Willa Bean scooted close to Daddy, who had flown into a large room. Snooze flew behind the door. He stayed by the wall and did not make a sound. Snooze was not invisible like Daddy and Willa Bean were. Earth people could see him. And if an Earth person saw him—especially inside an Earth school—that could mean trouble.
There were lots and lots of children inside the room. But instead of sitting at their desks and doing work, they were all standing and moving around. A few of them were putting on sweaters and buttoning them up. One very big Earth boy put on a hat. It was red with a black band around the middle.
“Very good, children!” said a man at the front of the room. He was tall and thin, and he had a strange little patch of hair above his lip. “The faster you get in line, the faster we can go outside for recess!”
“Oh no,” Daddy said. “It looks like we got here two minutes too late. Mr. Peabody is going to the playground with all the children. I’ll have to wait until recess is over.”
“That sounds just about perfect,” Snooze said, yawning. “Now I’ll get to take a nap.”
“But, Daddy,” Willa Bean said, “don’t you have to wait until Mr. Peabody and Miss Buttoncap are in the same room?”
“That would be the easiest way,” Daddy said. “But I might have to wait all day for that to happen. Sometimes I just help one person at a time.”
Willa Bean frowned. She wanted to see Daddy in action. Right now. Why did they have to wait? “Why don’t you just go outside?” she asked. “You could use one of your arrows on Mr. Peabody out there, couldn’t you?”
“I’d rather not,” Daddy answered. “My experience with Earth teachers during recess is that they move around a lot. My aim is better when they’re standing still.”
Willa Bean crossed her arms. “Hmph,” she said.
Daddy put a golden arrow back inside his quiver. “I think I’ll check on Miss Buttoncap,” he said. “Do you want to come with me, Willa Bean?”
But Willa Bean didn’t answer. She was distracted. The children had begun to file out of the room. Mr. Peabody nodded as they passed, counting, “One, two, three …” Suddenly, Willa Bean’s heart began to pound. There, almost at the end of the line, was a boy with curly orange hair.
“Willa Bean?” Daddy asked again. “Do you want to come with me?”
Willa Bean kept her eyes on Angus. She could still see the dried tear tracks on his cheeks, and he shuffled his feet when he walked. He did not look like he wanted to go outside for recess.
Not even a little bit.
“Nimbus to Willa Bean Skylight!” said Daddy one last time.
Willa Bean turned around. “I think …” She hesitated. “I think I’ll stay here with Snooze.”
“All right.” Daddy tugged gently on one of her curls. “It might be a good idea if you try to rest, too. It will be a long flight home.”
“Bye, Daddy,” Willa Bean said.
“See you in a little bit,” Daddy answered.
“Bonne nuit, Willa Bean,” said Snooze. Bonne nuit meant good night in French. Snooze curled up into a little ball behind the door. Then he draped a wing over his head and closed his eyes.
Willa Bean waited.
She counted to ten. Then she counted to twenty.
And finally, when she heard little snores coming from behind Snooze’s wing, she flew out of Mr. Peabody’s room and to the playground.
It was time to poke around—Willa Bean–style!
The playground at the Dawlington School was full of wonderful things. There were swings and a seesaw and a big pole with a ball on a string. The children ran from one thing to the next, screaming happily. Mr. Peabody walked up and down the sidelines, talking to another teacher.
On the other side of the playground was an enormous square made up of red and blue and yellow metal bars. Some of the children were climbing the bars. Others were holding on to them and swinging from side to side.
Willa Bean had never seen such a thing before. She couldn’t imagine what it was. But she didn’t have time to wonder about it for long. She wanted to check on Angus. She wanted to make sure he was okay. And that he wasn’t going to run into any tigers.
She flew straight up into the air, so that she could look down on everyone. It was much easier to see this way. She spotted Angus’s curly orange hair right away.
But what she saw next made her heart beat fast again. The big Earth boy with the red hat was pulling Angus toward the metal thing with bars.
“I don’t want to play!” Angus begged. “I told you, I don’t like this game!”
“You do as I say!” the big boy snarled. “Or you’ll make the tiger angry.”
Willa Bean looked around frantically. Her heart beat even harder. Where was the tiger? Where was it? And what was this horrible boy going to do to Angus?
She watched as the big boy shoved Angus inside the metal thing with bars. At the sight of the big boy, the other children ran away. “You stay there.” The big boy pointed a fat finger in Angus’s face. “And don’t you move.”
Willa Bean gritted her teeth. Why was this boy being so mean? Hadn’t he heard of the Cupid Rule? Didn’t he know that the very best way to spend his day was to try to be kind—all the time?
She watched as the big boy climbed up the metal thing with bars. He moved very fast until he was at the top. Then he stood up and raised his arms to the sky. “I am the Tiger King!” he roared. “The biggest and strongest in the whole entire world! All the little babies must do as I say!”
Below him, Angus whimpered and hung on to the bars.
Willa Bean fluttered nervously overhead, still watching.
The big boy scampered back down. He moved inside the bars until he was standing in front of Angus. Then he stuck out a finger again and poked Angus in the chest. “Say I’m the Tiger King!” he ordered.
“You’re … the … Tiger … King.” Angus struggled to get the words out. He was crying.
“Now say ‘I’m a baby!’ ” The big boy poked Angus again. “Say it!”
Angus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was crying too hard.
“Say it!” yelled the big boy.
But Angus just covered his face with his hands and cried harder.
Suddenly, the big boy shoved Angus to the ground.
Willa Bean gasped.
Angus yelped as he fell. He held his knee against his chest. It was bleeding.
Just then, Mr. Peabody noticed the boys. He frowned when he saw Angus on the ground and hurried over. “Angus?” He looked at the big boy next. “Scully? What happened here?”
Scully took a step back. “Nothing,” he answered. “Angus just fell.”
“Angus?” Mr. Peabody said again. “Did you fall, or did Scully hurt you?”
Angus glanced nervously at Scully. He had so many tears rolling down his face that Willa Bean wondered if he could see anything at all. “I fell,” he whispered.
NO! Nope, nope-ity, nope, nope, nope! Willa Bean flapped her wings furiously. This was not fair. This was not fair at all!
“Well, come with me.” Mr. Peabody took Angus’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “We’ll take you to the nurse and get a bandage for that scrape.”
Willa Bean watched Angus limp off the playground with Mr. Peabody. Then she turned around and glared at Scully. She had never been so angry in her whole entire life. What Scully had just done was so mean. And so awful. Plus, he’d gotten away with it. Just because Angus was scared of him.
Well, she was not going to let Scully get away with it.
Willa Bean watched Scully carefully for the rest of recess.
And by the time the bell had rung and the children had lined up to go back inside, she knew exactly what to do.
“Snooze!” Willa Bean shook her little owl awake as she flew back into Mr. Peabody’s classroom. “Get up! Get up!”
Snooze woke with a start. He blinked a few times and stretched his wings. “Is it morning already?” He yawned.
“
No, it’s not morning.” Willa Bean giggled. “It’s almost the afternoon. And we’re still at the Dawlington School on Earth.”
“Ah!” Snooze ruffled his feathers. “Of course. Now I remember.”
“You’ll never guess what happened,” Willa Bean said.
Snooze took a step backward. “Willa Bean,” he said, “it makes me nervous when you say things like that.”
Willa Bean leaned in close. “I found the tiger!” she whispered.
“The tiger?” Snooze looked around quickly. “What tiger?”
“The tiger in the picture!” said Willa Bean. “The tiger Angus was talking about!”
“Who’s Angus?” Snooze tilted his head.
Willa Bean put a hand on her hip. “Snooze,” she said, “haven’t you been paying attention to anything?”
Snooze blinked. “Well, of course I have,” he answered. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve been paying attention to the same things you’ve been paying attention to.”
“Do you want to see him?” Willa Bean whispered.
“See who?” asked Snooze.
“The tiger!” Willa Bean was impatient. “Who do you think I’ve been talking about?”
Snooze flapped his wings nervously. “It’s in here? In the classroom?”
Willa Bean nodded. “Right behind this door.”
Snooze took another step backward. His eyes were very round.
“Go ahead and peek,” Willa Bean said. “The tiger is sitting in the third row, all the way in the back.”
Snooze poked his head slowly around the door. He stared out at the children, who were sitting in their seats. Then he poked his head back out again. “There’s a very large boy sitting in the third row all the way in the back,” he said crossly. “You’re playing tricks on me, Willa Bean.”
“No, I’m not.” Willa Bean peeked out from behind the door, too. She could go farther than Snooze because no one could see her. “That very large boy is named Scully. Also known as the Tiger King.”
“The Tiger King?” repeated Snooze.
“Yes,” Willa Bean said. “That’s what he calls himself.”
“So he’s the tiger?” Snooze said.
Willa Bean nodded. “He’s the meanest, most horrible tiger-boy I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Snooze said.
“I know,” Willa Bean answered. “But it’s true. He was awful to poor Angus out on the playground. He pushed him inside a big thing with bars, and he yelled at him. He told Angus to call him the Tiger King. And then he told Angus to call himself a baby. And when Angus wouldn’t, he pushed him to the ground!”
“Ah, non!” Snooze exclaimed. “How terrible!”
Willa Bean nodded. “That’s why Angus isn’t even here right now. He’s at the nurse, getting a bandage for his knee.”
Snooze made a soft clucking noise inside his beak. “Very sad,” he said. “Very sad, indeed.”
“I know,” said Willa Bean. She leaned in and whispered, “That’s why I have a plan.”
“A plan?” Snooze repeated. “Willa Bean, you’re not allowed to have any kind of plan. Remember?”
Willa Bean rummaged through her hair. There in the back, where the curls were the curliest, was her favorite blue pencil and her writing tablet. “Nifty Notes are the first part of the plan,” she said.
Nifty Notes were mini-messages that cupids could leave for sad kids to make them feel better. They were only one or two words long. But they had to be meaningful. Sometimes it was hard to pick just the right words.
Snooze looked over her shoulder as Willa Bean began to write.
HANG ON!
TIGERS STINK!
“Two Nifty Notes?” Snooze asked.
“Yes,” Willa Bean answered. “Angus definitely needs two.”
She flew into the classroom and slipped the Nifty Notes inside Angus’s desk. He would find them later when he came back from the nurse. She hoped they would surprise him. And she hoped they would make him feel better.
Then she flew back to Snooze.
“That was very nice of you,” Snooze said.
“Now we have to do one more thing—” Willa Bean started.
But before she could finish, Mr. Peabody walked into the classroom. Daddy flew in behind him.
“Hi, Daddy!” Willa Bean whispered.
Snooze tugged on Willa Bean’s sleeve. “You were saying, Willa Bean?”
But Daddy put a finger to his lips. “Shh,” he whispered. “The teacher is talking.”
“Children, I will be out of the room for the next few minutes,” said Mr. Peabody. “I would like everyone to copy the spelling words off the board. Scully Masterson, come with me, please.”
Scully stood up. He fiddled with his belt buckle and bit his lip. Then he followed Mr. Peabody out of the room.
“Let’s go!” Daddy said to Snooze and Willa Bean. “Mr. Peabody is taking the boy to see Miss Buttoncap! It’s perfect timing! The adults will be in the same room, which means I can use my arrows on both of them at the same time!”
But Willa Bean frowned.
She needed to see Angus before Daddy used his arrows on Mr. Peabody and Miss Buttoncap. Not after. After, they would go back to Nimbus. And she’d never get to help Angus!
This was not how things were supposed to go.
Daddy was ruining everything.
And so was Mr. Peabody.
Mr. Peabody led Scully Masterson down the wide, empty hallway. Daddy and Willa Bean followed them. Snooze, who was hidden inside Willa Bean’s pocket, came, too.
Scully’s brown shoes made a peeling sound against the floor as he walked. Mr. Peabody’s shoes made a faint scuffing noise. Willa Bean marveled at all the different sounds shoes made on Earth. Clicking, peeling, scuffing. In Nimbus, where everyone walked on clouds, shoes made no sounds at all.
Finally, they stopped in front of a large green door. A sign on it said:
MISS MOGG BUTTONCAP
PRINCIPAL
PLEASE KNOCK!
Mr. Peabody pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped his upper lip with it and put it back. With a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and knocked on the door.
“Come in!” a woman’s voice said.
“Here we go, Scully.” Mr. Peabody opened the door. He let Scully walk in first.
Willa Bean stayed close to Daddy, who flew in quickly and settled himself in a corner. Miss Buttoncap’s office was not very big. It had a wide desk in the middle and two chairs in front of it. Miss Buttoncap was sitting behind the desk. Angus sat in one of the chairs. He was staring at the floor. A long rip stretched across the knee of his pants.
“Hello, Mr. Peabody.” Miss Buttoncap stood up. Her cheeks turned pink. She had very blue eyes, and they were shining.
“Miss Buttoncap.” Mr. Peabody nodded. He coughed and looked at his shoes.
For a few seconds, Willa Bean forgot all about her plan. It was so exciting to be in the same room with two Earth people who were about to fall in love! Any minute now, Daddy would help them seal the deal.
Miss Buttoncap cleared her throat. “Scully,” she said in a firm voice, “have a seat, please.”
Scully sat next to Angus.
Angus moved over just a little bit.
In the corner, Daddy began to fit one of his golden arrows into his bow.
Willa Bean reached around until her fingers felt the arrow she had picked up from her bedroom floor. It was her Confidence arrow. She knew she wasn’t allowed to use it. Not today, when it was Daddy’s assignment. Maybe not ever. Or at least not until she came down to Earth on a real assignment of her own with her class.
But there was someone in this room who needed her Confidence arrow more than anyone she could think of. She just had to find a way to send it flying—without anyone else knowing. Especially Daddy.
Miss Buttoncap came out from behind her desk. She was wearing a light blue skirt and a white blouse with short sleeves. Her hair was short a
nd very dark. Willa Bean thought she was pretty. Not as pretty as Miss Twizzle, but then most people weren’t. Except maybe Mama.
“I’ve just had a talk with Angus.” Miss Buttoncap walked around the boys as she spoke. Her hands were behind her back, and she was not smiling. “It seems this is the third time in a week he’s had to go to the nurse. Do you have any idea why, Scully?”
Scully slouched down in his seat. He kicked the desk a little and fiddled with the side of his chair.
“No idea?” Miss Buttoncap said. “Well then, let me help you out. Angus has told me that you have been bullying him. That you force him into the jungle gym on the playground at recess and make him call you the Tiger King. And if he doesn’t do what you say, you push him. Is that correct?”
Angus stared at the floor. He pressed his lips together.
Daddy raised his bow until it was level with his shoulder. Willa Bean hovered close by, hardly breathing. It was here! Finally! She was going to see what happened when Daddy used his arrows on real Earth people!
But here were Angus and Scully, too! She couldn’t miss a thing with them! She whipped her head back and forth. First Daddy. Then Angus and Scully. Then Daddy. Then—
With a soft whizzing sound, the golden arrow went flying from Daddy’s bow. It hit Miss Buttoncap right in the arm, below her short sleeve. The arrow was invisible, of course, and being hit with it felt like a soft pinch. Miss Buttoncap looked down at her arm and put a hand over the spot. For a moment, she seemed confused.
Suddenly, the color came back into her cheeks. She glanced over at Mr. Peabody and smiled.
Then, shaking her head, she squatted down next to Scully’s chair and covered his hand with hers. “I will not tolerate meanness in my school, Scully Masterson.” Her voice was quiet. “If you cannot be nice to people, especially to lovely ones like Angus Walker, you will not be allowed to play with anyone. Is that understood?”
Willa Bean to the Rescue! Page 3
