like she was meant for something far greater than the world around her.

Harper sighed as she pulled herself out of bed. She had forgotten to fill in her maths homework, and her science. Still time to get it done on the bus though. She shoved her uniform on over her head and pulled her second hand school shoes onto her feet. She dashed into the kitchen and sat down in a hump as Reena stared at her slowly chewing her cornflakes.

“ cutting it fine?” Deena lifted the spoon to her mouth and chewed

“Ree I don’t have the time to think about this” harper rushed to get her cereal and coffee which she definitely shouldn’t be having at 13 but it was the only thing getting her through even the thought of the day

“If you keep waking up late you won’t get all the things you need to do done” reena picked up her bowl and carried it to the sink and plonked it down. She went over to holly and adjusted her hair into a ponytail.

Harper knew she was only trying to help but her instincts told her to snap at her and shut up. She went against it to avoid the argument.

“Cmon the bus is going to be late I’ve checked the time but just in case it’s early” reena tapped holly on the shoulder and all three girls shrugged their possessions on and shuffled out the apartment

Harper scribbled the maths answers into her notebook. Her answers were correct just messy. She was lucky that she had a quick mind and could answer with speed meaning she had just enough time to complete half her science homework.

The first assignment of the day was a meeting with her head of year.

“Harper your grades are good but you know you can do better?” Mr Trent remarked, poised on the desk and staring straight down at her “what can we do to better support you?”

“Nothing” harper replied. It was an honest answer, she just didn’t like home work. She saw no need in doing it and felt the lessons alone at school was enough. She had no direction as to what she wanted to do. She just knew it wasn’t a normal job.

“Have you thought about next year about the subjects to sign up for?” Mr Trent folded his arms

She had but honestly nothing enticed her. Nothing excited her to think beyond her day to day. She could barely imagine what two weeks into the future looked like let alone 10 years or more.

“I would like to do science. Maybe sports”she shrugged

“Well those are two very different things?”

“They’re not, one includes the other?”

“Well yes, but maybe you should pick one path”

“But what if I don’t know what path to pick?”

Mr Trent sighed “harper, you figure your path out, there’s no one direction, you just figure it out”

Harper folded her arms stared out the window and wondered why on earth she even bothered in the first place, asking for help, trying to do it alone, always getting things wrong, procrastinating, she just felt like she could never win

Harper was sat at the dinner table with her family. They were all sat in silence eating their dinner of boiled cabbage with potatoes and a dry piece of chicken. Things had improved over the years but not the food.

“How was school?” Harpers mum sat by the window and was scrolling on her laptop, working and eating at the same time as usual

“It was fine holly has a book report that needs doing for tomorrow” reena scraped her plate clean as she was finishing the last parts of the meal

Harper ushered her food to and from the edge of the plate with her head in her hand mulling over the day that had just gone past.

“And you harps?” Her mother temporarily looked away from her computer screen

“Nothing happened”

Her mum raised an eyebrow

“Nothing? A whole 24 hours and nothing happened?”

“Well a meeting and then sports and maths but just the usual”

Harpers mother turned to her “what meeting?”

Harper was not ready for confrontation “just about options for the future”

“And what are they”

“The usual”

“Harper when are you going to take life seriously?”

Harper looked shocked at her mother “what do you mean?”

“ I dunno the late homework, the not going to classes, the fighting? You know you’re not going to get anywhere behaving like this?”

“And where is where I want to be? Sat in an apartment with nothing?” Harper gestured to the whole apartment

Reena got up from the table took hers and holly’s plate and strode over to the sink and started to clean. Holly also took her cue to leave the impending argument and ran of to her room to go play with hair and makeup.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harpers mum leant back and folded her arms

“ maybe it means I don’t want to listen to someone who I don’t want to become” harper leant in so that her words had force behind them

Harpers mum opened her mouth in disgust “ excuse me? You think I chose this?”

“What you didn’t choose to have us and live like this?” Harpers voice started to raise in volume as the red mist was slowly descending onto her vision

“ no I chose that but I sure as hell didn’t choose for your dad to leave or for me to have to pick up the pieces of the fallout” harpers mum stood up and leant firmly on the table

“No but you could have behaved differently” harper matched her mums stance as the argument was about to explode

“You are so bloody ungrateful sometimes, I worked hard to provide for you and your sisters to live here and so that you could survive! So don’t blame me!” Harpers mum pointed a finger at her face and harper batted it away

“Don’t you dare say that I’m ungrateful, I’ve dealt with everything we’ve been given and I never complain! I’ve stayed silent whilst you try to carve me into what you want not what I want!” Harper picked up the bowl and smashed it on the table

“Well then you figure out what you want! Stop expecting people to tell you what you want and figure it out for yourself!” Harpers mothers voice had reached screaming point. By this time the neighbours were probably hearing every little point in this heated front.

“Alright stop!” Reena stepped in

Harper gave her sister a death stare turned on her heels and ran to the hallway pulled her coat on and stormed out the door. She didn’t know where to go so walked straight to the park. She walked and walked and walked until she felt like screaming into the air. She had no idea where she was going but, the same as her life but she thought maybe it would help her figure out some answers.

It didn’t. She ended up walking around the park 2 or three times and then decided to walk back to the apartment. She through the doorway and peaked her head into the kitchen. Her mum still at the table with her laptop, turned her head to look at her and then turned away to focus back on her laptop. Again the same reaction as always.

Harper held the tears in, and focused on controlling her breath and her thoughts. The tightness in her chest and the pain of her holding her breath made her want to punch a wall. But she didn’t. She carefully took her coat off and walked into the bedroom. Holly and reena turned their heads but knew straight away to not bother her.

She laid down on her thin mattress and turned towards the wall to try and fall asleep so that school wasn’t hell for her.