Hi, Humphrey.” One of the cheerhexers skipped forward and put a hand on Humphrey’s arm. “My, my, don’t you look handsome today.” She batted her lashes.
“I do?” Humphrey’s crown fell right off his head.
Oh my godmother! Faybelle couldn’t believe it. The arrow had struck one of her cheerhexers. Faybelle’s misfortune was at an all-time epic high. Luck had completely abandoned her. Sure, that particular cheerhexer had wilted wings and lovesickness, but that couldn’t compare with the humiliation Faybelle would feel if she lost the role to Cupid!
She grabbed another arrow and set it against the bow. Stand still, Cupid! she silently urged. Ready… aim…
Cupid moved. Again. What was the matter with her? She was as fidgety as a flea. The arrow soared past Cupid’s leg and hit another cheerhexer. Right in the shin. As the arrow dissolved, a goofy grin spread across the cheerhexer’s face. “Oh, Humphrey,” she cooed. “Where have you been all my life?”
“Uh, I’ve mostly been in the Tech Club room. We’ve been recalibrating a pumpkin stagecoach motor.”
Faybelle couldn’t believe this was happening. Without even thinking, she grabbed another arrow, narrowed her eyes, and took aim. Cupid moved again. The arrow whizzed past Peggy’s tail and hit a third cheerhexer. This one took her arrow in the shoulder.
“Oh, Humphrey,” the latest victim gushed. “That sounds so hexciting. Can I recalibrate with you?”
Humphrey was speechless. Three fairies were hanging on to his arms, batting their lashes, and smiling at him. “You see?” Cupid said happily. “I told you, just be yourself.”
Faybelle set down the bow and quiver and took a seat on a bale of hay. It was as if the universe was mocking her. Everything she’d tried to accomplish over the last few days had gone wrong. Would she have to join Raven in the Vault of Lost Tales, looking for a book to help them both with their back-firing spells? Would nothing go right?
The three lovestruck cheerhexers began bickering. “I saw him first.”
“No, I did.”
“He’s mine.”
Because they were so deliriously eager for Humphrey’s attention, the other three, who hadn’t been stuck by arrows, began to wonder why Humphrey had suddenly become such a hot commodity. Why hadn’t they noticed this incredibly popular prince? Obviously, he was much more than he seemed. They refused to be left out of this game. So they began to woo him, as well. “Hi, Humphrey.”
“Don’t forget about us.”
“Humphrey, Humphrey, hear our cry, you’re the cutest”—clap—“tech guy.” They began to push, shove, and elbow, trying to get close to him.
“What’s happening?” Humphrey asked with a look of sheer terror.
Then chaos erupted. One fairy aimed a spell at another. Horns popped up on that fairy’s head.
“Hey!” She aimed back. “Take that.” A tail sprouted.
“No, you take that!” A nose turned into a snout.
“I’d better put you in your stall, where you’ll be safe,” Cupid told Pegasus.
“I think I’ve changed my mind about dating,” Humphrey said as fairy dust filled the air. He grabbed his crown and began backing toward the barn door. Faybelle might have been annoyed by the cheerhexers’ bickering, but they were creating a masterful diversion.
“Hey, he’s getting away!”
“Oh, Humphrey, my love, come back!”
Humphrey was on the move, running as fast as his skinny legs could carry him. The six cheerhexers, despite their complaints about sore feet, took up the chase.
Leaving Faybelle and Cupid alone in the barn. Finally.
Faybelle gripped the bow so tightly her fingers went numb. This was her last chance. She’d get it right this time. She stepped out from behind the hay bales. Cupid now stood in the barn’s doorway, shielding her eyes and watching the cheerhexers pursue Humphrey up the lane.
“How strange,” Cupid muttered to herself. She wasn’t flitting about. Her pink toenail polish twinkled in the sunlight.
Faybelle took one step, then another. She moved stealthily, like a serpent sneaking up on its prey. She’d get close enough so there’d be no way to miss. Not this time! She took aim and—
Cupid whipped around. “Oh, you found them!” Her wings beat the air as she dove at Faybelle, grabbing the bow and quiver. “I’m so relieved to have them back. I don’t know what might have happened if they’d fallen into the wrong hands. Thank you so much.” She hugged her precious bow and quiver to her chest.
Faybelle stood in shocked silence.
Cupid gave Faybelle a concerned look. “You know, that wilted-wing sickness is making your cheerhexers act very odd. You might want to take them to Professor Yaga again.” She slipped her shoe back on. “I’d better go. I think Humphrey might need my help. Oh, and I also need to get ready for callbacks. Have a great day, and thanks again for finding my stuff.” She gave Faybelle a happy wave and off she flew.
It was over. There was nothing left to do. Faybelle Thorn, daughter of the Dark Fairy, captain of the Cheerhexing Squad, president of the Villain Club, had failed. She’d hurt herself, and her cheerhexers. She’d lost.
A scream welled up from the depths of her being. She aimed her face toward the barn ceiling and let the scream loose. It erupted, the sound of anguish, waking the sleeping bats and disturbing a family of mice who’d been sitting on a rafter, eating corn kernels.
“What are you looking at?” she grumbled at Peggy, who was chewing on alfalfa. “Haven’t you ever seen a loser before?”
Faybelle trudged up the lane. Maybe she would go home. Lie low. Wallow in self-pity. Lost in troubled thoughts, she didn’t hear her MirrorPhone chime its reminder that cheerhexing practice was about to begin. She didn’t even notice that she was walking straight past the field. “Hey, Faybelle!” Hunter ran up to her. “Where are you going? Aren’t we going to work on the pyramid? Where’s the rest of the team?”
Holly, Nina, and Farrah stood by his side, pom-poms in hand, waiting for Faybelle’s answer.
“They’re not coming,” Faybelle said. I messed things up, big-time.
Hunter scratched his head. “But I thought you wanted us to get the pyramid perfected for regionals.”
“I do. But—” How could she explain? She took a deep breath. “The other fairies won’t be joining us today. Or tomorrow. I don’t know when they’ll be back to normal. When we’ll be back to normal.” She glanced at Farrah. “We’ll have to forfeit.” Hunter, Holly, and Nina gasped. Then, with heavy shoulders and drooping wings, Faybelle continued walking.
“Faybelle, wait,” Farrah called. She ran up to her, her uniform’s skirt beating against her legs.
“Leave me alone,” Faybelle snipped.
“But—”
“What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were feeling sad.”
“I am feeling sad,” Farrah said, matching Faybelle’s stride. “But I didn’t want to let you down. I know how much this team means to you.”
A lump rose in Faybelle’s throat. Despite the fact that she was stuck with three wingless students, the Cheerhexing Squad meant everything to her. She was the captain. The leader. But she was also the reason they’d have to forfeit. She’d let them down.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.” Farrah darted in front of Faybelle, blocking her path. “You can fix this.”
Faybelle stopped walking. She arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“When I fix things, I make them look better, or taste better. They seem better. And it’s just a temporary fix until midnight. But you have bigger powers. You can truly fix things. You can make this right.” Farrah smiled sweetly.
“What exactly are you insinuating?”
“Look, I know what you think about us Goodfairys. I know you think our magic is unimportant. But we are very observant. We know the difference between good magic and dark magic. And I know that my wings didn’t wilt from some virus.” Why didn’t she sound angry? What was that tone to her voice? Was it forgiveness?
“You can clean up this mess,” Farrah continued. “Remember what Madam Baba Yaga told you.”
She who cleans up her own mess learns to not make it the next time.
Though Faybelle didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t clean up this mess on her own. She needed to swallow her pride. She needed help.