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‘I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it!’ gasped Bimi.

  Suddenly a piercing scream echoed through the tree trunk. ‘I DID IT!’ whooped Sooze, punching the air and doing a back flip. ‘I DID IT! I DID IT!’ She flung herself at Twink and Bimi. The three fairies’ wings fluttered madly as they clutched at each other, screaming and laughing.

  ‘I’ll say you did, Sooze,’ breathed Zena, looking at the results. ‘You came fifth in our whole year, even with failing your Fairy Dust practical!’

  ‘And Pix came first, of course!’ teased Sili, tugging the red-haired fairy’s cap down.

  Pix’s eyes were shining, but she looked limp with relief. ‘They were a lot harder than I thought they’d be,’ she admitted. ‘Oh, I can’t believe I really came first! My parents are going to be thrilled.’

  With a rustle of white wings, Miss Sparkle arrived. ‘Well done, girls!’ she beamed. ‘You’ve all done brilliantly – and you especially, Sooze. I knew you could do it, my dear.’

  Sooze flushed bright red. ‘I wasn’t sure at all,’ she confessed. ‘But I’m so glad I did!’

  Miss Sparkle smiled warmly at her. ‘You’ve the makings of a fine fairy, Sooze – maybe now you’ll start to take yourself a bit more seriously.’ She glanced around the group. ‘Mariella, may I have a word? We have a few things to discuss.’

  Suddenly Twink noticed how sick and pale Mariella looked. Miss Sparkle flew the pointy-faced fairy a little distance away from the others, talking earnestly to her. Mariella stared down at the ground, mumbling her replies.

  Frowning, Twink looked at the results again – and gasped. ‘Oh, no! Look at Mariella’s scores.’

  The others gazed at Mariella’s results in stunned silence. ‘Oh, Mosquito Nose!’ groaned Sooze, slapping her forehead. ‘You silly fairy – you didn’t study at all, did you?’

  Mariella Gossamer: 295 points. Creature Kindness: 55. Flower Power: 47. Dance: 43 . . . the numbers marched on, each more awful than the last.

  Twink swallowed hard as she remembered Mariella during the Creature Kindness exam. ‘I – I think she tried to cheat in Creature Kindness,’ she said in a low voice.

  ‘Well, it serves her right, I suppose,’ said Sooze, shaking her head. ‘But it’s not going to be the same, moving up to Third Year without old Mosquito Nose – and I never thought I’d say that!’

  As the Peony Branch fairies watched, Miss Sparkle patted Mariella’s shoulder and flew off. Mariella hovered listlessly where she was, gazing at her pixie boots.

  ‘Wasps – she must feel awful!’ muttered Sooze. She hesitated, fluttering her pink wings. Then all at once she skimmed across to Mariella. A moment later, she had her arm around Mariella’s shoulders, talking softly to her.

  The Peony Branch fairies looked at each other.

  ‘Come on,’ said Twink suddenly.

  As one, she and her friends flew over to join them, hovering around Mariella in a bright rainbow of wings. The pointy-faced fairy wiped her eyes and tried to laugh. ‘Oh, no! Not more of you. Does everyone know?’

  ‘Are you OK?’ asked Bimi, touching her arm.

  Mariella sighed. ‘My father’s going to kill me when he finds out I tried to cheat, not to mention failing my exams.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But Miss Sparkle said she’d talk to him about special classes for me over the hols, so . . .’ she trailed off.

  ‘Good!’ said Pix. ‘You could do really well if you tried, Mariella.’

  Mariella shrugged her lacy green wings glumly. ‘I don’t know if I’ll do well enough to move up, though. There’s so much to catch up on!’

  Sooze shook her shoulders. ‘Of course you can! Look at me – who would have thought that I could ever come fifth in the whole year?’

  ‘Well, there is that,’ said Mariella with a tiny smile.

  The magpie’s call echoed through the school. ‘Come on – it’s time for breakfast,’ said Zena. ‘Then our parents will be here!’

  As the Peony Branch fairies flew towards the Great Branch, Twink looked at the oak-leaf notice again and smiled. I’m so lucky! she thought. She had her old dream of becoming a Fairy Medic – and now a new dream, too. She’d take the advanced Flower Power classes next year as Miss Petal had suggested, and see where they led her.

  Bimi, as she so often did, seemed to read Twink’s thoughts. ‘Would your parents mind if you became a Wood Guardian instead of a Fairy Medic?’ she whispered, linking her arm through Twink’s.

  Twink shrugged. ‘They might be a little disappointed – but I think they just want me to be happy. Besides, I haven’t decided anything yet,’ she added with a grin. ‘I just have more choices now, that’s all!’

  And it was true. Maybe she’d be a Fairy Medic who talked with the dryads – or maybe she’d end up working with trees and forests. Who knew? It all seemed terribly exciting!

  Sooze linked arms with Twink on the other side. ‘It’s our last breakfast as Second Years!’ she cried as they flew into the Great Branch. Laughing, the other Peony Branch fairies linked on as well, so that all at once they were flying in a long, wavering line.

  Afterwards, Twink wasn’t sure who it was who started to sing, but soon all the fairies in the school were joining in – even Miss Shimmery and all their teachers, their voices echoing up to the rafters:

  .

  Oh, Glitterwings, dear Glitterwings

  Beloved oak tree scho-ool.

  Good fairy fun for everyone,

  That is our fairy ru-ule.

  Our teachers wise,

  .

  .

  Their magic strong.

  With all our friends,

  We can’t go wrong.

  Oh, Glitterwings, dear Glitterwings,

  Beloved oak tree scho-ool!

  .

  Goodbye for now, Glitterwings, thought Twink happily, squeezing the arms of her friends on either side. See you next year!

  .

  The End

  .

  Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney

  First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY

  Text copyright © Lee Weatherly 2008

  Illustrations copyright © Smiljana Coh 2008

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  This electronic edition published in August 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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  A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978 1 4088 1350 8

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