Fairy Good Party Planning
I wave the invite in front of Maxine’s face. “I cannot believe you changed the invitation!”
“Hey! I can’t see!” Maxine tries to duck and weave around the scroll so she can continue cleaning her lamp at our dorm room desk. She’s got some sort of polish concoction, a few potions, ELF Cleaning Spray, and various rags and brushes laid out in front of her. Peaches is sitting on the desk watching Maxine scrub. And scrub. And scrub. Occasionally, Peaches tries to eat one of the brushes, and then Maxine shoos her away.
Wilson pokes his small, pink nose out of my pocket and sneezes.
Maxine’s concoction smells like Ollie’s feet. “Maxine, you need to open a window. That smell might kill us!” I crank open the stained glass window and let some fresh air in.
Maxine throws the rag in disgust. “And it’s not even working either! Look at it!” She holds her lamp up to the light. It’s still the same brown, but now there are patches of green on there as well. I think she’s making things worse. “Plus, I can’t get the cap loose.” She twists the top, but it doesn’t budge. “I just want to see what’s inside. It sounds hollow.” She shakes it. “But I want to know for sure!”
Miri the Magic Mirror crackles and comes to life, swirling with purple and blue colors. “Hello, Fairy Tale Reform School! A quick note, following the fairy garden party, early evening gym classes will be canceled due to Professor Edom’s prediction that we’re in for a fierce thunderstorm.”
“Ooh!” Maxine looks at me. “It wasn’t supposed to rain today. Maybe it’s actually the typhiras! Will you come outside with me tonight and look for them in the storm?”
“Maxine, for the last time, they’re not real!” I say wearily. “Just like that lamp of yours doesn’t hold any magic.” Wilson sniffs in agreement.
Maxine sets her jaw and continues rubbing the lamp. “You’re wrong about the typhiras. They’re real! I wish I could see one and prove it to you! And hey…is the lamp glowing?”
I run over to the table, and we both peer at the lamp. “I don’t see any glow,” I say, feeling badly. I don’t mean to be so down on her dreams…even if they’re unrealistic.
“I guess I was imagining it.” Maxine sighs. “I know you don’t think this lamp is magical, but it’s still special. If I could just clean it up, it would look like the one I had when I was little.” She puts it down and opens a jar of purple paste. “This is my last shot. I whipped this up in the potion lab. It’s got gingerroot, beet juice, and lemon.” She smears the paste all over the lamp, then places it in a small sack. “Maybe if I leave it on, it will work its magic.” She places the sack in a bag overflowing with bottles of glitter, pink and red scarves, and lots of tape. “I really need to get going if we’re going to finish setting up the fairy party.”
I wave the invitation again. “Speaking of which, you changed the invite and now it looks like you and AG planned everything.”
“We did.” Maxine places her RLW sash over her head. “Tessa and Raza have been too busy learning kung fu to make a single swan napkin or papier-mâché lantern. The rest of the club is practicing self-defense with Rapunzel around the clock.”
“Why didn’t you tell me when you were meeting?” I ask, feeling guilty.
“You don’t like being an RLW, and I know you’re worried about Anna.” Maxine shrugs. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
Now I feel even worse.
“We tried going to Headmistress Flora and Harlow to get some extra help, but they’re only concerned with tracking down Rumpelstiltskin, so they didn’t care either. AG and I have been up past midnight working by firefly light trying to do it all. So yes, I put our names on all the invites. And now, I have to finish planning a party no one is even looking forward to.” She grabs her sack and heads to the door. “Are you even coming?”
“Yes. Professor Sebastian said attendance is mandatory.” And I could use some extra points since my oral presentation on my meeting with Pete wasn’t exactly met with rave reviews. I basically spent three minutes railing against the police squad and complaining about how none of us were ever going to get jobs because former villains will never be trusted. Needless to say, my sentiment did not go over well. “Why don’t I help you finish setting up?”
Maxine smiles gratefully. “Thanks. I want everything to be perfect for Kayla and her family.”
“So do I,” I agree.
Maxine wasn’t kidding about the rest of the RLWs being MIA for the party planning. When we shrink down to fairy size and enter the fairy garden to finish decorating, AG looks so overwhelmed, I think she might get beastly.
“Only half the tablecloths are on the tables, the fireflies haven’t arrived yet to light the lanterns, and the chef told me he forgot to make cinnamon rolls,” AG tells us. “That means we have nothing sweet to serve, and my mother isn’t even sure the royal court is coming because the Dwarf Police Squad said it’s a security risk for them to shrink to the size of a water goblet!”
I look around at the beautiful garden with its mini fountains, fairy lights hanging from trees, and beautiful weeping willows. AG and Maxine did a great job. This party could be the most stunning FTRS has ever seen, and no one will be here to see it. “Pete and the squad are so close-minded!” I lament. “If they’re staying full-size and protecting the fairy garden, what does it matter if the royal court shrinks? I wish I were the head of the Dwarf Police Squad. If I were in charge, things would be different!”
The bag on Maxine’s arm begins to glow.
“What’s going on with my lamp?” Maxine asks, but the bag stops glowing before she can open the sack. “Maybe the chemicals are finally working their magic.” Her smile widens. The bag glows again slightly, then fades again.
“There’s no time to worry about your lamp,” I say, grabbing some tablecloths. “We have to get this party ready, whether the royal court comes or not.”
We decorate the tables with flower arrangements from the garden. The fireflies finally show up, and the chef promises to deliver a few dozen cinnamon rolls before dessert. We do it all without help from anyone but Ollie, who takes to his new position as self-proclaimed RLW captain quite well.
“I want two more arrangements of hydrangeas on that table, a pink runner on the ground at the entrance, and a line of people with confetti ready to shower our guests of honor as they emerge from their fairy hut,” Ollie instructs. “Did anyone think of presenting them with a gift from FTRS?”
Maxine covers her mouth with her hand and looks at AG sheepishly. “No! I was so overwhelmed getting ready…”
“It’s okay,” says AG, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’ll run back to my pop-up castle and find something we can give.” She smirks. “Mother and Father got so many gifts when we moved to Enchantasia, we couldn’t use them all so they’re just sitting in a closet. I’m sure there’s something we can regift.” Her cheeks redden. “I know that’s wrong, but…”
“It’s fine,” I assure her. “Go quick!” AG runs off, holding up her powder-blue gown as she races back to the entrance to the fairy garden. She drinks a potion, and pop! She disappears, and I know she’s full-size again somewhere on the other side of that hedge.
Pop! Pop! Pop! RLWs and students start showing up, with Rapunzel in tow.
“All weapons can go in this sack,” Rapunzel says. RLWs begin dropping daggers, wands, swords, bows and arrows, and spell books in her bag as they walk in. “I’ll be guarding these all night, so you know what to do if the need arises.”
“Maybe we should hang near you, just in case,” says Tessa, one hand still on her dagger. “I’m not sure I want to be outside school without my weapon.”
“Me neither,” says Raza, as her hand holding her slingshot hovers over the bag. She finally lets it drop, and the rest of the RLWs start talking at once. We hear another pop, and Harlow and Headmistress Flora arrive with Blackbeard, his mirror that holds Madame Cleo, and Professor Wolfington.
“Well, it would have been decent of them to at least give us a few hours’ notice,” I hear the Evil Queen say.
“I know, but under the circumstances, who can predict these things?” Flora says wearily. “If we had known, of course, we would have postponed, but…”
“Aye!” agrees Blackbeard, holding up the mirror so Madame Cleo can look around. “But we be here, so no need to let the grub go to waste.” He pats his round belly with his free hand. “Where be the food, boy?” he yells to Ollie.
“We’re waiting until the guests of honor arrive before serving food,” Ollie says and looks at the other RLWs. “We could use some help with that.” They’re so busy talking to Rapunzel, they don’t answer.
“Honestly, this was a foolish idea with everything else we have going on!” Harlow complains.
“Yes, well, we still need to have normal functions to keep the parents happy,” Flora tells her.
“If I might interject,” says Professor Wolfington. The four of them fall into a heated discussion, and I get a bad feeling. I glance at Maxine. She’s busy rearranging a group of flowers on the head table, so I’m hopeful she can’t hear what’s going on.
“Maxine!” AG comes running over with a beautiful jewelry box. “Good news: I found this. Bad news: My parents said the royal court isn’t coming!”
“What?” Maxine cries. “No!”
“Why not?” asks Rapunzel, hurrying over with the other RLWs close behind. “Did someone spot Stiltskin?” She dumps the bag of weapons onto the ground before AG can answer. RLWs scramble to grab their weapons.
“Calm down! Nothing has happened!” Even Harlow sounds exasperated.
“But it could!” Flora points out. “Pete got a tip, so the royal court called an emergency meeting. You should probably get going.”
“Pete? We’re all trusting Pete?” I cry.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Jax, Jack, and Jocelyn arrive. There’s no sign of Kayla and her mother yet, but they’re supposed to stay in their fairy hut till we announce them.
“The party is off!” Harlow tells the students who have just shrunken down to enter the garden. “Everyone back to their dorm rooms till we get a briefing from the Dwarf Police Squad.” She sweeps her gray cape behind her and heads back to the garden entrance with several dozen students in tow.
“No!” Maxine cries, throwing a bouquet of flowers onto the ground. “I worked so hard! The party was going to be beautiful!” She bursts into tears and runs off.
“Maxine!” I yell, taking off after her. I look back at Jax and the others. “I’ll get her.”
It takes me a few minutes to finally catch up. I find her sitting on a rock by a waterfall that empties into a beautiful lagoon. She’s still crying. I walk over quietly and give her my handkerchief. She blows her nose loudly.
“I worked so hard, you know?” Maxine says, her voice shaky. “AG and I planned everything! And what for? The party is canceled! It’s not even as if we’re under attack. They just got a tip. A tip! And everything is ruined!”
“A tip from Pete, no less.” I snort. “As if that guy could find Rumpelstiltskin or Alva. He’s a terrible chief! I’d make a much better chief.” I sit next to her, pushing her sack aside, and feeling equally glum.
“I know!” Maxine sniffs. “All anyone thinks about anymore is villains attacking! I just wish… I just wish…” The sack next to her starts to glow.
“I wish Pete weren’t police chief, that’s what I wish,” I say. “I wish I were in charge. Parties wouldn’t be canceled on a hunch. I’d make a great police chief!”
“I know!” Maxine agrees. “I wish you were police chief too. You know what else I wish?” She pulls her lamp out of her bag. That polish she made must have been really strong because the lamp is no longer tarnished. It’s gold and it’s glowing. “Look! It worked!” Maxine cries, hugging the lamp to her chest. “At least one thing worked out today.” She looks the lamp over and frowns. “There’s still one mark right here.” She licks her thumb and begins to rub it.
The lamp begins to glow again, and I stare at it in wonder as it turns red from the heat. Maxine drops it as the cap shakes violently and pops off.
“Maxine!” I begin backing up. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know!” Maxine jumps off the rock and stands beside me as sparks begin to shoot out of the lamp.
“Run!” I shout, but I’m cut off by the sound of an explosion, a burst of light, and a gust of wind so fierce that it sends Maxine and me flying through the air.