Flunked

  I burst out laughing. Are they serious? Turn a villain into a hero? That would be like asking a mermaid to morph into an ogre! I laugh harder, holding my belly, which is growling now that I missed what little we would have had for dinner.

  The boot my family lives in gives new meaning to the word “cozy,” but this place is huge! My sisters and brothers could go wild without ever worrying about knocking over a candle and setting our boot on fire. It’s sort of fancy though, which could be a problem for Han and Hamish. I’ve never seen so many golden chandeliers and mirrors in my life. Large mirrors; small, ornately framed, creepy, jeweled ones; and a massive oval one with a purple gilded frame that hangs in the two-story entrance. I sense someone here is a mirror collector.

  I lean in to the purple mirror. My frizzy brown hair and oval-shaped eyes that look nothing like Mother or Father’s are reflected back at me. Mother says I got Father’s stubborn chin, which juts out when I’m making a point. According to her, I’m always trying to make a point. I think I’m doing that right now actually. I look closer. Is that a hair sticking out of my chin? How did that get there? I should pluck it. I look like the old peddler that tried to trick Snow White. I lift my handcuffed hands to my chin and attempt to yank the hair out, but it won’t budge. Pete looks at me like I’m crazy. I lean even closer, my nose practically touching the glass.

  “Do you mind?” a voice inside the mirror snaps.

  I jump back. “Sorry! I didn’t realize this mirror was…occupied.”

  “Show some respect,” says Pete, who is leaning against the far wall peeling an apple with a pocketknife. “That’s Miri the Magic Mirror you’re talking to.”

  “Miri?” I look closer at the mirror and still only see my reflection. But wow, I’ve heard of this mirror. Everyone has! Seeing it is like spotting a princess in the flesh. If you cared about that sort of thing, which I don’t. “I thought you lived in Royal Manor with Ella and the other princesses.”

  The mirror snorts. She seems as snobby as the royals. “You think those are the only places I hang? I can come and go between mirrors as I please—unlike you, my little thief, once you’re checked in here.”

  “Who said I’m a thief?” I ask as I use a bobby pin (a crook’s best friend) hidden in my shirtsleeve to pick the lock on my handcuffs. I hear a little click and ahh…the cuff grips loosen. I keep them on though so Pete doesn’t make them tighter.

  I walk away from prying Miri the Magic Mirror and find myself in front of a rack of FTRS brochures. I pick up the one titled Parents’ Guide. I open to the first page and read the top line: “How to Know If Your Child Should Be Enrolled at Fairy Tale Reform School.” I read the letter that follows from the school headmistress, glancing hard at the line that reads: “The path between right and wrong can easily be blurred in a fairy-tale community where magic and wishes can be used in ways that can turn good children into wicked ones.” The headmistress goes on to list what she calls “warning signs for delinquent behavior.” I wonder how I match up.

  Constant lying. Check!

  Unexplained, frequent absences. Check!

  Anger over one’s class in life. Well…the royals’ privileges do set me off sometimes, so I figure I have another check for that one.

  Bullying. No check. I never roughed anyone up in my life.

  Turns friends into toads. No check. (How mean would that be?)

  Thieving. A fourth check.

  I check my score.

  “Three or More Checks: Signs your child should be enrolled at FTRS immediately.”

  Ugh! What does this headmistress know about my life? I had good reasons for my stealing. I cram the brochure back in the stack and walk away, stopping next in front of a wall of photos. There’s a picture of students smiling in a potion-making class while something green and fizzy bubbles out of a bottle nearby…another of boys flying on Pegasi through the sky above the school…kids fencing, students in front of a crystal ball…the list goes on.

  Next to the school photos is a plaque: FTRS Esteemed Graduates. Underneath are photos of teens out in the real world. Some girl got an internship at the Fairy Fashion Institute of Design. That’s pretty cool. A guy in goggles is working part-time at the Enchantasia Elfin Science Institute. Not too shabby. My eyes fall on the third picture. It’s of a girl working with Ella’s fairy godmother. The photo is of them conjuring up glass slippers. I feel my blood begin to boil.

  “Copycat!” I yell at the picture, hoping for a reply.

  “What are you talking about?” Miri sounds almost bored.

  “This picture!” I say bitterly. “This is the whole reason I’m stuck here in the first place. My family would be more than fine if the princesses hadn’t given Ella’s fairy godmother all the formal-wear shoe orders. Now whenever someone wants a glass slipper for a proposal or a ball, she just poofs them up!”

  “The pink ones are gorgeous!” Miri chimes in. “I ordered a pair just to look at.”

  “Hey! You will not disgrace one of our princesses by speaking of her like this,” Pete tells me. “She is royalty and doesn’t have to explain her reason for doing things.”

  “She owes us!” I complain. “My father came up with the glass slipper, and then her lousy fairy godmother ripped it off and took all the credit.”

  I think of all we’ve given up since Ella’s shoe policy changed. How much my brothers and sisters have done without. That’s why I started stealing. Not to hurt people, but so I could bring in the extra cash Father no longer could. I was trying to help. But my parents don’t see it that way, and I’m not sure they ever will.

  “Rapunzel wore my father’s shoes to the Once Upon a Time ball two years ago,” I tell Pete. “He was so pleased when Happily Ever After Scrolls said everyone should have a pair of those pink pumps. Father could have made good money with those shoes, but instead Ella lets Fairy Godmother just copy them with a poof of her wand.” I don’t care that my voice is echoing in the grand foyer. “It’s not fair.”

  “No, it’s not,” I hear someone say, her footsteps barely more than a whisper against the floor. “But then again, a lot in life isn’t fair.” The woman is concealed in the shadows. “It’s how you handle yourself in such situations and what you learn from them that will define you. That’s what you’ll learn to master during your time here.”

  An older woman steps out of the shadows and I see a thin smile spread across her lips. It’s her. Princess Ella’s formerly wicked stepmother in the flesh.

  Happily Ever After Scrolls

  Brought to you by FairyWeb—magically appearing on scrolls throughout Enchantasia for the past ten years!

  From Pond Scum to Headmistress: Flora Leads FTRS

  by Beatrice Beez

  It isn’t easy being the most despised woman in Enchantasia. Just ask Flora. Five years ago, she couldn’t leave Galmour Castle without being pelted with rotten radishes.

  And that was on a good day.

  After Miri the Magic Mirror showed Flora the torture she put Ella through, Flora vowed to change her ways. “I still can’t talk about the glass slipper incident without getting upset, but I will say that I did not encourage my girls to cut off part of their feet to fit in a shoe! I’m not insane!” Flora insists.

  Self-help books and meditation helped Flora realize that the pain she inflicted on Ella was the same she went through as a child. Flora spent her days taking care of her siblings. She never had time for friends. “Mother only gave her love to my sister Anastasia, who was fair-haired and blue-eyed.”

  Flora escaped by accepting an arranged marriage proposal and had two daughters. When the marriage failed, she met Rufus, Ella’s father. That’s when Flora’s life felt complete. “Those first few years we were all very happy together,” she says.

  Then the green monster of jealousy took over. Flora began obsessing about how much Ella looked like Anastasia and worried that R
ufus only cared about his own little girl. “I can never take back what I did, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to Ella,” Flora says.

  After her transformation, she sought Ella’s blessing to tear down Galmour Castle and create Fairy Tale Reform School on that very spot. “I wanted to help others avoid the same destructive path,” Flora says. She sought out and mentored some of Enchantasia’s most villainous criminals, many of who are now staff members at the school.

  She has even seen a change in her girls. “They are much more compassionate. The three of us can finally look at Miri the Magic Mirror (who advises part time at the school) and feel good about ourselves,” Flora says.

  We’re sure Princess Ella would approve. Rumors have swirled for months that the princess is going to make a public show of support for her stepmother by throwing an anniversary ball in the school’s honor. Check your Happily Ever After Scrolls for more ball updates!

  CHAPTER 4

  Home Sweet Home?

  So this is what the stepmonster looks like.

  I’ve never met Headmistress Flora before. Her long, thin face and pointy nose, dark, tiny eyes and sweeping black-and-white hair don’t exactly soften her reputation. Still, I’m kind of disappointed there are no lightning bolts shooting out of her hands or devil’s horns poking out of her head. The way my buddy Cedric talked about the time his brother got hauled in here, I was sure that’s what I would find.

  He also said her office looked like a dungeon, which it does not. It looks like a princess threw up in here. The furniture is gold with purple velvet cushions, oriental rugs, and crystal vases everywhere. It’s kind of how I imagine Ella decorates her castle.

  Headmistress Flora interlocks her long fingers under her chin and stares at me with interest over her mahogany desk. “I have been waiting for the pleasure of this meeting for a long time.”

  I smile. “Really? I can’t say the same.”

  Headmistress Flora, however, is not fazed. “I’m sorry to hear that, but nonetheless, I’ve been expecting you. The police commissioner has kept me abreast of your, shall we say, extracurricular activities.”

  I try not to laugh. Extracurricular activities—why have I never thought of calling it that?

  “I knew it was only a matter of time before you made your way to our doors,” Flora tells me. “I think we can do wonders for you. Our etiquette classes, history lessons, and behavior training are geared toward children who have problems just like you.”

  My eyes narrow. “What do you mean problems?”

  “Your issues with authority,” the headmistress says. “You have no respect for your elders. My own girls were the same way.” She turns a frame toward me and I see Ella’s stepsisters, Azalea and Dahlia. The girls are dressed in gowns as gorgeous as Snow White’s. Their makeup is flawless, and their hair is done with Rapunzel’s finest hair extensions. If I didn’t know better, I would think they were royals.

  “It took a lot of reflection and meditation—which we offer here—but eventually my girls saw the error of their selfish ways. Today they attend the Royal Academy. They are some of the only commoners to do so,” she brags. “Wouldn’t you like your problems to vanish like theirs did?”

  My frown deepens. “Look, lady. I’m hungry. I want to feed and protect my family. If FTRS could help me do that, I would have snuck in a long time ago.”

  Kids don’t really buy this garbage, do they? I mean, how can a school change me into a whole new person? Will I ever not want my siblings to have the things they deserve? Or not wish Mother had an easier life and a bigger shoe to live in? I doubt it.

  “Is that why you take things? To make money?” the headmistress asks me.

  I play with the fraying hem of my overalls. “Who doesn’t want more money?” I challenge her. “I do it to buy things we need, okay? And I only take things from royals who won’t even notice anything’s missing.”

  “Whether or not people miss things is not the point,” Flora tells me. “You’re taking something that does not belong to you. Today it may be a dragon’s tooth clip, but tomorrow it could be a carriage. Where does it end? Before long, your face is on Wanted posters throughout the land.”

  “You mean like Alva and Gottie?” I ask.

  I’m talking, of course, about the infamous villains in hiding—Alva, the cranky fairy who cursed Sleeping Beauty (Stay away from those spinning wheels!), and Gottie, Rapunzel’s kidnapper (Here’s a nice tower we can lock you in forever!). Being drop-dead gorgeous and royal seems to come with a lot of baggage.

  While I’ve heard there are occasional Gottie sightings, Alva has been missing for years. Rumor is she’s dead, but I doubt Enchantasia is that lucky.

  “People need to want to be saved,” Flora tells me. “Sadly, Alva is untraceable and Gottie has not committed to reform. But we will bring them in.”

  Maybe she thinks I need her to say that so I’ll sleep better, but I sleep just fine, thank you.

  “Is that what you want for your own life?” Flora asks. “To be an outlaw?”

  I snort. “Your scare tactics don’t worry me. You can’t keep me here forever.”

  “Oh, I’m afraid I can, my dear.” Without hesitation, Flora produces a proclamation no one showed me before. The long scroll has Flora’s signature, Pete’s…and my parents’?

  I sit back up. “What’s this?”

  “Permission to hold you until I see positive changes in your behavior,” Flora watches my reaction. “I had the scroll messengered over after your arrest. Keep this attitude up and you could be here indefinitely.”

  I wonder if Flora gets a kick out of moments like these. “My parents agreed to hold me here forever? This place is for real criminals.” I stand up I’m so outraged. “I allegedly took a dragon’s tooth clip! That’s not a big deal!” Flora stares at me sadly.

  “Since your thefts were not violent crimes, you will have the freedom to move around school as you please and can choose extracurricular activities like our Pegasus flying lessons.” Flora looks at me. “We want to get to the root of why you’re thieving.”

  “How long am I stuck here?” I ask.

  “Once we feel you have successfully mastered the right behavior skills and knowledge to be an upstanding resident of Enchantasia, you will be released,” Flora says.

  Clever. She didn’t really answer the question. “When can I see my family?”

  Flora frowns. “I’m afraid visitation is not allowed. We find the pull of home makes it hard for students to concentrate. They can visit you in three months, right around the same time as the school anniversary ball we’re hoping to host. If you’re doing well, they are welcome to attend too.”

  Who cares about a stupid ball? “No thanks. I just want to get out of here and back to my brothers and sisters.”

  “Exactly my point,” Flora says. “That’s why you need FTRS right now. If you don’t change, they won’t either. Is this the life you want for them someday?”

  My stomach feels squishy inside. Threatening the well-being of those rug rats is the ultimate weapon when it comes to me. I would never do anything to hurt them. Just thinking about Felix or Trixie stealing things makes me sicker than eating a tuna sandwich.

  “No,” I admit. “But I don’t need reform school!” My eyes narrow. “Reform school is for stepmonsters who lock kids away and make them clean the toilet!”

  I see a flash of anger in Headmistress Flora’s eyes, but she doesn’t lash out. “Perhaps I should give you a moment to think about what you want to say next.” She purses her lips and rises from her cushy chair. “I wouldn’t want us to start off on such unpleasant terms.”

  Flora leaves the room and I’m all alone. I stare at the shiny desk in front of me and contemplate a life on the run. That gold quill set on Flora’s desk could get me enough money to make it at least to Parrington. There is no way I’m
staying in this place. I stuff the quill in my overalls pocket. That’s when I hear someone laugh.

  “Nice score! Wow, you seem pretty spunky for a human. I like that.”

  I jump up and spin around. “Who said that?” I don’t see anyone in the office. “Miri?” I knock on the mirror in Flora’s office. Miri said she could jump mirrors. She must be listening in. Maybe she saw me steal that quill. Fiddlesticks.

  “God, no!” A girl my own age slips out from behind one of the tall lamps in the corner of the office and half runs, half floats over to me. How did she hide behind something so narrow? “Miri’s on break right now, which is why I’m in here.” She walks around the desk and I notice two almost transparent wings sticking out of her back. They’re fluttering at top speed. “Rule number one about FTRS: Always know Miri’s schedule. That mirror can get you in big trouble.” She holds out her hand. “Kayla.”

  I stare at her hand but don’t shake it. I agree with Father on one thing—people aren’t nice to you without a reason. “What do you want?”

  Kayla doesn’t look ruffled, even if her wings stop moving for a second. “Nothing.”

  “So why are you spying on me?” I ask.

  She smiles coyly. “I’m not spying. I came to swipe a scroll so I could get a message to someone, but I heard Pete bring you in and I had to see what the fuss was about. Usually no one fights once they get thrown in these doors, but you…” She folds her arms across her chest and takes me in from all angles. “I’m impressed. I can’t believe you’ve avoided the joint this long after getting caught stealing three times! You must be some kind of genius.”

  “You go here?” I ask, mystified by this pixie of a girl in front of me. She’s my height, but so petite that she looks like she could break in half. Her short blond hair only makes her look smaller, as does the pale blue jumper she’s wearing. It must be a school uniform because the crest on the chest has the letters FTRS. “What are you in for?”