New Girl Page 4

  ‘Is everyone ready to get started?’ Kiki’s wings tapped together nervously as the Second Years fell into an expectant silence. Bimi stood beside her, holding a pile of flowery dresses.

  Now that the moment of unveiling had arrived, Kiki looked very unsure of herself. ‘Right, I’ve got the dresses ready – and, um, I really hope you like them. I tried to plan outfits that would suit you all. I mean, go with your hair colour and wing colour, and . . . um, personality . . .’ she trailed off, biting her lip.

  ‘Get on with it!’ called Sooze. The others laughed good-naturedly.

  Kiki’s wings relaxed as she grinned. ‘All right, you asked for it!’ she called back. ‘Sooze, this is yours.’

  She had a quick rummage in the pile Bimi was holding, and whipped out a bright purple dress with a broad zig-zag streak of hot pink across its front. The Second Year gasped in delight.

  ‘Sooze, it’s perfect for you!’ squealed Sili, clapping her hands.

  Sooze flitted on to the platform and held the dress up in front of her. It was very short, with a high neck and long, fluttery sleeves.

  ‘I love it!’ cried Sooze, bouncing on her toes. ‘Kiki, you’re a genius!’ She danced off to the changing area that Kiki had set up behind a screen of oak leaves, and a moment later emerged resplendent.

  Soon the other fairies were exclaiming in delight as well. They all seemed to have outfits that were perfect for them. Pix was in a simple, stylish dress of daisy petals; Sili in sparkly silver shorts and a shimmering turquoise top. Even Mariella looked wonderful, in a pale orchid dress with gauzy green sleeves.

  It was impossible not to feel swept up in the excitement, and soon Twink’s heart was beating faster with every name called. What had Kiki designed for her? Perhaps something pink, to go with her hair – made from rose petals, maybe . . .

  ‘Twink, here’s yours,’ called Kiki.

  A hush fell as Twink flew up to the platform. Most of the Second Year were aware of the tension between the two fairies, and Twink’s pointed ears burned as she realised that everyone was watching.

  Kiki smiled uncertainly as Twink landed in front of her. ‘I – I wanted to do something special for you, Twink – something that no one else could wear.’

  Twink felt a flutter of apprehension. Nobody else had had this sort of speech. What on earth had Kiki designed for her?

  Slowly, Kiki took one of the remaining dresses from Bimi. ‘Um . . . here it is,’ she said, offering it to Twink.

  Twink stared in horror at the thing Kiki was holding out to her. It was a short tunic made from prickly dandelion leaves, with splashes of blue and gold paint making wild patterns over it. A spiky green cap made from a horse-chestnut shell went with it.

  ‘Do you like it?’ asked Kiki anxiously. ‘I just thought – you have such interesting looks, Twink; and it takes someone with real personality to carry off a dress like this . . .’ she faltered as she saw the expression on Twink’s face.

  ‘Yes, it’s great,’ said Twink coolly.

  She took the dress from Kiki, wincing as one of the dandelion spikes jabbed her in the arm. What was ‘interesting looks’ supposed to mean? And ‘real personality’ . . . ha! Obviously, Kiki was making Twink wear this hideous dress so that everyone would laugh at her.

  .

  .

  ‘I hope the inside isn’t dandelion leaves,’ said Twink. The entire Second Year was nudging each other and whispering.

  ‘Oh, no!’ Kiki reassured her. Her purple eyes looked worried. ‘It’s dandelion fluff; really nice and soft. Try it on – it’ll look great on you, I promise!’

  Had Bimi been in on this as well? Twink gave her a hard look, but Bimi was busy with another fairy, studiously avoiding Twink’s gaze.

  Close to tears, Twink flew behind the oak-leaf screen and pulled on the dress. Adjusting the thorny cap on her head, she stared in the small dewdrop mirror. She looked like an exploded dandelion, with ugly spikes sticking out every which way!

  ‘Ooh, Twink,’ breathed Sili. ‘Is that your outfit? I’ve never seen anything like it!’

  ‘Who has?’ snapped Twink. She pulled at the dress, and then jerked her hand away as the spikes pricked her palm. Oh! That awful Kiki – she was probably having a good snigger, right at this very moment!

  ‘Yes, but it really suits you.’ Sili was flying slowly around Twink, taking her in from every angle. ‘It looks so different – it’s really something!’

  Twink made a face. Sili was so scatty that she’d think anything looked good. Or, worse yet, maybe she was in on the prank with Kiki and Bimi. Maybe the whole branch was, to get back at Twink for being such a thistle head. They were all blaming her, when it wasn’t even her fault!

  Twink’s pulse pounded hotly. She flitted out from behind the screen and joined the crowd of Second Years. She half hoped that someone would make a comment about her dress, just so she could snarl at them!

  But no one seemed to notice her. Suddenly Twink realised that everyone’s attention was on the platform, where Kiki and Bimi seemed to be having a row.

  ‘Because I knew you’d just say no if I mentioned it before!’ said Kiki, flapping her wings in exasperation. ‘Sooze was right, Bimi – you have to be a model. You’re the prettiest fairy in the whole year!’

  Twink thought Bimi looked terrified, in spite of her secret longing to follow in her mother’s wing strokes. ‘No, no, I don’t want to!’ she said, backing away. ‘Really, I’m happy just being an assistant behind the scenes.’

  Kiki sighed. ‘Well, at least let me show you the outfit I made for you.’

  She drew a dress out from a hidden place behind the platform. A gasp rippled across the Second Years. It was a long, sleeveless gown of dark blue iris petals, with silver and gold stars shimmering across it like the most magical night sky imaginable.

  ‘Oh,’ whispered Bimi. As if in a dream, she fluttered slowly forward, touching the soft petal fabric. ‘Kiki, it’s – it’s beautiful.’

  ‘Then you’ll wear it?’ asked Kiki eagerly. ‘Oh, Bimi, please say yes. It’ll look gorgeous on you!’

  Bimi swallowed hard, obviously deeply torn. ‘I . . . but then I’d have to model it in front of everyone . . .’

  ‘Well, yes, that’s the idea,’ laughed Kiki. She swayed the dress enticingly. ‘Oh, come on, Bimi – why not enjoy being pretty for a change?’

  Twink watched as Bimi bit her lip, staring at the dress. The little stars shimmered and twinkled. ‘All right, I’ll do it!’ she burst out.

  The Second Year burst into cheers, beating their wings together. Bimi’s cheeks blazed bright red. Grabbing the dress from Kiki, she flitted behind the screen. A few moments later, she edged out from behind it.

  ‘Um . . . how do I look?’ she asked, her face still on fire.

  Twink blinked. Bimi looked beautiful, of course – but her expression was so terrified that it ruined the effect of the dress. She looked as if a swarm of angry wasps had forced her to put it on, and were ready to sting her if she didn’t get it right!

  .

  .

  ‘Gorgeous,’ said Kiki firmly. ‘And you’ll look even more gorgeous when you’re feeling more relaxed. Now come on, everyone, let’s practise how to move down the flyway like a real model. Ready?’

  ‘Wait,’ cried Sooze, hovering in her purple dress. ‘First, let’s give three cheers for Mariella, for thinking of the fashion show in the first place!’

  As the Second Years chorused an enthusiastic round of cheers, the pointy-faced fairy’s cheeks blushed a deep crimson. ‘Thank you!’ she gasped. For once, Twink thought, she’d completely forgotten to act superior!

  ‘Right, everyone, let’s practise our moves,’ called Kiki when they had finished. ‘Just do what I do.’

  Twink flew with the others, trying to imitate
Kiki’s effortless glide and graceful poses. It was harder than it looked, especially in a dress she hated. Twink’s arms and legs felt like awkward sticks that refused to do what she asked.

  Kiki flitted among the girls, arranging them in pairs. ‘Sooze, you fly with Lola . . . Mariella, you and Pix should go together . . .’

  She hesitated when she got to Twink. ‘Um . . . Twink, I think you should fly on your own. Your dress is one of a kind – I want to really show it off!’

  ‘Fine,’ said Twink tightly. She might have known that Kiki would make her go alone, just to embarrass her even more.

  Finally the fairies gathered on the sidelines, whispering excitedly as they waited to begin their first fly-through. Sooze and Lola went first. Propping her hands on her hips, Sooze put on a dramatically pouty model’s face as she flew, whirling this way and that as if she were born to it.

  ‘Go, Sooze!’ shouted Sili, clapping her hands.

  Even Lola looked like she was having fun, posing shyly in her bright green sparkle-dress. Fairy after fairy flew down the Branch, all of them radiant in their beautiful outfits. By the time it was Twink’s turn, she was more conscious than ever of how awful she looked.

  ‘Ready, Twink?’ Kiki was hovering to one side, taking notes on a petal pad.

  Scowling, Twink took off down the length of the Great Branch. Belatedly, she remembered that she was supposed to be posing, and put her arms stiffly out to her sides.

  .

  .

  Stifled laughter rippled across the Second Years. ‘Come on, Opposite, can’t you look a bit crosser?’ called out Sooze. Flinging her arms out, Sooze gave a ferocious mock scowl. The Branch erupted into howls of merriment.

  Twink hovered in place, trembling with embarrassed fury. How dare they all laugh at her! She saw Kiki bite back a smile, too, and suddenly the weeks of pent-up emotion burst out of her like an earthquake.

  Snatching the cap off her head, Twink threw it to the floor. ‘Shut up!’ she shouted. The Second Years stopped laughing and stared at her.

  ‘Shut up, all of you! I’m not wearing this stupid, ugly dress. In fact – in fact, I’m not even going to be in the fashion show, so you can all find someone else to laugh at!’

  ‘Oh, Twink –’ started Kiki.

  Twink didn’t wait. Jetting back behind the oak-leaf screen, she flung off the horrible dress and struggled back into her uniform. Then, pausing only to grab her bag from the pile on the floor, she flew out of the Great Branch as fast as she could.

  .

  Chapter Six

  Crystal magic takes place in many ways. One of the most common is to take an appropriate crystal (for instance, rose quartz for love, amethyst for inspiration, etc.) and cast a corresponding spell upon it. The crystal then acts to strengthen the spell, and also provides a handy talisman. This is especially useful when . . .

  Twink groaned and flipped a page. This book was just the same as the other two had been. Pages and pages about how to use crystals for fairy magic, but not a single word about how to reverse a crystal prophecy!

  Twink looked up, and realised she was alone in the second-year Common Branch.

  She sighed and stretched her wings.

  .

  .

  And now she needed such advice more than ever. Ever since Twink’s outburst in the Great Branch several weeks before, the entire Second Year seemed to be avoiding her. Kiki had given the dandelion-leaf dress to Jax to wear, and told Twink that she could work on the lights for the fashion show, if she preferred.

  ‘And Twink,’ she started to add, rubbing her purple wings together fretfully. ‘I didn’t mean – that is, I –’

  But Twink had only stared stonily at her, until Kiki finally gave up and turned away.

  So now Twink was working the glow-worm lights, high up in the rafters. She tickled the worms’ tummies to turn them on and off, and put bright crystal panels in front of the lanterns to change the spotlights into different colours.

  It wasn’t terribly exciting work, and Twink spent long hours watching the models practise with her chin propped on her hand. Nobody even seemed to remember that she was up there, and she felt very alone.

  At the same time, the fashion show was really starting to come together. The second-year fairies were gaining in confidence more and more as the days went on, sashaying down the flyway like real models. Even Lola was skimming about stylishly now, looking almost as sure of herself as Sooze.

  The only one who didn’t seem to be having fun was Jax, who complained that she wasn’t the ‘type’ to model. ‘This really isn’t my thing,’ she muttered once, as she struck a pose. ‘How do models keep from being bored to death?’

  But the biggest surprise of all was Bimi. The blue-haired fairy had grimaced nervously the first few times she practised her moves, flying almost as stiffly as Twink had done. Yet bit by bit, she was clearly starting to enjoy herself. Just the day before, Twink had watched, open-mouthed, as Bimi flitted gracefully down the flyway, executing a series of midair pirouettes that made the stars on her dress flash like diamonds.

  ‘Bimi, that’s great!’ Kiki shouted as the other girls burst into applause.

  ‘It wasn’t bad, was it?’ Bimi smiled broadly, her expression radiant.

  Twink had stared down from the rafters in amazement. Instead of blushing and ducking her head shyly, Bimi actually seemed pleased by the attention. She held her head higher than usual as she flitted back to the changing screen, and flipped her hair back in a very un-Bimi-like way.

  Then, later that night, Bimi and Kiki had talked about fashion for ages, decorating each other’s wings with a special glittery polish. Trying to read one of her books on crystals hidden inside a petal mag, Twink had watched in horrified amazement. Bimi had never decorated her wings before! What was happening to her?

  Now, in the second-year Common Branch, Twink stared down at the useless books in frustration. I’ve got to find some way to reverse the prophecy soon, she thought miserably. Or else it’ll be too late, and Bimi will be gone for good.

  Stacking the three books together, Twink took them back to the Glitterwings library. Mrs Stamen was at her mushroom desk, surrounded by high shelves that touched the ceiling. It was very quiet, with only a few girls flitting about the highest shelves, far overhead.

  ‘Did you find what you needed?’ asked Mrs Stamen, checking the books in with a snail-trail pen.

  Twink sighed. ‘Not really,’ she admitted.

  The librarian looked at the spine of one of the petal books. ‘Crystal Magic,’ she read in surprise. ‘No, we don’t have many books on crystals, I’m afraid – it’s a very specialised field. But you could always ask Miss Sparkle if you have any questions about them.’

  Twink blinked. ‘Miss Sparkle? But she teaches Fairy Dust!’

  Mrs Stamen nodded as she turned away to help another student. ‘Yes, but she’s made quite a study of crystals – there’s probably not much about them that she doesn’t know.’

  .

  .

  ‘Thanks, Mrs Stamen,’ murmured Twink.

  Flying out of the library, Twink bit her lip thoughtfully as she headed back towards Peony Branch. The dour second-year head wasn’t Twink’s favourite teacher, and the thought of telling her about the awful fortune she had seen wasn’t very tempting. She’d probably just tell Twink she had been a moss brain to look in the crystal in the first place!

  Suddenly Twink started. Bimi and Kiki were drifting down the trunk towards her, deep in conversation. Without thinking, Twink ducked into a knothole. The two fairies stopped nearby, hovering and chatting.

  ‘How do you think I should do my hair?’ Bimi was saying. ‘Should I wear it up in a ponytail, maybe with some dewdrop ornaments?’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Kiki. ‘Or you could just wear it
long, with little sparkles sprinkled in it!’

  ‘Ooh, silver and gold, to match my wings!’ cried Bimi. ‘I could even sprinkle some on my arms – wouldn’t that look glimmery?’

  Twink made a face. What had come over Bimi? She sounded exactly like one of those silly fairies from the upper years, who only cared about wing polish and making their petal skirts shorter. She’d be swooning over boy fairies next!

  ‘Oh, Kiki, I never thought I’d actually be a model!’ Bimi’s blue eyes shone. ‘And in such a gorgeous dress, too. You’re doing a great job on the show, you know. Everyone’s having a brilliant time.’

  ‘Except for Twink, I suppose.’ Kiki pushed her lilac curls back with a sigh. ‘I really feel awful that I’ve come between the two of you, Bimi.’

  Twink stiffened. She hadn’t realised that Kiki knew about their friendship – Bimi must have told her.

  ‘Well, it’s not your fault,’ said Bimi. ‘I tried talking to her over and over again, but she was just impossible. I’ve really had enough of her this term, Kiki. She’s changed completely!’

  Still talking, the two fairies flew away. Twink felt icy cold, and then a searing heat blazed through her. How could Bimi say that she had changed, when Bimi was the one suddenly going on about wing polish and hairstyles?

  And now . . . and now Bimi had had enough of her. The heat left Twink in a rush as she struggled against tears. It was too late, then. There was nothing she could do.

  ‘No!’ she decided suddenly, clenching her fists. Spiralling quickly up the trunk, Twink dodged past a crowd of older girls and landed, breathing hard, on the ledge outside Miss Sparkle’s branch. She knocked.

  ‘Come in,’ called a voice.

  Miss Sparkle was sitting at her mushroom desk, marking petal papers. She looked up as Twink flitted in. ‘Yes?’

  Twink’s throat was dry. ‘I just wondered if I could ask you something,’ she blurted. ‘About – about crystals. Mrs Stamen said that you’d made a study of them.’

  Miss Sparkle raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes, that’s right,’ she said drily. ‘Why do you need to know about crystals?’