Not Your Average Fairy Tale (Not Your Average Fairy Tale #1) Page 3

  I laughed. "You've got that right."

  I was a tad jealous of Sam. He at least knew who his parents were. His father was an elf. His mother, a human. It didn't happen very often anymore, but when it did, people like me (and Sam) were born.

  Half and half.

  We didn't keep any obvious physical characteristics like pointy ears or wings, but most of us had some small trait from our magical parent. Sam had bright green elf eyes, and sirens were known for their violet ones. We looked and acted human, we just had magic in our blood. So, like all magical creatures, we were brought here. To The Academy of Magical Beings.

  I wasn’t a fan of the name, but it fit. It was a sanctuary of sorts. For weirdos like Sam and me. No humans could find us, and we could develop our own powers and study to be in a certain field: sandman, time-keeper, fairy, whatever. Hundreds of positions existed for people like us, and for other creatures that happened to live in our world as well.

  Most people knew what "half" they were. My father was human. I had no idea who, or what my mother was. I used to lie awake, dreaming about her, trying to remember what she looked like and who she was. I'd always hoped she'd come back. Not anymore, though. I'd given up on her a long time ago.

  "What are you going to do about your apprenticeship?" Sam asked.

  I glanced at him, forgetting my unpleasant thoughts. I never talked about my past. Ever. "I can't get out of it. I won't graduate if I don't do it." I frowned, and realized I was pacing.

  “You've already worn a hole in the rug. Knock it off!" Sam pushed me into the desk chair and I slid across the room, rolling to a stop near the desk.

  "I can't help it. I'm stressing out! Seriously, I'm going to get gray hair before I'm eighteen!"

  He laughed like it was true. "Maybe Logan could talk to Lady Shenelle."

  I thought of my mentor. My friend. Except he’d let this happen to me. "You know Sam, that's a great idea."

  Grabbing my stupid apprenticeship letter, I headed off to see my oldest friend at the Academy. The Sandman.

  ***

  I passed quite a few people in the courtyard. Fairies snickered when they saw me, and I suppressed the urge to yell or make rude gestures. Bad enough I was the only male fairy on campus, but now everyone knew it. Even so, when I smiled at the group, the girls turned red and giggled even more.

  “Hey, fairy boy!”

  I stopped walking. My temper was already brewing and I hadn't even seen him yet.

  I turned.

  Dax wore a smug grin, standing near his little friends. When I say little, I mean

  satyrs. You know, the goat men.

  "Hello, Dax," I muttered under my breath.

  "I heard about your assignment, Ash. Looks like I got something you didn't, for once."

  I made a fist, but didn’t punch him in the face. Not that I hadn't ever done it before. I felt like doing it every time I saw him.

  He'd had it out for me for years. I'm not sure why.

  Dax and I, we had very different lives. Opinions. Friends. Whatever. We didn't agree on anything, and never would. I watched him laugh, his black hair nearly falling past his ears. His eyes were a dark gold, and I wondered, again, who his parents were.

  Like me, Dax didn't know where he came from. No one had any idea what kind of power he possessed. Some rumors were that his father was a djinn; an evil spirit from the desert. Also known as a genie. Not all of them were evil, I guess. But they weren't fond of being bound to a human for eternity, and often made it a point to take it out on everyone they met.

  Most of the council thought Dax was nothing more than an elf or part fairy. A few even thought he might be an elemental spirit.

  I was betting on a djinn.

  "Still hanging around your little friends?" I asked, motioning toward the satyrs. A few of them scowled, and some of the elves in the group laughed. Dax's right hand man, er … goat, bared his teeth at me. He was darker than most satyrs, and shorter too. His little goat feet stuck out from underneath his oversized pants. I tried not to laugh.

  “Gerald,” I said, nodding. "Nice to see you again."

  His eyes narrowed, and Dax folded his arms with a chuckle. For some reason he enjoyed our banter.

  “You gonna show us your wings? Wait, let me guess. They're pink with little flowers on them.” Dax said. The others in the group laughed, but avoided my eyes.

  “You’re pretty funny,” I said.

  “How does it feel to be on the lower end of things now? I never thought the great Ash Summerland would want to be a fairy when he grew up,” Gerald taunted.

  I smiled, taking in his horns and all three feet of him. “You sure you want to talk about being on the 'lower' end of things?”

  He glared at me. A few people stifled laughs.

  “Shut up,” he said.

  “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you get your little legs on home before I decide to try out my new magic on you?" I smiled and patted him on the head. He flinched away. "I've always wanted a pet goat," I said.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Gerald said, backing up a few steps. He bumped into Dax, who still had his arms folded, watching me.

  “Wouldn’t I?” I rubbed my hands together.

  Gerald pointed at me as he backed away. “You better watch yourself, fairy boy.”

  “Take your own advice,” I said. “I think it'd be fun to take you on walks every day. I could even get you a cute little leash with your name on it. Maybe in bright pink! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  "Enough, you two," Dax said.

  I shook my head, still laughing at Gerald’s furious face. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have better things to do."

  I turned away, smiling to myself. Saytrs hated being called short. It bruised their huge egos and hurt their pride.

  Unlike most of the creatures that lived in my world, satyrs couldn’t perform magic, so I could tease them all I wanted. Centaurs as well. But I steered clear of the latter, since even a foal could kick my butt.

  "Hey, Ash! I thought you'd be interested in my apprenticeship," Dax said as I walked away.

  I stopped, my stomach churning. "Not really," I said. He didn’t have to tell me. I already had a feeling he’d gotten exactly what he wanted. I turned slightly, hoping he couldn't see my expression too well.

  "You're looking at the next sandman!"

  "Congratulations," I said between clenched teeth.

  He gave me a wicked smile. "Funny, isn't it? You’ve always gotten what you wanted, yet I'm the one on top now."

  "Whatever, Dax."

  "You jealous?"

  I started to leave, trying not to let him get to me, when he spoke again.

  “See you in your dreams,” he said.

  I shuddered.

  Abusing magic was forbidden, but that didn’t mean people didn’t do it. I couldn’t let my guard down now that he was apprenticing Master Night.

  I walked away, hearing Dax and his idiot friends laughing behind me.

  ***

  My favorite place on campus was the foyer of Night Hall. The dark blue walls twinkled with thousands of stars that never dulled, even during the sunniest days of summer. The ceiling had eight planets, rotating in the midst of stars and galaxies. A bright yellow sun shone in the middle. I could watch the planets twirl around the sun forever.

  That was where Logan found me. He took his time coming down the stairs, every movement slow and steady. Sometimes just being in his presence made me want to lie down and take a nap.

  "Ash. Nice to see you," he said. His voice had a lazy drawl to it, and each time I talked to him it seemed more pronounced. His light hair fell halfway down his back, and I noticed a new deep wrinkle creasing his forehead. He still looked only a little older than I did, though. Way too young to be the head Sandman.

  He stopped a few feet away and waited for me to say something, but I was still seething. I couldn't believe he was acting like everything was fine. Like he didn't know why I was here. I could barely lo
ok at him I was so mad.

  "How about we go in my office and–" he started.

  "I’d rather not." I waved my letter in front of his face. "You need to do something about this."

  He sighed. "I'm afraid that's impossible."

  "No, it's not. You have the power to change it. I know you do. You basically run the council!"

  "That's not the point, Ash. There's a reason you've been given this particular assignment. I can't change it for you. I'm sorry."

  I took a deep breath. "Come on, man. We've been friends for years. I’ve done everything you've needed me to do to be your apprentice, and what do you do? You throw me to a bunch of fairies!"

  "The council thought you could learn from this. Maybe a little patience, some humility. Being a fairy for a few months won't be that bad. You'll get used to it."

  "How would you know? Do you have a pair of wings sticking out of your back?"

  He was quiet for a moment. "It's for your own good," he said.

  "Is it? I'm sorry I can't be happy about this, Logan. There are no other male fairy godmothers anywhere. Heck, I'd rather be a tooth fairy. At least no one would see me then!"

  "I'm sorry. The whole council decided it. If it makes you feel any better, I voted against it."

  "It doesn't."

  He looked tired as he rubbed his eyes. Gold dust fell from his fingertips onto the floor. I wanted to scoop some up and fling it in his face. Maybe turn him into a fairy and see how he liked it. Not that his sleeping dust would do that, of course.

  "Well then, we're done here, I guess," he said.

  "Fine." I headed toward the door. "Oh, and tell your new apprentice that he's a moron, and if it weren't for our stupid rules I'd turn him into a rat and throw him in a sewer." I opened the door and turned to see his reaction.

  The color drained from his face. "You heard about Dax?"

  "He told me all about it."

  "I'm sorry, Ash." He shifted his feet and avoided my eyes.

  "Whatever," I said over my shoulder. "You should keep an eye out for him, though. He's trouble."

  “It will be over before you know it, then you can graduate. You know I have you at the top of my list if you still want to join the sandmen.”

  I didn’t say anything. He already knew my answer. There was no way I'd give up the chance to be a sandman.

  Chapter 4

  Kendall

  I walked to school, since it was only a block away. I used to drive, even with the school so close, but didn’t anymore.

  Once I got to the end of my driveway, I noticed how chilly it was. My hands were cold, so I shoved them in my pockets, all the while humming some tune I couldn't remember the name of.

  The sky was clear. Not a cloud in sight. I was relieved it was almost spring. I was sick of all the blackened snow that lined the streets all winter long. The thought of smelling flowers and fresh-mowed grass excited me. It was the perfect time to start over. To try to be me again.

  "That's a good song," a voice said.

  I jumped, pulled out of my daydream. I didn't even realize someone was walking next to me. How I hadn't heard him approach, I wasn't sure.

  The guy with the silver eyes was back. He looked like a high school student, with his jeans and dark blue t-shirt. Maybe even a little older. His dark hair was messy, but suited him in a mysterious, sexy way. He saw me checking him out, and the corner of his mouth turned up before I looked away.

  I wasn’t sure what to say to him, so we walked in silence. After a few minutes, he spoke again.

  “Do you always walk to school?” His voice had a nice, low tone to it.

  “Yep.” I hitched up the backpack on my shoulder.

  “Why?”

  “What’s wrong with walking?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “Nothing.”

  “Really?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Then why did you laugh?”

  “You’re just funny."

  "How so?"

  He sighed. "I don't know many human … I mean, teenage girls who don't like to drive. Walking to school would mess up their hair or get them all sweaty before the day even started. But you obviously don’t care.”

  “You think I’m sweaty?” I smiled in spite of myself.

  His eyes widened. “No! That’s not what I meant at all." He held his hands up in defense, and smiled when he saw the look on my face. He dropped his hands, looking relieved.

  "I'm not one of those girls," I said.

  He looked at the ground. "Oh. That's good."

  For some reason I wanted to keep the conversation going. It was nice to talk to someone. "Are you new? I mean, at school?"

  He shrugged. "Sort of."

  I thought about the last time I spoke to him and frowned. I hadn't been the nicest person in the world. "Sorry I ran off Friday night. It wasn't a very good night. And, not to put a damper on this conversation, but you were kind of … weird."

  "You think I'm weird?" He rubbed his hands together, trying to get them warm, I assumed.

  "Well, I don't know. You kind of freaked me out, talking about, you know …"

  "Oh. Right. I don't really blame you, since you don't get three wishes very often. I'd probably think you were crazy for telling me that, too. But if I had a chance at a happy ending, I'd take it." He smiled.

  "Wait." I stopped. "You still think you're granting me three wishes?"

  "Of course. That's why I'm here."

  "Are you kidding me?" I started walking again, quickening my pace.

  "What's wrong?" He had no problem keeping up with me.

  "You're what's wrong!"

  "What did I do?"

  I stopped. We were in the parking lot of the school, and a few students eyed us as they walked by. "Do you find this funny?"

  "What?"

  A group of girls stood a few feet away, and gave me weird looks. I leaned closer to the guy so only he could hear me. "Did someone put you up to this? Trying to make me fall for something? I'm not stupid. I don't even know you and you're making me feel like an idiot. It's not funny." The girls whispered to each other and walked away. They kept glancing back at us until they reached the school.

  "I'm not trying to be funny, Kendall."

  I started. "How the heck do you know my name, anyway? I've never seen you before in my life."

  "You saw me Friday," he said.

  "You know what I mean." I stood there, waiting for him to answer my question.

  "Your friend … um … Tessa told me your name."

  "You know Tessa?"

  "Well, no. Not really." He paused. "Look, I'm not joking. I need to talk to you about your wishes."

  "I don't think so. Go find someone else to follow around. There are no such things as wishes. Or happy endings."

  He stopped walking, but I kept going. I snuck a peek over my shoulder, and caught the shocked look on his face. It looked like he did believe in happy endings. Which was weird. Turning around, I headed into the school. Hopefully I wouldn't see him again. I had my own problems to deal with.

  ***

  I was in my English class when I heard his voice behind me. I never saw him enter the room. He had a weird way of appearing wherever I was, and it was starting to freak me out. There was something more that he wanted. People didn't just come up and start talking to me. They had to have a reason. And there was no way it was about three wishes. Genies didn’t exist.

  "Hey," he said.

  My stomach clenched. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

  "Kendall," he whispered.

  I refused to turn and look at him, so I tried to focus on the teacher's lecture. I ended up watching a fly zoom around the room instead. Anything that would distract me from the annoying, hot guy sitting behind me. I tried not to picture his face as I ignored him.

  "I know you can hear me."

  His breath tickled the back of my neck, and I shivered. He smelled good. Like an outdoorsy, before-it-rains smell. A mixture of grass and dirt, dew and sunlight.

  "
Listen to me for a second?" he asked. "Please. I just need five minutes and then you can either believe me or tell me to leave you alone."

  I turned around and glared at him. "Leave me alone."

  "Not until you hear me out," he said.

  I shook my head. "No way. No more crazy talk about wishes." I put my face in my hands. "This can't be happening."

  "I'm right here, so obviously it is."

  I frowned and turned back around. "Are you always this annoying?"

  He leaned back, put his arms behind his head and smiled.

  "Kendall?"

  I looked over at the seat next to me, surprised to see Tessa staring at me, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

  "What?" I asked. I hadn't talked to her at school, and had been avoiding her calls all weekend.

  "Who are you talking to?"

  I turned around, pointing to the now empty seat behind me.

  "Where did he go?" My eyes searched the room, not seeing any trace of my new friend. Or stalker.

  "Where did who go?" she asked.

  "The guy sitting behind me. He couldn’t have just disappeared."

  She chewed on her bottom lip and glanced around the room. "No one was sitting behind you." She paused. "You okay?"

  What in the world was going on?

  "Yeah," I said. I turned my attention back to the teacher. "I'm fine."

  "Kendall?"

  I let out the breath I was holding. "What, Tessa?"

  "Are you still mad at me?"

  "What do you think?" I snapped.

  She turned back toward the front of the classroom. Her dark hair fell over her shoulder, creating a curtain between us.

  What did she expect me to do? Forget about what she’d said after the game? If she wasn't comfortable being friends with me because I was "different" now, then I'd make it easy for her.

  ***

  With Ellie at drill team practice and Mom working, I returned to an empty house after school. Again. I was used to Ellie not being there, but Mom spent more and more time at the hospital since the accident. I felt like I didn't even know her anymore.

  Grabbing an apple out of the fridge, I headed up to my room. I set it on my desk while I changed into some boxer shorts and a t-shirt, sick of my turtleneck and jeans. It was nice being able to be myself at home. I didn't have to worry as much about covering up my scar.