More Than Just Luck

by Jaclyn Weist

“I know. I just don’t know how to do that when I have something following me.” I looked around for Eoin, but he had disappeared. “So what did Dad say?”

  “He said to be careful and don’t do anything stupid like ride a dragon.” Mom smiled.

  “Well, that’s no fun.” Seriously, there was nothing cooler than soaring through the air on a dragon.

  “I know, but it’s the smart thing to do. Now go hang out with the girls. I’m going to try to nap.”

  “I’ll wake you when it’s time to board.” I stood and walked over to where the rest of the girls were sitting. We played card games and talked about boys. They oohed and ahhed over the ring and necklace Jared had given me. It was hard to explain why (It was to protect me from evil leprechauns. Yeah, not very believable), so I just told them the stone was my favorite color. I preferred to keep that part of my life between my family and two best friends. I’d been with these girls while practicing and playing in games, but this was something I needed to keep from them.

  I touched the charm on my necklace, thinking back to the locket I’d thrown into a portal just a few weeks before. I missed it. I shook my head, getting rid of the image. “So about those European guys.”

  This was followed by squeals, and I was able to relax and listen to the others. Shelby had just vowed to meet a new guy in every country when they announced over the loudspeaker that it was time to board. I waved at the girls and went over to Mom.

  “Hey, Mom. Wake up.” I shook her shoulder gently, but she jumped anyway. Having twins who could destroy a house in seconds would make anyone a light sleeper.

  “Is it time to board already?” She sat up and stretched.

  “Already? We’ve been waiting for hours. Come on.” I helped gather our stuff, and we walked over to show our tickets. The other girls were close behind with their bags.

  My seat was next to the window. I dropped into it, grateful to have one fewer person to talk to. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I wasn’t usually this anti-social. Or at least, not as anti-social as I was right then. Worries about Louie and Patrika swirled around in my head, and I couldn’t share them with anyone. Beth and Jared would have understood, but they were back at home.

  “Hey, seat buddy.” Eoin climbed into the seat next to mine.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  “Traveling the country, of course.” He settled back in his seat, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

  “Okay, but no one else can see you. How am I supposed to tell people that you’re sitting here?” I whispered.

  Eoin brushed the thought away. “I’m an old woman to everyone else.”

  I snorted. “Old woman? Wouldn’t it have been easier to be an old man?”

  “Well, yes. But it was an old woman who was supposed to be sitting next to you. She just kind of forgot to get on the flight.” He squirmed in his chair.

  My jaw dropped. “Eoin, that lady should’ve been on this plane. What if her family is waiting for her?”

  “Don’t worry about it. She’ll catch the next one. I think.” Eoin snapped his seatbelt into place. “You better put yours on. You don’t want them mad at you.” He nodded toward the stewardess headed our way.

  I sighed and put on my belt. Eoin apparently wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon, so it was time to ignore him. Again. The stewardess went through her spiel and sat down so we could take off.

  Mom was a row ahead of us, and her eyebrows rose when she turned around and saw Eoin sitting next to me. I shrugged and mouthed I’ll tell you later. She nodded and turned back to the front. The other volleyball players were all around us.

  The plane began to taxi down the runway, and I looked down to see Eoin’s knuckles turning white as he clung to the armrest.

  I groaned inside. Why did I have to get involved? I was supposed to be ignoring him.

  “I’m … not used to this.” His face had turned a nasty shade of green, clashing with the red of his hair. I grabbed the barf bag from the seat in front of us and handed it to him just in time. I smiled at the sympathetic looks from everyone while he lost his lunch into the bag.

  “Can’t you just turn off airsickness or something?” I asked.

  He wiped his mouth and snapped, making the bag disappear. I felt sorry for whoever had that bag appear next to them. “I’m a leprechaun, not a magician. Besides, it’s not like I know all this stuff. I’m still learning.”

  “Right. Baby. Well, are you feeling better now?”

  “I think so. Don’t tell me it will be that bad the whole time.” He rested his head on the headrest.

  “Only if we run into a storm. And on the descent.” Hopefully, the weather would be fine. This would be one long trip otherwise. I started pulling on luck, just in case, and held it in check. The other passengers wouldn’t miss it. Okay, so maybe that woman a few rows up would. I blushed when she accidentally spilled her soda on the man next to her. After giving her back some of her luck, I took it from someone else. I heard a snap and quickly shoved the luck back into him. The guy’s headphones had broken when he tried to put them on. Oops. Okay, so I wouldn’t be pulling on any more luck any time soon. I looked over at Eoin. “What?”

  He studied me for a moment. “It’s easy for you, isn’t it?”

  “What is?” He could tell?

  “You just pulled on luck. I’ve tried, but it just won’t come.” His bottom lip quivered.

  “Good. That’s one less leprechaun who will be able to steal luck. And I don’t keep it. I just hold it in case we need it. Otherwise, I give it back.”

  Eoin looked at me incredulously. “Give it back? Why? You could have all the power in the world.”

  My face reddened, and I leaned forward. “Shh. You need to play your part better. No talking about powers here.”

  “Oh, right.” Eoin looked around and grinned. “I’m an old woman. Don’t mind me. I’m delusional.”

  I smacked my forehead. “Man. We’ll be lucky if we survive this flight.” I unbuckled and stood.

  Eoin grabbed my wrist, pale. “What are you doing? You can’t stand up here.”

  “Yes, I can. Look.” I pointed up at the seatbelt light. “It’s all good.” I headed for the bathroom and went inside, hoping Mom had noticed me going to the back of the plane so I could talk to her. I washed my hands and opened the door to find Mom standing just outside.

  “What is he doing on the plane?” Mom’s eyebrows knitted together.

  “Flying in the image of an old woman so he can hang out with me, I guess.” I peeked over her shoulder at Eoin. He had curled up in a ball, hiding his face in his knees.

  “Why?” Mom folded her arms.

  “That I don’t know. We’re just getting him past the throwing-up-on-the-flight stage.”

  “Has he said anything about where his mom could be?”

  I shook my head. “He’s just trying to get me to go home. He won’t say anything else.” I glanced back at him. “I feel horrible, but I worry that he’s going to give himself away by using magic or something. Then we definitely won’t be able to help him.”

  Mom made a face. “Well, try to get him off the plane. We can help him once we get to France.”

  “Mom, he’s an old woman who was supposed to be on this flight. He can’t just disappear.” A stewardess made her way toward him. “I’ve got to get back there before he embarrasses himself again.”

  “Please be careful.”

  “I’m always careful. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” I squeezed past her to make my way back to my seat.

  “With you? Anything,” Mom muttered.

  I grinned. She had a point.

  “Is this your grandma?” a stewardess asked.

  I hesitated, glancing between them. “Um, yes?”

  “She seems distraught. Does she need anything?” She watched Eoin rock back and forth.

  What would a five-month-old want? “She could use a drink. Or maybe headphones s
o she can watch a movie?” I smiled innocently, hoping that would calm Eoin down. How often had he actually seen a movie?

  “I’ll bring her a drink. The headphones are in the pocket in front of you.” She left us and walked toward the front of the plane.

  “Eoin, you need to stop this,” I hissed. I pulled out the blanket and pillow that had been provided. “Why don’t you take a nap?”

  Just then, the stewardess walked up with some water for Eoin. “Here you go. A meal will be served very soon.” She walked off before I could thank her. I tapped Eoin’s shoulder.

  “Want to see some cool magic?” I whispered.

  Eoin perked up. “Magic?”

  I smiled. “Put these on.” I pulled the headphones out of the pocket, handed them to him, and then took mine out of the package. When I looked over, he was still fighting the plastic. I took them back and pulled them out. “You wear them like this.” I showed him how to put them in by demonstrating and plugged them in.

  After flipping through the channels, I found a movie that seemed mild enough and sat back. Eoin’s reaction was priceless. And loud.

  “How does this work?” He jumped up and bent over the seat in front of him, causing shouts from the man sitting there. “There’s nothing on the other side!” He pushed and prodded the screen, causing everyone to turn and stare. I pulled him back down into his seat.

  “Hey, everyone’s looking at you. Calm down.” I turned the TV to a music channel and tried to get him to sit back.

  “But it’s magic. Do it again.” He bounced in his chair.

  Oh, boy. I found a cartoon. “Now please calm down and just watch the show.”

  Eoin was soon lost in the cartoon, and I leaned back in my seat. I just thought this plane ride would be relaxing.

  I must have dozed off because I woke to someone shaking me rather violently.

  “Hey, Megan. Want some food?” Eoin leaned in near my face, chewing on what looked like bread.

  “Ugh, who taught you how to eat?” I sat up and noticed the stewardess looking at me funny. Oh, right. Grandma. “Sorry. She forgets to use her dentures sometimes.” I smiled and took my plate of food and a soda from her.

  I had yogurt, cheese, and bread that looked delicious. I pulled up the screen on my window and noticed the sun rising in the distance. “Um, Eoin, how long have we been flying?”

  “We’re about to land. Oh, your mam filled out your declaration forms. Mine too.” He tore into the bread.

  “How did I sleep for so long?” I could’ve sworn I was only out for ten minutes. And yet I felt … rested.

  “I helped. You looked tired.” He eyed my yogurt.

  “Thanks. I guess I can let go of this, then.” I released the luck into everyone around me just as the landing instructions came over the loudspeaker.

  I finished up my food and handed my plate to the stewardess, then turned back to Eoin. “So, what did you do the whole time?”

  Eoin’s eyes lit up. “I played games and watched a couple of movies on the magical box, and then I told everyone stories about fighting fairies and stealing their gold.”

  I groaned. “So much for staying quiet.”

  He laughed. “You forget that old people can get away with telling stories.”

  “Whatever. I’m just glad the flight is over.” The plane began to descend. Eoin was pale, but otherwise seemed to be okay. He breathed a sigh of relief when we finally stopped and I helped him unbuckle the seatbelt.

  I picked up my bags and followed everyone else toward the front of the plane. “Thanks for the sleep.”

  “Any time. This way, you can get right back on the plane and go home.”

  I stopped, and a few people behind me muttered as they ran into each other. “What do you mean?” I glared at one of the passengers who was giving me a dirty look and then started walking again.

  “You’re leaving, right?” Eoin followed behind.

  “No. I have a tournament to play.” We stepped off the plane and into the terminal.

  “But . . . I came with you to make sure you wouldn’t stay here.” Eoin’s lip quivered.

  “Nice try. Now, I suggest you figure out where the little old lady is supposed to be and help her get there. Thanks for the . . . adventurous trip.”

  A gasp in the crowd told me that he had disappeared. I wanted to get out of there before he reappeared. One thing I’d learned—never fly with a baby leprechaun.

  MEGAN

  “Wow , Megan, how’d you get so lucky to sit by that woman?” Shelby asked, laughing. “She was … odd.”

  I smiled. She had no idea. “Hey, I got a window seat. I can’t complain.”

  “Not that you witnessed most of her craziness. You were out.” She glanced around. “Oh, hey, there’s our team.”

  As we made our way toward them, I took in the large crowds of people heading to their gates. The voices over the loudspeaker changed languages for different announcements, but all the signs in the airport were in French.

  “Oh, there you are.” Brinley adjusted her ponytail and looked around the airport. “This place is huge. And I don’t understand most of what’s going on. Better find my dictionary.” She rummaged through her backpack.

  Once she had her dictionary and Coach was sure we were all there, we headed off to find the baggage claim. The carousel was already full of bags of all sizes, so we gathered around to wait for ours.

  Everyone else’s luggage was long gone and mine still hadn’t shown. I waited until the last bag was claimed before I finally gave up. My stuff wasn’t here.

  Mom came up beside me. “What’s going on, honey?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know but I have a feeling it’s—” I caught movement above the carousel, and my eyes narrowed. “Eoin.”

  Mom followed my gaze to find Eoin sitting on top of the luggage carousel. She cursed under her breath. “What do you think he did with it?”

  “I don’t know, but does Dad know you talk like that?” I raised an eyebrow.

  Her face turned red. “No. Well, only when I’m angry. I’ll distract everyone while you figure out what he did with it. I’ll be back in a bit.” She handed me my passport—I’d need it at the customs counter—and turned to the girls. “Okay, everyone, let’s go through customs. Coach Peterson is already in line.” She led them away toward the long thread of people, and I whipped around.

  “Eoin,” I growled.

  He cackled and rubbed his hands together in delight. Well, he definitely got that from his dad. “You won’t find them. I believe they’re in the Atlantic somewhere. Perhaps the mermaids will be well dressed for the summer.”

  “Seriously, do I have to tell your dad?” I glared. This was ridiculous. I noticed a security guard watching me curiously. I had no idea if he could see Eoin or not, but I didn’t like that he looked at me suspiciously. “I need my bags. Now.”

  He sighed. “Da told me to keep you at home. That’s the only way I knew how.”

  “I’m not going home. Losing my clothes was the only thing you could think of?” I started backing up as the guard moved toward me.

  “Well, yes. I’m just a wee child, remember?” He twiddled his fingers together, but jumped up when I started advancing on him. “Right, I’ll do what I can.”

  “Fine. My bags better be here by tomorrow night for my game, or I’ll come after you.” I turned on my heel and headed toward my group, using my hand to direct a little luck toward the guard. When I glanced behind me, he was bent down picking up some money he must have found on the ground. I went through the line for customs and got my passport stamped before heading over to Mom.

  “No luck?” Hannah asked once I met up with everyone else.

  I smiled at her choice of words. “Nope. We’ll have to fill out a form so the airport can help us find it, I guess.”

  “That’s so strange. Your stuff was in the same place as mine.” Shelby shook her head. “I wonder how they didn’t get it on the plane.”

  �
��You know what this means, though, right?” Hannah grinned. “You get to go shopping in Paris!”

  Mom turned and laughed. “You’d think she did this on purpose. Come on, Megan. Let’s go report it. I got the name of the hotel, so we’ll just meet up there.”

  I followed Mom farther into the airport. “Where are we going?”

  “There’s no point in filling out a claim for your luggage, since we know Eoin was involved. We’ll just lay low for a bit.” She peeked around the corner. “They’re just getting on the bus. As soon as they’re gone, we’ll find a taxi.”

  “Where’s your stuff?” I asked. I was just glad I’d kept one of my bags with me on the plane.

  “Shelby’s mom promised to make sure it got up to our room.” She checked around the corner. “Oh, it looks like they’re gone.”

  “My life is weird.” I followed Mom outside to get a taxi. We were in Paris. Okay, so we weren’t actually in the city yet. But I could still catch bits of the beautiful flowing language, the French clothing styles, and the tall buildings off in the distance. While I stared and gawked at everything French, Mom whistled for a taxi and flagged one down.

  “Come on. We can stare later.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me inside the taxi. Once she had her seatbelt on, she looked up at the driver. “Au centre commercial Beaugrenelle, s’il vous plait.”

  The taxi pulled out into traffic and weaved its way along.

  I blinked. “Um, what?”

  “Oh, didn’t I mention I know French? I haven’t used it for years.” Mom pulled out her map. “We’re going shopping. Who knows when Eoin will get your luggage back, and you need clothes. Let’s just hope they have some sales, because France isn’t exactly cheap.”

  “B—but you just—I’ve been studying French since I found out we were going, and I have no idea what you just said.” I laid my head back on the seat. Apparently, I didn’t know my mom as well as I’d thought.

  She leaned toward me. “Have you tried using your luck?”

  Oh. Luck.

  “I’ll think about it later. For now, I’m just going to enjoy the fact that I’m in—oh. Never mind.” Right. I was in France. I pulled out the dictionary Mom bought me and flipped it open. I had to focus just right to get my luck to work for this. Usually I could push or pull to make things go my way, but now I had use it to figure out the right answers to the question. Or in this case, the right translation. I’d spent my whole life having things fall into place for me, so it was hard to learn to make myself do it.