Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba Page B

spirits, where you’re free to express your psychic senses without judgment, is essential. You’re all here because you’ve gravitated toward what best serves your growth. You have a gift that others can't comprehend."
    "I hope the jewelry makes me stop caring what the kids at school say about me," Jamie said. "I know I let it get to me too much and that I should be used to it by now, but..."
    "I dealt with the same problem," Serina said. "When I was in high school, I was ridiculed all the time."
    "You? But you're so..."
    "So what?"
    "Confident," Jamie answered. "Beautiful. I want to be just like you."
    Serina smiled, then something dimmed the wattage. "Thank you. But I wasn't confident when I was your age. My father whittled my self-esteem, made me feel inferior. My mother let him abuse me. The other kids sensed my inferiority. I can still hear their taunts."
    "What did they say?" Jamie breathed, as if entranced.
    "Stupid things to make me feel insignificant. There was one clique in particular that made my life miserable. I hated them. They played horrible jokes, and even told me that the boy I liked actually liked me back." Serina's feminine voice sounded harder than Dawn had ever heard it.
    She gazed at each of them in turn before continuing, "I got dressed up and arrived for what I thought was a date. They laughed at me. It was the most humiliating moment of my life. I've never forgotten."
    "Where did you grow up?" Dawn asked.
    "Does it matter? All high schools are the same. All popular kids are cruel." Serina played with the lace on her black shawl, her voice softer now.
    "They're not all bad," Candace murmured.
    "You're referring to Tim Travers," Serina said.
    "I'm just saying he's different, that's all."
    "I have an assignment. Ask him to the Homecoming Dance."
    "What? I can't," Candace said.
    "You can, and you will."
    "But he'll say no. What about Victoria?"
    "She doesn’t matter," Serina said. "Don't you trust me?"
    "Sure. But — "
    "Then invite him to the dance."
    Candace nodded, the color fleeing her face. Dawn swallowed hard. Serina obviously knew a lot of stuff, but this time, she wondered if their mentor was making a mistake.
    ***
    Ken poked a fork in the air at dinner. "Earth to Dawn."
    "You do seem quiet, honey. What a beautiful necklace and earrings. Where did you get them?" Her mother reached across the kitchen table and fondled the star pendant around Dawn's neck.
    Dawn hesitated only a few seconds – lying had grown easier. As if by telepathy, she and her mother had called an unofficial truce. Her mother wanted to believe she’d found friends to hang out with and that the uproar over the Scott premonition had died down, so those were the lies Dawn fed her. "At the mall with Jamie and Candace. There were three sets alike."
    Her mother's eyes crinkled in the corners. "I’m glad you’re getting out. I’ve seen your friends dropping you off, but they never come into the house. When do I get to meet these girls? They’re like phantoms."
    Ken snorted, but didn’t say anything. Dawn didn’t need telepathy to guess what he was thinking. Candace went out of her way to stand out and Jamie didn’t know how to blend in, so phantoms they were not.
    "How about inviting your friends for Sunday dinner?" Jeff asked. "We have a roast chicken in the freezer."
    Oh, God. Dawn wasn't ready for dinner at home. Jamie worshipped Serina and might mention her name. Her mother would disapprove of Candace’s body piercings and the truce would be over. Dawn hedged, stirred the potatoes and carrots floating in her stew.
    "I don’t know," she said. "They're pretty busy."
    "That was thoughtful of Jeff to invite your friends over," her mother said in her ‘Don’t give me an argument’ tone. "Besides, you’re with these girls all the time and I’d like to meet them."
    "Don't worry, we won't embarrass you," Jeff said. "We’ll be the coolest parents around."
    Dawn resigned herself to the dinner party. Even if she made up