Outside Reading, post 3

As the school year progresses, Gemma gradually becomes closer to her friends, Felicity, Pippa, and Ann. Part of the reason is because they have all joined a little club, which they refer to as the "Order." Another reason, however, is that the girls are simply opening up to each other a bit more than before. Gemma learns that Pippa is not only the vain and slightly bratty. She is a dreamer, always thinking of true love and happiness. Unfortunately for her, her parents have arranged for her to be married to an old man whom Pippa detests. Pippa is growing thoroughly depressed and constantly dreads the day when she must marry the man she can't stand. She would much rather enjoy her life with her true friends than with some cranky old man. She tells her friends, "I'm only seventeen! My season has barely begun. I intend to enjoy it, not be married off to the first poxy old barrister with money" (Bray 164). Pippa is motivated by her dreams, and now that she knows that she's going to be stuck marrying some random old man, she is slightly downhearted. However, she still tries to be friendly, and always hopes that someday a perfect man will find her.

Problems begin to arise among the four girls. They have discovered the diary of a girl who died in a fire with her friend over twenty years ago. The diary speaks of magic and other realms, and the girls become intrigued by this. They experiment with spells, curious of the outcome. While Felicity, Pippa, and Ann are doing this out of fun, Gemma knows that all of this is real because of her visions. However, she continues not to tell anyone of her visions. This shows once again that she doesn't want anyone involved with her own troubles. She wants other people to be happy, and prefers to struggle alone to save others from stress and worry.

Later on, when she encounters Kartik yet again when he attempts to warn her to stop her visions, she finally defies him to his face. After viciously biting his hand to make him let go of her, she tells him, "From now on, I shall do exactly as I wish and you cannot stop me. Do not follow. Do not watch. Do not even attempt to contact me or you'll be sorry indeed" (Bray 246). This shows that Gemma is resilient and stubborn. Once her mind is set, everything must go her way, and if something attempts to stop her, she won't stop to make sure they know she isn't going down without a fight.