Flunked

by Jen Calonita

  “Do you want me to walk you down there?” Kayla’s acting so weird, and I can’t tell if it’s me or her. Ever since I heard Madame Cleo make that spooky prediction in detention, I’ve been on edge. Jax says I’m worrying for nothing. (“The Sea Siren doesn’t remember her name half the time. You think she’s going to be right about a villain uprising?”)

  “No, I’m fine. You have scroll works in the totally opposite direction.” Kayla manages a smile. “I’ll see you afterward in gym.”

  “Wait up. I’m walking your way.” Jax links arms with Kayla. “Ollie and I may even sneak into stargazing to avoid wand work.”

  “I’m thinking of doing a sleight-of-hand trick to conjure up a hall pass,” Ollie tells me gleefully.

  I wish I could do that trick. The last place I want to go later today is gym to kiss up to the royals. When it’s time, I practically have to drag myself to the gym locker room to get changed. On my way there, I get stuck behind a bunch of gossiping Royal Ladies-in-Waiting.

  “I heard the glass cracked in the middle of Madame Cleo’s ballroom-dancing presentation!” the Royal Ladies’ captain is saying. “It practically flooded the room. They said Snow got completely soaked.”

  I immediately think of Madame Cleo’s prediction again.

  Maxine pushes ahead of me and grips the most popular Royal Lady-in-Waiting’s arm. “Were the princesses all right?”

  “Headmistress Flora took Snow to her chambers to find her something suitable to wear ’til a servant from the castle arrives with dry clothes,” says a royal wannabe. “I’m just upset we didn’t think to bring them extra gowns ourselves!”

  Another member shakes the first one. “Hold it together.” The other girl nods and takes big, gulping breaths. “We can make up lost ground during the luncheon sing-along.”

  “How could Madame Cleo’s tank break?” I ask more importantly, and the girls turn to look at me with disdain. Obviously not being a Royal Lady-in-Waiting means I’m not allowed to comment. “I thought it was made of the strongest glass there is.”

  “Nothing’s strong enough to compete with black magic,” says Jocelyn, walking past us. The torches lighting the hallway dim as if they sense her darkness. “The crack in the tank, the swarm of pernicious peony ants that were accidentally released in the botany lab, the poisoned fruit found in the cafeteria at the breakfast buffet.” She looks at me directly. “No one should cross the dark side.”

  “Poisoned fruit?” Maxine’s lazy eye does a one-eighty.

  Jocelyn takes a bite of an apple. “Helmut’s at the infirmary with Princess Rapunzel, who got a nasty peony-ant bite on her nose.”

  One of the Royal Ladies pulls off her pink sash, and it hits Maxine in the face. “I’m told Ella gave Flora her permission this morning for us to hold an anniversary ball at FTRS next week. Now that’s never going to happen! What are we going to do, ladies?”

  Who cares about the royal ball? I want to know whether Flora would host Royal Day if she is up to no good.

  Maybe.

  Azalea is waiting as we approach the gym locker room. She student teaches in our class, and she doesn’t look thrilled. “You’re keeping Harlow waiting, and you all know how much Harlow likes to be kept waiting.”

  “Harlow?” I ask. “Where’s Madame Tilly?” Tilly is our ogre-rific gym coach. With the warts on her nose, her unibrow, and the bad overbite, she’s kind of tough to look at, but she’s the nicest teacher in this joint.

  “Harlow is taking over your class to prevent any more incidents.” Azalea adjusts the bodice of her pale peach gown. I look around. There’s no sign of Kayla. “One more misstep and the princesses are out of here, so suit up. Harlow wants you to impress them with your fencing skills.”

  “Excellent.” Jocelyn gives me a smug smile.

  “Happily Ever After Scrolls is here too,” Azalea adds. “Let’s make a good impression, ladies. It would be nice if one story from today could be about how our reform school is actually reforming students rather than injuring them.”

  “Somehow I don’t see how using swords will help,” I point out.

  Azalea’s pretty green eyes narrow at me. “No one asked for your opinion, Gilly.” She opens the door to the locker room and I look at Maxine, who shrugs and heads to her cubby to get out armor.

  • • •

  Like every other room at FTRS, our gym has gotten a makeover for Royal Day. Silk banners hang from each wall touting our various sports teams (Magic Carpet Racing! Castle Storming! Synchronized Snake Charming!). A banquet table sits along the back wall, covered with a silk tablecloth and bouquets of lilies. Professor Harlow has changed out of her gown and is wearing fitted fencing gear with a tiara replacing her helmet.

  I see Jax, Ollie, and the other boys in our class emerge from the boys’ dressing room, and I make a beeline for them. I yank Jax away from Ollie without explanation.

  “Have you heard what’s been happening all morning?” I say, sounding shrill. “It’s got to have something to do with Madame Cleo’s prediction!”

  “Don’t get your knickers in a knot,” Jax says. “It’s probably just a coincidence.”

  Is Jax daft? “Something is definitely going on! Flora has to be behind it, or Jocelyn—she knew about the gargoyles. What if Flora is planning to burn down her own school?”

  I look around the room worriedly. Jocelyn and Harlow are talking quietly in a corner, and Headmistress Flora is chatting with Princess Snow. I glance at the Royal Ladies-in-Waiting. They’re handing the princesses baskets of flowers. Sleeping Beauty is watching us, but Snow is stifling a yawn and Rapunzel is holding an ice bag to her nose, which is a nasty shade of blue. Okay, nothing unusual at the moment, but something has to be up. I need dirt on someone—and quick. I’ve got to get out of this place and back to my brothers and sisters while I’m still in one piece to do it!

  “This is why I told you to only worry about yourself.” Jax runs a hand through his hair. “I should have bailed when I had the chance myself.” I glare at him. He’s not helping. “At least Flora called in the Dwarf Police Squad for the rest of the day.”

  I look at Pete and Olaf and resist the urge to blurt out, “I didn’t do it.”

  “Fencers, please get in position,” Azalea interrupts, handing us each a sword.

  The cold handle of the silver sword gives me an instant feeling of calm. No wonder the Evil Queen fences. I wish she didn’t coach the team because I would actually try out to be on it. I bet I’d win my matches too. That’s what I always want: to win. I still don’t know what the future holds for me, but I know I’m not meant to be a cobbler. I want a job that I’m in control of. Not one that is handed to me by the royals.

  Jocelyn walks by me, swinging her sword at her side, and I slide out of the way before she can “accidentally” pierce my gym shorts. The two of us glare at each other as we walk into the center of the room. I hear the gym doors swing open and Kayla runs inside. She’s wearing her gym uniform, but her hair is noticeably wet and there is a pink stain on her arm. Her skin is whiter than usual and her wings are not fluttering. She takes a sword from a less-than-pleased Azalea and races over to Jax and me.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  Kayla wipes sweat from her brow. “The hallways weren’t working right, and I couldn’t find my way to the gym. It’s no big deal.” She sounds testy again, so I let it drop.

  Harlow adjusts the tiara on her head as she walks our way. “Sorry to interrupt your tea party, ladies, but I’m speaking,” she whispers. “Students, please turn to the person to your left and prepare for an assault.” I look at her blankly. “Jocelyn?” Harlow says, sounding bored.

  Jocelyn sighs. “That’s fencing speak for a friendly battle, Cobbler.”

  “Sweet! I love friendly battles!” Ollie turns to Jax at the same time I do. “Aww, dude. Tell me I turned right instead of left?”
/>
  “You turned right instead of left,” we say and he turns the other way.

  Jax grins like he’s won our duel before he’s even lifted a sword.

  “Nice try, but you’re going down.” I rest my hand on my sword.

  “You don’t even know how to use that thing,” Jax says.

  “And you do?” I joke. He probably does. He’s been here longer than me.

  “We’re going to start with a balestra followed by a lunge and then—” Harlow is cut off by the sound of a crash from above that sends glass raining down on the room. Jax and I put our hands over our heads and duck for cover, and that’s when I hear the screeching.

  Gargoyles. My stomach lurches as my classmates begin to scream and run in different directions. A few are pulled into the air by the beasties and I hear the red-alert siren sound just like it did that day in Wolfington’s class.

  This time it’s definitely not a drill.

  I immediately start to cough as a thick purple fog fills the room.

  We’re done for.

  CHAPTER 13

  Sword Play

  I’ll never see my siblings again.

  I’ll never get to say I’m sorry to Anna for stealing that clip on her birthday.

  I’ll never get to make Mother and Father proud of me.

  The last thought startles me. I didn’t even know I cared what Father thought of me. I need to find a way to still make that happen. I can’t worry about what’s going on with Flora or Madame Cleo’s prediction. I have to get out of here and get home.

  I take a deep breath and cover my nose with my shirt in case the gas is poisonous. Then I feel someone grab my hand and I see Jax through the haze. He shoves me into a corner as Ollie crawls over to us, along with Maxine and some Royal Ladies-in-Waiting who are crying. I can’t see Jocelyn anywhere in this fog. All I hear is screeching and screaming.

  An exit. I need to find an exit. And Kayla. I look around frantically for my roommate and see her stumbling toward us. I reach out and yank her into our little cluster. “Are you okay?”

  Kayla covers her face with her hands and starts to mumble strangely. “I didn’t do it. I swear! I am nothing. She’s right. I’m nothing. I’m sorry. So sorry.” She dissolves into tears and rocks back and forth on the floor. Maxine puts an arm around her, and Jax and I look at each other worriedly. Once this fog fades, the gargoyles will have us.

  “Dude, what the heck is happening? Wait, is that…is that a gargoyle?” Ollie manages to get out in between hacking fits. We all dive to the floor when we see wings appear out of the fog above. A gargoyle grabs hold of one of the Ladies-in-Waiting and takes off again. She screams and kicks, but it’s no use. She’s a goner. “I thought gargoyles were statues,” Ollie says, his eyes widening. “Those nasty beasties are real?”

  I hear a loud slurp and assume someone has just magically sealed the gym doors like they do in Madame Cleo’s detention room. I can hear Pete shouting orders to Olaf, and then in the next moment, the room is quiet. As the fog begins to lift, I can see that the gargoyles have rounded up the princesses and placed them in a corner of the room in some sort of glowing bubble, along with a few unlucky students. The dwarf squad is tied up in its own bubble nearby. A lot of help they were. One of the gargoyles drops Azalea onto the royals’ bubble, and I watch as it sucks her in and drops her to the floor.

  Okay, if I hang on to my sword, maybe I can fight my way to a gym door and pick a lock. I’m not waiting around any longer. I start to get up and prepare to run.

  “What are you doing?” Jax hisses. “Stay down!”

  A screech nearby distracts me, and I look up in time to see Jocelyn get picked up. Maxine gives out a little gasp, and her one eyeball starts to bounce up and down like a ball. Jocelyn doesn’t go far. I watch as she swings wildly with her sword and nicks one of the gargoyle’s legs.

  “Yes!” Maxine cheers.

  The gargoyle drops Jocelyn like a hot potato. She falls to the ground and bumps her head as the fog evaporates. We stare at her as she lies there motionless.

  That’s when I notice that Flora and Harlow are the only teachers not inside a bubble. Just as I’m about to yell “villain,” I notice they’re both as still as statues, like they’re in some sort of trance. I need to make a break for it. On the count of one, two…

  “Why isn’t Harlow helping her sister?” one of the Ladies-in-Waiting wails.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Jax says. “All I know is it’s time we—”

  Before Jax can finish his sentence, I see wings descend from the sky and our group scatters as Jax is picked up. Like Jocelyn, he grabs for his sword, but his falls out of his holster along with his trusty pocketwatch.

  “Jax!” I yell and Kayla whimpers.

  She’s practically catatonic. “What did I do?” she says to herself over and over as Maxine rubs her back worriedly.

  Jax struggles to break free, but he can’t. All I can do is watch as he’s sucked into the same bubble as the princesses. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Harlow walking toward the immobilized princesses and Jax as if in a trance.

  Now’s my chance to move. I’m sure I can make it to the door before Harlow turns around, but Jax… How can I leave him behind when he’s helped me so many times? I look over at the bubble, and the two of us make eye contact. I can almost hear his thoughts. You owe me.

  Grr…I know. But what can I do?

  Then I see Harlow raise her sword. The Ladies-in-Waiting around me gasp.

  “We’ve got to help Jax,” Ollie says hurriedly, and I watch him feel around in his pockets for some of his magic tricks. “Maybe if I could drop a smoke bomb…”

  “This room is smoky enough,” I say as Maxine and Kayla start to cry. A Royal Lady-in-Waiting hands them her handkerchief to share. “Give me a minute to think.”

  “Harlow! Stop!” Flora warns, her voice sharp.

  For some strange reason, Flora can’t move. Are she and Harlow under some sort of spell? If Harlow hears her, she doesn’t listen.

  “No,” I hear Harlow say, and she throws her sword through the air. Maxine screams as the sword hits the bubble and bounces off it. The gargoyles jump up and down excitedly as Harlow picks up a few of the discarded swords on the ground and aims another one at the bubble. This time the sword pierces the top and I hear everyone inside scream. I can see Jax urging the princesses to squeeze as far back in the bubble as they can go. She aims again. This time, a sword pierces the bubble and hits Princess Snow in the arm. She crumbles to the ground, and some of the girls around me burst into tears.

  “She’s going after Snow,” Maxine says. “She has to be. She’s going to keep aiming ’til she gets Snow—and anyone in the way.”

  Harlow throws another sword and it pierces the bottom of the bubble, hitting a student in the shoe. He hops up and down in pain. The gargoyles screech happily. Jax gives me a desperate look.

  “I need to distract the gargoyles,” I say. “Anyone have a clue how to deal with the nasties?”

  Kayla is shaking so violently I fear she’s going to be ill. Then she pulls a bag out of her pocket with something purple inside. “Give them radishes. They’ll put the gargoyles right to sleep.”

  I don’t ask how she knows that. There’s no time.

  Ollie grabs the bag and begins passing out radishes. Maxine starts to toss them. I’m amazed as a gargoyle picks one up and pops it in his mouth. In a moment, he’s sleeping like a baby. Soon the other students around me are doing the same, and gargoyles start dropping like flies. But that does nothing to stop Harlow.

  “I must do what the huntsman should have done years ago,” Harlow says in a monotone voice. “Send a dagger straight through her heart.” Harlow makes a jerky movement in Snow’s direction.

  “Harlow, please! Fight this!” Flora begs as Harlow uses magic to pick up a handful
of swords and aim them all at the bubble at the same time. I watch as Jax jumps in front of Snow. Idiot.

  “What am I going to do?” I ask the others.

  Ollie presses his lips together. “Maybe if you hit Harlow, you’ll break the spell.” I look at him like he’s nuts. “Hey, it’s worth a shot.”

  Harlow starts to chant the way Jocelyn did in detention, and I realize I’m out of time. Harlow releases the arrows and they fly through the air. With no other options, I take off at a run with my sword in my hand, praying the thing doesn’t slice me as I go.

  Harlow turns to me at the last moment and I see the swords change direction.

  “Gilly!” Maxine screams just as I dive to the ground and slide as hard as I can into Harlow, knocking her straight off her feet. I cover my head as swords rain down on me, and then the world goes black.

  Happily Ever After Scrolls

  Brought to you by FairyWeb—magically appearing on scrolls throughout Enchantasia for the past ten years!

  BREAKING NEWS:

  Gargoyles Attack Fairy Tale Reform School on Royal Day!

  by Beatrice Beez

  The royal visit to FTRS ended in a near-disaster today when gargoyles broke into the school and placed Professor Harlow under a spell to do their bidding. “Gargoyles appeared in this crazy purple cloud. Everyone was shrieking. It was insane. Cool, but insane, dude!” said Ollie, a student. “I was scared,” another student, Maxine, told us. “I thought Harlow was going to destroy the princesses—and us along with them. She probably would have if Gilly didn’t break the spell.”

  Gillian Cobbler, the village shoemaker’s daughter and a newcomer to FTRS, came to the rescue. Harlow was magically forced to throw swords at the princesses and capture students. She is said to have come out of the spell after young Gilly knocked her to the ground. The professor is resting comfortably in her chambers and regrets what happened. “Those gargoyles will pay,” she said in an official statement.