Marissa the Science Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “Come on,” said Marissa. “He has no control over this class!”

  She flew over the edge of the balcony and swooped down to hover in front of Jack Frost. Rachel and Kirsty were close behind her.

  “What are you pesky fairies doing in my classroom?” Jack Frost exclaimed.

  “We’re here to take back our magical star badges,” said Marissa in a brave voice. “They don’t belong to you.”

  The girls thought that Jack Frost might try to catch them, but he just sat down and folded his arms.

  “Well, tough luck,” he snapped. “I don’t have them anymore. So you might as well just go away.”

  “Is that really the truth?” asked Rachel.

  Marissa looked around at the unruly goblins.

  “I think it is the truth,” she said. “If he had the star badges, the class would be happy and well-behaved.”

  Just then, two of the goblins held a third one upside down and dipped his nose into an inkwell. Jack Frost bounded to his feet with a cry of rage.

  “Stop that right now,” he yelled, “or I’ll expel you and send you to the human world, just like those other two mischief-makers. Then you’ll be sorry!”

  Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other, thinking exactly the same thing. He must be talking about the two goblins at Tippington School!

  Quickly, Rachel whispered their idea to Marissa.

  “Maybe they have one of the magical star badges,” she suggested. “After all, their magnifying glasses were working when no one else’s were.”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” said Marissa, raising her wand. “I’m taking us all back to your school—right now!”

  As usual when the girls visited Fairyland, time had stood still in the human world. They found themselves back in the hallway outside their classroom. Marissa had returned them to human size again, and she tucked herself into the pocket of Kirsty’s skirt.

  “Here are the plastic plant pots that Mr. Beaker asked us to get,” said Rachel, peering into the cabinet.

  When the girls returned to the classroom, Mr. Beaker was handing out some pods that he had picked from the garden that morning.

  “Everyone take a plant pot and open a pod,” he said. “I want you to take out the beans and plant them. There is soil on each table, and I have drawn the instructions on the board. Have fun!”

  Rachel and Kirsty sat down at their table and opened their pods.

  “Mine’s empty,” said Rachel, feeling disappointed.

  “Mine, too,” said Kirsty.

  Almost everyone in the class had an empty bean pod. The goblins were the only ones who had found beans inside.

  “Ha! we’re way better at this than the rest of you,” said the first goblin, sticking out his tongue.

  Everyone watched as the goblins filled their plant pots with soil and then planted their beans.

  “Very good,” said Mr. Beaker as the goblins patted down the soil. “Now, over the next few weeks we will see tiny shoots begin to grow, and … ”

  Mr. Beaker stopped talking because something amazing was happening. Green stalks were already bursting out of the goblins’ pots—poking through the soil, and growing thicker and taller in front of everyone’s eyes.

  “Impossible!” said Mr. Beaker.

  “Magic,” said Kirsty, as the beanstalks reached the ceiling.

  “It’s like something out of Jack and the Beanstalk,” Adam exclaimed.

  “Whatever they are, they can’t stay in here,” said Mr. Beaker. “Adam, go and ask the custodian to come get them and plant them in the vegetable garden.”

  As Adam hurried out of the room, Rachel leaned closer to Kirsty.

  “This must mean that the goblins have Marissa’s star badge,” she said. “Only a science badge would make plants grow that fast!”

  “We just have to find out where they’re hiding it,” said Kirsty. “Think, Rachel. Think really hard!”

  Mr. Beaker walked around the room, placing a drooping plant on each table.

  “I would like each of you to draw a picture of the plant and label the main parts,” he said.

  The girls opened their pencil cases, and suddenly Rachel froze. Then she turned to Kirsty, her eyes wide and sparkling.

  “I think I know where the goblins hid the star badge!” she said. “Remember how they were fighting over the pencil case earlier? Each of them wanted to hold it. I think the star badge must be inside!”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” said Kirsty. “Good thinking!”

  Mr. Beaker was helping Amina, and he didn’t notice the girls slip out of their seats and walk over to the goblins. The pencil case was lying on the table between them.

  “Excuse me,” asked Rachel, “could we borrow some colored pencils for our plant pictures?”

  One of the goblins put his hand on the pencil case and pulled it closer to him.

  “These are our pencils,” he said rudely. “Use your own.”

  He pulled out a green pencil, and Marissa managed to peek into the case. Among the green pencils she saw a flash of gold.

  “My star badge!” she whispered to the girls. “It’s in there!”

  Kirsty pulled Rachel behind the giant beanstalk, which had now filled the back of the room. All the other children were busy drawing, so no one saw where they had gone.

  “We have to get that star badge back,” said Kirsty, sounding very determined. “Marissa, will you turn us into fairies again? Then maybe one of us can fly into the pencil case without the goblins seeing us.”

  With a wave of Marissa’s wand, the girls were once again fluttering in the air beside her. The classroom looked very different now that they were so small, and their classmates seemed enormous!

  Keeping out of sight, Marissa and the girls zoomed under tables and around chair legs until they reached the goblins. As quietly and slowly as they could, they peered over the tabletop. The pencil case was lying open directly in front of Rachel.

  Rachel looked around. Every head was bent low over the drawing paper—no one was looking at her. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and swooped toward the pencil case. But just at that moment, one of the goblins looked up and saw her.

  “Fairy!” he hissed, slamming his hand down on the pencil case. “Time to get out of here!”

  He zipped it shut and climbed across the table, trying to reach the door. The other goblin followed him, and the fairies ducked under the table. They zoomed around the legs of their classmates, trying to stay out of sight and still keep up with the goblins’ scampering feet.

  Suddenly they heard a deep voice shout, “STOP!”

  It was Mr. Beaker, and he sounded very angry. The goblins froze.

  “How dare you climb onto the tables?” exclaimed Mr. Beaker.

  His voice was very loud now that the girls were so small. He started to scold the goblins, and the fairies hovered under the table beside them.

  “This is our last chance,” Kirsty whispered. “Look.”

  She pointed up at the goblin who was holding the pencil case under the table.

  Moving as quietly as they could, Rachel and Kirsty edged closer to the pencil case. They picked up the metal zipper and started to ease it open very slowly. The girls could only hope that the goblin wouldn’t feel the movement until it was too late.

  Marissa waited until the opening was big enough to fit through. Then she darted inside. Kirsty and Rachel held their breath and waited … and then the little fairy came zooming out with the star badge clutched in her hand. It had already shrunk back to fairy size.

  “We’ve got it!” she said in an excited whisper. “Come on—back to the beanstalk!”

  When they were safely behind the beanstalk again, a wave of Marissa’s wand transformed Kirsty and Rachel back into humans.

  “Thank you both for helping me today,” she said, her badge back on her dress and her eyes brimming with happy tears. “Now the young fairies will be able to enjoy their science lessons again.”
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  “It was our pleasure,” said Kirsty, smiling.

  “Tell the other School Day Fairies that we’re ready to help them, too,” said Rachel. “Good-bye, Marissa!”

  The little fairy waved her hand and then disappeared in a puff of fairy dust. Kirsty peered out from behind the beanstalk.

  “Mr. Beaker’s still scolding the goblins,” she said. “We can sneak back to our table now.”

  Mr. Beaker sent the goblins back to their table and told them to keep drawing. A few seconds later, when he looked around the room, Rachel and Kirsty were working on a plant picture together. It was as if they had never left their seats.

  At the end of the lesson, Mr. Beaker came to look at the girls’ work. They had labeled the root, stem, and leaves as well as several other parts of the plant. Kirsty had added a colorful rainbow over the top.

  “This is excellent, Rachel and Kirsty!” said Mr. Beaker. “This deserves a gold star. I’m going to include it in the special display for the school superintendent.”

  Amina and Ellie smiled at the girls to congratulate them, but the goblins were jealous.

  “What about ours?” they demanded. “Ours is the best!”

  They held up their picture, but it just looked like a green scribble.

  “Well, at least you tried your best,” said Mr. Beaker.

  The first goblin shoved the second one so hard that he almost fell off his chair.

  “Where’s the magic badge?” the girls heard him hiss. “You lost it!”

  “You lost it!” snapped the other.

  While they were arguing, there was a knock on the classroom door, and the custodian walked in.

  “Where are these giant plants?” he asked.

  Mr. Beaker turned to point at the beanstalks and found that they had both shrunk to the size of a small potted plant. His mouth fell open.

  “But … but … they were huge!” he exclaimed.

  The custodian looked doubtful, but then all the children started to speak at once.

  “They were enormous!”

  “They filled up half the room!”

  “They were like trees!”

  The custodian laughed and shook his head.

  “Well, there’s only one explanation,” he said. “They must have been magic beanstalks!”

  He walked out, still shaking his head, as Rachel and Kirsty shared a secret smile. The custodian had no idea that he was absolutely right!

  “I wonder if there will be more fairy magic waiting for us tomorrow,” said Rachel, as they cleaned up and put away their pencil cases.

  “I hope so,” said Kirsty. “There are still three more star badges to find … and I’m really looking forward to meeting the other School Day Fairies very soon!”

  As soon as she spotted Kirsty and Rachel, the fairy did a happy twirl.

  “Hello again!” she chimed in a singsong voice. “I’m so happy I found you!”

  The fairy waved her wand with a flourish. A cloud of tiny artist’s palettes instantly popped into the air around her. Each one was a perfect miniature, complete with brushes and ovals of brightly colored paint.

  “We met yesterday, didn’t we?” asked Kirsty, remembering their trip to the Fairyland School.

  “You’re Alison,” added Rachel, “Alison the Art Fairy!”

  Alison giggled with pleasure. She really did look as pretty as a picture. Her sunny blond hair tumbled in waves around her shoulders, topped off with a dusty pink beret. She wore a bright, polka-dotted T-shirt with a slogan on it, jangly beads, and a maxi skirt in different shades of blue.

  “It’s tie-dyed,” she said proudly when she noticed Kirsty and Rachel admiring her skirt. “I made it myself!”

  The cheerful little fairy was full of chatter until the messy chalk drawings on the ground caught her eye.

  “Oh dear,” she said forlornly. “You can probably guess why I’m here.”

  Kirsty glanced nervously over her shoulder, then knelt down next to Alison.

  “Is it your gold star badge?” Kirsty whispered.

  Alison nodded furiously.

  “I really need to get it back. My magical badge makes sure that all art lessons are full of fun and go smoothly! Imagine a world without beautiful drawings, paintings, and sculptures! What a terrible, gloomy thought … ”

  With that, the fairy’s voice trailed off. Rachel glimpsed the tiniest silver tear trickle down Alison’s cheek.

  “We’ll put things right,” she replied kindly. “The goblins can’t get away with this!”

  Kirsty took Rachel’s hand, her face full of determination.

  “We’ll find your badge in no time,” she promised.

  Alison’s face brightened at once. But before she could say another word, a group of children ran past.

  Copyright © 2014 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN 978-0-545-85205-0

  First edition, July 2016

  Cover design by Angela Jun

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-86378-0

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