The Witch Is Back by Brittany Geragotelis Read Free Book Online Page B

wild when not constrained by human boundaries. Brighton reflected this for sure.
    â€œThis is all ours ?” I asked, stepping over the mess I’d made on the floor and walking farther into the room.
    â€œIt certainly appears that way,” the girl said from across the room. Then she gestured to me. “My face looked like that when I first got here, too. The rooms change every year, so I was just as surprised as you were to see what we’d ended up with. Hi, I’m Colette.”
    She skipped over to where Abby and I were now standing and held out her hand. I took it and returned her smile. Colette was really cute—in a geek chic sort of way. Her light brown hair was tied up in loose braids and her black-rimmed, angularly square glasses were a size too big for her face. But on her it wasn’t too much. Her lips were the color of strawberries, which made the freckles that decorated her cheeks stand out even more.
    Colette’s outfit was just as quirky as she was. Her white shirt displayed a brightly drawn cat that was wearing a pink bow near its ear and glasses similar to Colette’s own. The shirt read LOVE MY STYLE . She topped the look off with mid-thigh black shorts and a pair of pink and black Mary Janes.
    She looked like a walking, talking anime character—and I had to admit, she was totally owning it. I respected a girl’s right to choose her look as long as she wore it with pride and it was a true reflection of her. None of that, “I’m creating this freaky public persona, when in reality I have no idea who I am” BS. When a person was being one hundred percent authentic it oozed out of every pore. And from what I could tell, Colette was the real deal.
    â€œI’m Hadley, and this is Abby,” I said in response. “And I guess we’re your new roomies. Speaking of, can we get back to how insane this room is?”
    I continued my own personal tour around our new digs and kept finding one incredible thing after another. The area was split into four main parts. Each of the three walls across from the front door held a sleeping area, complete with dressers and lamps and freestanding closets. All usual staples for a living space. But in the middle of the room, there was a grand circular couch that held no openings except for the hole in its center, which was almost completely filled with a round coffee table. The only way to the couch’s seats was to go up and over the side.
    I ran my hand over the surface of the couch and felt the softness of the velvet brush against my skin. It was delectable and totally unusual.
    â€œWatch this,” Colette said and climbed over, landing awkwardly on the fluffy cushions. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on the top of the round, glass-covered table. “Show me Grumpy Cat,” she commanded the table.
    We watched in awe as the previously clear surface grew murky and an image began to appear across the glass. Seconds later, we were all staring at a pop-up version of a mad-looking fluffy cat.
    â€œWhat the heck?” Abby said, leaning over the back of the couch to get a closer look.
    â€œWhat is it?” I asked, curiously.
    â€œIt’s this cat that’s always grumpy. He’s a meme that’s become like, one of the most famous cats on the Internet,” Colette said, grinning back at us.
    â€œI meant the table,” I said, chuckling at her enthusiasm over a cat. “How does it work?”
    â€œOh, sure. Right,” she said, suddenly embarrassed. “Well, it acts sort of like a computer. Like if you want to find something—pictures, videos, sites, information on things—you can just ask for it and it appears. Only, in 3D and without glasses.”
    â€œCan you see people around the world?” Abby asked, as if she were reading my mind. The tool could come in handy if I wanted to check up on the Parrishables.
    Or on Asher.
    Not like I was planning on eavesdropping