Before the Bell

by Kiki Thorpe

  “So this is a desk,” Spinner said to himself. During his travels he’d hidden in many strange places. But he’d never been inside a school desk before. He strolled between Gabby’s pencils and notebooks, taking it all in. One whole side of the desk was open, and Spinner had a nice view of the room when he looked out.

  Class was getting started. “Welcome, everybody,” the teacher said. “We’re going to have so much fun this year. Now, how many of you are new at Evergreen Elementary? Hold up your hands.”

  A few kids raised their hands. Inside Gabby’s desk, Spinner put his hand up, too.

  Gabby giggled. “Spinner, the teacher can’t see you,” she whispered.

  “But how am I going to learn anything if I don’t follow along?” he said.

  Ms. Jesser went over some classroom rules. Then she passed out sheets of paper to everyone.

  “I thought we’d do something fun so I can get to know all of you,” she said. “I want you each to draw a picture of YOU. Then write something about yourself. It can be anything—a sentence, or even just a word. Don’t forget to put your name on your paper!”

  The class got busy with their crayons and pencils. Spinner tried to wait patiently. But it was boring inside the desk. He wanted to do something, too.

  Finally, he fluttered up and peeked over the edge of the desk. “Spinner, don’t!” Gabby hissed. “Someone will see you.” Quickly she leaned over, hiding him from the boy at the desk next to hers.

  The sparrow man crouched behind Gabby’s crayon box and glanced around. The other students had their heads down, drawing. The teacher was walking between the desks, looking at their work. But that didn’t worry Spinner—he was invisible to grown-ups. Only children who believed in fairies would be able to see him.

  “No one’s looking. Let me see what you’re doing,” he said.

  Gabby moved her hands so he could see her picture. She’d drawn herself in pink crayon, with brown hair and yellow wings. At the bottom of the paper, in darker pink, she’d written I LIKE FARYS.

  “That’s very fine indeed,” Spinner said, nodding. “But it’s missing something.”

  Spinner picked up a crayon and began to draw a tiny figure next to the drawing. The crayon was nearly as tall as he was. It took a lot of effort to move it. He drew in silver wings and added a smudge of gold for a fairy glow.

  “It’s you!” Gabby whispered.

  Spinner nodded, puffing out his chest a little. He took a leaf-kerchief from the pocket of his vest and mopped his brow. “I didn’t know school would be so much work,” he said.

  “You’re supposed to write something, too,” Gabby reminded him.

  “That’s right.” Spinner tried to pick up Gabby’s pencil. But he could only lift it halfway. As he struggled to balance it, the pencil slipped from his grip and rolled off the desk.

  At that moment, Ms. Jesser walked past. “Here you go, Gabby,” she said. She picked up the pencil and placed it on the desk, right at Spinner’s feet.

  Gabby froze, looking up at the teacher in alarm.

  Ms. Jesser smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s only a pencil. Happens all the time.” Then she walked on to the next desk.

  Spinner chuckled. “She can’t see me, remember?” he whispered. “Now help me with this thing.”

  While Gabby held the pencil, Spinner guided the tip. Next to his drawing he wrote:

  Small feller,

  storyteller

  When everyone had handed in their drawings, Ms. Jesser took the students on a tour of the classroom. She showed them the art supplies and the water fountain. She showed them the pencil sharpener that cranked around and around. And she showed them the big round blue carpet, where they would sit for story time.

  “When is story time?” Spinner piped up. He was peeking out from the front pocket of Gabby’s dress.

  “Shh,” Gabby whispered. She gently poked him down again, tucking him out of sight.

  “And this is my favorite part of our room,” Ms. Jesser said as she led the class to the back corner. “Our classroom library.”

  Spinner carefully raised his head and peeped over the edge of the pocket. He saw a long bookshelf stuffed with books. Narrow books, fat books, tall books, short books, books with brightly colored covers—to the sparrow man they seemed to stretch on for miles.

  Spinner himself kept all his stories in his head. But he knew Clumsies liked to write theirs down. If he could just get to that bookshelf, Spinner knew he’d have all the stories his noggin could hold!

  Suddenly a bell rang, so loud it made Spinner’s teeth rattle. The kids collected their lunch boxes and schoolbags and lined up at the door.

  “What’s going on?” Spinner whispered to Gabby.

  “It’s time for the best part of the day,” Gabby replied.

  “Story time?” Spinner asked.

  “No,” Gabby told him. “Lunch!”

  The school cafeteria was filled with noise. Gabby sat at a long table with the other first graders. Lizzie sat across from her, with Glorinda by her side. Every now and then, Lizzie pretended to feed the doll a bite.

  “Guess what? I think I saw a real fairy,” Lizzie told Gabby.

  Gabby swallowed her bite of sandwich with a gulp. “You did? Where?”

  “In my backyard,” Lizzie said in a hushed voice. “I saw something glowing. But when I looked again, it was gone. My mom said it was probably just a firefly. But I’m sure it was a fairy.”

  “Oh.” Gabby sighed in relief. Her Spinner secret was still safe. She was bursting to show him to Lizzie. But she remembered Mia’s warning not to tell anyone about Pixie Hollow.

  Gabby lifted the lid on her lunch box and peeked inside. Spinner was sitting in the corner, munching on an apple slice. He held it with both hands and took bites out of the middle, as if it were a slice of watermelon. When he saw Gabby, he waved.

  “Why do you keep doing that?” Lizzie asked.

  Gabby closed the lid with a snap. “Doing what?”

  “Looking inside your lunch box.”

  “I’m just looking is all,” Gabby said.

  “Well, I want to go out and play,” Lizzie said. She crumpled up the remains of her food and stuffed them in her lunch bag. Then she grabbed Glorinda. “Come on!”

  Gabby finished the last bite of her sandwich. Then she carried her lunch box to the cubbies that the lunchroom monitor had showed them. When she was sure no one was looking, she carefully transferred Spinner into the pocket of her dress.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “Snug as a joey in a kangaroo’s pocket,” Spinner whispered back.

  “Hurry up, Gabby!” Lizzie was already at the door.

  Outside in the schoolyard kids were jumping rope, swinging from the monkey bars, and bouncing balls off the side of the school building.

  “Let’s go over there,” Lizzie said. She pointed to a part of the lawn that was covered in dandelions.

  When they got there, Lizzie plopped down in the grass. “Let’s pretend this is a magical place where fairies live.”

  “Yeah!” said Gabby. “We can call it Pixie Hollow.”

  Inside her pocket, Spinner laughed.

  Lizzie looked around. “Did you hear something?”

  “No,” said Gabby, squirming a little. Keeping a secret was so hard!

  “Let’s make a picnic for Glorinda,” Lizzie suggested, setting the doll down. She placed a leaf in front of Glorinda. “This can be the picnic blanket.”

  Gabby pulled up a handful of grass and piled it on the leaf. “This is the salad.”

  Lizzie plucked dandelions. “These are the cakes. Glorinda just adores dandelion cake.”

  Spinner chuckled again.

  “There it is again!” Lizzie cried. “It sounds like little bells. Don’t you hear it?”

  Gabby shook her head, but she was starting to giggle. She clapped both her hands over her mouth. But the secret came bursting out anyway. “I have a fairy!” she exclaimed.
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  “What?” Lizzie stared at her.

  “He’s a sparrow man, actually. His name’s Spinner, and he came to school today in my backpack.” Once she’d started talking, the secret came out in a rush, like a breath of air she’d been holding for too long.

  Gabby held open her pocket. “Come out, Spinner. Meet my friend.”

  When Spinner flew out of her pocket, Lizzie’s eyes opened so wide that Gabby thought they might pop right out of her head. Spinner hovered in the air between the girls. When he tipped his cap to Lizzie, she squealed.

  “Where did you get him?” she whispered to Gabby.

  “He came from Pixie Hollow,” Gabby said.

  “Can I hold him?” Lizzie asked.

  “It’s up to Spinner,” Gabby told her. When he nodded, Lizzie held out her hand and Spinner landed lightly on her palm.

  “It tickles!” Lizzie said, giggling.

  Gabby laughed, too. “I know!”

  As Lizzie bent closer to look at Spinner, the bell rang. Gabby knew that meant recess was over. “Give him here,” she said, reaching for the sparrow man.

  But Lizzie jerked back. She put her other hand over him so he couldn’t fly away. “Not yet!” she said. “I want to hold him a little longer.”

  Gabby could see the rest of their class lining up by the door to go inside. “Come on, we’re going to be late,” she said.

  “I just want to borrow him for a little bit,” Lizzie said. “I let you hold Glorinda, didn’t I?”

  “Give him back, Lizzie!” Gabby grabbed for Spinner. But Lizzie held him out of her reach. From inside Lizzie’s hands, Gabby heard Spinner cry out.

  “Stop! You’re hurting him!” Gabby yelled.

  Lizzie gasped and opened her hands. Spinner shot out at once. He flew straight to Gabby.

  “See? He’s okay,” Lizzie said.

  The sparrow man wasn’t hurt, but he looked a little dazed. Gabby placed him gently in her pocket. Then, keeping her hand over him, she stood and joined the rest of the class.

  Lizzie followed. “Don’t be mad, Gabby,” she said. “I just wanted to see him. Can you bring me a fairy, too?”

  “No!” Gabby whispered. “And don’t talk so loud. It’s a secret.” She was starting to feel sorry she’d said anything to Lizzie at all.

  On the way back to the classroom, Gabby kept her hand over her pocket. She didn’t want to take any more chances. From now on, I’ll be extra careful, she told herself. She was relieved when they got to the classroom and Spinner was safe inside her desk again.

  Spinner was not glad to be inside Gabby’s desk again. He sat on a pink rubber eraser with his chin in his hands. Out in the classroom, the students were playing a game to remember each other’s names. But Spinner didn’t feel like following along.

  School wasn’t turning out to be quite the adventure he had hoped. It was all “line up here” and “sit down there” and rules, rules, rules. Spinner liked to roam and explore—that was how he found the best stories! The desk’s metal walls were beginning to feel like a cage. But Spinner knew he couldn’t wander where the other kids could see him. Meeting Lizzie had taught him that much.

  As he gazed out at the classroom, Spinner’s eyes fell on the bookshelf in the back. A whole treasure trove of stories just sitting there, he thought. What a shame.

  Then again…

  Why should I stay here twiddling my thumbs? I’ve crossed rivers before. I’ve crossed oceans! How hard could it be to cross a Clumsy classroom?

  Spinner crept to the edge of the desk and looked down. It was a long way to the floor. Normally he could have flown, but he knew fluttering his wings would attract attention.

  He dangled his feet over the edge and eased himself onto a desk leg. Squeeeee! Spinner’s hands squeaked against the metal as he slid down. He darted a glance at Gabby. But she was caught up in the game and didn’t notice.

  On the floor, Spinner hid behind a leg of Gabby’s chair, plotting his next move. There were four desks between him and his goal—and twenty-four sets of eyes that might spot him. Spinner wished he could put out his glow. It was hard to be invisible when you glimmered.

  Taking a deep breath, Spinner dashed to the next desk. He reached the front leg and dove behind it.

  He waited, his heart pounding. But the class went right on playing their game. No one had noticed him.

  Spinner walked beneath the desk, skirting a boy’s sneakers. As he passed under the chair, Spinner felt a prickling along his spine—that always signaled danger.

  He looked up and froze. A hand was coming toward him! He’d been spotted!

  But the hand passed right by him. The boy scratched his ankle, then straightened up again.

  “Whew!” Spinner’s breath whooshed out in relief.

  When he felt it was safe, Spinner darted to the next desk. He paused behind a chair leg to let his knees stop shaking. Fairies and sparrow men usually fluttered their wings, even when they walked. It helped them keep their balance. But to avoid attracting attention, Spinner had kept his wings folded. It made running a lot harder.

  As he rested, the chair leg he was hiding behind suddenly rose into the air. Spinner looked up as the girl above him tipped back, back, back. Her chair balanced precariously on its two rear legs.

  The teacher said something, and suddenly the chair came crashing back down. Spinner leaped out of the way to avoid being pinned beneath the falling leg.

  He pulled a leaf-kerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow. Only two more desks to go, he thought.

  He reached the next desk without trouble. But when he got to the fourth, he realized he had a problem. Between him and the library there was a wide-open stretch of floor. How was he going to cross that without being seen?

  Spinner sighed. There was only one thing to do, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

  Getting down on his hands and knees, Spinner folded his wings over his back. He pulled his cap down low on his head and dimmed his glow as much as possible. Then, feeling very silly, he scuttled across the floor like a cockroach. If anyone spotted him, he hoped they’d mistake him for a giant water bug.

  When he reached the corner, Spinner dove behind a huge beanbag chair. He looked back at the classroom. All the children were facing the front of the room, away from him. He was safe now. Spinner hopped to his feet and dusted himself off. He wasn’t a proud fellow, but it was undignified to act like a bug. When I tell this story back in Pixie Hollow, perhaps I’ll leave that part out, he thought.

  The bookshelf loomed before him, full of hidden treasure. Spinner rubbed his hands together. “Now to find some stories!”

  Spinner strolled along the bottom shelf, gazing up at the books. They towered above him, so high that he had to crane his neck to read the words written on their spines.

  “‘Di-no-saurs,’” he read, pausing in front of a particularly fat book. “I wonder what this is about?”

  Spinner gripped the top edge of the book and tried to pull it down. But the book was wedged in tightly. He fluttered his wings hard, but it wouldn’t budge.

  On the floor next to the bottom of the shelf, Spinner spied a pencil. That might do the trick! He hoisted it up, balancing it on both shoulders to carry it.

  Spinner darted a glance at the class. They were all still caught up in their game. And he was well hidden behind the giant beanbag chair. Unless someone passed by the bookshelf, they wouldn’t see him.

  Bracing the round eraser end against the top edge of the book, Spinner levered it out of the shelf.

  Slowly the book began to tip. Then it toppled like a falling tree and fell open onto the floor.

  “Ahhh!” Spinner leaped back as a huge lizard sprang from the pages. He dove into the empty gap in the bookshelf and huddled there, trembling.

  A lizard inside a book? he thought. How can that be?

  “Maybe it’s a magic book!” There were books like that in Pixie Hollow, ones where ice formed on the pages or wind blew the words around. But Spin
ner had never seen one with animals inside.

  He had to take another look.

  Holding the pointed end of the pencil out like a spear, Spinner peeked out from the bookshelf. The lizard was right where he’d left it, standing atop the open book. Its jaws were open wide in a silent roar.

  “Well, I’ll be picked and pickled,” Spinner said to himself. “It’s made out of paper!” He read the words printed next to it. ‘“Tyrannosaurus rex.’”

  Spinner shuddered. “I think I’d like a book with a few less teeth,” he said, hefting it closed.

  A ways down the shelf, another title caught Spinner’s eye—Fairy Tales. “What could that be about?” he wondered.

  This book was easier to remove. Spinner was able to pull it out with just his bare hands. He slid it to the floor, using a bit of fairy dust to make it lighter.

  The book fell open to a picture of a tiny girl riding on the back of a bird. Spinner read the words beneath the picture. “‘Thumbelina’? I know that story!”

  Spinner began to read, walking back and forth along the page. The words were so big that it took him several strides to reach the end of each sentence. “Thumbelina” was the story of a tiny girl no bigger than her mother’s thumb. She was stolen from her home by a toad who wanted Thumbelina to marry her son.

  “But they’ve got the story all wrong!” Spinner exclaimed. “Every soul in Never Land knows Thumbelina was a fairy, not a girl! And a toad didn’t steal her—a Clumsy did! Imagine a toad wanting to marry a fairy!” Spinner laughed so hard he had to stop and wipe his eyes with his leaf-kerchief. “Leave it to the Clumsies to get everything backward!”

  Spinner went on reading, pausing every now and then to chuckle or shake his head. He didn’t notice that the class had stopped playing their game.

  A prickle crept up the back of his neck. But Spinner thought it was just the excitement of the story.