Ollie is the first to put his tiny fist in the circle. “Then we’d better be ready to fight. Who’s with me?” Jax throws his hand on top of Ollie’s. Maxine and Kayla quickly follow. They look at me. Seeing Kayla’s hand makes me hesitate for a moment.
But I have to remember: this is so much bigger than my feelings about Kayla. Finally, I join them. “As Harlow likes to say, keep your friends close. Keep your enemies even closer. Let’s do this thing.”
Happily Ever After Scrolls
Brought to you by FairyWeb—magically appearing on scrolls throughout Enchantasia for the past ten years!
BREAKING NEWS!
The Fairy Tale Reform School Ball is ON!
by Beatrice Beez
An FTRS anniversary bash seemed out of the question after Royal Day, but we couldn’t have been more wrong!
“An anniversary ball is happening, and all of Enchantasia is invited,” Headmistress Flora told us exclusively. “We refuse to let our fears get in the way of celebrating five years of success.” The headmistress has enlisted the popular gnome band Gnome-More to play and is catering the event with the Catch of the Day. “I tell our students the best way to fight fear is to face it straight on, and we intend to do that,” says Flora. “This will be the most exciting ball Enchantasia has seen.”
While the castle would not comment, our sources tell us the princesses will attend. “They’re not happy that Flora is going ahead with plans, but what can they do?” said an anonymous source inside the castle walls. “Having the royals be no-shows would send a bad message to Enchantasia. Flora has pretty much pushed them into a corner on this one.”
The headmistress says security will be tight and the school is in the process of installing new protection charms, including the As You Wish 3000, one of the strongest charms to be used by a public institution. Guests will be limited to three hundred, so get to FTRS’s gates fast if you want to secure a seat!
UPDATE at 3:25 PM:
The castle has confirmed the princesses will be in attendance at the FTRS Ball! “We agree with Headmistress Flora that fear is never an option,” said Princess Snow in an official statement. (Hmm…usually these statements are made by Ella. Could she be ruffled by this FTRS news?) “As always, we support Headmistress Flora in her endeavors and are proud of all FTRS has achieved. We would be honored to be the first RSVPs.” According to the school spokesmirror, 245 requests for invitations have already been logged. Get to their gates now if you want one of the remaining 55 invites!
CHAPTER 16
There’s No Place Like Home
Miss Gillian Cobbler—Your parents will be arriving to pick you up in FTRS’ great hall Friday at 1:00 p.m. sharp! Please gather your things and meet them there. Thank you for your stay at Fairy Tale Reform School.
—Professor Harlow
At 1:00 p.m. sharp, I walk to the FTRS lobby to meet my parents. I’ve rehearsed what I’m going to say to them a thousand times, but I’m still nervous. If Professor Harlow or Headmistress Flora is there to escort me out, then my plea to stay will never work. Thankfully, when I get to the lobby, I don’t see either of them. The place is bustling with the elf and fairy cleaning crew who are hanging anniversary banners with the school crest, dusting statues, and making everything sparkle. I can hear Miri issuing commands from a jeweled mirror over the fireplace. “You missed a spot on that clock! Fluff the rug again. Do I see dust flying? I shouldn’t see dust flying at all.”
I nearly take out an elf lowering a banner that says “Snow Your Appreciation for the Princesses!” Maxine bragged about making it in art.
“Careful!” The elf swats at me with a feather duster.
“Sorry!” I walk hurriedly past him to avoid being seen by Miri and almost bump into my parents at the front doors.
“Gillian!” Mother throws her arms around me, and I drink in her familiar leather scent that I’ve actually begun to miss. “Are you okay?” She touches my head and examines my still-bandaged arms for signs that I’m not actually broken. “When we saw the Happily Ever After Scroll about Royal Day, we were so worried.”
“I’m fine,” I say, feeling worse now that Mother is standing right in front of me. “How is everyone?” I’m afraid to say my siblings’ names out loud because it will just make what I’m about to say even harder. I’m not coming home.
Someone throws their hands over my eyes. “Surprise!”