The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

of desks and chairs. Three of the walls are painted with meticulous landscapes that look so realistic they could be photos.

One is of the sandy beach under Santa Monica Pier. (I recognize the Ferris wheel. They also have the best teeny-weeny donuts there—drool.) The second must be New York, because I see the Empire State Building, and I think the last mural is Lotte World—one of the world’s largest indoor theme parks, which happens to be in Seoul. Gumiho witches change the murals from time to time, because, in addition to looking awesome, the images also double as portals. They’re so well guarded by the Miru, though, you’d never risk sneaking through one—not unless you want to know what superhuman strength feels like when it’s directed at you.

Professor Ryu encourages everyone to grab a beanbag and get comfortable, and Hattie and I camp out in the back, as usual.

“All right, class, I know you’re all on summer break from saram school, but how lucky that you still get to come to Saturday School. A whole summer of learning! Oh, how fun. Would anyone like to start us off by suggesting a topic? Remember, there’s no such thing as a bad idea. We’re all here to feed our brains and, as I always say, everyone all together now—”

“There’s no food like knowledge,” the class chants back.

I glance over at Hattie and she nods. This is it. This is our chance.

“I have one.” In my excitement, my hand shoots up before I have the chance to fully form the question in my mind. “So, um…how exactly would you go about opening a lock enchantment? Like on a safe or something?”

As soon as the words are out, I realize I should have been 1000 percent more subtle. “That is, hypothetically,” I hasten to add. “Not for, like, really opening the safe—because there is no safe—but I mean, if I wanted to open a purely theoretical safe, one that doesn’t actually exist. Like, academically speaking…” Ugh. Total facepalm.

My cheeks go hot, and I mouth a quick Sorry to Hattie. Why didn’t I just let her do the talking? She’s the smooth operator, not me.

Hattie smiles back, though. Don’t worry, you’ve got this, her eyes say.

Professor Ryu taps her chin. “Well, that’s a very specific question, Riley, but as I’ve said before, curiosity is the foremother to knowledge, and knowledge is the most powerful gift of all. So thank you for your contribution.” She scans the room. “Before I provide my thoughts, does anyone else want to volunteer an answer? Remember, this is a safe space”—we all groan at her pun—“where everyone’s opinion counts. Within these four walls, we all have a voice.”

“Except for the wannabe witch.” Jennie sneers over her shoulder at me.

“Just ignore her,” Hattie whispers. “We have more important things to worry about.”

I nod, but my eyes sting. Jennie is officially the worst.

David Kim, a rosy-faced infuser from the Tokki clan, pipes up first. “My mom has one of those safes. She keeps it at the restaurant for her really potent potions and tonics. Once, one of the waitstaff came into the kitchen and accidentally drank a triple dose of confidence potion, thinking it was juice. He then robbed a bank, because he was convinced he wouldn’t get caught. Mom keeps all her stuff locked up now.”

I think of David’s family restaurant, Seoulful Tacos, and immediately feel saliva pool in my mouth. They have the best bulgogi tacos in the city. Which makes sense. Tokki witches have the ability to infuse food with magic.

“My older brother has an enchanted safe in his room, too,” Noah Noh says, pushing his on-trend round glasses up the bridge of his nose. The Miru normally have a certain athletic look about them, but Noah’s style is more hipster than jock. “I’m pretty sure he cuts off a lock of his hair, burns it outside the safe door, and then chants his password three times. Not that I spy on him or anything.” He quickly glances at Hattie and his face goes a little pink. “I’m just observant.”

Cosette giggles and flicks her hair at Noah even though nothing he said was remotely funny. Hattie goes unusually still, and I’m momentarily confused why there’s a weird vibe between the three of them.

I would normally pester Hattie for details, but right now I’m too distracted by other matters. As I wait to see Professor Ryu’s reaction, I pinch Hattie’s thigh in excitement.

“You’re absolutely right, Noah,” Professor Ryu confirms, clapping. “A two-step enchanted safe lock involves the burning of hair and a password repeated three times.” She leans forward and motions for us to come closer.

She lowers her voice as if she’s about to tell us a juicy secret. “But if you want to be extra safety-conscious, some witches go one step further. They have a two-step lock and also require that a few gifted tears be dropped on the hair before it’s burned. Then, voilà, they have themselves a three-step lock. Isn’t that fascinating?”

I throw Hattie a nervous look. Gifted tears?

Our eomma is so meticulous, she would definitely use a three-step lock. That means we need to take a chunk of Eomma’s hair, which I guess is doable. And considering I know all her laptop passwords, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out the one for her safe. But we’re never going to get our hands on Eomma’s tears. No way.

My heart drops, and I shove my hand into my pocket to fiddle with my teardrop stone. I knew this was a bad idea. I knew getting my hopes up was a sure way to get hurt. I shake my head in disappointment. I can’t believe I let Hattie talk me into this.

“Don’t worry,” Hattie whispers, as if reading my mind. “We just need to brainstorm a little. We’ve got this.” She sounds so certain, and I desperately want to believe her.

“Fine,” I whisper back, getting out my phone. “I’ll invite Emmett over.”

“Good idea.” She nods in approval.