Operation Tenley

  Andrea and Collin exchanged nervous glances.

  Tenley slipped her arm around the girl. “You don’t need to be afraid, ginger victim.”

  Collin shook his head. “Hey, I just stepped on Andrea’s foot—”

  Tenley glared at him. “Gingers are people too! They have feet that can be stepped on just like the rest of us!”

  The teachers were starting to notice them.

  Collin abandoned his tray and walked out. Three girls in cheerleading outfits stared at her and whispered to each other.

  “Really, I’m fine,” Andrea said. “Collin’s my brother’s friend.”

  Tenley took both of Andrea’s shoulders in her hands and shook them. “You have been far too brave for far too long, ginger. I want you to know that you can count on me, Tenley T. Even when no one else will ‘like’ your Instagrams or sit with you. Or share your hairbrushes. I will. I am Ginger Strong. And if you nominate me,” Tenley smiled to those students still watching. “If all of you nominate me as your Hadley Beach representative for ANMIT, I promise I will personally guide the gingers. I will teach them what nail colors they can and cannot wear. I will be their Ginger Ninja.” She looked at Andrea. “Sound good, ginger?”

  “Andrea.”

  “You’re welcome.” Tenley looked back over to the cheerleaders. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a phone call to make.” She spun around and hurried out the door.

  14

  47:36:20

  Fair City

  Pennie landed on the floor of the Great Hall. No one even noticed. She picked herself up and brushed down her abundant robes. For once, she was glad to have all the extra padding.

  The Great Hall was at a standstill. Administrators and Fair Ones were glued to a giant screen where the same building Pennie had seen in Command Center continued to burn. Everyone cheered when—out of nowhere—dark rain clouds floated across the blue sky and hovered above the building. Heavy rain poured down on it. The fire went out.

  “Mama N is angry today!” a Fair One whistled.

  Pennie tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. Do you know how to get to Command Center?”

  The Fair One looked at her suspiciously. “No. And if you’re trying to get me to admit to something, I didn’t do it and I ain’t guilty of it neither.”

  “Right. Okay, is there an escalator around here, maybe?”

  The Fair One had already disappeared into the crowd.

  Pennie stood on her toes and saw someone she knew—Laraby, walking to the exit.

  “Laraby!” She waved.

  She rushed through a hologram banner and picked her way around white robes until she came to the Tool Belt Check. The checkout girl was gone. So was Laraby. Pennie searched inside her pocket for the ticket, but it was gone too. Tink’s crystal eight was still there though, so she slipped the chain around her neck and tucked it under her robes.

  Making sure no one was looking, she ran behind the counter. There were rows of lockers and no way of knowing which one had her tool belt in it. The sound of a nearby explosion shook the ground. Muffled cries came from the hall.

  “She’s attacking City Hall!” a Fair One shouted, running past the counter and out the door. Pennie followed.

  Laraby was halfway down the stairs.

  “Laraby!”

  He stopped, not looking too happy about it, or to be seeing Pennie.

  “You’re still here.” She ran down to him.

  “So are you.”

  “What’s happening? How can we be getting attacked?”

  “I doubt we are. Could be a crack in the ozone. The effects of the earthquake might be leaking upward. If she was attacking us directly, it would be bigger than a few rumbles.” Laraby started down the stairs again.

  Pennie continued after him. “There were explosions in Command Center.”

  Laraby stopped. “You were in Command Center?”

  Pennie nodded.

  “Did you see their equipment? Their 3rdi-Alls?”

  “They have so many amazing tools. Wind seats, even.” Pennie held out her wrist. “This is official Fair Force equipment. It’s counting down the forty-eight hours for The Right to Delete.”

  Laraby frowned at it.

  “I know. They want it to look like human technology. Tinktoria in Room Seventy-one started it, but travel’s been suspended. Do you know how to stop it?”

  “I’m not privy to Fair Force equipment because I am not yet a Lieutenant Fair One. And the last time I was with you, my chances of becoming one greatly decreased. So if you’ll excuse me.” He turned back for the stairs. His red beard blew over his shoulder.

  “Wait!” Pennie followed after him. “I thought you were that guy?”

  “What guy?”

  “That guy who knows everything. The guy who knows all the rules.”

  Laraby stopped. “As a matter of fact, I do know all the rules. What is it you want to know?”

  “How to turn this off.” She held out her wrist again.

  Laraby took a closer look. “I can’t help you,” he said, starting back down the stairs.

  “Do you know another way I can get to Earth?”

  “Even if I did know how to get you there, it’s not something you want to do on your own, without Fair Force protection. A myriad of nasty things could snap you up in a nano-second.”

  From the middle of the staircase, the old disheveled Fair One with the Bladeless sign clucked. “Snap you up.”

  Laraby ignored him.

  “We all took an oath, Laraby. To protect them. What if it was your client?”

  “It wouldn’t be my client. I would have reported her right away.”

  Pennie slumped down on a stair. Laraby turned around.

  “I’m sorry, Fair One, but you brought this problem on yourself. You should never have allowed your client to continue using her element. The rules were created for a reason. So right now, breaking another one might not be in your best interest.”

  “I knew it.” Pennie stood. “You do know a way.”

  “I didn’t say that. I never said that.”

  “You said another one. Another rule. A rule I would need to break to get down there. Please, Laraby, what is it?”

  The old Fair One mumbled something.

  Laraby started down the stairs again. “No.”

  Pennie crossed her arms. “Actually, you know what I think? I think you don’t know the rules as well as you think you do. So I’ll go find someone who does.”

  Laraby wanted to ignore her. He really did. But no one knew the rules better than he did. No one.

  “sipLips!”

  Pennie looked over at the old Fair One. “sipLips?”

  Laraby stopped.

  The old Fair One nodded furiously. “Yes. sipLips. They’ll take you down, for something nice.”

  Pennie glared at Laraby. “Tell me how to find a sipLip.”

  “It’s illegal.”

  “Tell me how to find a sipLip,” she said louder.

  Laraby took a step up. “Quiet, will you? Just talking about them can get you reviewed.”

  “How do I find a sipLip?” Pennie yelled.

  Laraby sighed. “Come with me.” He pulled a face at the old Fair One before turning away. Pennie hurried after him.

  The streets were deserted as far as Pennie could see. She followed Laraby around a corner.

  “All right,” he stopped. “The sipLips can get you down, but that old Fair One’s right. You’ll need to give them something for it, like some tools.”

  “Mine are still locked up.” Pennie noticed for the first time that Laraby had his. “That teen Administrator was gone. How did you get yours back?”

  “I wired them with voice command.”

  “Huh?”

  “Rule 345632. Fair Ones may add voice command to tool belts for cases of emergency.” He shrugged. “So I ordered the handy tool to unlock the lock from inside the lo
cker.”

  There was no time to be impressed. “Can I give the sipLips one of yours?”

  “What? No. Do you know how much volunteer work and overtime I’ve had to do to get all these?” Laraby displayed his tools proudly. Pennie had never seen so many devices on a single Fair One. “I even have the frozen yogurt maker.” He pulled out a small metal device in the shape of a cone. “Makes delicious non-fat froyo with a push of a button.”

  Pennie checked her stopwatch.

  “Extravagant, I know. But I’ve had every standard Fair One tool since my first day on the job. I’d trade them all in for a 3rdi-All, though. Continuous uninterrupted surround sound while retaining a perfect visual, regardless of the client’s speed. Imagine. No more losing audio contact when my client gets on his skateboard.”

  “I hope you get one,” Pennie said quietly. Her lower lip trembled.

  “Oh no. No crying. Look, penn 1—”

  “Pennie.”

  “Pennie. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

  “It was a rule from the Manual, Laraby. The oath we took? I have to do everything I can to protect my client and that means protecting her from getting erased too.”

  Laraby paused. She had a point.

  “Fine. Follow me,” he said, activating his propellers and lifting a few feet off the ground.

  Pennie, who had none, was forced to jog next to him instead.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The air was starting to smell putrid. This was a side of Fair City that no one ever saw and now Pennie wished she hadn’t either. The sky used to be a clear gray all over, but lately it was becoming increasingly dark. And here, the sky was nearly black.

  Pennie looked at her watch. 47:30:04. “I’ve. Already. Lost. Half. An. Hour,” she panted. Jogging was not something a Fair One and her tiny feet should do.

  A sudden gust of wind blew the dusty soot off the ground and into a frenzy. When the air settled, a Barely There diet bar wrapper swirled in and out of Laraby’s blades. He pointed to a sign ahead.

  The Fair City Dump.

  “The dump?”

  “Shh!” Laraby scolded her, landing perfectly and retracting his propellers.

  When they reached the sign, the dump was full of trash but otherwise empty.

  “Is anyone here?”

  Laraby took something out of his tool belt: the froyo maker.

  “Really? You’re going to make frozen yogurt now?”

  “They’ll come for the froyo.”

  “Seriously?”

  “sipLips can’t stay away from it.” He placed the froyo maker on the ground. “At least these sipLips can’t.” Laraby pulled out a flashlight. A green beam of light hit the small metal cone. There was a tiny puff followed by a white container.

  Laraby picked up the pint and propelled himself over the first pile of garbage. He flipped the lid off and balanced the container on top of the trash.

  “It’s better if I’m not here,” he said, propelling back to Pennie.

  “Are they dangerous?”

  “Let’s just say I have a history with them … but they won’t bother you. And here, if they whine about how that’s not enough, offer them an earpiece, too. I’ve got a few more where those came from.”

  Pennie took the earpiece and slipped it inside her robes. “How long do you think I’ll have to wait?”

  “They’re on their own time, so who knows. Good luck, Fair One Pennie. If you do get to Earth, remember to breathe. The more oxygen you take in, the faster you’ll acclimate and the less you’ll need to sleep. Which, by the way, is all you’re going to want to do. It’s brutal, that gravity.”

  “Thanks, Laraby.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he warned, tipping his head to the left and zooming away. “You might be making the biggest mistake of your life.”

  Pennie watched him go, really wishing he hadn’t said that. Again.

  15

  46:20:07

  Hadley Beach

  Mrs. Tylwyth stepped into Tenley’s room. “Actually, it’s a good thing you called. I forgot my catalogues anyway. Have you seen them anywhere?”

  “You mean these?” Tenley looked up from the other side of the bed. Two pom-poms made of shredded paper were clutched in her hands. She clapped them together.

  “Tenley. You said you had to come home because you ate a bad waffle.” Mrs. Tylwyth crossed her arms and frowned. “I left the store halfway open.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. But I didn’t think you’d let me come home if I told you the truth.”

  “Which is?” Mrs. Tylwyth smoothed down the end of Tenley’s bedding before she sat.

  “Cheerleading auditions. They’re today and I needed pom-poms. I didn’t want you to have to go buy me some real ones, so I made these. I might even use them in my nail tutorials.”

  “Cheerleading? Why would they be holding auditions at the end of the school year?”

  It was a little weird, considering it was June. “All I know is that this really cute guy was setting up auditions with Mr. Frimpy and told me I could audition too. Anyway, it’s the perfect place to get more votes.”

  “Honey,” Mrs. Tylwyth started.

  “Don’t worry, Mom,” Tenley brushed out a pom-pom. “I’m going to get it.”

  “This is a small town, Tenley. These teens that you’re watching, the ones that actually get onto the show and win the nominations, they’re from big cities. ANMIT only takes one teen from each state. And these kids have moms and dads who work in big companies where they can get lots of votes, not at their own antique shop. I might only get one or two walk-ins a day, honey, and even though I put your signs up, well, I just don’t want you to be heartbroken.”

  “I’m not going to be heartbroken; I’m going to be nominated.” Tenley clapped her pom-poms and stood. “I made these out of your Secret Antique Finds catalogues. I mean, am I inspirational or what?”

  “A paper tutu, too?” Mrs. Tylwyth chuckled.

  Tenley swiveled her hips. “Cool, huh?”

  “How did you know how to make all that?”

  “YouTube, Mom. DIY.”

  Mrs. Tylwyth couldn’t help but look impressed.

  “So you’re not mad at me?”

  “No, I’m still mad, Tenley. And you’ll have to pay me back for those catalogues. But you are pretty clever.”

  “Can you take me back to school now please?”

  “Let’s go.” Mrs. Tylwyth walked to the door. “I hope this rain stops soon or I’m afraid you’ll be wearing a soggy ball of paper for a tutu.”

  “It won’t rain on us,” Tenley said glancing out the window confidently. “I promise.”

  16

  46:00:00

  Fair City

  Time had not been good to the sipLips. After the Super’s disappearance, these descendants of fairies refused to take part in the plan to protect the clients. They felt that their ancestors had been forced into servitude—granting all those wishes and throwing all that pixy dust—long enough. And now, with the Super gone, these fairies had the chance to become something else entirely.

  That something else was filthy and rude. And sipping and slurping. They became known as “sipLips.”

  Fair Ones were heavily discouraged from interacting with sipLips. With no allegiance to either Fairships or Mother Nature, they were out to protect only themselves. After dissolving into a ragtag, unorganized bunch of beings, sipLips became the scavengers of the asteroid belt, willing to do anything for anyone as long as they were rewarded in return—usually with food, sometimes with shelter, and almost always with tools. It was rumored that Mother Nature didn’t trust the sipLips any more than the Fairships did. Luckily, with no equipment to call their own and no Weathers to employ, the sipLips were not considered an immediate threat. They were, however, alarmingly unappealing.

  Pennie stepped back as four of these creatures straighte
ned themselves out in front of her, which made no difference to their appearance. They were filthy. One sipLip had filled the rips in his grimy robes with newspaper. All of them had tool belts around their waists, but only the largest of the sipLips had any tools in it. And their propellers! Rusted and bent and missing blades.

  “Howdy-do, Fairly One. You rang?” the largest sipLip asked with a sloppy smile. His teeth, the ones that remained, were the same color as his robes.

  Pennie’s trembling voice was so far inside her throat she had trouble getting the words out. “My friend did, yes.”

  He studied Pennie. “You have the face of a guilty Fair One. Tell us what crime you committed. And please, spare no detail.”

  “I just need a ride.”

  “I see.” He turned back to chuckle with the other sipLips. “Transportation, then.” He returned to Pennie. “Lucky for you we’ve had a cancellation today. I am Gavron.” He extended his hand.

  “Fair One penn 1. Pennie,” she said, shaking it quickly and then stepping back. Gavron’s hand was caked in dirt and his nails were long and gray.

  “I was told there’d be gifts?”

  Pennie froze. “Gifts?”

  “It’s always nice to thank those who volunteer their time.” He gestured back toward the smaller sipLips who had wandered off to kick at the garbage. “For the boys. Don’t you think?”

  Pennie pointed to the top of the pile.

  Gavron spotted the container and released a few dribbles of spit, which slid down his chin. “Aim a little higher, boys,” he said before whipping his dirty red hair out of his eyes and leaning into Pennie. “Couldn’t smell their way into a garlic factory. Now. Where are we transporting you, exactly?”

  “Down there,” she whispered.

  “Down where?” he whispered back.

  “Earth.”

  Gavron threw his head back and laughed. “The great Fair Ones. Coddled with every kind of technological tool and yet they can’t find a way down to Earth on their own. Ironic, no?” He leaned into Pennie again. “It’s a nasty place. Why would you want to go there?”