How to Ditch Your Fairy Read online

  How many demerits did you get for breaking a luge? Or bobsled or Whatever it was? Had Steffi being there saved us from that?

  I looked at my watch and caught sight of the day, which rang a bell. Wednesday. What was special about this Wednesday?

  Nettles. Her concert. Monkey Knife Fight. I’d promised I’d try and make it. Well, if I was expelled I certainly would. And if I wasn’t expelled, then I’d find a way. I owed her. I’d been a slack sister this year.

  The principal’s door opened and Fiorenze came out. I couldn’t read her face, but then, she’d never had a very readable face. She didn’t look sad, but she didn’t look happy either.

  The butterflies were now having knife fights in my belly. Butterfly Knife Fight. I wondered how they’d do against Monkey Knife Fight. Butterflies were fragile and little and monkeys were big and hairy. But butterflies could fly. Maybe they’d flutter over the monkeys and drop their knives on them.

  “Charlotte Adele Donna Seto Steele?” the principal’s assistant said, pulling me away from the butterflies and monkeys.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The principal will see you now.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said and walked toward the door. I took a deep breath and walked through. It closed behind me. Must have been the assistant, but it felt like it closed on its own.

  The principal was a tall white- haired woman with the lightest skin and eyes I’d ever seen. I hadn’t realized it was possible to be that pale. I wondered if she had some rare skin disease and that’s why she so rarely appeared before the students. Or maybe she was a vampire.

  She held out her hand and we shook. Her grip was firm and her hand warm. Too warm for a vampire.

  “Take a seat,” she said, sitting herself on the sofa. I sat in the lounge chair.

  “So how are you doing, Charlie? You’ve been racking up quite a few demerits, haven’t you? You already had four and today you amassed eighteen. That’s twenty-two altogether.”

  “Yes, Principal.” Eighteen?! How many classes had I missed? I guess luge—bobsled—destruction warranted quite a few. Plus I hadn’t gone to either recess or lunch, so I hadn’t clocked in my calories. Maybe I was lucky it was only eighteen. If you could call waiting for your principal to tell you that you’re expelled “lucky.”

  “Fiorenze tells me it’s because of your fairy?” She sounded almost concerned. Velvet glove, iron fist, I reminded myself. She was going to be all sweet and kind and then throw me out on my ear.

  I nodded. “I just wanted to get rid of it. I didn’t want to get into trouble.”

  She nodded back at me sympathetically. “Too many people wanting to use you to park their cars?”

  “Yes,” I said.“And I don’t even like cars.”

  “Me neither,” she said. “Dreadful contraptions. I’d much rather walk. Or ride my bike.”

  “I love bikes. They make me happy. I miss them,” I blurted.

  She smiled. “I rode in five different Tours. I still ride whenever possible.”

  “That must have been great,” I said. When was she going to interrogate me? Or was this her subtle way of doing it? Was this the velvet glove? “More fun than cars,” I added.

  “Andrew Khassian Rogers has been borrowing you to ride in his car quite a lot, hasn’t he?” she asked. If anything she was looking even more sympathetic. It was disconcerting. “Tell me about it.”

  “Well,” I said. Why was she asking me about Danders Anders?

  The principal nodded, encouraging me to continue.

  I told her all in a rush that even to my ears didn’t quite make sense. “And this week,” I finished, “he kidnapped me so my fairy came back even though it had been just about to disappear from all the walking. That’s why me and Fiorenze swapped. I know everyone says it’s impossible. But it really isn’t. But then it turned out that her fairy was even worse, and that’s why we broke the luge. I mean, bobsled. We’re vastly sorry but I’m glad our fairies are gone. They were the worst fairies ever.”

  “I’m sure,” she said. She sounded like she was humoring me.

  “What’s your fairy?” I blurted out. I couldn’t help it.

  “My fairy? I don’t have one.”

  Did that mean she didn’t believe in them? Steffi was the only person I knew with a fairy who didn’t believe in them. If she didn’t believe in fairies, then she’d never accept our explanations for how the luge or bobsled or whatever it was had been destroyed.

  I was going to be kicked out of New Avalon Sports High. My life was over.

  “And where did Andrew take you, Charlie?”

  “Andrew?” I asked. “In his car, you mean?”

  “Yes, where did he want to park?”

  “All over.”

  “Can you be more exact?”

  I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t been paying much attention. “Well, he took me to lots of places in town. There was this old terrace. And different shops and restaurants. Dana’s Crabhouse, Tweezies, and Burt’s something or other. And one skyscraper. The Connors building. It wasn’t very big. For a skyscraper, I mean. And he’d go in for anywhere between ten minutes and an hour.”

  “Do you think if we drove around town you could spot the places again?”

  I stared at her. This wasn’t about me and my demerits. This was about Danders Anders.

  “Yes,” I said. “Most of them. At least two were on Chappel Street. Is Danders—I mean, is Andrew in trouble?”

  “Charlie, you understand that this conversation is confidential? You can’t discuss it with anyone else.”

  I nodded.

  “Did Andrew ever give you money for helping him with his parking?”

  “He used to. But he says he’s got no money anymore. He said he’d pay me later.”

  “Did he say how he was going to get more?”

  “No.” I paused. “I don’t think Dand—Andrew means to be bad. He’s just . . . He thinks differently.”

  “Did Andrew tell you what he was doing at any of the places he made you stop?”

  “No.”

  “Did he ever mention gambling to you?”

  “What?!” That’s what Danders had been doing? That’s why he was broke now? “Is he going to be expelled?”

  “I can’t discuss that with you, Charlie. But I can tell you the charges against him are serious. Would you be prepared to tell a court what you have told me?”

  I didn’t know what to say. What would happen if I dobbed on Danders Anders? It’s not like he’d kill me. He wasn’t malicious. Would it jeopardize my career at school? Did the principal want me to testify or not?

  Then I realized who the real danger was: the Water Polo Association. They were notorious. They would definitely go after me for blackening the name of next year’s star recruit!

  “Charlie?” the principal asked.

  “Um,” I said.

  “New Avalon Sports High will support you in whatever you decide, Charlie. You have my word that if you choose to testify there will be no repercussions. This school has put up with bad behavior from some of its star students over the years, but Andrew Khassian Rogers’s behavior sets a new low. We will not tolerate it.”

  “Kidnapping and gambling are bad.”

  “Yes. Those are not his only infractions.”

  I wondered what else he’d done. He couldn’t have thrown a game. Water Polo A hadn’t lost once since he joined the team. “Do you know why he started gambling? Dan—Andrew’s not a bad person. Maybe there was a reason he needed money?”

  “Perhaps,” was all she said before changing the subject. “You and Fiorenze will have to pay for a new bobsled. I have reduced your demerits to ten, which leaves you with one game suspension. Tennis, I believe. I advise you to keep up your public service until they are erased. Fiorenze assures me that you are unlikely to gather any more demerits now that your fairy is gone.”

  “Yes, Principal. Thank you, Principal.” I’d never heard of anyone having that many demerits wiped out be
fore.

  “Good luck, Charlie. And let me know what you decide. Do not talk about this with anyone.”

  “I won’t, Principal.”

  “You may return to class, Charlie, if you’d like. Dr. Tahn says you should be fine, but if you’d prefer to rest or go home, you may.”

  “Thank you, Principal,” I said, going out the now open door.

  CHAPTER 41

  Friends again

  Demerits: 10

  Game suspensions: 3

  Public service hours: 35

  bobsleds dragged up the ice: 1

  bobsleds ridden down the ice: 2

  Near deaths: 1

  Visits to the principal: 1

  The first thing I heard in Fencing was that Water Polo A had lost its first game in three years that morning.

  Fiorenze and I stared at each other. Danders Anders had offered her lots of money when he’d grabbed her. But on Wednesday he hadn’t had any. He’d even asked if he could borrow some for gas.

  Wow. I hadn’t quite believed what the principal had told me. Now I did. Fiorenze and me, we didn’t speak to each other; instead we warmed up as diligently as we could. I’d promised the principal I wouldn’t rack up any more demerits. I imagined Fiorenze had made the same promise. I was desperate to be good; the basketball tryouts were just around the corner.

  My first bout was against Steffi. He smiled and a tingle shot through me. But the smile didn’t stay very long, and he didn’t kiss me, or even slip his arm around me. I wondered where we stood now that my fairy was gone.

  We plugged in and stepped onto the piste and were about to salute and put our masks on when Steffi said, “We have to talk.”

  “Oh,” I said. According to Sandra people always say that before they tell you things you do not want to hear. In my experience—especially with my parents—she is entirely correct.

  “Can’t it wait till after the bout?” I asked, looking around nervous ly for Coach, even though I was pretty sure Steffi’s fairy was protecting us.

  “Why did you swap fairies with Fiorenze?” he asked. I wished he had the mask on, because the expression on his face was not tingly at all.

  “Why?” I said, wishing I knew what the right thing to say was. “Because it was the easiest way to get rid of my parking fairy. It was driving me insane. Danders Anders kidnapped me! I didn’t realize how horrible Fio’s fairy would be. I stupidly thought nothing could be worse than a parking fairy. I was wrong.”

  “But why didn’t you swap with someone else?”

  “Fio was the only one who knew how. I mean her mother was. Or, rather, the book. Whatever. It was just me and Fio. There wasn’t anyone else.”

  “Hmm,” Steffi said. I wished I knew what he was thinking. Was there a fairy for that?

  “Swapping was the easiest way, Steffi. Much easier than nearly dying.” My head still hurt. “And the bleaching thing looked just as dangerous. And to be honest I didn’t really understand the flensing and grunching options.”

  “Huh?”

  “Why are you asking, Steffi? I thought you didn’t believe in fairies?”

  “I didn’t,” he said. “I mean, I was agnostic.”

  “But you do now?”

  He nodded very slowly. “Maybe. It’s hard to explain swapping luck and scaring luck away. But tiny invisible luck-giving creatures? Well, it’s still a stretch, you know?”

  Not for me it wasn’t. “You should come to Fio’s house. Her mom has a mirror where you can see your fairy’s aura. Maybe that will help you.”

  “Maybe. You didn’t swap with Fio to get me to like you, did you?”

  “No way!” I lied stoutly. Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie. But him liking me wasn’t my entire motivation. When Fio said swap, that’s what I’d thought about finally knowing for sure that Steffi really liked me. No uncertainty. “Who told you that?”

  “Heather Sandol.”

  “You can’t believe anything she says. She hates the boy fairy because it works on her boyfriend really strongly. You wouldn’t believe how much she hated Fiorenze, and then when I got Fio’s fairy her hatred went to me.”

  “So your swapping with Fio had nothing to do with me?” He pressed the tip of his foil into the piste, leaning into it so the thin blade bowed out in a half circle. If he leaned on it any harder it might snap.

  “Fairy’s honor,” I said, even though that wasn’t true. “You wouldn’t believe how happy I am to be rid of that thing! It was worse than the parking fairy.” Which was true. The fairy had made Steffi act as though he liked me, but that’s all it was. Not one of his fairy-inspired kisses had been as good as when he’d kissed me in front of my house. That kiss had entirely come from him. No fairy involvement at all. (Well, except to keep us out of trouble.)

  “A fairy like that shouldn’t be allowed to exist,” Steffi said, leaning harder on the foil.

  “No,” I said. The world would be much better off without it. “So you believe in the boy fairy now?”

  “Whatever it was, I believe in it.” He took a little of his weight off the foil and wiped his forehead. “I really kissed Fio, didn’t I? A bunch of times. Even when she didn’t want me to.”

  I could have done without hearing him say that.

  “She’s not my type. I’m not her type. It was horrible.”

  “Really?” I couldn’t help asking.

  “Completely horrible.” He nodded emphatically. “Also I got into a fight with Heather Sandol and, well, she got a game suspension, but the teacher apologized to me for the disturbance, when I fought just as hard as Heather.”

  “Huh.”

  “Something keeps me out of trouble. It always has.” He unbent the foil completely.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t remember ever getting into trouble. But if I convince my ‘fairy’ that I’m about to die I’ll get rid of it?” he asked.

  “Or you could bleach or grunch your way out of it. But why would you want to, Steffi?”

  “It’s not right my having that kind of luck. Think of the things I could do with it,” he said, stabbing his foil back into the piste.

  “But you never do any of those things. Not on purpose.” I thought about his set of lock picks. “Well, except for helping us with the luge thing. You just decided fairies were nonsense.”

  “You think I was a denier because I was scared of my own good fortune?” he asked, looking at me so intently I thought I would melt.

  “Could be. Look, Tamsin says most people get their fairy for a reason. She also says that fairies don’t die. If you flense or grunch a fairy away, someone else winds up with it. What if your fairy goes to someone who’ll use it to do bad stuff?”

  “Oh,” he said. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “In what way do you two think standing on the piste gossiping will contribute to your foil skills?” Coach Van Dyck demanded.

  “Sorry, Coach,” I said.

  “My fault,” Steffi said.

  We saluted each other and put our masks on. This bout I won.

  CHAPTER 42

  Monkey Knife Fight

  Demerits: 10

  Game suspensions: 3

  Public service hours: 35

  bobsleds dragged up the ice: 1

  bobsleds ridden down the ice: 2

  Near deaths: 1

  Visits to the principal: 1

  I decided to skip public service that night and see Monkey Knife Fight like Nettles wanted. I went straight home on the bus with Steffi. We teased each other the whole way— he called me an Avaloid, I called him a Raven Head, and he was pleased that I’d remembered he came from Ravenna— and I thought about asking him what I should do about testifying against Danders Anders. But I’d promised the principal I wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.

  It felt good to be friends again. He might not like me in a let’s-get-linked way, but at least he still wanted to hang out.

  “You really love the school, don’t you?” Steffi asked.

 
“Of course. It’s the best school in the world.”

  He was staring at me kind of funny. Then he shook his head. “I thought you were all brainwashed.”

  My turn to stare at him. “Brainwashed!”

  “But you’re not. None of you are. You really do love it. The long hours. All the work—”

  “I’m doing what I’ve always wanted, poxbrain. Sports! Almost every minute of every day! What’s not to love?” I pulled out my lucky cricket ball and spun it high. “Other than Accounting and PR and—”

  “It’s not what I’m used to, that’s all.”

  “Nothing but slacker schools on the West Coast, eh?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I’d like to visit Ravenna. A proper visit, not just for an away game.”

  Steffi smiled.

  “You were right,” I said.

  “About what in particular?” he asked.

  “My head hurts.”

  “Well, you had a mild concussion,” Steffi pointed out. “Though it didn’t stop you taking that bout from me today.” He didn’t lean forward to rub my temples or anything. When I had the fairy he would’ve done that. Not that I wanted it back. Friendship with Steffi was way better than his zombie love.

  “It’s only a mild concussion. And my head doesn’t hurt from that.” I searched for the words. These were new thoughts for me. “I’ve been thinking about some of the things you said. About us Avaloids and our blindness. We are a little bit—”

  “Very. You are very self- obsessed. ‘Self- obsessed’ is too mild a word for how you people are.”

  I nodded, though it felt somewhat injured to be agreeing. “And the almost Ours at school like Danders get away with too much,” I said, realizing that I was going to testify against him. “That isn’t right.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Wanna hang out Sunday?” I asked. “We can scrimmage.” “Sure,” Steffi said. “Sounds like fun. I can help you practice for the tryouts.”

  Even if he wasn’t ever going to be my boyfriend I was pretty sure Steffi would support me while I did the whole scary courthouse thing. Rochelle and Fiorenze would too. Probably Sandra. And definitely my parents. I hoped the principal would too. I didn’t think she was lying.