No, I gradually realised that wasn’t possible. There were copious amounts of fairies in the pool- some others had to be pretty lame. Yet, I had hardly ever seen one, only once or twice in the news.
Maybe it just wasn’t something that was shared- I could bet that no one would want a secret like that exploited.
Finally, I got up the nerve to speak, which took some audacity of my part.
“You- your fairy is awful, too? Like... Levitation Fairy level of awful?”
He shook his head.
“Way worse. My fairy...could be worse than any fairy in the pool.”
“Not worse than a Parking Fairy.”
“Okay, the second worst in the pool. That has to be rough. But I doubt you want a... Cooking With Peanuts Fairy.”
I shrugged. He was exaggerating. That wasn’t such a horrible fairy! That actually had many uses, and he could have a great future as a chef with an ability like that. I didn’t want a future as a Valet Parker!
“Well, you can make the best Thai food out there, at least. That has loads of peanuts in it! It’s a fantastic power compared to mine.”
“It would be,” he admitted, “if I wasn’t severely allergic to one thing in the world. Peanuts . It’s just my luck, isn’t it? I can’t even walk into a room if someone ate a peanut in there- much less cook with the ingredient that’s sent me to the hospital- twice! It’s insane. And she hates that I never use my ability.”
I winced. I was one of the lucky people who was born without allergies (even if I was hardly lucky in any other respect)- but most kids had one allergy. The most common one was an allergy to seeds- a relatively new one that had appeared- but the peanut allergy had all but disappeared. Since most restaurants served peanut- based meals, he probably had to avoid a
lot of places.
“Why didn’t you just let her go back into the pool to be chosen by another kid next year?”
“I couldn’t do that. My father wouldn’t let me, claiming that it was my fault that I got such a terrible fairy. I did barely pass, after all, the exam was just that hard. And you need a parents permission to let a fairy go before you turn eighteen, which I can’t wait for. It’s too bad that I just got my fairy two days ago, and I already want her to leave. At least she didn’t set anything of mine on fire,” he chuckled, “sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. But speaking of the fire...do you think I could go to school, now? I need to show everyone that I actually did well on my test. They all think that I failed, and got a fairy, anyways. How dumb could they be?”
“Who cares about them? You go to school, and show them that it doesn’t matter what fairy you got, or something.”
“You’re letting me off?”
He nodded, and pulled the door open for me. I stood up, and began to walk out. I looked back at him, and wondered what he was doing, and what he would get from his father. Probably a massive scolding.
“Hey,” I suddenly asked, “why are
you here, instead of in school?”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“I have two off periods- this is one of them. The other is my lunch, and I’m wondering if you want to sit at my table, today? No one else will- anyone with a bad fairy is pretty much an outcast, now, I know that from my older brother. He told me that after the Ceremony, kids always began to sort themselves into groups by ability.”
“Wow- that’s awful!”
“Yeah, I know- but who cares? If my friends don’t want to hang out with me over something so petty- which they demonstrated yesterday- I probably shouldn’t be hanging out with them, anyways.”
I admired his attitude, but I hoped that my friends wouldn’t abandon me in the same way. Not that I had many. Either way, getting to know Marco wouldn’t be such a bad thing, no matter the circumstance. He just seemed so incredibly kind and morally right.
Together, we began to leave the Fire Department, under the hateful looks from the Chief. Yet, he didn’t say a word as I walked out the door next to Marco, staring in awe at the Fire Trucks that were currently being scrubbed and sanitized by a few fairies.
It was time to face the thing I dreaded most- school.
I had managed to make it to Lunch Period before things began to turn wrong for me, school. I was attempting to hurry to the Cafeteria, covering my head in shame with a hat. People occasionally bumped into me on purpose, but I wasn’t really noticed. Even in class, no one heckled me or forced me to give the answers to the hardest questions.
But then, I heard a familiar voice coming from the other end of the hallway.
“Livi! Hey! I wanted to come with you to the Fire Department, but they wouldn’t let me! Now, I can be with you in school!”
My heart jumped. It was her . Goldenrod had followed me to school! Her Crimson hair was too visible, and I couldn’t believe that she was here.
I saw her beautiful wings starting to flutter towards me, over an entire crowd of disgruntled kids. They began to surround her, and giggle, knowing full well that I couldn’t escape my unfortunate fairy. They didn’t understand- they all had abilities to move metal with their minds, memorise math theorems, or see through walls. And I had...nothing. They would never know that. So, I began to bolt, away from the crowd, and away from Goldenrod.
“How about you park yourself in the next country over?” Someone cried.
“That’s- that isn’t even funny!” I responded, running for my life.
Suddenly, a huge ball of water slammed into my back, soaking my shirt. The liquid dripped down my spine, and I shivered. My skirt had been destroyed by fire, my shirt water, and my dignity had been crushed by a fairy.
“Hey, that was awesome, Lacy,” one girl said, “ your ability is the best!”
Oh, so she had to rub it in my face, like that? That was really necessary, huh? Now, I was freezing, wet, and my shirt was completely ruined! I hated Water Abilities. And I despised Lacy.
Goldenrod was still on my tail, but I was able to slip away from the crowd, into the Cafeteria, where I slunk to the back of the room.
I sudden realised that I had forgotten my lunch, and I hadn’t eaten any breakfast. My stomach rumbled, and I was starving. Maybe all of the stupidity that the walls of the school somehow contained. Or maybe it was just the fact that I hadn’t eaten. Who knew?
As I trudged past the round, white tables, past all the casually dressed kids who turned to stare, with their special abilities, and posh, fancy lunches that they didn’t have to buy. A large sign signified that there were no allergens allowed in the Cafeteria, which was great for Marco, at least. The tiles in the Cafeteria was grimy, and the ceilings were full of mildew- just the thing to complete my horrific day. Meeting Marco had been the only good thing, this entire time- and I couldn’t even find him in the crowd. Maybe he was leaving school to go to lunch at a peanut- free restaurant, or something.
“Hey, Livi!” I heard Marco say, “we’re over here. In the back. The far, far back.”
I made it to the end of the Cafeteria, and saw Marco, sitting there, next to two girls that I had never seen before. I automatically felt anxious. I thought that I was going to just sit with Marco- but now, there were other, judging eyes on me. I wanting to shy away- but no one else was welcoming me to their table. So, I reluctantly took a seat, next to Marco, and one of the girls.
They were the polar opposites of each other. One was dressed in vibrant colours, and was speaking buoyantly to Marco about her favorite movies of the year. Her hair was black, and curly, rolled into pigtails, and her shoes were a cheerful shade of pink. Her fairy flitted around her ears, and her fairy’s outfit matched her own.
The other was so withdrawn, she almost sunk into herself. She was extremely bony, and wore a plain, black tee-shirt that was far too large for her. She picked at her lunch, and had a camera in front of her, and no phone. That was odd. But the strangest thing was that her fairy was perched and tangled into her raven hair.
“Uh....hey, Marco,” I said.
“Hey, Livi. You came! And so did a few other people. This is Annette,” he gestured to the girl with the bright smile.
“So, that’s Annette, and this is Elise,” he pointed to the girl in all black.
“So, these are your friends?” I asked, grin frozen to my face.
He took a large bite of his cheese pizza, and a prolonged sip of his iced tea.
“Actually...we all just met. All I know is that Annette pretty much knows everything about Fairy Lore. It’s kind of sick.”
“Why are you all sitting here, then?”
“Well, this is the only place we could all sit, because we only have one thing in common, you see.”
I emitted a loud groan, and tried to cover it up. But it was too late. Elise was already muttering things about me, in an annoyed tone. I hadn’t even spoken to her once, and she already disliked me.
“Let me guess. We all have the worst fairies in school, and we can’t get rid of them. What abilities do
they have?” I asked.
“Let me show you! I can’t believe that I’m meeting what I hope will be a new friend!” Cried Annette, excitedly.
She held out her palm, and then clenched her fist for a few seconds, smiling the entire time. Then, she unfurled her fingers, and inside her hand was a single, blue button.
“I have a Button Fairy!” She pumped her fist into the air, “now, when clothes get ruined, I’ll always have a solution!”
Then, Elise rolled her eyes back into her head, flipping her thin, sickly looking hair.
“ Fine , I’ll show you mine.”
She snapped, and her hair was placed into a loose ponytail, by an invisible hand. Then, she yanked out the ponytail, and her fairy nearly fell off of her head. She threw the scrunchie onto the ground, and stepped on it, with her fur boots that were too warm for the weather. She had a Ponytail Fairy, and she detested ponytails, apparently.
“I bet yours isn’t as pathetic as mine,” she complained.
“I have a Parking Fairy.”
“ And I stand corrected.”
Suddenly, my fairy began to zoom right into the Cafeteria, landing on top of my table, of all places.
“Goldenrod, can’t you go home? I don’t want you here! You almost got me arrested,” I growled.
“Don’t you know that you can’t use your ability if I’m not with you?” Goldenrod said, cheerfully.
“Can’t you get it through your head? I don’t want you around! And I never will! Did you know that fairy quality has doubled in the last ten years? It’s doubled, and yet, I still end up with you .”
The Cafeteria went silent. Not even the chatty kids said a word. They all just turned their heads towards me, and began to hiss and boo.
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