I knew Kanesha was right to be worried about prom. I needed special permission to invite her, and I wasn’t confident it would be granted.

Not for us. I put in the request anyway, contemplating skipping it if she wasn’t allowed to be there. I supposed I could find somebody without a date and we could go together for the sake of being able to go.

Stupid, really. Why was it so vital that we paired off? It felt like it was pushing people to romance, to relationships. Maybe it was.

Maybe, but I couldn’t do anything but appeal and maybe do it on purpose if they said no. Or make a fuss in the papers, which had got them to make U-turns on this kind of thing before.

Even if Kanesha was still in school they might have tried to stop us from going together. And the LGBT club still wasn’t very welcoming or helpful.

“Can’t win,” I grumbled out loud.

“Can’t win what?” Clara’s voice from behind me.

“You know what I mean.” She did.

“Mean about what?”

“Straight people dismissing me as gay, gay people saying I’m not gay enough.”

She made a face. “I got called a traitor to the movement for dating a boy.”

“Exactly. I’m bracing for a fight to be allowed to invite Kanesha to prom.”

And I recalled that if I skipped it, then I’d disappoint the gentleman who gave me the dress.

She made a face. “You have some legal recourse.”

“And enough money for a lawyer, too. Maybe I’ll just have to remind them of that.”

“Or of the bad publicity they’d get these days.”

I shook my head. “Some. Some people would cheer them on.”

“Well, let’s change the subject.”

“To what? Monsters?”

She laughed. “I’ve been monster-free all week.”

“Won’t last,” I predicted.

“I’m enjoying it while it does. Working on some stuff.”

I knew she meant new spells. “Hopefully I’ll get to see some of it.”

“Hopefully not on one of them.” She grinned a bit. “It’s for scaring monsters.”

“Then I hope I do get to see it. I’d like to know what would scare some of them.”

“Does anything scare you?”

I paused, then, “Responsibility. Power.”

“Smart thing to be scared of.”

I rather thought she was right.