Evil Fairies Love Hair

by Mary G. Thompson

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Preface

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  About the Author

  CLARION BOOKS

  215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003

  Text copyright © 2014 by Mary G. Thompson

  Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Blake Henry

  All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

  Clarion Books is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

  www.hmhco.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Thompson, Mary G. (Mary Gloria), 1978–

  Evil fairies love hair / by Mary G. Thompson ; illustrations by Blake Henry.

  pages cm

  Summary: Middle-schooler Ali’s wish will come true if she follows all the rules to grow 100 evil fairies and feed them human hair, then find another child to do the same, but she is determined to find out what else the fairies are up to.

  ISBN 978-0-547-85903-3 (hardcover)

  [1. Fairies—Fiction. 2. Wishes—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Hair—Fiction. 5. Missing children—Fiction.] I. Henry, Blake, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.T37169Evi 2014

  [Fic]—dc23

  2013016273

  eISBN 978-0-544-30890-9

  v1.0814

  for Wendy

  AGREEMENT

  I, ALISON E. B. BUTLER, in exchange for one WISH,* hereby agree:

  I will grow one hundred (100) fairies.

  I will pass on two (2) flock starters to another Child.

  I will follow all the rules.**

  ALISON E. B. BUTLER

  *I understand that I am not entitled to my WISH until the child to whom I pass my flock starters grows one hundred (100) fairies. I also understand that if I break any rules, all fairy obligations under this agreement shall be null and void and consequences may apply.

  One

  “Alison Elizabeth Brown Butler!”

  “I’m coming!” Ali hurriedly pushed the rest of the dirt on top of the little hill she’d built and packed it down. “I’ll be back,” she whispered.

  “Hurry,” said a little voice.

  “I will.” Ali rubbed her right hand across her neck, making sure she didn’t have any stray hairs, and stood up. From here, she couldn’t see the evil fairies at all. How was she supposed to make sure they stayed put?

  “Al-li-son!”

  “I said, I’m coming!” Ali jogged across the backyard and up the steps into the kitchen. Everyone was at the table—Mom, Dad, and Hannah. Dad and Hannah were already eating.

  “I called you fifteen minutes ago,” said Mom. She picked up Ali’s plate and slammed a helping of mashed potatoes on top of a mangled slice of roast beef.

  “I’m sorry,” said Ali, sliding into her seat. Unfortunately, her seat was right across from Mom’s, so she had no way of avoiding the glare. She took her plate and stuffed a spoonful of potato into her mouth, not even bothering with salt and pepper.

  “Your mother worked hard on this meal, young lady,” said Dad.

  “I’ff ffoggy,” said Ali.

  “You’re still wearing that stupid hairdo?” said Hannah. “What is going on with that?”

  Ali almost choked. She hated being called stupid, and Hannah knew it. “It’s not stupid,” she said.

  “I’m sorry, Ali, but a bun right smack on top of your head is stupid. And that hairspray is disgusting. No wonder you repel boys.” Hannah flicked a lock of her perfect, glossy light-brown hair off her shoulder. The blond highlights practically sparkled.

  Ali had been planning to raid the shower drain every day for hair, but Hannah was really tempting her. If only her sister knew how much her hair was worth, and what the evil fairies could do. Then she’d have her hair up in a “stupid” bun, too. But no one over thirteen knew about the fairies, unless they were still in middle school, like Michael. When you finished eighth grade, it was over. Hannah was about to finish tenth grade, so she had no chance at all. But Ali had a whole ’nother year. She smiled and took a bite of cold roast beef.

  “What are you smiling about?” Hannah delicately lifted her last bite of green beans to her lips, chewed, and swallowed. “I’m going to do my homework.” She smiled at Mom and got up from the table. She took her plate with her, rinsed it, and put it in the dishwasher. So perfect. Her parents thought Hannah spent all her time studying to bring home those straight-A report cards. But Ali knew better. “Doing homework” probably meant calling Michael’s older brother, Deacon. He was just as big as Michael, and twice as mean—to everyone but Hannah. Actually, he’d been mean to Hannah, too, up until around Christmas, but she’d forgotten all about that.

  “Me too,” said Ali. She shoved another bite into her mouth and chewed as quickly as she could. Michael had insisted on coming to check up on her, and she didn’t want him to get impatient and come in the front door. She rushed her plate over to the sink.

  “If you don’t want to eat now, you can forget about having a snack,” said Dad.

  “Fine. I had plenty,” said Ali.

  “Do you need any help with your homework?” Mom asked.

  “No,” Ali said.

  “Well, with finals coming up, you can always use a boost,” said Mom. Unlike Hannah, who’s smart enough to never need help, Ali heard.

  “I can do it myself,” she said, and before Mom could say anything else, she ran through the living room and sprang up the stairs. Of course Mom would offer to help her and not Hannah. As if Ali were too stupid to figure anything out. Just because she didn’t get the same grades didn’t mean she wasn’t every bit as smart as Hannah. In fact, I’m smarter, Ali told herself. I don’t spend all my time fixing my hair. She barreled into her bedroom and stifled a surprised scream.

  Michael was sitting on her bed, tossing her pink stuffed unicorn between his giant hands. He was at least six feet tall, even though he was only fourteen, and his shaved head added to the feeling of big.

  Ali pushed the door shut. “How did you get in here?” she whispered. “I said I’d let you in the back door.”

  “Well, I let myself in.” He grinned, showing two rows of crooked yellow teeth.

  That’s what you get for smoking, Ali thought. Gross.

  He pointed the unicorn’s horn at the open window.

  Ali stomped over to the bed and grabbed the unicorn out of his hand. “You’re going to kill my tree and get me grounded.”

  “None of that’s going to matter once you get your flock grown.” He picked up Ali’s tuxedo-shirt-wearing teddy bear and started bouncing it.

  Ali grimaced. She’d h
ave to wash everything in her room now. “I know, and I’m doing the best I can. I’ve got the first mound done. Why can’t you just go home and wait like a normal person?”

  “You know why.” He squeezed Teddy Tux’s head. “I’ve got three weeks until eighth grade is over. And if your flock isn’t done by then, I lose everything.” He was no longer smiling. “You think I don’t know what everyone thinks of me? Once I’m the best football player in the country, they’ll be sorry.”

  “That’s what you’re going to wish for?” Ali had wondered what Michael’s wish would be, but she’d been afraid to ask. Michael was the kind of person you avoided if you could. And the tone of his voice right now wasn’t changing her mind.

  “Well, I was going to wish for better parents, but then I found out that you’re only allowed to change yourself,” Michael said. Ali had once overheard her parents talking about Michael and Deacon’s dad, saying that if he’d ever come home from the bar, maybe his boys wouldn’t be such goons. That was one of the reasons Hannah had to hide the fact that she was dating Deacon. But Ali didn’t want to show Michael that she knew that much.

  “You can wish for happiness,” said Ali. “That way you won’t care what your parents do.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to just be magic happy,” said Michael. “If I can be a sports star, I’ll be rich and famous, and that will make me happy. Maybe I’ll do basketball instead of football. I don’t know. For sure, though, I’m not going to use my wish for something dumb like being good looking.” He rolled his eyes.

  Ali rolled hers, too. Michael had gotten his fairies from Jennifer Jackson, who also lived on their street. When Michael had finished growing his flock and had passed the two starter fairies on to Ali, Jennifer had gotten to make her wish. And she’d chosen to be gorgeous. As if she wasn’t popular enough already. Why hadn’t she wished for something she could really use, like a little bit of brainpower? That was what Ali was going to wish for. If she were a genius, she’d never have to worry about doing homework or studying for tests again, and she’d never get anything but As. She’d never have to see that look on her mom’s face after every report card, the one that said I’m very disappointed in you, young lady. And most of all, she’d never again have to see that smug look on Hannah’s face when she brought home straight As and Ali didn’t.

  “You have nothing to worry about,” said Ali. “I’ve got the directions you gave me. I’ll build more mounds, and I’ll get all the hair they need. They’ll be done in two weeks.”

  “Okay,” said Michael, dropping Teddy Tux back onto Ali’s pillow. “You know I can’t actually help, but I can answer some questions.”

  “I know,” said Ali. “Now get out of here before my parents hear us.”

  He got up off the bed and headed for the window. He put his hands on the sill, then turned back around. “You read the whole thing, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then you know you have to be careful.”

  Ali patted her bun. “See? Not a stray hair.”

  “Okay, but it’s not just that. I mean, there’s a reason everyone calls them evil fairies.”

  “Besides that they climb into kids’ brains through their hair follicles and eat them from the inside out?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Sure, that was why all the girls who knew about them wore their hair in ridiculous buns and the boys shaved their heads—the fairies were supposed to be so overwhelmed by their love for hair that they’d climb right up into your head, even if you were the one helping them grow a new flock. But no one could be sure that was what had happened to Molly Parker and Tyler Griswold. Sometimes kids just disappeared.

  “So remember that,” said Michael. “Grow the flock, get your wish, and get out.” Was he actually concerned about her? Nah.

  “Don’t worry about me,” said Ali. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” said Michael. With a slight shake of his stubbly head, he jumped out the window and into the tree.

  Ali cringed as the branches cracked, but no one else seemed to have heard. She reached for the band holding her bun in place. It was still tight. No evil fairies were going to get her.

  “Hair.”

  “Hair.”

  “She’s late.”

  “Midnight.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “Soon.”

  “Hair.”

  “Hair.”

  Two

  Ali pulled the directions Michael had given her out of her back pocket, sat down at her desk, and smoothed the paper. She’d already read them about ten times, but it couldn’t hurt to be extra sure. Every little thing had to be right.

  HOW TO GROW A FLOCK OF FAIRIES

  (2 fairy starter plan)

  Keep the fairies in the jar until steps 1–5 are done. They will be banging against the jar and screaming at you, but DON’T LET THEM OUT! Complete steps 1–7 before dark.

  1. Find a spot in your backyard where no one will disturb the fairies and where there is a nice soft patch of soil.

  2. Dig a square hole exactly 6 inches on each side. Use a ruler to measure.

  3. Put 3 seashells in the hole. You can use any kind of seashell, as long as all three shells fit comfortably in the hole with at least an inch of space on all four sides.

  4. Cover the seashells with a thin layer of grass.

  5. Put 4/5 of the dirt back on top of the shells and the grass and pat it into a nice round mound.

  Ali had done all that already. The fairies had jumped and screamed and banged against the side of the jar, but she hadn’t let them out until she was supposed to.

  6. Turn the jar on its head so that the top is touching the mound. Then, very carefully, unscrew the top and let the fairies out onto the mound. They will immediately burrow inside. Don’t worry, you will still be able to hear each other.

  7. Pat down the last 1/5 of the dirt on top of where the fairies burrowed in.

  So far so good. She had done all that, and she hadn’t needed to look at the picture to figure out where the top and bottom of the jar were. Did the fairies think all kids were stupid or just her? I may not get straight As, Ali thought, but I know which end of a jar is up.

  Complete steps 8–11 after dark, but before midnight.

  Ali glanced at her bedside clock. It was only 6:28. It wasn’t dark yet.

  8. Gather at least a tablespoon of hair for each fairy.

  9. Wrap the hair in as many paper towels as necessary, and bring it out to the fairies.

  10. Place the hair evenly around the bottom of the mound.

  11. STEP BACK!

  Make sure you do not get any hair stuck to your fingers. Remember, your fairies will be ravenous. Do not let the fairies near your own hair!

  The directions ended there. Michael had told her that all she had to do was keep following them again and again once the fairies began to multiply. Each set of ten fairies needed its own mound. She smoothed the paper again and glanced back at the clock. 6:31.

  Ring-ring.

  Crap. That had to be Crista. She grabbed the phone before her mom could get it. “Hello?”

  “I saw you wearing that bun. You got them, didn’t you?”

  “So what? You’re just mad because I got them and you didn’t.”

  “No, I’m mad because it’s stupid. Do you want to end up like Molly and Tyler?”

  “We don’t know what really happened to them.” Crista was such a fraidy cat lately. She’d quit their soccer team and started wearing skirts. If she got a wish, she’d probably wish to be beautiful like Jennifer Jackson.

  “Yes, we do,” Crista said. “What’s going on with you? You used to be smart and now you’re hanging around with Michael Landis. Did you start smoking, too?”

  “Of course not. And I’m not ‘hanging around’ with Michael. He just gave me the starter kit.”

  “It’s not just Michael. You can’t really believe that these little creatures you yourself call ‘evil fairies’ are going to grant you a wish,
no strings attached? What are you going to wish for, your brains back?”

  “No, I’m going to wish for brains, period,” said Ali. “I’m going to get all As all the time. Nobody’s going to call me average or think Hannah’s the smart one.”

  “Nobody thinks Hannah’s the smart one,” said Crista. “The smart one wouldn’t be going out with Deacon Landis.”

  “My parents think so. All the teachers at school think so.”

  “Then they’re idiots,” said Crista.

  Ali didn’t say anything. Crista didn’t understand. She didn’t know what it was like to have everybody looking at you thinking what a waste you were, wondering how someone as perfect as Hannah could have a sister who was so average. Crista was an only child, and she got mostly As, too.

  “Ali, come on,” Crista said. “You don’t need some magic spell. You just need to do your homework. You can already get As if you want to.”

  “It’s not that easy!” Ali cried. She wanted it to be easy, and it would be once she got her wish. Everyone would praise her and look up to her, and she could do whatever she wanted and never have to work at anything ever again.

  “I just don’t want anything bad to happen,” Crista said. “You’re my best friend.”

  “I know.” Ali felt bad for comparing Crista to Jennifer, even if it was only in her head. “I can pass them on to you when I’m done. Then you can have your wish, too.”

  “I don’t have a wish,” said Crista. “Except that you’d stop.”

  “You can’t stop once you’ve started.” It was true. If she let the fairies out of the jar, she had to grow the flock to one hundred fairies. If she didn’t, something bad would happen. No one knew exactly what, but supposedly Tyler had quit—and where was he now?