The Secret Destiny of Pixie Piper

by Annabelle Fisher

  After we’d both calmed down, she nestled atop my chest with her head tucked under my chin. She was getting big. I missed her babyness, but I loved the beautiful white feathers that were replacing her down.

  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, Destiny was making a big commotion. She’d gotten up on my desk and was looking out the window. She always honked up a storm when she saw a hawk or a fox outside, but I’d never heard her hiss before. She sounded as if she’d swallowed a cat.

  “What’s the matter, Dessie?” I asked quietly. “Did you see something scary?” I snatched the phone off my pillow and slunk over to the window, keeping out of view in case someone was looking up. I thought about calling Dad, but the yard was empty.

  Still, Aunt Doris’s last warning was flashing in my mind like a big neon sign: DON’T LET RAVENEECE NEAR DESTINY!

  With my heart pounding in my ears, I hurried to my door and slammed it shut. Then, remembering what I’d seen on a TV show, I dragged my desk chair over and wedged it under the knob.

  The doorbell rang. And rang and rang and rang. Destiny began flapping her wings and honking. “It’s okay, baby, let’s go see who’s there,” I said, making my voice light and sweet. I yanked the chair from under the knob and opened the door slowly. Downstairs, the bell was still ringing.

  With Des in my arms and the phone clamped under my neck, I crept downstairs. Secret or not, I promised myself I would call Dad, Mom, and 911 if it were Raveneece.

  I held my breath as I peeked out the little acorn window.

  It was Gray.

  “What took so long?” he asked when I opened the door.

  “Moving quickly makes my head hurt.”

  “Oh, sorry. But I think this will cheer you up.” He held out the little red cowgirl hat.

  Destiny honked and snatched it up in her beak.

  “Where’d you find it?” My fingers shook as I settled it atop her head.

  “It was right on your doorstep.”

  Gray and I locked eyes for a moment. Neither of us spoke, but I could tell we were wondering the exact same thing—who left it there?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Ye Olde Revelation

  I’d never expected to get Destiny’s cowgirl hat back. I remembered how the fox had snapped it up in its jaws. It must have been angry when it missed chomping off Des’s head—so angry, I’d figured it had torn the hat to shreds. But if I was right about who’d just left it on our front step, I knew I’d better worry about my own head. I grabbed on to the doorway for support.

  “Are you okay, Pix? You don’t look so good,” said Gray. “Maybe we should go inside.”

  “I got hit in the face, remember?” I grumbled.

  Actually, Gray didn’t look so good himself. “I know,” he said in a choked voice. “I can’t believe I didn’t catch that ball before it hit you. I thought Raf was just fooling around. I didn’t know he’d really do it.”

  “I know.” I swallowed before I added, “I didn’t think so, either.”

  “Yeah, but I found out something bad.” Gray bounced his fists at his sides. “He did it because of this dumb thing Sage made up. She told him you’d be able to stop the ball with your mind.”

  “That was really mean. And stupid,” I croaked. I felt guilty that I didn’t tell Gray the truth, even though it was for his own good.

  “Tomorrow I’m going to tell Sage she should apologize to you,” said Gray. “Otherwise, I’m not going to be her friend.”

  I put a hand on his arm. “Don’t—you might be sorry.” I hadn’t forgotten that I’d told him I wanted us to be secret friends. It was one of the worst mistakes I’d ever made. “So did you come to see my ugly face or to bring me more homework?

  That made him crack a smile. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot—Ms. Tomassini asked me to pick up your poem.”

  I opened the door wider. “Come on in. I left it upstairs.”

  We climbed the staircase slowly. I’d left “Why a Goose Is Better Than a Golden Retriever” on my desk, and now there was the faint outline of a webbed footprint on it. I guess my floor was a little dusty. While I printed out a new one, Gray studied the drawing I’d taped onto the wall. “Did Leo do this?”

  “Uh-huh. He gave it to me on the bus. Sometimes we do cartooning together. He draws and I write poems.”

  Gray grabbed a throw pillow from my bed and tossed it up and down. “I know. I’ve seen you,” he said after a moment.

  I hadn’t thought he noticed anything I did anymore. I looked at my poem. I didn’t feel like entering it in the contest. I didn’t want to be mean anymore. “You know, this isn’t really finished yet,” I said. “Can you come back tomorrow?”

  He flung the pillow up again. “I might be busy.”

  I was tired of trading hurt feelings back and forth with Gray. More than anything, I wanted it to stop. I wanted him to know that even if I had a dozen new friends, he was still special to me.

  “Look, there’s something you should know about me—something no one else knows.”

  “What?”

  I pointed to my desk chair. “Have a seat. This will take a while.”

  I started at the beginning, when Mom had told me the Goose Ladies would come for me. Gray’s eyes practically popped out of his head. I explained about meeting Aunt Doris—how she’d appeared as a fortune-telling Mother Goose, a substitute teacher in our own classroom, a grocery shopper, and a volunteer at the senior residence. I had to take a deep breath before I got to Raveneece. Just saying her name aloud made me shaky. But even when I told him what happened when Sage and I were in the woods, he didn’t say a word. Or move. Or blink.

  “So, do you think I’m crazy?” I asked, finally.

  Gray stared at me, his eyes and mouth both wide open. I made myself return his look with a steady gaze. More than anything, I needed him to believe me. If he didn’t, I wasn’t sure I could keep on being brave or true anymore. Trying to be a Goose Girl was too lonely. No one knew what was in my heart.

  As if she could read my feelings, Destiny began pulling on my sneaker lace. I scooped her up in my arms.

  “Maybe I’m crazy, too,” Gray said finally, “but I believe you.”

  I turned my face away until I was sure I wouldn’t cry. “Thanks. It means a lot.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to contact Aunt Doris or whether she’s ever coming back. I just know I have to keep Raveneece away from Destiny.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Gray.

  Those were exactly the words I needed to hear.

  After dinner I sat on my bed, writing a poem for Lucy’s birthday, which was coming up in a week. I was thinking of asking Leo to illustrate it when it was ready.

  If History Village made a doll

  That I could really talk to

  And if inside her plastic chest

  She had a heart that was true

  Then Lucy Chang should be her name

  ’Cause she’d be just like you—

  “Pixie! Gray’s on the phone,” Mom called. “Don’t move—I’m bringing it up.” She was so nervous about my head, she’d hardly let me do anything but breathe this week. But I’d stopped arguing about it. I felt guilty making her so worried.

  “Thanks, Mom.” I waited until she closed my door again before I asked, “Okay, what’s up?”

  “I can’t stop thinking about your power,” Gray whispered. “You stopped a car, Pix!”

  “I know, Gray. I said a rhyme and the minivan stopped. But it was my mom’s car that actually blocked it, so I’m not positive—”

  “Right—” he said impatiently. “And you also stopped a fox from eating Destiny.”

  I sighed loudly. “It looked as if it was frozen, though it only lasted a few minutes. Why?”

  “Because if Raveneece comes back to steal Destiny, you could freeze her. Then we could tie her up and call the police.” He made it sound so simple.

 
“But I don’t know if I could stop an actual person. I don’t even know if I can stop anything again. Since the softball hit me, it all seems kind of fuzzy. What if I tried to stop Raveneece and it didn’t work? That would be dangerous.”

  “That’s why you should test your power out on me!” Gray said. “I don’t mind.” He seemed pretty excited about the idea.

  It did sound like fun—unless something went wrong. “I guess we could try in the woods or somewhere else where no one can see us,” I said finally. “But right now I’m not allowed outside. We can try it after I go back to school.”

  Gray was silent for a moment. “Raveneece has already been at your doorstep, Pix. I think we need to know sooner. I’ll help you—tomorrow morning.”

  “But you’ll be in school! Anyway, Dad only leaves me alone for a little while in the morning to go to his workshop. And in the afternoon, Mom watches me so closely, she can see me blink.”

  “I’ll stay home. I can tell my grandma I’m sick.”

  “Ha! She’s not going to let you out if you’re sick.”

  “Tomorrow’s Thursday, her shopping day. She always takes Sammy with her to the grocery store. Then they stop at the library. I can come over as soon as your dad leaves for his workshop. It’s perfect, Pix.”

  Hmm, not perfect, I thought. But if I could actually freeze Gray for a few minutes, I might be able to freeze anyone—even Raveneece.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “Wow, great!” said Gray. “I’ve already got the experiments planned. See you tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Ye Olde Hermie and Other Experiments

  After Dad left for his workshop the next morning, I got out of my PJs and pulled on jeans and a shirt. Five minutes later Gray showed up carrying a crumpled brown grocery bag with him.

  “What’s in there?” I asked.

  He was smiling with his mouth closed, and his eyes were all twinkly. “I’ll show you when we get outside.”

  We went to our clubhouse at the back of the yard, which was really just a small grove of pines that felt private.

  “Okay, now tell me,” I said.

  “I brought equipment for our experiments,” Gray answered, unrolling the top of the bag.

  “What equipment?”

  He pulled each item out as if it were a rabbit from a magician’s top hat. “This is one of Gran’s individual serving size cans of tomato juice . . . this is my dad’s old stopwatch . . . and”—he stopped to set down the first two things before he reached in and pulled out a jar with some mud at the bottom—“say hello to Hermie the wormie!”

  I waved a pinky at the wriggling, brownish pink worm. “What kind of experiment is this, Gray?”

  “It’s three experiments, actually,” he replied. “We’ll start with the easiest and build up to the hardest.”

  I looked around. “We’d better get started. My dad won’t be away for very long.”

  “Okay. Get on your knees while I open this tomato juice. I’m going to pour it on top of your head unless you can stop me.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why don’t you pour it on your own head?”

  “Because it’s more likely to work if you’re the one facing the consequences. Besides, you’re going to stop me before you get wet, right?”

  I had to admit he was making sense—but it still made me mad. “Well, okay,” I said. “But why do you have that worm?”

  Gray lifted the jar. “Hermie’s going to help me test your stopping power, too. I’m going to drop him down your back—unless you freeze him on my palm first.”

  “You think I’m going to let you drop a worm under my shirt?”

  “Hermie can’t help it if he’s slimy, Pix,” said Gray cheerfully. “Anyway, he’s only a couple of inches long. It should be easy for you to freeze him.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. “What about the stopwatch?” I asked.

  Gray snatched it off the grass. “I think you’ll like this one. I’m going to run around and around your house until you freeze me. As soon as it happens, you have to press the watch’s Stop button. That way, we’ll know how much time it takes to freeze a moving person and how long they stay that way. Doesn’t that sound useful?” He grinned proudly at me.

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I guess so.”

  “Good. Let’s get started.” Gray grabbed the tomato juice can. “Get down on your knees so I can reach the top of your head.”

  “Don’t pour it until I think of a rhyme,” I said, kneeling down.

  Gray’s face became serious. “In real life, your power needs to work fast, Pix. So hurry up and rhyme.”

  “Oh, shut up,” I said.

  Gray popped the tab on the tomato juice can. I put my hands over my ears, squeezed my eyes shut, and chanted.

  “Mother Goose, Mother Goose,

  Help me turn my power loose

  Let’s stop Gran’s tomato juice!”

  I felt the thick juice trickle through my hair and down my scalp. It oozed onto my forehead and behind my ears.

  “Yeeuck!” I squealed. “It’s dripping down my neck. I need a tissue or something.”

  Gray stuck his hand in the bag and felt around. “I think there’s a paper towel in here,” he said.

  “Come on, it’s running down my back!”

  “Maybe Hermie will lick it up,” said Gray. He thought for a moment. “Do worms actually have tongues?”

  I lunged for the bag, but Gray swung it away.

  “Ah, here it is!” He finally pulled out a paper towel and handed it to me. “Why didn’t the rhyme work, Pix?”

  When I’d stopped the car and the fox, I’d gotten a scary feeling. It was something like having a tornado in my head. The tornado was made of words and it spun like crazy. It wasn’t something I could control.

  But it felt too weird to talk about, even to Gray. “I’m not sure,” I said. “It could be the rhyme wasn’t good enough.”

  “Let’s try Hermie next,” Gray said. “Maybe you’ll have more luck.”

  I stared him in the eyes. I wasn’t grossed out by spiders, stinkbugs, or worms. But Gray seemed to be having too much fun with this. “If I freeze him on your palm, you won’t put him down my back, right?” I asked.

  “O-o-okay,” said Gray, grudgingly. He poured Hermie out into his palm and walked behind me. With a finger he pulled my shirt away from my neck.

  “Rhyme!” he demanded.

  I stood quietly and listened to my own breath as I waited for the word tornado. But all I felt was Gray pulling the neck of my T-shirt out farther. A rhyme appeared in my head and I hurried to recite it:

  Hermie Wormie on Gray’s palm

  While I freeze you, please stay calm.

  Time will stop, but it won’t hurt

  And you will stay out of my shirt!

  “There, I did it!” I shouted. Right?”

  The next thing I knew, a wriggling Hermie wiggled down my back. “Ew!” I squawked, pulling out the bottom of my shirt. I whirled around as Hermie landed in the grass.

  “Bye, Hermie!” said Gray as the earthworm slithered away. “You were a really great performer.”

  “Ha-ha. That wasn’t funny,” I snapped.

  But Gray wasn’t grinning. “Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.” He placed the stopwatch in my hand. “Pretend I’m Raveneece running around your house. She’s looking for a way in. You’ve got to stop her.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. I pressed the timer button and Gray took off. Right away, a rhyme appeared in my mind:

  Bone and muscle hear my call

  Legs will stiffen, boy will fall.

  Still as stone in grass he lies

  No one hears his silent cries.

  The rhyme seemed scary, even to me. But I was desperate to make one that worked. I waited a minute for Gray to run around the other side of the house, which was pretty small. When he didn’t reappear, I went to look for him.

  He was in the backyard, lying fac
edown in the grass and groaning.

  “Gray! Are you okay?” I yelled.

  “No.”

  “Are you frozen?”

  “No, Pix,” said Gray, rolling over. “But I tripped over my own shoelace. Did you do that?”

  Had I felt the whisper of a breeze in my head? “I’m not sure,” I answered. “I asked for you to stiffen and fall. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, I fell,” said Gray, grinning. “So maybe it worked a little.” He got up and brushed himself off. “Do you want to try again? I don’t mind falling for a good cause.” He laughed at his own joke.

  “Can’t. I’ve got to go inside and get cleaned up before my dad gets back.” I started for the house, and stopped. “Thanks—I think.”

  “Anytime,” Gray replied.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Ye Olde Quack-up

  “I’m dying of boredom,” I told Mom as we unloaded the dishwasher together on Saturday morning. Except for the “experiments” with Gray, I hadn’t been out all week. Most of the time, I hadn’t minded reading, watching TV, and writing in my notebook. But suddenly I couldn’t stand it a moment longer.

  Destiny seemed as bored as me. She tore up the newspaper in her pen and beat her wings till the pieces fluttered all over the mudroom. She wouldn’t stop pulling at the cuffs of my pajamas. She needed a change, too.

  “Well, you’ve only got one more day in prison,” said Mom, putting an arm around me. “I guess you’re looking forward to going back to school on Monday?” She made it sound like a question.

  “Sort of.” I put my head on her shoulder. “I’m a little nervous. I bet everyone will think I’m an idiot for not catching the softball.”

  “I doubt it. No one on a bus expects a ball to come flying at them.”

  Hearing Mom say it like that made me giggle. “It was weird,” I said.

  She thought for a moment. “Why don’t you ask Alexa and Lucy to come over tomorrow? I bet you’ll feel better after spending some time with them.”

  The next morning Lucy, Alexa, and I sat together in one of the window seats in our living room, munching the warm strawberry muffins Mom had baked.

  “That bruise makes you look kind of cool,” said Alexa, studying me as if I were a painting.