Flunked

  “Hi, Gilly.” Maxine is waiting for me. “Thanks for sticking up for me back there. No one ever does that.” She looks down at her huge shoes. Father would have a hard time making boots for those clonkers.

  “That’s what friends are for,” I say automatically. Maybe Miri will notice and mark me down for good behavior. Maxine’s smile widens. Her teeth are a little green.

  “Are you doing anything right now?” Maxine asks. “Want me to show you around? I mean, I’m sure you have loads of people who want to show you around, but I would if you wanted. I’ve been here a year, so I know every room in the joint.”

  I want to work the “So what are you in for?” question into our conversation, but I can’t figure out how to do it without offending her. For some reason, I suspect it has something to do with jewelry. She’s wearing at least a half a dozen shiny necklaces.

  Jocelyn walks by Maxine with a friend and whispers something. The two burst out laughing and Maxine looks down, embarrassed.

  “I mean, if you don’t mind being seen with me.” Maxine’s eye droops again.

  I stare defiantly at Jocelyn. There’s nothing I hate more than bullies (and royals, but bullies more so). “Of course I want to hang out with you. Let’s go.” I brush past Jocelyn, taking Maxine by the hand. “Any suggestions on what to do?”

  The two of us leave the dungeon-classroom behind, and the light shining through the hallway windows makes me feel brighter. Painters are painting the trim along the windows while cleaners wipe down the statues and gargoyles. A tarp is being hung in the central hallway that says “Fairy Tale Reform School” in large, gold script. Fresh flowers are in vases everywhere I look. Anna would love all this preparation for the princesses. I know it’s only been a day, but I thought she’d write right away.

  “Have you tried Pegasus flying yet?” Maxine asks. “There’s free time right now.”

  I’ve never flown before. Now is as good a time as any to start. A paper for the Evil Queen can definitely wait. I smile. “That sounds up my alley. Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Flying Lessons

  Thanks to a new hallway that appears when we leave class, we make it to the stables in no time.

  “You guys here for a ride?” asks a stable boy who’s raking hay. “I’ll tell you what I told the girl that just left—the woods are off-limits to students and Pegasi. The last thing we need is to lose another Pegasus to a giant. Pegasi are their favorite snack.”

  Eww.

  “Should I suit up two beauties for you?” The boy heads to the stalls. I can hear the Pegasi munching on hay and neighing. I’ve never been this close to them before—other than the time I snuck into the stables in the village to steal a gold harness some foolish stable boy left hanging on a wall. “You’ve got an hour ’til the Royal Ladies-in-Waiting Club comes for their afternoon fly over the princesses’ castle.”

  Double eww. I read about this school club. Their sole purpose is to dote on the princesses. No thank you!

  “Yes, we’d like a ride,” I say, getting excited.

  He looks at me skeptically. “You’re new here. You’ve ridden before, right?”

  “Of course,” I lie. I mean, how hard can it be?

  The boy heads off to grab me some gear.

  “Gilly? I think I’ve changed my mind about the flying.” Maxine sounds jittery. Her good eye stares at the stalls. “I was trying to impress you by asking, but to be honest, when I get in the air, I feel dizzy. It’s hard to fly with just one good eye.” Her bad one spins in its socket.

  Poor girl. “It’s okay,” I say, trying not to sound disappointed. I can’t just ditch her. Can I? “We can do something else.”

  Maxine twirls her green gem necklace. “No, you go! You can tell me about your flight at dinner. I could sit at your table. I mean, if you have room?” she asks hopefully.

  I smile. “Of course, there’s room. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Maxine heads off, leaving me alone to explore the gleaming white-and-gold stables. Photos of students in the Pegasus Flying Club at championship races line the walls near the entrance, along with various ribbons and trophies in a shiny, silver case. Beyond me are the stalls and gear, which are much nicer than at the dwarf squad stables. (I’ve, um, seen those a few times when I’ve been hauled in.) Those stables have a roof, but the Pegasus stables don’t. When I look up, I can see Pegasi flying high above, never veering far from sight.

  “If you don’t have a roof, how do you keep the Pegasi from flying away?” I ask as the stable boy comes back with two helmets and saddles.

  “Magic,” he says, looking at me like this should be obvious. “The roof closes at night, but during the day, we like these beauties to have their freedom when they’re not needed for lessons.” He hands me a helmet. “This should fit. Hey, where’s your friend?”

  “She bailed,” I say.

  The stable boy sighs. “I already told Mighty and Macho you were taking them.”

  I laugh. “Like they understand you!”

  He doesn’t look amused. “Of course they do! Pegasi can’t talk, but they can understand human thoughts. You should know that if you’ve ridden before.” He takes the helmet from me suspiciously, and I start to protest.

  “I’ll go up with her.”

  I turn around. Jax is leaning on the open stable doors.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask him.

  Jax takes the helmet from the boy and hands it back to me. “I ran into Maxine and she said where you were.” He grins mischievously. “So you’re an expert Pegasus flyer, huh?”

  I jut out my chin. “Is that so hard to believe?”

  “Yes,” the stable boy and Jax say at the same time.

  “I’ll take Mighty and she can take Macho,” Jax tells the boy. “She’ll be fine with me.” The stable boy nods and heads to the stalls.

  Jax motions for me to join them, but suddenly my feet don’t want to comply. Flying sounded like a good idea ’til I was actually about to do it. I don’t know how to hold the reins or what to say to a Pegasus to give directions! What if I fall off? I’ll wind up as flat as a gingerbread man.

  Jax takes my arm. “Relax. You can’t imagine how easy this is. And the rush of being in the sky and seeing the freedom outside these walls can’t be beat.”

  The stable boy opens a large stall, and I hear neighs. “Mighty and Macho, they’re ready for you. These boys are twins,” he tells me.

  I peek my head inside and inhale sharply. The Pegasi are majestic. And huge. Their white coats nearly glow, they’re so bright, and their wings are nearly double the size of their body, even if they are currently folded down at their sides. The Pegasi neigh softly as we approach.

  The stable boy pets the bridge of their noses. “Hop on. They’ll take you up and around the grounds.”

  I watch Jax stick his foot in the foothold and easily pull himself up. I walk over to Macho. “Hey, boy,” I say softly. “Think you can help me out? I’m not that good at this.” The Pegasus blinks his bright blue eyes and nudges me as if to say “no problem.” I do like Jax does and am amazed when I’m able to pull myself right up. Awesome.

  “Keep an eye on the time,” the stable boy tells us, pointing to the clock on the Pegasus’s harness. “Don’t leave the grounds since you aren’t with an instructor—or you’ll get detention—and don’t go into the Hollow Woods.” He says sharply, “Got it?”

  “Got it,” we say, and then without warning, the Pegasi’s wings begin to expand and we’re rising slowly out of the stables and into the sky. My stomach feels like it might fall out as the stable below gets farther and farther away. The wind begins to blow my hair away from my face, and I hold on to the reins tightly as the Pegasus begins to flap its wings faster and takes me high above the grounds.

  I’m flying!

  I start to laugh out of b
oth fear and excitement. I’ve never been on a Pegasus before. In the village, they were always for the rich or the royals, and yet here at FTRS, flying is a regular privilege. I have to admit, it’s a pretty nice student perk to have.

  “Just hang on. I’ll tell them where to go,” Jax says as his Pegasus flaps next to mine.

  I look down and see we’re over the school now. Below, I can make out students on the lawns fencing or playing dodgeball or just lounging on the grass. I’m afraid to turn my head, but I do, ever so slightly, and can just make out the village of Enchantasia in the distance. I’d give anything to fly over my boot right now and talk to my siblings, but I don’t want to extend my stay at FTRS any longer than I have to. In the opposite direction, the Hollow Woods loom darkly.

  Jax pulls alongside me, looking completely at ease. I’m still fighting the urge to close my eyes. “Pretty cool, huh?” he says.

  “You do this often?” I clutch Macho’s reins tighter.

  “Often enough.” Jax uses only one hand to hold the reins. With the other, he pets Mighty’s head. “So where do you want to go?” He gets a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I know! We should have brought water balloons to drop on Jocelyn.”

  “Maxine told you what happened in class?” We’re flying over the castle now, and I can’t help staring at the beautiful turrets and stone statues that sit atop each peak. I believe they’re gargoyles. Sensing my curiosity, Macho brings me closer. We fly by two ugly gray ones with nasty faces, and I can’t believe how long their claws are.

  Macho bucks slightly, and I hold on tighter. “It’s okay, boy. They’re just statues,” I say, knowing he can understand me. He begins to pull away. I glance back at the creepy gargoyles one last time and…huh. That’s funny. I could have sworn the gargoyles’ heads were turned the other way—but that’s impossible.

  “Jax, those gargoyles aren’t real, are they?” I ask as Macho catches up to him.

  Jax laughs. “You’ve been reading too many fairy tales, Cobbler.”

  It must have been my imagination. Then my eyes spot something lying on a flat roof. “My boots!” I will Macho to head back to the roof, and Jax follows. “Harlow zapped them off my feet during class and said I’d only find them when I could fly.”

  “You’ve got good eyes,” Jax says, landing on the roof first and picking up the boots. I dismount from Macho and change my shoes, lacing up my boots quickly. Ahhh. That’s so much better. I stick the uniform ones in the satchel on Macho’s side. “So where do you want to fly to next?” Jax asks. “Any chance you want to see the woods?”

  “I thought we weren’t allowed near them.”

  “We’re not—technically—but we can fly close enough,” Jax says casually. “Might be your only chance to see a giant up close.” I don’t say anything. “Unless you’re too scared to go. I wouldn’t blame you. My roommate, Ollie, says when he was playing rugby out in the fields the other day, he saw smoke coming from the woods.” He shrugs.

  I touch Macho. I don’t want him getting eaten. He neighs softly. “Then maybe we should avoid that area. Not that I’m scared.”

  Jax gives me a look. “Liar! I can tell you’re lying because when you do, your nose scrunches up like a little rat.”

  “I’m not scared!” I insist and jump on Macho again. “I just don’t see the need to get detention. It’s not like we’re going to see anything wicked going on in a flyby over the woods anyway.”

  Macho startles me by taking off at top speed.

  “Slow down,” I say as clouds blur by and the wind feels as cold as snow. “Slow down!” Macho ignores me and keeps racing. I can hear Jax behind us yelling, but between the wind and the low cloud cover, I can’t see or hear him. What am I going to do? My heart is racing. Visions of falling off pop into my mind. I hold on as he climbs higher above the clouds, where it’s so bright that I have to squint. Just when I think Macho has lost his mind, he dives and I actually scream at the speed we’re going. When he slows down, I realize we’re high above some dark green treetops. We’re at the edge of the Hollow Woods.

  “Thank you for stopping, but why would you bring me somewhere you could get eaten?” I wait for my heartbeat to slow down.

  “If you wanted to race, you could have just said so,” Jax scolds me when he finally catches up. “You could have been killed. You need to—”

  “Talk to my Pegasus,” I say. “I did. He wouldn’t listen.”

  “Pegasi always listen,” Jax says as if he doesn’t believe me.

  “Well, mine didn’t and—hey, is that Headmistress Flora?” I point to a tiny figure in a robe that is walking quickly to the edge of the supposedly dangerous and spooky woods. The black-and-white-speckled hair and prim clothes definitely remind me of the woman I met yesterday. “What would she being doing out here?”

  “That can’t be her.” Jax frowns. “She never leaves her office.”

  “Oh, it’s her all right,” I say as she looks around—but not up—and then slips in between the trees. I feel my heart speed up like it’s a drum.

  Gotcha.

  If my headmistress is keeping secrets, I’m going to find out what they are. Maybe dirt on her is my early ticket to freedom.

  CHAPTER 8

  Sweet Dreams

  As soon as the key turns in my dorm-room door, my eyes fly open. Mother says I have the hearing of a bat.

  I lie motionless as the door opens and Kayla tiptoes inside, choosing not to turn on the light and wake me up. Then she bangs into a coatrack.

  “Ouch! Ouch!” Kayla yells at the top of her lungs. “Yowza!”

  I turn on the oil lamp at the side of my bed and see Kayla hopping around on one foot. She’s still wearing our navy uniform, even though school has been over for hours. I am surprised she doesn’t change out of them as soon as classes are over. I do. Her wings shoot out, and soon she’s fluttering up and down, holding her aching toe.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  She holds her breath, then lets it go. “Sorry, roomie. I was trying not to wake you.”

  This is the first time I’ve seen Kayla in our room since I arrived a few days ago. I was starting to think I lived alone. Not that I mind. I almost never had a room to myself for more than thirty seconds in our boot.

  Kayla flutters to her bed and sits across from me. She makes a face. “Sorry we still haven’t gone on a proper tour of FTRS.”

  “It’s okay.” I sit up, pushing my heavy quilt from home off me. “I’ve been exploring on my own.” It’s the perfect excuse to watch ol’ Flora and see if there is anything I can use to get out of here.

  “I didn’t even help you move in.” Kayla sounds like she feels bad.

  I shrug. “I really didn’t have much to unpack.” This quilt Mother made me when I was a baby, a few pieces of clothing, and a family drawing are all the possessions I own. Kayla looks like she’s moved in permanently.

  The stone walls in our round room are decorated with colorful designs that Kayla painted, and silver streamers with tiny gold stars hang from our ceiling. They make me feel like we’re at a royal ball rather than in a bedroom. Ours is almost at the tip of the turret in the girls’ dormitories. (They keep trolls near the bottom level so they can’t snap and accidentally destroy the place.) Just getting to the room is a workout (twenty-four floors), but it seems worth the price. My boot was tiny and crowded, and someone was always crying or needing a diaper change. When I walk through this door, the room is mine and mine alone. Well, mine and Kayla’s.

  “It’s a pretty good room,” Kayla says, seeming to read my thoughts as her legs swing off the side of her bed. “I feel safe when I’m in here,” she says softly. “Sometimes I almost think I’m better off staying in here permanently.” I look at her strangely. Kayla holds out a mini magical scroll. I can’t believe she owns something so pricy. I wonder if she stole it. “Did you see today’s headline??
?? She pulls the scroll away. “I almost don’t want to show it to you. It might give you nightmares.”

  I roll my eyes. “You sound like the Wicked Stepmother.”

  “Former,” Kayla teases. “But seriously. Enchantasia is not as safe as everyone thinks it is.”

  Underneath the purple calligraphy and hearts, castles, and flowers that adorn every headline on Happily Ever After Scrolls is a much darker story.

  Gottie Spotted in Rowland. Harking Family Missing.

  “Mr. Harking has been tracking Gottie for the last two years,” Kayla says, explaining the article before I even read it. “I heard Wolfington talking about him once. I think Mr. Harking worked for the school. Now he and his whole family have disappeared.” Her eyes are as big as the moon. “Just for looking.”

  I feel suddenly cold, and not because castles are drafty. I think of Mother, Father, Anna, Han, Hammish, Felix, and Trixie being taken away because of my spying, and my stomach begins to churn. “I’m sure someone will catch her eventually. Flora said they were trying to bring her in.”

  “Trying,” Kayla repeated. “I don’t think anyone is ever going to catch her.” Kayla floats to her dresser, snaps her fingers, and POOF! she’s wearing shimmery blue pj’s. She looks at the picture of my family Father had a fairyographer whip up for Mother’s birthday. It’s of my whole clan in front of our boot. Mother packed it with my things. “You’re lucky you have such a great family.”

  I go to my dresser and look at the picture too. I’m wearing faded green pajamas. They pale in comparison to Kayla’s. “Yah, they’re keepers,” I say, ignoring the look of Father in the picture. His mouth is curved down in a deep frown. “Do you have a picture of your family?”

  Kayla’s eyes flash, and immediately I wonder how I’ve said the wrong thing.

  “I don’t have a family,” she says flatly. “Rumpelstiltskin took them from me.”

  “What?” I try to understand. “Why would Rumpelstiltskin want your family?” Just saying his name out loud sends shivers down my spine. His name rolled off Kayla’s tongue like she’s said it a thousand times before.