Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School, #1)(13)

For some reason, I don’t think any of us are going to make the transformation Headmistress Flora is looking for. “Why do you want to break out so bad?”

“I’ve got places to see, and Enchantasia isn’t one of them.” Jax swings the chandelier so hard the crystals clang together. The window latch pops open, and I watch Jax leap from the chandelier to the tiny window ledge. I’m in awe. Jax looks down at us smugly before pushing open the window. “Are you sure you two don’t want to join me?”

“There’s no time for us,” Kayla says. “Get out of here. Wait!” Her eyes widen. “You deactivated the alarm on the window, right?”

“There isn’t one,” Jax insists. “If there was, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” But when Jax lifts the window, we hear:

EEEEEE! EEEE! EEEE! Unauthorized exit! Unauthorized exit!

The shrieking sound is so intense that Kayla and I cover our ears. Within seconds, Flora is out of her office and running toward us.

Swoosh!

I feel something brush past me and I whirl around. When I look up at Jax again, a large, muscular man with a long mane of hair is hanging on to the window ledge, his furry hands pulling Jax back by his shirt. How did the man get up there without a ladder?

“Mr. Jax,” the man says in a low growl, “we really must stop meeting like this.” He pulls Jax from the window ledge, and the two drop to the ground with barely a grunt. This must be the Wolf, and he can clearly jump. “Anything you want to say for yourself? Like what you were doing up there?”

“I needed fresh air,” Jax mumbles.

“Ah, same as the last two times.” The Wolf’s voice is as smooth as butter and very calm, considering what is going on.

I turn to Kayla to suggest we get out of there, but she’s gone! Oh man, are you guilty by association in this place? Great. Just great.

“You know what a third offense means, don’t you?” Flora says to Jax, who looks like he might throw up. “Solitary confinement for a month.”

A month? Geez, that’s harsh!

“Please,” Jax begs. “Just give me one more chance. I won’t try this again…”

“Where were you going?” Flora asks. Jax doesn’t answer. “Then you leave me no choice.”

“Wait!” I jump in, and they all look at me. The Wolf’s eyes are an icy blue that are both terrifying and mesmerizing. We thieves have to stick together. “It’s my fault. On the way in earlier, I dropped my journal. I write in it every day and planned on sending letters to my sister.” They’re still listening. That’s good. “I was so upset I lost it that Jax offered to try to get on the grounds to go look for it for me.” I look at Flora. “Since the doors are locked, he had to break out.”

“Is that so?” The Wolf looks amused. “Can you confirm this, Mr. Jax?”

Jax’s mouth starts to twitch, but thankfully stops. “Every word of it. I was trying to be the gentleman Madame Cleo is always telling us to be.”

The Wolf nods. “Quite noble of you.” He looks at Flora. “I guess we should give them both another shot, since this is Miss Gillian’s first hour here and Mr. Jax was only trying to—what did you call it?—be a gentleman.”

Flora’s blood vessels look like they might burst on her forehead. “A small shot. After this, they are both held accountable for their actions. Understood?”

Jax and I look at each other. Jax speaks for both of us. “We understand completely.”





Happily Ever After Scrolls


Brought to you by FairyWeb—magically appearing on scrolls throughout Enchantasia for the past ten years!

Why We Fear Apples: Meet FTRS’s Psychologist, Professor Harlow

by Beatrice Beez

Former Occupation: The evil queen of Snow White’s nightmares—and ours (Can anyone ever look at an apple the same way again?)—ruled the kingdom of Haddleburg with an iron fist.

Current Occupation: “She’s such an intelligent woman that she doesn’t need to terrorize people to make an impact,” Flora said. (Harlow declined to be interviewed.) Today Harlow is one of FTRS’s strictest professors. She loves pop quizzes, so maybe terrorizing still applies.

Hobbies: Fashion (Jasper’s Tailoring is where she orders custom gowns). She also loves to spend time with her sister, Jocelyn, who is an FTRS student, and coach the first-place fencing team.

Strengths: Some say Harlow still dabbles in witchcraft, but Flora says that’s nonsense.

Weakness: Her lack of a crown. Sources say that is still a sore spot.

Likes: Beauty. “She’s determined to stay young!” says an anonymous student who was worried that Harlow’s pet raven, Aldo, would know she was being interviewed. (“He knows everything going on in her world.”)

Hates: Being disrespected. “Most of the kids in detention are there because of Professor Harlow,” an anonymous said before hearing a bird squawk and fleeing our interview.

Love life: Need we bring up that poison apple again? Harlow’s love affair is solely with her own milky-white reflection. And possibly Aldo.

Check back next week for more FTRS anniversary coverage!





CHAPTER 6


    Who’s the Real Poison Apple Here?