The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 1) Read Free

forward to the most. In the storybooks, school children had inseparable friends. Could these girls be destined to be hers? Her heart thumping hopefully, Rachel flew next to the other children and waved.
    The three girls turned and regarded her. Rachel’s stomach tightened. She did not like their disdainful expressions. She gave them a big smile. When none of them returned it, the knot in her stomach grew tighter. It tightened six times more when she realized they were staring at her broom.
    Rachel’s broom was not a light weight aluminum device made by Ouroboros Industries, like those the other girls were flying. Hers had been constructed in the old-fashioned way, by hand. The main shaft was deeply polished dark walnut. The ten, slender blades of the fan were alternating slats of mahogany and cherry wood. The shiny black leather seat was low to the shaft, to allow her to lean close and hook her feet up behind her if she wanted to steer manually; instead of using the levers next to the short handlebars. The fastenings, handlebars, and footrests were of black cast iron and shiny brass. In the early morning light, the three shades of reddish and dark wood gleamed brightly.
    Rachel thought Vroomie was the most beautiful thing in the world.
    “Hullo. Rachel Griffin. How do you do?” she called hopefully.
    “Cydney Graves,” said the girl with the green eyes, giving her a rather nice smile. Her American accent sounded strange to Rachel’s ears. Cydney gestured at the pretty girl and then the plain one. “This is Belladonna Marley and Charybdis Nutt.”
    “Marley…as in Aaron Marley?” Rachel asked.
    As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. It was not good form to ask if a new acquaintance was related to one of the world’s most infamous evil sorcerers, the archiomancer who had released the Terrible Five from their ancient prison and aided them in their reign of terror. Belladonna’s eyes immediately grew hostile.
    “He was my grandfather,” she said coldly.
    Rachel sat there, not certain what to say. How did one make friends?
    “What kind of broom is that?” Cydney leaned sideways to get a better view. “It’s too short for a traveler, too long and thin for a sports model, and it has far too big a fan for a racer.”
    “It’s a steeplechaser,” Rachel answered proudly. “They don’t make many anymore.”
    “I can see why,” Belladonna snorted in amusement. “It’s made of wood! What’s with that? Couldn’t afford a real bristleless?”
    “What is a steeple?” giggled Charybdis, as if eager to amuse the other two girls. “An animal they only have in England?”
    The three girls snickered.
    Pain pierced Rachel’s heart. Nothing had as much power to hurt her as insults to her broom. But she did not let it show. Keeping up a calm mask was a trick she and Sandra had learned from their mother at a young age.
    She raised her head haughtily. “It is a very good broom. Much better than the ones you’re riding!”
    As soon as it left her mouth, Rachel realized this also was not the right thing to say. But then, they had insulted Vroomie.
    Cydney’s eyes narrowed. “I will have you know that my broom is an O.I. Redbird Flycycle. You can’t buy a better broom.”
    Belladonna smirked. “She doesn’t know a good broom from a bad one, Cydney. Look how tiny she is. She can’t be a student. She must be somebody’s baby sister.” She moved closer, circling Rachel. “Are those even your robes? Or did you put your big sister’s clothes on this morning?”
    Cydney gave Rachel’s garments a cynical look. “Full-academic is so old-fashioned. Nobody wears it any more. Is your family too poor to buy new clothes?”
    “No one wears full-academic except royalty,” giggled Charybdis. “Dread and his cronies dress that way. So do the Romanovs, and some of the Starkadder princes.”
    Belladonna rolled her eyes. “Well, she’s hardly royalty.”
    Rachel kept up her mask of calm. Inside, she felt