Fairy Bad Day

chapter FIFTEEN

Emma. This is a wonderful surprise. We didn’t expect you.” Olivia appeared at the door wearing a soft green sweater to hide her baby bump, while deeper in the house Emma could hear the faint sound of music and smelled roast pork wafting through to the front. Turning up here unannounced suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea, and she felt a flood of emotions catch in her chest.

“Er, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Emma reluctantly stepped out of the cool autumn evening into the warmth of the house. Curtis followed.

“Don’t be silly, you’re not interrupting anything,” Olivia assured them before ushering them into the living room, which had once been papered in sky-blue stripes but had now been painted a pale yellow, while the old comfy sofas that Emma had bounced on as a child had been replaced by stiff brown leather ones. As for the floor, the white carpet that she remembered had been ripped up, and in its place were polished hardwood floors and large Turkish rugs.

“You’ve redecorated?” Emma felt a lump form in her throat as she tried very hard not to notice that her mom’s antique console table was no longer under the window and there were no signs of the silver-framed photographs that used to sit on top of it.

“Oh yes, I forgot you haven’t been here in a while. I know there’s still two months to go, but we thought we’d better start making the house baby-proof. Do you like it?” Before Emma was forced to answer, her dad came into the room.

“Ah, so you haven’t been eaten by swamp monsters. I was starting to wonder when I didn’t hear back from you.” He crossed over to her as he undid the frilly apron that he insisted on wearing when he cooked.

“Hey, Dad. Sorry I haven’t been in touch. I know I promised I’d call every day after the accident. It’s just, well . . . it’s been a weird week.”

“Well, at least you’re here now,” he said as he hugged her before stepping back so he could inspect her face. “So how’s the eye? I see the patch is off, which is a good sign. Does it still hurt?”

“No, it’s better now,” Emma hastily assured him, feeling guilty that she kept forgetting to return his calls. Despite how awkward things sometimes felt, she knew he probably had been genuinely worried. Then she realized her dad was looking at Curtis with interest, and she reluctantly nodded toward him. “Anyway, this is Curtis. He goes to Burtonwood with me.”

“Ah, the dragon slayer. Olivia told me she met you at the mall.” Her dad held out his hand. “So have you had any luck with a kreplin yet? Most of the time I’m happy to be sight-blind, but I must admit when Emma’s mom used to talk about the green kreplins, I had a longing to see them for myself.”

“Hey, Mr. Jones.” Curtis stretched out his hand. “I actually managed to slay my first kreplin the other day. As you can see, it left me with a souvenir.” He nodded down to his cast, and her dad instantly lost his easy smile.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Curtis.” He started to frown. “Any parent who has a child at Burtonwood worries about injuries. Thankfully, except for her sore eye the other day, Emma’s been lucky.”

“I’d hardly call it lucky. I just haven’t had anything decent to slay,” Emma mumbled as she picked up a weird-looking plastic thing on the mantel and started to fiddle with it before realizing it was actually a blue baby toy that said IT’S A BOY across the front. She instantly put it back down and tried not to think about the fact that she was going to have a half brother.

“Well, call me an old-fashioned sight-blind civilian but I’d rather you be safe than injured,” her dad merely said before shooting her a hopeful glance. “So can you both stay for dinner? Olivia always teases me that I make too much food, but the advantage is that there is always plenty for extras.”

Emma shook her head. “Sorry, but we’re kind of in a hurry. We have a taxi waiting outside. Actually, the reason I’m here is because I need to look at some of Mom’s books. Is it okay if I go up to the study?”

“Oh.” A flash of guilt ran across her dad’s face. “Do you mean all the old ones with the brown leather covers?”

“Yes.” She croaked as a stab of panic raced through her body. “Why? Is there a problem?”

“It’s just—Well, we decided to turn the study into a nursery.” He shot her an apologetic look. “Right now the only books in there are of The Very Hungry Caterpillar variety.”

“And you have no idea how long it took him to set up the crib,” Olivia teased as she put an affectionate hand on his arm.

“Hey, those things are hard to do,” her dad protested as he returned her embrace, and Emma stared at them in horror.

“S-so what about Mom’s things? You didn’t . . . ”

“What?” He looked at her blankly for a moment before shaking his head. “Oh sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to scare you. Of course I didn’t throw anything out; they’re just up in the attic. Do you need them right away?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of important,” she said, just as a timer went off in the kitchen.

“Bill, I’ll check that and you can go get the books for Emma,” Olivia suggested in a sunny voice before heading for the kitchen while her dad went upstairs.

“Are you okay?” Curtis whispered to her when the room was empty. “You went a little pale for a minute.”

“I’m fine. I was just worried they threw out my mom’s books and then we would be back at square one.”

“Why would they throw them out?” Curtis looked surprised.

“Same reason they’ve changed the furniture and put away all the photos.” Emma shrugged as she glanced around the room and tried to connect it with the home she had once known. “Out with the old and in with the new, I guess.”

Before Curtis could answer, her dad reappeared with a weathered-looking cardboard box, and Emma felt her shoulders sag in relief.

“Thanks.” She hurried over and took it from him.

“Did you find them?” Olivia reappeared from the kitchen with a matching frilly apron tied around her large bump, her face flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

“Yes. Anyway, we’ve got a taxi waiting outside, so we’d better get going, but thank you so much for these.” Emma protectively gripped the box while next to her Curtis looked like he was trying to figure out a way to carry a box and use his crutches at the same time.

“Emma, you don’t need to say thank you. They’re as much yours as they are mine,” her dad corrected as he took the box from her and followed her over to the front door. “And if you’re sure you can’t stay, why don’t I drive you back to Burtonwood?”

“No.” Emma quickly shook her head, thinking of the minibus that would be waiting to take her and Curtis back to the Academy. Then she caught her dad’s hurt look. “I mean, your dinner’s ready. And you don’t need to come outside. It’s cold.”

“Nonsense,” Olivia said as she followed them down to the taxi while the driver put away his cell phone and started the engine. “Being pregnant is like suddenly finding yourself on a tropical island, just minus the sand and the sun. I’m boiling. Plus, it will give me another chance to convince Emma to change her mind about not coming to Serena’s wedding this weekend. I know she would love to have you there, especially now that your induction ceremony has been canceled.”

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t think I can. I’ve got a crazy amount of schoolwork to get done,” she said as she ignored Curtis’s pointed glance and hopped into the taxi. She rolled down the window to say good-bye, but it wasn’t until the vehicle had pulled away from the curb that Curtis turned to her and raised a surprised eyebrow.

“So why do they think Induction’s been canceled?” he asked in a low voice so the driver wouldn’t hear. “Don’t you want them to come?”

“Oh sure, I’m just dying for them to see me be inducted as a fairy slayer. Maybe we can even get the local paper to run a story about it,” Emma retorted as an annoying pop song blared on the radio.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to rub it in.” Curtis flushed. “I just meant that maybe you should’ve given them the chance to decide if they wanted to go or not.”

“I didn’t tell them it was canceled in the first place,” Emma quickly replied since Curtis obviously thought she was the kind of person who lied on a regular basis.

“Oh. I guess your dad just didn’t strike me as the sort of guy who would miss it.”

“You don’t give up, do you?” Emma glared at him, then sighed. “Okay, so here’s the thing. For whatever reason, Olivia’s family is big on weddings. Very big, and her sister is getting married in New York on Sunday. Only problem is that at the start of the school year, Principal Kessler changed the date of Induction from last weekend to this weekend, which meant my dad started to freak out because Olivia’s a really bad flier. Anyway, he kept calling and texting me about it, and in the end I told him it was no big deal if he didn’t come. As for why he told Olivia that it was canceled, it was probably because he didn’t want her to worry. So now you know. Not only am I a stupid fairy slayer, I’ll also be the only sophomore without any parents at the induction ceremony. Laughingstock once again. Go, me.”

Curtis stopped and studied her. “Look, I’m sorry, Jones. That sucks.” He paused and looked down at the books. Then he studied her face before finally speaking. “Why didn’t you just ask your dad outright if your mom had ever mentioned the darkhel?”

“You think I should’ve asked him about an invisible fairy?” Emma folded her arms in annoyance, but when Curtis just raised an eyebrow at her, she finally sighed. “Fine, so the reason I didn’t ask him is because I don’t like talking about my mom with him. He’s got a new life and a new wife now. Talking isn’t really our thing.”

“That’s a shame.”

“It’s fine. Look, my mom’s been gone awhile now, so it’s not like this is new territory for me. Now, can we please just forget it?”

“Yes, but—”

“Seriously, Curtis. I know you’re trying to help, but since you have no idea what it’s like to be—”

“My folks won’t be there either,” he suddenly blurted out. However, the moment the words were out of his mouth, he winced, as if regretting his decision to say them.

She looked at him. “What? You’re joking.”

“Look, I didn’t mean to say that, I just didn’t want you to think that you were on your own. Now can we please just drop it?”

“Oh no.” She shook her head. “You’re not getting out of it that easily. If you know something about me, it’s only fair that I know something about you. Spill. What are the parents of the famous Curtis Green doing that is so important that they can’t make Induction?”

For a moment Curtis looked down before letting out a reluctant sigh. “My dad isn’t exactly a fan of what we do at Burtonwood.”

Emma stared at him blankly. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s because you’ve grown up in a house where it’s completely normal to talk about kreplin dragons and sword fighting.” Curtis seemed to be clenching his jaw. “The first time I told my dad that I thought there was something evil in the room he didn’t believe me. The second time I did it he smacked me around. The third time, well, I had enough sense to keep my mouth shut.”

“What?” Emma studied his eyes to see if there was any hint of joking in them, but he merely returned her gaze in a steady, unflinching way.

“The thing is, my dad’s spent most of his life working in a wood mill during the week, drinking his body weight in beer on the weekend, and hoping that the Vikings will win the Super Bowl. No one in my family has ever had the sight before, so it’s not exactly an easy thing for them to accept.”

“Your family’s sight-blind? Curtis, I had no idea.” She hadn’t been quite sure what he was going to tell her, but it certainly wasn’t this. She’d never even heard of someone being born to two sight-blind parents, and as far as she knew, she was the only one who had been born with just one sight-gifted parent.

“There’s no reason why you should.” He looked down at the cast on his leg. “Anyway, my dad pretty much disowned me when I came here, so I’m sort of on a scholarship. Now, seriously, can we please drop the subject?”

Emma ignored his request as she realized how wrong she had been about him. It also explained why he hadn’t even known what the Pure One was.

She softened her voice. “What about your mom? And do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“My mom left when I was just a kid and we haven’t heard from her since. And my younger brother died a few years ago.” He bowed his head and seemed to be studying his hands.

“Curtis,” Emma whispered, feeling her throat tighten.

He cut her off. “It’s fine, Jones. Can we just forget it?”

“Sure.” She quickly nodded.

“Right, folks, here we are,” the driver interrupted as the taxi came to a halt. “So how do you want to pay for that?” he asked as Emma glanced up to realize they’d arrived back at the parking lot by the lakes. For a moment she just blinked as she tried to digest what Curtis had told her, before the taxi driver started to tap his hand impatiently on the steering wheel.

“Um, cash,” she quickly said as she pulled some money out of her pocket and passed it over before getting her stuff together and getting out. Once the taxi had disappeared from sight and they’d made their way in silence over to a wooden picnic table, Emma started to carefully transfer the books into her slaying kit. She was fairly sure the minibus driver would want to know how they had managed to find a box of old books when they were observing troubadour dragons.

She had just finished when the minibus pulled into the parking lot. The group of seniors was already inside, looking a bit wet and worse for wear. All Emma longed to do was start reading her mom’s books, but instead she was forced to spend the whole trip back listening to what the older slayers had been through on their selkie patrol. However, the trip was made easier by the comfortable silence that had descended between her and Curtis. It was . . . nice.

Finally, the minibus pulled into Burtonwood and they both made their way back into the dark, silent Academy.

“So what now?” Curtis asked as they came to a halt at the entrance of her dorm.

“Now I go back to my room and start going through these books and hope I can find some mention of the darkhel,” she said as she hitched her slaying kit, weighted down with books, higher over her shoulder.

“Well, I’d offer to come and help you but I guess the last thing you need is to risk being caught with a guy in your room,” he said as he leaned forward on his crutches so that his face was almost level with hers. For a moment Emma found herself staring at his dark, velvety eyes, temporarily mesmerized at the intense swirling colors. She wasn’t sure how long it was before suddenly realizing he was waiting for her to answer. She felt her face start to heat.

“Oh yeah. It’s probably best if you don’t,” she agreed, her voice sounding breathy, even to her own ears. “And, look, I’m sorry I’ve been such a . . . well, less than nice to you. I guess I was so caught up in my own problems I didn’t really think anyone else had any.”

“Hey, Jones, we’ve talked about this. You know it freaks me out when you’re too nice to me. It makes me think you’re going soft,” he teased as he shot her a lopsided grin.

“Hardly.” She found herself grinning back at him, her mood lighter than it had been all day. “As you will discover when we do our virtual tests tomorrow. Because, Mr. Green, I hate to inform you that I plan to whip your dragon-slaying butt.”

“Really?” His lips twitched in amusement. “I’ll have you know that just about the only time this stupid broken leg doesn’t hold me back is when I’m doing a simulation test.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Emma smiled and turned to walk away.

“Oh, and Jones?”

“Yes?” She turned back around for a moment to see that he was still grinning.

“Try not to stay up all night reading that stuff, because if you want to beat me, you’re going to need your sleep.”

“In your dreams,” she retorted as she watched him swing his way back toward his dorm. But it wasn’t until he was gone that she realized she was still smiling.