Power Play (3 page)

Teena nodded vehemently. ‘Of course! You couldn't keep her away.'

Other congratulations followed as Twink made her way to the Bluebell Branch table. Even Mariella gave her a smile as they sat down. ‘Well done, Twink,' she said, tossing her silvery-green hair. ‘Of course,
I
don't have time for Fledge any more, but if you can fit it into your schedule, then good for you.'

Twink held back a smile. She decided not to mention that the reason Mariella didn't have time for Fledge any more was because of her poor marks, which often meant she had to take extra lessons!

Suddenly Romi came up to their table, fluttering her pale blue wings and looking disapproving. ‘I see that you've scheduled the try-outs already. Don't you think it's a bit soon?'

Twink shook her head in surprise. ‘No, I don't. I think the sooner the better, so that we can start practising.'

Romi raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, I suppose you know best,' she said grudgingly, her tone implying the exact opposite. ‘Anyway, I'll come along this afternoon and give you a hand, shall I?'

‘That's really not necessary –' started Twink, but found that she was talking to thin air. Romi had already flapped away again.

Twink gaped after her, lost for words – and then she and Bimi looked at each other and burst out laughing. ‘Oh dear,' said Bimi with a grin. ‘
Somebody
's
got her wing out of joint!'

.

Chapter Three

Sixteen fairies showed up for the try-outs – including Summer, Twink was glad to see. The younger fairy skimmed up as Twink hovered on the edge of the Fledge field. Her orange hair was like a flaming sunset, and her smile just as bright.

‘Hi, Twink – I can hardly wait to try out!' she said eagerly. And Twink knew it was true – she had taught Summer some Fledge moves a year ago now, and Summer had been longing to play for the school even then.

Twink wrote her name down with a smile. ‘We're just about to start. Why don't you go and warm up?'

Summer gave her a grin and a salute, and flew off on to the Fledge field – a circular patch of grass with a dozen posts rising out of it, each with a fairy-sized hole through the middle. The Flea sat preening himself on top of the tallest, centre post.

The rules of Fledge were simple: you were either trying to steal the Flea, or guard him. When you were Guarding there were only three of you, and you could tag the six Stealers as they swooped in, trying to grab the Flea. The game continued until either all six Stealers had been tagged, or the Flea had been stolen three times.

But of course the Flea never simply sat still during a game, thought Twink – he had a tendency to leap about wildly, with his Guards flying frantically after him! That was what made Fledge so exciting.

Organising the fairies into groups of four, Twink started them off with some practice moves. Just as she was settling down on the sidelines to watch and take notes, Romi raced up, red-faced and out of breath.

‘You didn't wait for me! I told you I'd come and help,' she said crossly.

Twink pressed her lips together to hold back her irritated reply. ‘Thanks, but I wanted to go ahead and get started,' she said. One of the teams
whooshed
past overhead, first turning barrel rolls in unison, and then separating to somersault through the poles.

Romi craned her head to read Twink's notes. ‘You haven't said anything about Kym yet – she's a
brilliant
flyer, if you haven't noticed.'

‘I've noticed,' said Twink, angling her petal pad away.

Romi tapped her wings together as she watched the fairies go through their paces. ‘Maybe you should start them off with a practice game, instead of these moves,' she suggested. ‘I think that would be a much better way of –'

Twink slapped her snail-trail pen down. ‘Romi, why don't you go and catch the Flea and get him ready for some Stealer moves?'

Romi blinked. ‘Catch the Flea? But –'

‘Yes, that would be really helpful,' said Twink firmly. For a moment the purple-haired fairy hesitated, looking disgruntled – but finally she flew off on to the field after the Flea. Twink let out a relieved breath.

As the try-outs continued, it became clear to Twink that Summer was an even better player than she'd first thought. The second-year fairy sped about the field as if she'd been born to it. During the practice game she scored twice by stealing the Flea, and even managed to tag a Stealer when she was playing on the Guards' side.

Twink felt her pulse quicken as she watched. Summer was a natural! And a few of the other players were really good, too – particularly a green-haired fairy called Jacki, and the fairy called Kym who Romi had pointed out earlier.

When the try-outs were over, Twink called everyone around. They hovered in a circle, breathing hard from the workout.

‘Thanks for coming, everybody,' said Twink sincerely. ‘You've all played really well! I'll post the new team list in the Great Branch at dinner.' She was careful not to catch Summer's eye as the fairies flew back towards the school, but she knew already that she wanted the second-year fairy on her team.

‘Well, what do you think?' demanded Romi the moment they were gone.
‘I
think it's obvious – it has to be Jacki, doesn't it?'

Twink gritted her teeth as she put the Flea back in his cage. ‘Actually, I'm going to put Summer on the team,' she said. ‘Jacki and Kym will be our new reserves.'

‘
Summer?
'
Romi propped her hands on her hips. ‘But she's only a Second Year!'

‘And?' Scooping up the cage, Twink flew off towards the Creature Kindness log, where the Flea lived between games.

Romi sped after her. ‘Second Years are reserves, not
players.
She's not experienced enough!'

‘She'll be fine,' said Twink shortly, banking to avoid a spiderweb. ‘She was the best player by far – why would I waste her as a reserve?'

Romi shook her head as they landed in front of the Creature Kindness log. ‘OK, maybe she's good during a
practice,
but how will she be when the real pressure's on? You need to make sure she's got what it takes before you –'

Twink spun round to face her. ‘Fine, I've got the idea! But Summer's going to be on the team, and that's all there is to it.'

Romi's voice was stiff. ‘Well, I can see that I can't talk you out of it – but I think you're making a mistake, Twink.' She took off back towards the school in a flurry of wings.

‘Oh, who asked
you
, anyway?' muttered Twink.

Banging angrily into the log, she returned the Flea to his pen. He seemed to smirk at her as he leapt away. Like most fleas, he was a contrary creature who enjoyed discord . . . and suddenly Twink had a sinking feeling that he was going to see a lot of it over the next few weeks!

‘Mood Magic is a very powerful art,' said Miss Moonbeam from the front of her classroom. She was a tall, slender fairy with light blue hair, whose pale wings shimmered like moonlight on water.

‘Through the right use of spells and thought, we fairies can make a place seem happy, sad, or any emotion in between. Why, we can even influence humans!' She swept her arms out in a dramatic gesture.

Twink sat on her mushroom seat, absently scribbling notes. Now that she was finally taking Mood Magic, she could hardly keep her mind on it – she was too busy thinking about her first team meeting, which was scheduled for later that afternoon. She had spent hours planning it the night before, and could hardly wait to tell the team her ideas for the upcoming season!

She smiled, remembering how thrilled Summer had been to learn that she was on the team. ‘
Thank you
,' the orange-haired fairy had gasped, shooting straight up in the air in her excitement. ‘Oh, Twink, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise!'

‘I know I won't,' Twink had told her with a grin. ‘And there's no reason to thank me, Summer – you're a brilliant player, that's all.'

Jacki and Kym, the two reserves, had been pleased as well. In fact, Twink was certain that Glitterwings had an excellent team this year – why, they probably had a good chance to win the Fairy Finals! Excitement tickled at her scalp, imagining it.

If they could just beat Sparklelight Academy, that was. Twink tapped her snail-trail pen against her teeth as Miss Moonbeam continued her lecture. Glitterwings had to beat Sparklelight at least twice this season to play in the finals, and it wouldn't be easy – Sparklelight had one of the best teams in the league.

‘Isn't that right, Twink?' said Miss Moonbeam's voice.

Twink started, looking up in alarm. The Mood Magic teacher raised an eyebrow, waiting. ‘I – I'm sorry, Miss Moonbeam. I wasn't paying attention,' admitted Twink.

Laughter rippled across the branch as Miss Moonbeam winked at her. ‘Yes, I know. I was just saying that daydreaming is one of the easiest moods to slip into. I take it you agree?'

Twink's pointed ears grew warm. ‘Er . . . yes, I suppose I do.'

‘Good! But let's try for an alert, interested mood instead,' said Miss Moonbeam. ‘Now, please open your books to page . . .'

Twink managed to keep her mind on the class for the rest of the lesson, but the moment the magpie's call echoed through the school, she leapt up and grabbed her things. The team was meeting in the Fledge log soon, and she wanted to be there before the others arrived.

‘See you later, Bimi,' she said quickly.

Bimi nodded, her eyes shining. ‘Good luck, Twink. You'll be great!'

The wind whistled through her lavender wings as Twink raced down the trunk and then shot out into the spring sunshine. The Fledge log was used for team meetings, and was located on the edge of the playing field beside the changing log. To Twink's annoyance, Romi was already there when she entered it.

‘Oh,' she said, fluttering to a halt. ‘Hi, Romi.'

‘Hi,' said Romi briskly. She was setting up a large oak leaf on an easel made of twigs. ‘I thought we might need this to write on,' she said. ‘You know, to demonstrate set plays and that sort of thing.'

What do you mean,
‘
we
'
?
thought Twink indignantly. The fact that it was a good idea just made her feel even more irritated. ‘Thanks,' she said, putting her petal bag down.

‘No problem.' Romi took a seat on one of the bark benches and folded her wings behind her back.

At least she didn't look as if she planned to lead the meeting herself – Twink supposed she should be grateful for that! Some of the other team members started coming in then, and she put on a welcoming smile. ‘Hi, Cassi. Hi, Summer.'

The orange-haired fairy was starry-eyed as she took in the Fledge log. ‘So
this
is what it's like inside!' she breathed, sinking down on to a bench. ‘I've often wondered.'

Twink laughed. ‘It's only a room with a few benches in it, really,' she said. ‘But I know what you mean. It's glimmery seeing it for the first time!'

Soon all the team was there, apart from Vera and Zayna. Twink glanced out of the window, wondering what was keeping them. She began to feel very self-conscious. The rest of the team was watching her expectantly, with Romi sitting right in the front row. From the look on her face, she wasn't at all surprised that things weren't going to plan!

Twink's cheeks heated at the thought. ‘Er . . . let's just wait a few more minutes for Vera and Zayna,' she said, fiddling with a bit of chalk that Romi had brought to write with. ‘I'm sure they won't be much longer.'

Romi jumped up. ‘Shall I go and find them?'

‘No, that's all right,' said Twink. ‘They must be on their way.'

But the minutes crept by with no sign of them. Twink shifted awkwardly at the front of the log. Where
were
they?

Finally she cleared her throat. ‘Um, Romi . . . maybe you'd better . . .'

Just then Vera and Zayna appeared, wafting in with lazy wing strokes. They were chattering away together, apparently not bothered by the time in the least. ‘Yes, and so then
I
said –' Vera broke off as she caught sight of Twink's expression. ‘Oh, hi. We're not late, are we?'