Willa Bean to the Rescue!

by Cecilia Galante

  Scully nodded once. He slumped down even farther in his chair.

  Next to Willa Bean, Daddy was fitting another arrow into his bow. He let it fly before she could blink, and it soared across the room in Mr. Peabody’s direction. Like Miss Buttoncap, Mr. Peabody looked down at his arm and then touched it. A pink glow colored his cheeks.

  “All right, then,” Miss Buttoncap said. “That will be all, boys.”

  “How about an apology?” Mr. Peabody said, looking at Miss Buttoncap. His cheeks were getting pinker.

  “Yes.” Miss Buttoncap stared straight at Mr. Peabody. “That’s a very good idea, Mr. Peabody. Scully? I think you owe someone in this room an apology.”

  Scully mumbled something that no one in the room could hear.

  “What was that?” asked Mr. Peabody.

  “I said, I’m sorry.” Scully glared.

  “Then how about a handshake?” Miss Buttoncap was still looking at Mr. Peabody. “Would that be out of the question?”

  “Oh, no.” Mr. Peabody looked as if he were sweating. He stuck out his hand to give Miss Buttoncap’s hand a shake. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Miss Buttoncap laughed. She had small, pearly teeth. “I meant between the two boys,” she said. “But all right.” She took Mr. Peabody’s hand and shook it gently.

  Willa Bean wiggled all over. Daddy had done it! Miss Buttoncap and Mr. Peabody were in love! She could tell just by looking at them! His golden arrows had worked!

  “Well,” said Daddy proudly, “I think things are pretty much finished here. Which means that now we can head home.”

  Willa Bean stopped wiggling. She did not want to go home yet.

  She couldn’t go home yet.

  She still had to make things right for Angus.

  And if Daddy and Snooze would just get out of the way and look in the other direction, maybe she could.

  But Daddy and Snooze did not get out of the way.

  And they did not look in the other direction.

  “All right, boys,” Mr. Peabody said, “we don’t want you to miss out on your spelling words. Let’s get back to class.” He followed them out of the room. Just before he shut the door, Mr. Peabody turned around and gave Miss Buttoncap a little wave. She smiled and waved back.

  “They’ll be on a date by this weekend,” Daddy said. “You can count on it.” He straightened the quiver on his back and tightened his belt. “You two ready?” he asked. “I can’t wait to get home. Mama said she was making Saturn Squares for dinner tonight!”

  Willa Bean wasn’t listening. She was watching Mr. Peabody lead Angus and Scully down the long hallway. Angus walked with his head down. And then, when no one was looking, Scully reached out and pinched his arm. It was starting all over again! In another few seconds, they would be back inside the classroom. Mr. Peabody would shut the door. Which meant that Willa Bean would lose her chance to help Angus forever.

  Quick as a shooting star, she raced after them.

  “Willa Bean!” Daddy shouted.

  “Chérie!” called Snooze. “What are you doing?”

  Willa Bean flapped her wings harder. She was only a few feet behind the boys now. Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it. She grabbed the arrow from her quiver, and lined it up on the bow. She had never actually done this before. She had practiced at the Cupid Academy, but she hadn’t done it for real. And never on Earth. What if she missed? What if it didn’t work?

  She drew the Confidence arrow back as far as she could.

  “Willa Bean!” Daddy yelled. “I told you no!”

  Willa Bean knew she would get into trouble. She knew she had no right to do this. This was not her assignment. But Angus needed her. And she did not want to leave until she helped him.

  She squinted until she could see her mark.

  “Willa Bean!” Daddy shouted again.

  She squeezed her eyes tight. And then she let the arrow fly.

  The arrow shot out from her bow. It wobbled a little to the right. It wobbled a little to the left. And then it hit Scully in the back of the leg.

  SCULLY?

  Willa Bean stared openmouthed as the mean boy stopped walking and rubbed the spot on his leg where the arrow had hit him. Then he started walking again. He caught up with Angus and Mr. Peabody and followed them inside the classroom.

  Nope, nope-ity, nope, nope, nope! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all! Not even a little bit!

  Daddy flew up next to Willa Bean. “Wilhelmina Bernadina Skylight.” He was frowning.

  “I had to do it!” Willa Bean burst out. “I just had to!”

  “You didn’t have to do anything except watch and listen,” Daddy said. “Which is exactly what you did not do. I’m very disappointed in you.”

  Willa Bean looked at the floor. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Let’s go,” Daddy said. “And I don’t want to see you do a single thing on the way home except fly in a straight line behind me.”

  Willa Bean did as she was told. She flew behind Daddy as he led them out of the Dawlington School. When they passed Mr. Peabody’s door, she couldn’t help but peek in through the window. She could see Angus in his seat. Scully was in his. Both of them were sitting quietly, writing in their notebooks.

  With a lump in her throat, Willa Bean flew on. She tried hard to stay in a straight line as they made their way out of London.

  She whispered good-bye to Big Ben, and to the river Thames, and to the London Eye. Would she ever see them again? Would Daddy ever take her anywhere again?

  Daddy flew higher and faster as they went up. But Willa Bean did not fly quite so fast. Snooze flew next to her, to keep her company.

  They passed through a raspberry-scented cloud without saying anything.

  “I know you’re sad,” Snooze said finally. “But your father is right, Willa Bean. You were not supposed to use that arrow. It was just supposed to be pretend.”

  “I know.” Willa Bean tried not to cry. “But I just couldn’t stand it. I had to at least try to give Angus some confidence after that terrible day of his.” Her wings drooped. “And then I hit Scully instead. The mean one! I can’t do anything right.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that, chérie,” said Snooze. “You definitely should have listened to your father. But maybe you didn’t use your Confidence arrow on the wrong person.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Willa Bean.

  “Think about it,” said Snooze. “The only reason kids like Scully pick on other kids is because they don’t feel good about themselves. Being mean makes them feel strong.”

  Willa Bean thought about this. “Remember what you said before, Snooze? About how some Earth people like to go up high because it makes them feel bigger?”

  “I do,” said Snooze.

  “Well,” said Willa Bean, “do you think Scully climbed way up high on that thing in the playground and yelled about being a tiger ’cause it made him feel strong? And maybe even bigger?”

  “I do, indeed,” Snooze said. “And that Confidence arrow is going to help him feel better about himself. He won’t have to do silly things like yell about being a tiger or push smaller kids around. You never know, maybe he’ll even stop being a bully.”

  “Wow,” Willa Bean whispered. “Maybe he will.”

  Snooze didn’t say anything. Then he flew up ahead.

  “Snooze?” Willa Bean asked. “Where are you going?”

  “Un moment,” Snooze called over his shoulder. “I want to talk to your father.”

  Willa Bean stayed a good distance behind Daddy and Snooze. She watched as her little owl went on and on in Daddy’s ear. She looked away when Daddy glanced back at her. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but it made her a little nervous.

  After another moment, Daddy and Snooze turned around. They flew on either side of Willa Bean as they drifted through a tangerine-scented cloud. “Let’s take a break for a minute, Willa Bean,” Daddy said. “Come up on top of the cloud.”
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  Willa Bean followed Daddy to the top of the cloud. She watched as he pulled a tiny silver telescope out of his pocket and opened it. He pointed it toward Earth and looked through one end of it.

  “What are you doing, Daddy?” asked Willa Bean.

  “See for yourself,” Daddy said, handing her the telescope.

  Willa Bean held the telescope up to her eye. She looked through the lens.

  “A little to the right,” said Daddy.

  Willa Bean turned it to the right. And what she saw made her gasp with surprise. There, through the window in Mr. Peabody’s classroom, were Scully and Angus. They were laughing! Scully was patting Angus on the back!

  “They’re okay!” Willa Bean said, looking at Snooze.

  Her little owl gave her a wink.

  “I’m still not happy that you did something you weren’t supposed to,” Daddy said. “But I’m awfully proud of why you did it.”

  “You are?” Willa Bean said.

  “I am.” Daddy nodded. “Extremely proud. You turned that whole situation on its head, Willa Bean. Even if you didn’t mean to. And both of those Earth boys will be better for it.”

  Willa Bean was smiling so hard that she couldn’t say anything.

  “Just promise me something,” Daddy said. “The next time you come to work with me, let me know before you come up with one of your plans!”

  “Double promise.” Willa Bean held two fingers up to her lips and blew Daddy a kiss.

  “Now let’s get back to Nimbus.” Daddy put an arm around her. “We can tell Mama all about it.”

  “Ariel too,” Willa Bean said. “Wait till she hears about my tiger!”

  Daddy and Snooze laughed.

  And with a flap of their wings and a turn of their heads, they made their way back home.