Term-Time Trouble

by Titania Woods

  ‘And we begin! Twirl in place! Tiptoe left! Tiptoe right!’ Madame hovered in the centre of the circle as the fairies followed her movements. ‘Concentrate, concentrate! Listen for the earthworms!’

  As Twink danced she became aware of Bimi’s thoughts, and she smiled. They were so . . . Bimi-like! Warm and friendly, and slightly worried that she wasn’t going to get the dance right.

  .

  .

  Then Twink gasped as a wave of sadness swept through her. I don’t want to be here, whispered a dejected voice in her mind. I want to go home.

  Twink stared at Jax as she realised she was hearing the spiky-haired fairy’s thoughts. Jax made a ferocious grimace and looked pointedly away.

  Twink’s own thoughts spun in confusion. Was that why Jax was so horrible and prickly to everyone – because she was homesick? She felt a rush of shame that she had ignored Jax so thoroughly. Maybe she’d like a friend, even if she pretended otherwise.

  ‘That’s enough,’ announced Madame finally. She drifted back down to the ground, beaming happily. ‘Did you all hear the worms?’

  Twink hastily nodded with the others, though she had forgotten even to listen for them. From the bored expressions on her classmates’ faces, she hadn’t missed much!

  Once class was over, Twink hurried to catch up with the new girl as they all flew back to Glitterwings. ‘Jax, wait!’ she called, putting on a burst of speed.

  Jax spun about in midair, glaring at Twink. ‘What?’ she snapped. Her green hair looked like a spiky explosion.

  Twink gulped, suddenly unsure whether this was a good idea. ‘I just wanted to say . . . I mean . . . I’m sorry you’re so sad,’ she finished lamely.

  Jax scowled at her. ‘Sad? Who said I’m sad?’

  ‘Um . . . well, the dance – I sort of heard . . .’ Twink stopped. Jax looked as if she might explode with fury.

  ‘You’re mad!’ she snarled, clenching her fists. ‘I’m not sad – why should I be?’

  Twink licked her lips, wishing she hadn’t said anything. ‘I’m not sure, but it sounded like –’

  ‘Oh! This is the worst school I’ve ever been in!’ burst out Jax. ‘For your information, I’m not sad, I’m cross – cross that I have to be here with all of you pathetic wasp brains!’ She jetted off in an angry green flash. A bee darted out of her way with an alarmed buzz.

  Twink sighed. Well, that had gone well. Next time, she’d keep her mouth shut!

  At the end of classes every day, second-year students were expected to do an hour’s study in the Common Branch – though this often consisted of fairies sitting on their mushroom desks, legs swinging as they laughed and chatted! With her petal bag over her shoulder, Twink skimmed up the trunk to begin the study time, thinking idly about her Flower Power homework.

  ‘Best friends don’t have secrets, Lola! What are you hiding from me?’ The voice was low and threatening.

  Peering over her shoulder, Twink saw Mariella and Lola flying nearby. Lola gulped. ‘Nothing! I told you, I just fancied a change.’

  Mariella glowered when she saw Twink. ‘Well, never mind!’ she snapped, tossing her hair back. ‘I’ve got to go to my stupid Creature Kindness session now – but we’ll talk about this later, Lola.’

  She skimmed away down the trunk, leaving the thin little fairy looking shaken. Twink remembered that Mariella had fallen behind in her studies the previous term, and was having to do extra Creature Kindness sessions to catch up.

  Adjusting the strap of her petal bag, Twink shook her head in bewilderment. ‘Lola, why do you let her talk to you like that? You should stand up to her more – like you did today in Dance class!’

  Lola ducked her head down. ‘Oh, I don’t know . . . she’s not so bad, really,’ she mumbled, and flew quickly off towards the Common Branch.

  Twink stared after her for a moment, and then shrugged. It didn’t make any sense to her why Lola would put up with such behaviour, but Lola’s friends were her own business. If she was happy to put up with being bossed around by Mariella, then that was up to her!

  After afternoon study, Twink and the others flew back to Peony Branch in a long, straggling line. ‘Hurrah! Half an hour of free time!’ Twink did a midair flip, and Bimi grinned at her.

  ‘I’ve got a new petal mag, if you’d like to read it,’ she offered.

  ‘Ooh, glimmery!’ said Twink. ‘Yes, please!’

  But as the two friends flitted into Peony Branch, Twink stopped short, all thoughts of the petal mag forgotten. She gaped as she tried to take in what she was seeing.

  ‘Twink, what’s – oh!’ Bimi dropped her bag as she clapped her hands over her mouth.

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ shrieked Sooze, skimming in just behind them. ‘I thought there was a truce!’

  ‘There is!’ gasped Twink. ‘Taya promised me –’ She broke off, fluttering her wings in agitation. Maybe Taya had promised, but it was clear that the Jasmine Branch fairies hadn’t been able to resist just one more prank.

  The other fairies started to arrive just then, their eyes widening as they took in the scene before them.

  ‘That’s . . . sort of creepy,’ whispered Sili.

  Looking again, Twink thought that she agreed with her. Every single peony that hung over their beds had been shorn of its petals. They lay on the mossy beds below in forlorn pink piles.

  ‘It’s not creepy, it’s hideous,’ raged Sooze. She punched her fist into her palm. ‘Ooh, those Jasmine Branch fairies! Well, they’ll get what’s coming to them. I’ve got a prank up my wing they’ll never expect, and –’

  ‘Sooze, no!’ cried Twink. ‘We can’t start up the pranks again.’

  Sooze glared at her. ‘Why not? They did!’

  ‘Yes, but . . .’ Twink hesitated, conscious of everyone watching her. ‘I want to talk to Taya,’ she said finally.

  ‘Talk to her?’ scoffed Sooze, folding her arms across her chest. ‘What for?’

  ‘Just to see what she says.’ Twink tried to sound more confident than she felt.

  .

  .

  Pix nodded, looking worried. ‘I think it’s a good idea. There’s something a bit strange about this. Their pranks have always been a good laugh – nothing like this.’

  Twink saw what she meant. There was really nothing funny about this prank at all – their flowers looked so sad and bare without their petals. Lola’s had been snapped clean off at the stem.

  ‘So what are we meant to do now, Great Leader?’ said Sooze drily, raising a lavender eyebrow.

  Twink bit back a retort. ‘Pix, why don’t you see if you can find a spell to put things right again, while the rest of you start tidying? I’ll go and talk to Taya.’

  She flew from the branch before Sooze could say anything else. Her wings felt like they were on fire. Oh, why had Miss Shimmery put her in charge? It was no fun at all!

  Taya looked appalled when Twink described the state of their peonies. ‘Really? Wasps, that’s awful! No, it wasn’t us – we’ve got a truce, remember?’

  The two fairies were in the library, hovering near the top of the shelves as Taya searched for a book. ‘Are you sure?’ asked Twink. ‘Maybe someone in your branch did it without you knowing.’

  Taya shook her head firmly. ‘We wouldn’t go back on a promise, Twink – even though that blue-nose trick was unbelievably cheeky!’ She shot Twink a grin, and Twink smiled back despite her worry. She believed Taya – the fairy gave no sign at all that she wasn’t telling the truth.

  But then what did that mean? Who had destroyed their flowers?

  Taya flipped through a petal book and then slid it back on to the shelf. ‘Maybe it wasn’t a prank at all,’ she suggested. ‘Maybe the long-life spell on your peonies just wore off.’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Twink
doubtfully, thinking of how some of the petals had been torn up and flung about the branch.

  ‘Or maybe some other branch did it,’ said Taya. ‘Sooze isn’t exactly careful about what she says, you know! She could have annoyed someone else, who decided to get back at you.’

  Twink nodded slowly as the sunset angled in through the long library windows. ‘You’re probably right,’ she decided. ‘I’ll ask Sooze if she can remember anything. And meanwhile, I just hope it doesn’t happen again!’

  .

  Chapter Four

  But the pranks did keep happening. Over the next few days, Peony Branch found itself the victim of several more pieces of mischief, each nastier than the last.

  Sooze insisted that she hadn’t said anything that might have annoyed one of the other branches. ‘Everything isn’t always my fault, you know,’ she said crossly, helping herself to a seed cake at lunch one afternoon. ‘I haven’t done a thing!’

  ‘Besides, who would do such awful things just to get back at Sooze?’ put in Bimi anxiously. ‘I’m really getting nervous, Twink!’

  ‘Me too,’ said Zena. The tall fairy’s face was drawn. ‘I think we need to go to Miss Shimmery.’

  Twink hesitated. So far they had managed to mend everything themselves, but it was getting harder and harder to hide the episodes from Mrs Hover. How on earth were they supposed to explain torn homework all over their floor, or red berry paint splashed across their beds?

  She bit glumly into a seed cake, hardly tasting it. She knew that the situation was becoming quite serious, yet Miss Shimmery had been adamant – Twink was meant to deal with any problems on her own.

  ‘Let’s wait just a bit longer,’ she said. ‘We must be able to work out who’s doing it, if we just put our wings together.’

  Sili shivered. ‘All I know is, someone really has it in for us! I’m getting scared to even go back to our branch.’

  The others murmured in agreement. Twink glanced over her shoulder at all the tables of laughing, chattering fairies. It was dreadful to think that someone in the school hated them so much. But why?

  ‘Come on, let’s think!’ she repeated urgently, clapping her wings together. ‘Who might be doing this? Pix, don’t you have any idea?’

  There was a pause. ‘I might have,’ said Pix finally. ‘But I’m not going to say anything just yet.’

  The Peony Branch table erupted in excited whispers. ‘Who, Pix?’ demanded Sooze, leaning forward.

  Pix shook her head. ‘I’m not going to say. Not until I’m certain.’

  .

  .

  Sitting at the end of the table, Lola looked quite pale. Twink felt a rush of sympathy for her. She was such a nervous little fairy anyway – this must be awful for her.

  Sooze huffed out an irritated breath. ‘Oh, great! So we have to wait until one of us is . . . is attacked by some deranged fairy before you’ll do anything?’

  ‘Of course not,’ said Pix irritably. ‘But this is serious, Sooze. I can’t accuse someone without a bit more proof.’

  Mariella tossed her head. ‘Well, I think it’s ridiculous!’ she snapped. ‘We can’t just let someone destroy our branch – we’ve got to do something.’

  ‘Hang on,’ said Sooze, her violet eyes suddenly wide in pretend alarm. ‘Are we actually agreeing with each other, Mosquito Nose? Wasps, things must be bad!’

  The tension at the table lessened as everyone laughed.

  ‘I – I think we should tell Miss Shimmery!’ burst out Lola. The others stopped talking and stared at her. Lola hardly ever said a word, unless she was backing up Mariella.

  Lola’s cheeks blazed, but she kept on. ‘I mean – I mean, maybe our parents should know about this. It’s dangerous.’

  ‘What, and get Twink into trouble?’ demanded Pix. ‘Lola, we can’t – you know what Miss Shimmery said. We’ve got to try to solve it ourselves first.’

  Lola’s face burned even redder. ‘Oh. I – I just thought . . .’ She stopped, staring down at the table.

  ‘What about you, Jax?’ said Sooze suddenly.

  Everyone looked curiously at the spiky-haired fairy. She hadn’t said a word all through the conversation, thought Twink – but then, you could count on one wing the number of times that she’d joined in with them since she’d arrived.

  Jax stopped chewing her seed cake and scowled. ‘What about me?’

  Sooze met her gaze coolly. ‘Has anything like this ever happened at one of your other schools?’

  Jax’s green eyebrows drew together. ‘No. Should it have?’

  ‘Who knows?’ said Sooze, lifting a wing. ‘This sort of thing is completely new to us.’

  Jax looked thunderous, but didn’t reply. Twink glanced uneasily from one to the other, wondering if she should say anything. Before she could decide, the school’s butterflies fluttered in to clear the tables, their wings dipping gracefully in the air.

  ‘What was that about?’ Twink whispered to Sooze as the fairies flitted from the Branch.

  Sooze shrugged. ‘Just working on a theory of my own, that’s all.’

  Sparkle Art class was a welcome distraction from Twink’s problems. Mr Prism, a tall fairy with bright blue wings and a vivid shock of crimson hair, turned out to be a wonderful teacher – nothing at all like nervous Mr Woodleaf, who taught Creature Kindness and seemed terrified of them!

  ‘Welcome!’ cried Mr Prism that afternoon, grinning widely as the Peony Branch fairies flew into his branch. ‘Are we all ready to create some super-spectacular artwork? Excellent! Take your seats, girls, take your seats.’

  ‘I love this class!’ whispered Bimi to Twink. She gave a little bounce as they sat perched on their spotted mushrooms.

  ‘Me too!’ Twink whispered back. Sparkle Art was just as much fun as she’d imagined: they used fairy dust mixed with paint to create glittering works of art, often getting delightfully messy in the process!

  She watched eagerly as Mr Prism set up a piece of white birch bark at the front of the branch. ‘Today we’re going to do self-portraits,’ he announced, bringing out the fairy-dust paint from a bark cupboard. Rainbow-coloured sparks fizzed from the acorn pots.

  Twink and Bimi exchanged an excited look. Self-portraits sounded glimmery!

  Mr Prism ran a hand through his crimson hair. ‘Now, then! In Sparkle Art, you think what you want to draw, and the fairy dust does the work for you – right?’

  Twink nodded with the others.

  ‘But no two paintings are ever the same, because everything depends on you – your mood, your thoughts, your personality! Paint a mouse,’ Mr Prism commanded the paints.

  Immediately, brown and black paint leapt from the pots in a glittering stream, landing on the white bark with little plopping noises. A mouse started to form – but it was like no mouse Twink had ever seen! Its teeth were long and sinister, and its eyes glared out at them from the painting.

  The class gasped in surprise. Mr Prism grinned apologetically. ‘I was scared by a mouse in acorn school,’ he explained. ‘Never liked ’em since! But if one of you lot painted a mouse, I bet it would come out all cute and cuddly.’

  Twink smiled, knowing he was right. Brownie, her family’s own beloved mouse, had been her friend since she was a baby!

  ‘So Sparkle Art is all about how you feel about what you’re painting,’ continued Mr Prism, wiping the mouse away with a damp piece of moss. ‘And when you’re doing self-portraits, that gets very interesting indeed!’

  ‘What do you mean, sir?’ asked Pix.

  ‘Watch!’ Mr Prism put his hands behind his back and said, ‘Paint a portrait of Thaddeus Prism, Sparkle Art teacher extraordinaire!’

  A rainbow stream of colours sprang from the pots. Twink craned to see as an image started to form.

  The
class had sniggered at the name ‘Thaddeus’ – and now the sniggers turned to howls of laughter. The painting showed an impossibly handsome fairy, with a brilliant smile and gleaming wings.

  ‘What?’ said Mr Prism, feigning hurt. ‘Don’t you think it’s a good likeness?’ He struck a heroic pose, jutting his chin out. ‘It looks just like me!’

  .

  .

  When the laughter had died down, Mr Prism said, ‘You see, Sparkle Art self-portraits are how you see yourself, not how you really are! We’ll be doing several over the next few weeks. You’ll be surprised how your different moods can change your portrait!’ He started passing out rolls of birch bark and paint pots.

  ‘I’m a bit nervous!’ whispered Bimi.

  Adjusting her bark on the twiggy easel that sat in front of her, Twink realised that she was, too. What sort of fairy would her painting show?

  ‘Ready?’ said Mr Prism. ‘Right, then! Off you go!’

  Twink cleared her throat. ‘Um . . . paint Twink Flutterby,’ she said to her acorn pots. Immediately, pink and lavender paint leapt out, arranging itself on the birch bark in delicate swirls and hops.

  ‘Oh!’ cried Twink as the painting took shape. Her wings felt hot with embarrassment. The fairy staring back at her had an anxious smile on her face and a giant oak-leaf badge on her chest: Peony Branch Head.

  Bimi burst out laughing when she saw it. ‘Oh, Twink, you poor thing! You look so worried.’

  Twink giggled despite herself. Bimi was right. She looked like the ceiling was about to fall in on her!

  Mr Prism came across. ‘Very interesting,’ he said, tapping his chin with a smile. ‘Bimi, how did you do?’

  Bimi’s cheeks blazed. ‘Oh – all right, I guess. Only I look too pretty.’

  Twink leaned across to see Bimi’s portrait. A rather plain fairy with dull blue hair and gaudily bright wings looked back at her.

  ‘But that’s nothing like you!’ she said in surprise, looking at Bimi’s midnight-blue hair, and the gracefully swirling patterns on her wings. ‘You’re much prettier than that.’