~Chapter 4~

FAIRY TALES

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS OF SCHOOL were in some ways better and in others, worse. Much, much worse. It was better because I finally remembered my schedule, after hours of practice. Okay, maybe “hours” is an overstatement, but you know what I mean. I turned in my essay and got an “A” on it, which made me feel so relieved.

I got a chance to sign up for after-school clubs and I decided to join the Math Numbers Club so I could learn some advanced math. I decided I wouldn’t sign up for Cooking or Drama class until next year, when it was required.

The chess club Ricky started was going great. I convinced Jill and Sam to join the club. There were more than twenty members already, and I must admit, Ricky is an excellent teacher because he managed to explain chess clearly enough so that even I can understand it.

Jill and I have become best friends and she normally called me every other night to chat about stuff she heard from her mom who worked for a magazine company. Sam also hung out with us more often now, and we normally played at the park on Friday’s before Ricky started the chess club meetings.

I also bought a car air freshener over at the 7Eleven store right by my swim practice pool. I asked—I mean begged—Kurt to use it and surprisingly, he said yes. I still couldn’t get used to that rancid smell.

It was much worse because the homework piled up on me and I had to drag my backpack off the bus. There were also days when I stayed up until midnight to finish all my homework.

It was also much worse because I actually bumped into a bully while I was taking out my Pre-Algebra textbook. He threatened to kill me the next time I bumped into him. That made me extremely sensitive of my surroundings and when Michelle playfully poked me while we walked home, I flinched. She asked what was wrong, and I just told her I was cold. That, however, was a mistake because then, she lent me her jacket. And her jacket has Barbie on it.

Could this day get any worse? I asked myself. I wanted—I really, really wanted—to answer “no”, but normally, the correct answer would have been “yes”. And I wished it wasn’t correct—for once.

When I came home, I skipped the apples because I didn’t have an appetite and headed straight upstairs. I decided to start on my math homework. Right when I was going to take out my math textbook, I heard the small voice again.

“Rose, Rose! I’m over here!” It shouted. I spun my head to the direction where I heard it came from.

“What?!?” I asked out loud. “Where are you? Who are you?”

“I’m right here!” The voice now sounded irritated, but still very musical.

I jumped. The voice sounded so close. I dropped my textbook with a loud thud and turned around in my chair. I froze. In front of me, about four feet in the air, was a fairy. She wore a dazzling, sapphire-blue dress and matching shoes. She had curly blonde hair with blue highlights and bright, blue eyes. I could obviously tell she loved blue.

“Um who are you?” I asked, not really expecting any answer. This could be just one of those flying fairy toys you see on TV. Plus, if she did reply, it would probably be monotone-sounding and she would probably say something like “Hi, I’m Barbie! Let’s be friends!” Something like that. But her answer threw me off guard.

“Oh, sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet! I’m Alice, helper of the fairy princess, Christina. Most of us call her Tina, though. She doesn’t like the name Christina.” She said these words fluidly, like someone playing the piano. “You must be Rose.”

I stared at her in shock. This could not be possible. It just couldn’t. How could I possibly be talking to a fairy? I couldn’t trust what I was seeing. There were a bunch of times where what I saw was completely wrong. Besides, fairies don’t even exist. They don’t, right? “Hold on, rewind. Did you just say you were a fairy?”

“Uh, like yeah! What did you think I was? A flying insect?” She crossed her arms over her chest and flew onto my pillow.

Okay, so this flying thing said she was a “fairy”, but then again, it could still be a toy, but someone could have just recorded that. But, all the same, I examined her a little closer. There were no robotic-looking arms or legs, and the wings looked real. There didn’t seem to be any wires attached to her, either.

“How did you know to call me Rose?”

“Well, your name is on your jacket. Oh, that reminds me, I have to change something…” She said.

“Change what?”

“Your records. Now stop asking questions, I have to concentrate!” She commanded.

She closed her eyes and waved her index finger. Suddenly, right in front of her, was a six-hundred page book that looked a lot like our phone book.

“What’s this?” I asked her.

“This is the book where we keep all the information of the humans we should see or visit. There are five of us in this department; me, Chloe, Victoria, Rachel, and my best friend Jessie. We all visit the humans for a different reason. Some are the same though. Like exchanging a tooth for money, or filling Easter baskets. It‘s kind of fun, actually. All the humans react differently to us, like your sister Michelle. She thought I was a bug!” She giggled to herself.

“How did you know her name?”

“Well, along with your name, we also have all the names of your family members or friends. It updates itself every time you make a new friend.” She explained.

“Oh.” I mumbled.

She took out a small pen and scribbled something down on the book. Then, with that same little wave, the book disappeared. I gazed at her with astonishment. This, I must admit, was awesome.

“So how did you get here?” I asked after a moment of silence.

“The book gave me the directions.” She replied

“Oh,” I said again. “You said there was always a reason for you guys to visit us, right?” Alice nodded and I continued, “Well, what’s your reason?”

“Well, I‘m here because Princess Tina wants you. She said it was for a ‘secret’ mission although have the kingdom already knows what it is.” She rolled her eyes.

“But, what is this mission?” A secret mission? This sounded like one of those fantasy tales where the heroes learn that they have to battle dragons and witches. I shuddered, but it had nothing to do with me being cold. In fact, it was actually a comfortable seventy-six degrees in my room.

“Oh, I have to keep that a secret. Sorry,” She replied.

“Now, I don’t have much time, so I’m just going to go over some basic, what should I call them, rules. Rule number one; don’t tell anyone about me. Not even a rock. Number two, do not Google search ‘fairies’, because everything on there is fake. I will also give you this.” She fumbled around in her pink purse and took out a small bracelet with a fairy charm on it.

“Whenever you need me, or any other fairy, squeeze this charm tightly. Then, one of us should appear. But, whatever you do, do not, do not, tell anyone about this. Oh, and uh, I shall pick you up when Princess Tina needs you; she just has to make some arrangements first. Okay, well that’s about it. Do you promise not to tell any one or thing about me?” She raised her eyebrows and looked at me.

I sighed. Why couldn’t she just trust me? “Yes, I promise.”

“Okay, well I’d better be off. I’ll see you soon!” She promised me and then she flew off my bed and out my window where a small, egg-shaped car floated in mid-air, waiting for her. She hopped in and the car immediately took off.

I sighed again. There were still a lot of questions I had that were left unanswered. I shook my head again and picked up my math book.

Just as I was doing so, I heard a small knock on my door.