My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski Page B

“Lads, do you all know Jenny?” he said to his group of followers. “She’s, er, my cousin.”
    â€œHey.” I tried to pretend like I hung out with popular boys all the time, but the crazy smile on my face probably gave me away.
    A few of the boys gave me polite nods as they sat down, but most just ignored me. Clearly, they were only interested in new kids who could eat stacks of paper products.
    â€œPrince, how do you get your shirt to look like that?” one of the boys asked.
    Prince Lamb glanced down at his perfectly cuffed sleeves. “It’s simple, really.” He did a demonstration while all the other boys leaned in, studying his every move. They reminded me of a flock of sheep. Maybe that was why they’d taken to Prince Lamb so quickly.
    I knew being jealous was silly, but it just didn’t seem fair. From the second Prince Lamb had set foot in my world, he had managed to do everything right. Aunt Evie paid more attention to him than she ever had to me, and Prince Lamb was more popular after a few hours than I had been my entire life. The prince had asked me for help, but the truth was he didn’t need it at all. In fact, he was better at being normal than I’d ever be.

Chapter 16
    â€œAre you sure you don’t want to come get ice cream with us?” Prince Lamb asked after school a few days later. “It’ll be fun.”
    Over the prince’s shoulder I could see his entire flock of friends glaring at me. They didn’t want me to come with them; they just wanted me to stop hogging their new fearless leader.
    â€œI have a lot of homework to do,” I said. I knew he was only inviting me out of pity, and I had no desire to be the loser tagalong “cousin.”
    Prince Lamb gave a little shrug and headed over to his herd of friends. He couldn’t seem to quit being a ruler no matter where he went. I was disgusted to see that all the boys in the group now wore their shirt sleeves cuffed just like Prince Lamb.
    I hopped onto the school bus and settled into my usual seat. Had being a regular girl been this hard before I’d become an adventurer? I didn’t think so. But then again, all the things that made me a good adventurer had been okay when I was younger. I’d always had a big imagination, running around the neighborhood on made-up missions. And I’d loved taking charge and telling people what to do. But if I tried to do any of those things now, the other kids would think I was a bossy weirdo.
    I would just have to find some other way to fit in, I decided. Would it be wrong to crack open my treasure chests and pay kids in gold pieces to be friends with me?
    As the bus sputtered through my neighborhood, my glazed-over eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. I leaned forward and stared out the window.
    Dr. Bradley’s house, always dark and gloomy, suddenly looked bright and cheerful. The trash piles were gone, and someone had painted the door and shutters lollipop pink. A gardener was ripping out tangled weeds and replacing them with tulips.
    The moment the bus came to a stop, I raced down the street.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I yelled at the startled gardener.
    â€œJust got hired to clean this place up a bit,” he said. “Before the new people move in next week.”
    â€œWhat people?” The feeling developing in my stomach was almost as sickening as the new door color.
    â€œI don’t know,” the man answered with a friendly smile. “But I hear they have kids. Maybe you’ll have some new friends in the neighborhood.”
    My knees went wobbly.
    â€œYou okay?” the gardener asked.
    â€œNo,” I said. Then I turned and fled back down the street.
    What had I expected? That Dr. Bradley would keep secretly living in the house and watching over me?
    I stopped in mid-step. That’s exactly what I’d thought. As much as I wanted to pretend I was happy with Dr. Bradley out of my