How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier Page A

you?” the officer asked Rochele. She had what looked like the beginnings of a bruise on her cheek.
    She touched it gently. “He hurt my face.”
    “Accident,” Danders said, rubbing his butt. “I hurt too.”
    The officer stood on tippy toes to look at Rochele’s injury.
    “There’s no broken skin. Can you touch it?”
    Rochele put her fingers to her cheekbone. “It’s not too bad.”
    “Probably not broken.”
    “No thanks to him,” Rochele said.”How could you?”
    “Accident,” Danders repeated.
    “Would you like to press charges?” the officer asked. She was not serious. Nobody pressed charges against stars of A-stream teams, especialy ones like Danders Anders who were in their final year and on the brink of superlative careers.
    “I’d love to press charges,” Rochele answered. “That would be joyous.”
    The officer grinned. “Wouldn’t it?”
    “Come on, Ro,” I said, grabbing her arm. “We’re stil an hour away from Fiorenze’s.”
    “Okay, okay,” Rochele said. She turned to the officer. “I don’t suppose you could rough him up a bit?”
    “I thought you liked Danders?” I asked.
    “Less now than I did.”

    The officer laughed. “Stun gun’s al we can do and it’s done. You can comfort yourself knowing that Mr. Khassian Rogers won’t be comfortable for several hours. Do get your face checked out, though.”
    “I wil,” Rochele said. “Thanks for rescuing us.”
    The officer tipped her hat. We waved as we walked away.
    “Something’s up with Danders,” Rochele said.
    “You think?” Sandra’s not the only one who can be sarcastic.
    “I’ve heard rumors.”
    “Realy? Like what? Is he going to run away and join the circus?”
    Rochele laughed. “No, someone saw him with people he shouldn’t be with.”
    “Like who?” I tried to think who he shouldn’t be with. “Arts students?”
    “Hah! No, more like criminals.”
    “Criminals!”
    “I mean, they didn’t say, but that was the impression I got.”
    “Who said?”
    “Freedom Hazal. He said that a friend of his cousin’s had seen Danders at a temp nightclub in the produce district. It sounded like Danders was using flyers.”
    “Drugs? Danders? Freedom’s a gossip.”

    “Doesn’t mean there’s not something to the gossip. Danders is acting vastly out of character.” She touched her cheek and winced.
    “He never used to be violent. Flyers can make you violent.”
    “I guess.” Though Ro’s cheek was kind of an accident. We continued our trek toward Fiorenze’s house, putting the malodorous Danders Anders out of our thoughts.

CHAPTER 17
Tamsin Burnham- Stone
    Days walking: 67
    Demerits: 4
    Conversations with Steffi: 8
    Game suspensions: 1
    Public service hours: 16
    Hours spent enduring Fiorenze
    Stupid- Name’s company: 2.75
    Kidnappings thwarted: 1
    F iorenze Burnham- Stone’s house was ginormous.
    I’d heard the rumors, obviously. After her foul- and grossly-unfair fairy, and the fact that her parents had made no effort to lose their accent, the hugeness of their house was the most talked-about thing about the Burnham-Stone family. But I hadn’t realized quite how big.
    As we walked up the long drive under an archway of flame trees, the house that came into view wasn’t simply big, it took up the whole block. It was five stories high, made of pink marble, and whole block. It was five stories high, made of pink marble, and surrounded by an ornate garden with columns and arches and fountains. The whole thing sat at the top of the cliff with ocean views on one side and city views on the other.
    “Fairy dung!”
    “Come on, Charlie, I told you she had a big place.”
    “This is not a big place. This is a castle, a coliseum, a cathedral.
    The Sports Museum isn’t as big as this place. It’s the same size as school! I say again: fairy dung! Are her family insane?”
    “Possibly.” Rochele grinned. “But they know a plenitude about fairies and they’re going to help you.”
    I wondered