The Never Girls

by Kiki Thorpe

  Copyright © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto, in conjunction with Disney Enterprises, Inc. Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 9780736435253 (paperback) — ISBN 9780736482059 (lib.bdg.) —

  eBook ISBN 9780736435260

  randomhousekids.com/disney

  This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.

  v4.1

  a

  For Lila

  —K.T.

  For my favorite mermaid, Sophia Elizabeth Jackson

  —J.C.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Never Land

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Read This Sneak Peek of In the Game, the Next Never Girls Adventure!

  About the Author

  Far away from the world we know, on the distant seas of dreams, lies an island called Never Land. It is a place full of magic, where mermaids sing, fairies play, and children never grow up. Adventures happen every day, and anything is possible.

  There are two ways to reach Never Land. One is to find the island yourself. The other is for it to find you. Finding Never Land on your own takes a lot of luck and a pinch of fairy dust. Even then, you will only find the island if it wants to be found.

  Every once in a while, Never Land drifts close to our world…so close a fairy’s laugh slips through. And every once in an even longer while, Never Land opens its doors to a special few. Believing in magic and fairies from the bottom of your heart can make the extraordinary happen. If you suddenly hear tiny bells or feel a sea breeze where there is no sea, pay careful attention. Never Land may be close by. You could find yourself there in the blink of an eye.

  Detail: left

  Detail: right

  “How about this one?” Kate McCrady asked. She poked her finger at the glass wall of a fish tank. Behind it, a blue-and-gold-striped fish darted by.

  Lainey Winters studied the fish carefully. “He looks kind of grumpy, don’t you think?”

  “What about this one?” On Lainey’s other side, Mia Vasquez pointed to an inky black fish with fins as flowy as silk scarves.

  Lainey shook her head. “Too fancy.”

  Kate sighed. “I think we’ve looked at every single fish in the pet store. Just pick one, Lainey.”

  “I’m trying,” Lainey said. It was a big decision! She was finally getting a pet—her first pet ever. She had to make sure she chose the right one.

  Lainey had wanted a pet for as long as she could remember. But her parents didn’t love animals as much as she did. For months Lainey had done all her chores and saved her allowance, and at last they’d given in.

  “Maybe we should look at some other animals,” Mia suggested.

  “You mean like that one?” Kate pointed to the tank behind her.

  Mia turned and sprang back with a squeal. A spiky brown lizard was staring at her from behind the glass.

  Kate laughed. “What’s the matter? He won’t hurt you.”

  Mia shuddered. “Lizards give me the creeps.”

  “Well, I can’t get one anyway,” Lainey said. “My mom and dad don’t want anything that could get lost in the house. That includes lizards.”

  “Thank goodness,” Mia said.

  “How about a bird, then?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t like birds in cages,” Lainey said.

  “It’s too bad you can’t get a dog or a cat,” Mia said.

  “I know. But my parents are allergic,” Lainey said. “No, I’ve decided on a fish. I just have to find the right one.”

  Lainey walked past the fish tanks again. There were so many fish to choose from! Big ones, little ones. Some were bright as jewels, while others were so drab they looked like rocks. But where was her fish?

  Lainey stopped to watch dozens of bright orange fish swimming back and forth. The sign on the tank read GOLDFISH: MEDIUM.

  As she stood there, one fish swam right up to the glass. “Hi, little fella,” Lainey said.

  The goldfish waved his fins. He seemed to be saying hello.

  “Hey,” Lainey said. “I think he likes me!”

  Mia and Kate came over to see. “He’s really cute,” Mia said.

  “Look at his top fin!” Kate said.

  The fin on the little fish’s back seemed to stick up more than the other goldfishes’ fins.

  The fish swam away, then came back to look at Lainey. She grinned. “Guys, I think I found my fish!”

  “Finally!” Kate said.

  Lainey waited while Mia went to find the saleswoman, who was chatting with Lainey’s mom. They watched as she scooped the little fish out with a net. She handed the fish to Lainey in a plastic bag filled with water.

  With the money she’d saved, Lainey bought a fishbowl, fish food, some rocks, and a little plastic castle for her fish to play in. She listened carefully as the saleswoman explained how to feed the fish and how to clean his bowl. Kate and Mia helped her carry everything out to the car.

  “What are you going to name him?” Lainey’s mother asked as they drove home.

  “How about Shimmer, since he’s so shiny?” Mia suggested.

  “Or Finley,” Kate said. “Get it? Fin-ley?”

  Lainey looked at her fish swimming in his bag. He looked like a bright spot of sunlight. “I’m going to call him Sunshine,” she decided. “Sunshine Shimmer Finley Goldfish.”

  Her mom laughed. “That’s a big name for a little fish.”

  “Then I’ll call him Sunny for short.” Lainey held him up close to her face. “Do you like your name, Sunny?”

  Sunny opened and closed his mouth. Lainey couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if he was saying yes.

  Back at Lainey’s house, Kate and Mia helped Lainey set up Sunny’s fishbowl. They put in the rocks and the castle, then filled the bowl with water. When Sunny was settled in his new home, Lainey dropped a pinch of fish food inside. They watched him gobble up the flakes.

  “I think he likes it here,” Mia said.

  He does seem happy. But how can I be sure? Lainey wondered. Did Sunny really like his new home? What did he like to do? With a dog you could throw a ball or a stick. But how did you play with a goldfish?

  Lainey realized she didn’t know anything about what made a goldfish happy. But she knew someone who did. She picked up Sunny’s bowl. “Come on,” she said to her friends. “We’ve got to go to Pixie Hollow.”

  Mia and Kate looked surprised.

  “With Sunny?” Mia asked.

  “Yes. I want him to meet Fawn,” Lainey said. Fawn was an animal-talent fairy. She could talk to any creature, feathered, finned, or furred. She’d be able to find out what Sunny was really thinking.

  “At least let me help you carry the bowl,” said Kate.

  Together, Lainey and Kate carried the fishbowl out of her room and down the stairs. It was harder than Lainey had thought. The fishbowl was heavy and difficult to grasp. They had to be extra careful not to spill a drop.

  On the bottom step, they stopped to rest. “Maybe we should just tell
the fairies about Sunny,” Kate said.

  Lainey pushed up her glasses, which were slipping down her nose. “No, I want Sunny to see Pixie Hollow for himself.” Turning to Sunny, she said, “You’re going to love it, little fella.” Then she unscrewed the cap of the fish food and gave him another pinch.

  “Are you sure you should give him more food?” Mia asked. “The woman at the pet store said to feed him only twice a day.”

  “But he’s hungry. See?” Lainey pointed. Sunny was devouring the food as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

  When Sunny had finished eating, Lainey picked up the bowl again. “Let’s go.”

  The way to Pixie Hollow lay behind a loose fence board in Mia’s backyard, two houses down from Lainey’s. The girls had discovered the magical portal the summer before. Since then, the portal had moved three times, and each time Lainey and her friends had had to find it again. But no matter how many times it moved, it always led them back to the fairies.

  As they reached Mia’s house, Lainey hoped the portal hadn’t moved again. She wasn’t sure how much farther she could carry Sunny’s bowl.

  Mia’s little sister, Gabby, was playing in the backyard. Though there were still patches of snow on the ground, she was holding a watering can. Gabby hummed to herself as she watered some invisible flowers. When she saw the fishbowl, though, she came running over. “What’s that?”

  “It’s Lainey’s new pet. Be careful, Gabby,” Mia said as her sister jostled in for a closer look.

  “Neato!” Gabby leaned in so far, her nose almost stuck to the bowl. “You should name him Spike.”

  “He already has a name,” Lainey said. “It’s Sunny, and we’re taking him to meet the fairies.”

  “ ’Yay!” Gabby ran to the loose fence board, the fairy wings she always wore bouncing behind her.

  Lainey held her breath as Gabby pushed on the board. Through the gap in the fence, she could see a sliver of sky bluer than anything in this world. Lainey’s breath whooshed out. Never Land was right where they’d left it.

  Lainey and Kate carried the fishbowl to the hole, passing it between them as they wriggled through. They came out in a forest on the other side. Golden sunlight spilled down between the trees, and the ground was springy with moss.

  “There it is, Sunny. Isn’t it beautiful?” Lainey cried. Ahead stood the giant Home Tree, where the fairies lived. Its branches were dotted with windows and doors. Even after so many visits, it still took Lainey’s breath away.

  All that was left was to cross Havendish Stream. Holding Sunny in her arms, Lainey started across the stepping-stones.

  “Oh no!” Lainey’s foot slipped. The fishbowl tipped. “Sunny!”

  “Gotcha!” Kate grabbed Lainey before she could fall. Water sloshed out of the bowl. But Sunny was safe inside.

  On the far bank, Lainey set down Sunny’s bowl with shaking arms. “Thanks, Kate. That was close.”

  “Maybe you should leave Sunny here while we find Fawn,” Kate said. “You can’t carry that bowl all over Pixie Hollow.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Lainey said. But she didn’t want to leave Sunny sitting there. She looked around for a safe place to put him.

  Just downstream, a hollow in the bank formed a shallow, still pool of water. Lainey placed Sunny’s bowl in the water, adding a few rocks around it to hold it in place.

  There. That was good. Maybe Sunny will even like seeing some of Pixie Hollow underwater, Lainey thought.

  “I’ll be back soon,” she told him. “You’ll be okay. Right, little fella?”

  Sunny opened and closed his mouth. Lainey took that as a yes. She gave him a wave. Then she headed off with her friends to find Fawn.

  Rani stood on the bank of Havendish Stream, letting her bare toes squish in the mud. She watched the water flowing past, reading its surface like a map. Here, near the bank, the water was still and calm. But out beyond the rocks, she could see swirling eddies and the ripples of the current. It’s moving fast today, she thought. I’ll have to keep close to shore.

  Rani was a water-talent fairy. She could hold a raindrop in her hands and shape it like clay, or coax a rivulet from a pond like a snake charmer. She could make water do her bidding—but she was never foolish enough to think that she was more powerful.

  She dove into the stream, feeling a burst of joy as the water closed in around her. Rani was happiest when she was swimming. Most Never fairies couldn’t swim—their wings became waterlogged and pulled them down. But Rani didn’t have any wings—she’d lost them many years ago. And even though she missed them, she found that gliding through the water was a lot like flying. Sometimes it was even better.

  Rani kicked her legs, pretending she was a mermaid. Her long blond hair waved behind her like seaweed. She turned over on her back and looked up through the water. The sky waved and shimmered, as if she were looking up at a lake.

  This was her favorite place to swim. A bend in the stream made a natural swimming hole. Rani was careful never to swim too far out, where the current could sweep her away like a leaf.

  Rani surfaced and took a breath, then dove again. She put her arms down at her sides and kicked her make-believe mermaid tail, gliding forward to—

  Slam! Rani crashed headfirst into an invisible wall.

  “Ouch!” She came up clutching her head. Already she could feel a bump forming. “What in the name of Never Land?!”

  There was a glass wall in the water! It reached from the bottom of the stream to well above the surface. But where had it come from?

  Rani tried to swim around it and discovered that it curved. She paddled along, following it, until she was right back where she’d started. It’s like a bowl, she thought. A great big glass bowl.

  Just then, Rani spotted movement on the other side of the wall. Something gold darted past. There was a fish inside the bowl! Rani watched it swim back and forth. It seemed to be looking for a way out.

  “It must have gotten trapped, poor little thing,” she said to herself. She tapped on the glass. “Don’t worry. I’m going to help you,” she called.

  Rani couldn’t tell whether the fish understood. It stared at her, its mouth opening and closing silently. He looks hungry, she thought. I wonder how long he’s been in there.

  She swam all the way around the bowl again, feeling her way up and down the glass, but she couldn’t find an opening. The next time she went up for air, she noticed a hole at the top. He must have jumped inside, she thought.

  Rani tried climbing up to the opening, but the glass was too slippery. She tried throwing a rock against the glass, but her little pebble bounced away without making a dent. The glass was thicker than it appeared.

  Rani swam underwater again. Now she saw that the bowl’s round bottom was wedged against a large stone. Perhaps if she could move it…

  Rani pushed against the rock and felt it shift slightly. She swam up to the surface, took a breath, and dove down again.

  It took Rani four tries, but at last the stone rolled out of the way. She swam aside as the heavy bowl tipped into the water.

  Rani came up just in time to see the fish swim out through the opening. “Go, little fish! Be free!” she cried happily as the fish darted away.

  Just then, she heard shouting from the bank. Rani turned to see the four Clumsy girls—Kate, Mia, Lainey, and Gabby—running toward her, with Fawn flying behind. One of the girls, Lainey, was waving her arms and shouting. It took Rani a moment to realize what she was saying.

  “Help!” Lainey cried. “Stop him! My fish is getting away!”

  “Sunny, come back!” Lainey yelled, running alongside the stream. She could see her little fish flashing through the shallow water. If only he’d slow down!

  At last, Sunny paused. Lainey plunged into the stream to grab him—

  Splash! She fell face-first into the water. When she came up, her glasses were gone—and her hands were empty.

  Lainey’s friends came running up behind her. Kate and Mia helpe
d her out of the water, while Gabby fished out her glasses and handed them back to Lainey.

  “Are you okay?” Kate asked.

  Lainey shook her head. “I lost Sunny,” she said.

  “Oh, Lainey.” Mia put an arm around her.

  “It’s my fault,” said Rani.

  Lainey looked over. The water fairy stood dripping on a nearby rock. Rani always looked smaller than the other fairies because she had no wings. Now, soaked to the skin, she seemed even tinier.

  “I thought he was trapped,” Rani explained. “I just wanted to help. I didn’t realize he was your pet. I’d fly backward if I could.”

  She looked so sorry. Lainey could tell Rani wanted her to say something like “It’s okay.” But it wasn’t okay. Sunny was gone, probably for good. The thought made Lainey’s eyes fill with tears.

  “Don’t cry, Lainey. We’ll find him,” Fawn said, fluttering over.

  Lainey sniffled. “How?”

  “We’ll follow the stream and find out where he went. I’ll talk to every minnow I see if I have to,” Fawn said.

  “I can come, too,” Rani said, brightening. “I’ll look for him underwater.”

  “You will?” asked Lainey.

  “Of course,” the water fairy said. “It’s the least I can do.”

  Lainey wiped her eyes, feeling a pinprick of hope. If Fawn and Rani thought they could find Sunny, maybe they really could. “But he was going so fast. How will we ever catch up with him?”

  Fawn thought for a moment. “We’ll need a boat,” she said.

  They all looked to the tree-root dock where the fairy boats were tied. There were rafts made from twigs, canoes made from seedpods, and tiny sloops with maple-leaf sails. But of course, none of them were big enough to hold four human girls.

  “A boat,” Mia murmured, her eyes suddenly widening. “Hey! I think I have an idea.”