Term-Time Trouble by Titania Woods Page B

don’t we?’
    The two fairies leapt into the air. Spiralling quickly up the trunk, they passed dozens of sleeping branches, along with empty classrooms filled with red and white spotted mushroom seats. Finally, near the top of the tree, they came to a branch with an upside-down peony hanging over it.
    â€˜Good old Peony Branch!’ said Twink, pushing open the door.
    A curving branch lined with soft mossy beds met her eyes. Over each bed hung a sweet-smelling peony, and cosy bark cabinets were tucked away here and there. Normally sunshine spilled into the branch, but today there were only grey, streaky shadows as the rain pattered down the arched windows.
    Twink’s face fell. Her old bed had already been taken! An unfamiliar fairy with spiky green hair sat on it, reading a petal mag.
    â€˜Who’s that?’ whispered Bimi.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ Twink murmured back. They had been with the same group of fairies since they started school – were they to have a new girl now?
    .

    .
    A clever red-haired fairy called Pix flitted over to them. ‘We tried to save your usual beds for you two,’ she said, ‘but she wouldn’t move!’ She gave the fairy with green hair a hard stare. The fairy flipped a page of her petal mag without even glancing up.
    Twink and Bimi looked at each other in disappointment. They had loved those two beds on the end last term – it was lovely and private off to the side, plus there was an extra cupboard.
    Finally Twink shrugged. ‘Well . . . she got here first, I suppose.’
    Bimi nodded with a sigh. ‘We can take those two beds in the middle.’
    â€˜It’s funny that she wouldn’t move, isn’t it?’ whispered Twink as they started to unpack. She knew that if she’d been a fairy in a new school, she’d have wanted the other fairies to like her. Refusing to give up her bed to girls who had been there for ages wasn’t a good way to go about it.
    Overhearing her, a yellow-haired fairy called Zena flitted over. ‘She’s called Jax, and she’s awful ,’ she hissed, flapping her orange wings. ‘I don’t know what we’ve done wrong to get saddled with her. When we already have Mariella and Lola, too!’
    â€˜What’s so awful about her?’ whispered Bimi, her blue eyes wide.
    Zena made a face. ‘Just try talking to her. Everything about Glitterwings is rubbish, according to her!’
    Twink peered over her shoulder at Jax. The green-haired fairy sat scowling at her petal mag. Everything about her said Keep away – I’m not interested!
    Should Twink say something to her? She bit her lip, unsure whether to bother if she was going to be rebuffed. Before she could decide, a fairy with lavender hair and pink wings burst into the branch.
    â€˜Hello, everybody!’ she called, dropping her oak-leaf bag on the floor. Sweeping her long hair back with both hands, she wrung it out dramatically. ‘Ugh! This awful rain!’
    Sooze! Twink looked up with an expectant grin as the other fairies chorused hellos. Sili, an excitable fairy with silver hair, caught Sooze up in a tight hug.
    â€˜Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!’ she cried. ‘It’s been so boring without you!’
    Sooze laughed. ‘Already? The new term’s hardly started.’ She threw herself on to the last unoccupied mossy bed, bouncing up and down. ‘Hello, Opposite!’ she called across to Twink.
    Twink smiled at the nickname. She had pink hair and lavender wings – the exact opposite of Sooze. ‘Hi, Sooze!’ she called back. ‘Did you have good hols?’
    Sooze nodded. ‘Brilliant! And guess what?’ She glanced around impishly at the others. ‘I’ve already had a super-glimmery idea about how we can liven things up around here!’
    Sili squealed and clasped her hands together. ‘Ooh, have you? Tell us!’
    Sooze stopped