“Nope.”
“I am. I think we should try to figure out who put it there.”
“That’s a bad idea, Jessica.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever was bold enough to put a damn orb in the center of Enchanted Academy is either smart or stupid. Either one of those things makes them dangerous.”
Jessica pouted a little.
“But I want to know if we can see them, too.”
“We can’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sit down.”
Jessica came further into the room and sat down on one of the many cushions that lined the floors in Enchanted Academy dormitory rooms. IT was one of those strange, yet very distinct things the school offered. Instead of regular seating furniture, they were all about luxury pillows.
Jessica sprawled out like a big cat and made herself comfortable. If Hook hadn’t been busy trying to avoid thinking about her life, she probably would have thought it was adorable.
“How much do you know about orbs?”
Jessica shrugged.
“Not a lot, I suppose. I know that twin orbs let you see in two directions.”
“No, that’s a myth,” Hook corrected her. “Twin orbs let one person see. So if I have two orbs and I place one in the lobby, I can take the other one back to my bedroom and spy on people through the one I left in the lobby. Everything people do will be magically transported to my orb. It’ll let me see exactly what’s happening.”
“That’s so weird.”
“It’s weird, yeah. It’s also very powerful. I think you can see how these things require such strong magic to create.”
“Only Darling Witches can make them, right?”
“Very strong witches. Even a Darling Witch might not be able to make an orb. A few can, I’m sure, but it requires a lot of power.”
Jessica looked at Hook for a second and then asked the question she had been dreading.
“What about a dark fairy?”
That was the question, wasn’t it?
Hook had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn’t want to think that perhaps her time with Allie Gator was only just beginning.
“You want to know if Allison could be behind this.”
“She was on campus when the painting originally appeared. Apparently, she’d been a student here for some time and you’d never run into her.”
“Because she can use her glamour,” Hook said. “I’m certain that anytime we got close to seeing each other, she simply took on another person’s appearance.”
“Glamour is so strange,” Jessica said. “Dark fairies can transform their appearance to imitate someone else, but only for a short period of time.”
“It’s the only reprieve the rest of us have,” Hook said. “If they could alter their appearance indefinitely, we’d be in trouble.”
“I could see that. Dark fairies who could permanently alter their appearance, or who could hold their glamour for a long time, would probably be pretty dangerous.”
“Of course. They could take over presidencies and schools. Someone could imitate Helena Hex and take over this school.”
The thought was sobering.
“So how’d you learn all this stuff, anyway?” Jessica dug her toes into the thick carpet on the floor. She was always barefoot, it seemed. She never wore shoes indoors and she was always poking her nose where it didn’t belong, but there was something friendly about her that Hook sort of liked.
Even though Jessica was obnoxious, she was still herself.
“Years of practice.”
“Your mom taught you, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“What was it like?”
“Learning magic?”
“Having a mom?”
Hook sighed. Jessica was an orphan like she was, but unlike Hook, Jessica had grown up without knowing her parents at all. They’d died when she was tiny: too small to possibly remember. She’d lived with her aunt and then bounced around from foster home to foster home. Coming to Enchanted Academy, for Jessica, had been a new adventure. It had been a chance to have something new and special and magical.
And it had been exciting.
Together, Jessica and Hook had rescued Jessica’s roommate, Belle. Jessica had helped some other classmates save a grandmother from a locked tower. Jessica had even been there when they saved Peter Pan from the dark fairies.
She had been there every step of the way.
But she was still missing something.
“My mom was really cool,” Hook finally said. “We used to hang out a lot. We didn’t even do anything special or crazy. We just talked.”
“I always wondered what that must be like. When I had foster moms, they were nice, but...”
“But it wasn’t the same?”
“They were busy.”
“I get it. I was an only child and I lived on a boat. My mom had plenty of time for me.”
“What do you miss most?”
“Honestly? Having someone I can talk to about nothing.”
Hook’s mother had been great about that. The two of them would sit and just talk and talk and talk and it was all about nothing.
It was wonderful.
They’d dream up stories together and they’d imagine adventures and no matter what they were talking about, the world seemed to be just fine.
When they were together, everything seemed like it would be okay.
“What about your dad?”
“He was a typical dad, I guess.”
“Did you play catch?”
“Dads do other stuff,” Hook laughed.
“Oh, sorry. Did you play tag?”
“Yeah. We did that stuff. What about you?”
“In foster care?”
“Yeah, I mean...did your foster parents play with you?”
“Sometimes. Not really.”
“Jessica?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
Hook found herself feeling sad for her classmate and she didn’t even really know why. It just wasn’t fair. It sucked that Hook had lost her family at such a young age, but Jessica had been even younger. In some ways, she’d lost even more than Hook.
Jessica seemed surprised.
“It’s okay, Hook.”
“How do you deal with it?”
“Being an orphan?”
Hook cringed. She hated that word. It felt so cold.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Jessica shrugged and wiggled around in the pillows. She looked like a puppy. Sometimes, Jessica seemed so serious and other times, it was like nothing could hold her down. Hook found herself jealous of that sometimes.
“I have art.”
“Really?”
Hook had never seen any of Jessica’s art. She didn’t even know her classmate was artistic at all. Hook had never held that skill.
“Yeah. I like to draw and paint. I sculpt a little. The thing I like is that it just kind of lets me forget. I don’t have to worry about anything when I’m crafting something. I don’t worry about my classes or my teachers or my sadness. It’s just me and whatever I’m trying to make.”
“It sounds magical.”
“Kind of like with your dancing.”
“I don’t dance anymore,” Hook insisted.
“Really? Because you looked super into your dancing when I walked in, like, five minutes ago.”
“That was different. I was stretching,” Hook lied.
“If you’re to bullshit me, at least make it convincing.” Jessica raised an eyebrow, as if silently urging her friend to try again.
Hook wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“You might be right, human, but at the end of the day, I’m not a dancer anymore.”
“Then what are you, Jillian Hook?”
“That’s kind of a personal question, isn’t it?”
“You have your whole life ahead of you. Are you going to use it for good or for evil?”
“Okay, weird much?”
“I’m not being weird. I’m just reminding you that in life, you have options. You don’t have to be the bully, Hook. You don’t have to be the bad girl or the outcast. You have the whole world ahead of you. You just have to try.”
Chapter 7
In the days leading up to the ball, the students at Enchanted Academy grew more and more excited. I mean, what better way to spend the winter than by dancing and having fun with our friends? We were all looking forward to the chance to forget about how rough the semester had been and just focus on relaxing.
At least, I was.
I joined the decorating committee, but it wasn’t what I expected. Our first meeting was held just five days before the dance, which wasn’t really a lot of time, but nobody seemed to care too much.
“All right, people,” Miss Fate was our teacher leader. She was in charge of making sure that everyone actually pulled their own weight. “Who’s ready for the ball?”
Everyone cheered.
Well, everyone screamed and yelled and shot stuff out of their wands. I didn’t even know people could shoot things out of their wands. Elizabeth Mortimer shot glitter and confetti out of hers. Another kid shot an actual rabbit out.
“No more rabbits,” Miss Fate said. She caught the rabbit easily and handed it over to the student who had conjured it up.
“Thanks,” he said, looking at it. The boy grinned. “I’ve always wanted a pet.”
“You’re going to take care of it, right?” Miss Fate sighed. The boy smiled and ran off. Miss Fate looked at the rest of us who were staring at her in surprise. “Nobody tell Hex,” she said. “She’s going to kill me when she finds out there’s a rabbit living in the dorms.”
Everyone laughed, but then it was time to get to work. We had to decide what theme we were going to go with for the ball. Eventually, we decided that it should be a winter wonderland. It seemed fitting.
“How are we going to get the decorations in time?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Miss Fate looked confused.
“Don’t we have to order things well in advance?” That’s the way it had worked at my old school, but the way everyone was staring at me made me wonder if I was totally wrong.
“It’s a little different in Magic Land,” Miss Fate said.
“How different?”
“Well,” she looked at the students who had gathered around her. “We have five days until the ball, but no one’s going to be using the auditorium until then. Why don’t we start now?”
Tinkerbell pushed through the crowd of students until she was standing next to me.
“Hey,” she whispered.
“I didn’t even know you were on the decorating committee,” I whispered.
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this.”
She pulled her wand out at the same time the rest of the students did. Together, they held them in the air.
“Are you ready?” Miss Fate asked.
“Ready!”
Together, in one swift motion, the students waved their wands and lit up the room. Instantly, the room flashed a million different colors. Shots of blue and red and green and white flew out of wands. I had no idea how they managed to do it, but all the colors of the rainbow seemed to fly out and cover just everything within the auditorium. The colors were incredible.
And then they were just...
Gone.
Everything turned white.
The auditorium had tables and chairs and tablecloths. White banners hung from the walls and faux snow covered the floors. There was an area for food and a place for dancing and a huge stage where the students would be able to give their performances.
I looked over at Miss Fate, shocked.
“How did you manage to do that?” I asked.
“Years of practice.”
“Have you all been practicing this all week without me?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. I had a wand, but I never bothered using it because it didn’t really work for me. I could do a few minor spells and potions, but nothing fantastical like this. Nothing amazing.
“No,” Tinkerbell laughed. “But some of us were here last year and helped with the ball.”
“In our Decorations and Disguises class, we’ve been working on making things appear out of nothingness,” Hannah said, sidling up to me.
“Yeah,” Tinkerbell agreed. “It’s all about clearing your mind so you have room to focus on the important stuff.”
“Clearing your mind?”
“When you let go of everything that’s bothering you or stressing you out, it’s easier to explore magic,” Miss Fate said.
“A lot of times, what holds people back in the magical world is having too many thoughts,” Hannah said.
“Exactly. We all naturally lead busy lives, so we have to take the time to learn how to carefully push past the routines and the regular activities in order to be able to use magic in the ways we want to.”
I thought about that for a second. I guessed it made sense. Even though I didn’t really use magic, I often felt bogged down with too many thoughts. I think that was one of the reasons I loved art so much. When I was drawing, I was just drawing. I wasn’t worrying about homework or my parents or fitting in. I was just able to totally focus on everything in front of me and nothing else.
It was like the rest of the world didn’t matter.
“When you’re able to clear your mind,” Miss Fate continued. “You can start to focus on the things that are really important.”
Like friendship.
Like togetherness.
Like hope.
The rest of the afternoon was spent fiddling with decorations and making everything look just so. We had plenty of time before the dance, but Miss Fate and the other teachers had prepared a bunch of tests for the students ahead of time. End-of-the-semester exams were going to be brutal, and the idea was that we’d take all of our tests and then totally relax with a ball before our winter holiday break.
When we finished for the afternoon, we left the auditorium as a group. Miss Fate locked the doors with a spell and a charm, and then we all went to dinner.
Tinkerbell scooted up beside me as we walked.
“So, what are you going to do for your talent?” She asked.
“I’m not.”
“You won’t have a talent at the ball?”
She seemed a little surprised: maybe even a little sad. It wasn’t really my fault, though. It wasn’t my job to make sure Tinkerbell had something to watch. Besides, what was I going to do? Draw a picture while the whole school looked at me?
“I’m just not that talented,” I said. “What about you?”
“Peter and I are going to act out a scene from a play,” she said excitedly. Tinkerbell had wanted to be in theater for a long time. Recently, she’d gotten to be in a play. Her role had been small, but she’d loved it so much she was already talking about auditioning for the spring show.
“That sounds super cute,” I said.
“Thanks. We’re going to have matching costumes and everything.”
“Will you perform a scene from Mother Goose?” I asked.
“I hope not,” Hook said, joining us. She’d been leaning against a wall up ahead.
“What’s wrong with Mother Goose?” Tinkerbell looked a little disappointed.
“Nothing at all, but we performed that like, a couple of weeks ago. You two should try something new: something that hasn’t been done a million times before.”
“Maybe Wolf could write you a scene,” I said, suddenly thinking of my roommate. “She wants to be a writer. I bet she could come up with something incredible.”
“Hey,” Tinkerbell said. “You’re right! Thanks! Oh, there’s Pan. I’ll catch up with you later.” She took off running toward her boyfriend and jumped into his arms. He caught her easily and spun her around, kissing her gently. Hook and I looked at them for a minute, but kept moving with the rest of the crowd toward th
e cafeteria. I didn’t know about her, but personally, I was starving.
“What’s going on?” I asked her.
There was a reason she’d come to find me, and it hadn’t been so she could volunteer with the dance. As far as I knew, Hook wasn’t even going to go to the ball. She was bummed that she’d lost her powers, which I totally understood. Losing something you loved and that kind of defined you probably wasn’t very easy. Okay, it was probably horrible.
“It’s the painting,” she said. “I was walking past it and I noticed something weird.”
“With the orb painting?” That thing was giving us crazy amounts of stress. I don’t know about Hook, but I was constantly worried about it. I had so many questions, like who was behind it? Who had placed it there? Who was spying on the school?
And why?
“Yeah, the orb painting. What else would I be talking about?” Hook frowned.
“What about it?”
“Jessica, it’s gone,” she said. “It’s just gone.”
Chapter 8
“Where could it be?” I asked. It didn’t make any sense.
“Someone moved it or stole it,” she said.
“We need to tell Helena right away.” She had been concerned when we’d originally told her about the painting.”
“She’s gone,” Hook shook her head.
“Gone?”
“For business, I suppose. She had to go visit the other schools for meetings with the headmistresses and headmasters.”
Enchanted Academy wasn’t the only magical school: far from it, in fact. There were several other nearby magical schools, including Hybrid Academy, Montgomery Academy, and Dragon Mist Academy. Each school was its own unique place, but sometimes the head teachers and leaders at each school would get together to talk about things.
They had all come together recently to deal with the dark fairies, after all. It hadn’t been until Peter Pan and several other boys were taken that anyone even realized dark fairies were a problem. Helena Hex, along with the other headmistresses and headmasters, had turned the dark faes back over to their parents with warnings not to let the fairies show their faces again.
Enchanted Academy Box Set Page 33
