Makenna's alarm blared. She screamed and fell out of bed, taking the covers with her.
Makenna groaned. Another day. Ugh. However, while she rested there, she thought about Peter Nelson. She had to go to school so she could see him!
Makenna leaped to her feet and threw the covers off. She hurried to her book bag and picked it up, plopping down at her desk. Then, she unzipped her backpack and rummaged around for the Spirit Week schedule. However, momentarily, she stopped, and her mind returned to Tracey.
She sighed and finally said, "No!" beginning to rummage again. "Ninja Boy doesn't need any help! He's a ninja! Right now, I need to focus on having Peter help me pick out my dress to wear to the dance. I have to go to school!" The day was Wednesday. Friday would be there before Makenna knew it.
She pulled out the Spirit Week schedule and saw it was Hero vs. Villain Day. Kids could attend school dressed as their favorite hero or villain from a book, movie, play, etc. Makenna decided not to dress out. She didn't have a good hero or villain costume, and besides, she wasn't in the mood to dress up after rushing Tracey to the ER the previous day and getting attacked by the Octopus Man. She just decided to go to school in her blue and white striped top and denim skirt. However, she styled her hair to look more beautiful for Peter.
When Makenna was getting ready to open the door to her room, her mind again returned to Tracey. Should she dedicate her time today to Peter Nelson or Tracey? Makenna thought about that for a moment. Finally, she decided on Peter. She would be taking Tracey back to Merlin's Island that evening, so why not? Taking him back would also stop him from coming between her and Peter.
With that in mind, Makenna opened the door to her room and sprinted into the hallway.
***
The shipwrecked sailboat was quiet. Selene had fixed the door to the lower deck with some magic and was making a pot of soup below.
Gina, who slept cuddled up to Tracey, smelled it and stirred. She yawned and opened her eyes. They landed on Selene, stirring the soup, and the tern's mouth watered. With the help of her wings, she rose to her feet and lifted off the berth Tracey rested on. She then looked at Selene again. She seemed upset.
Selene finished stirring the soup, poured some into a bowl, and put a spoon in it.
Gina soared to her and landed on the countertop beside the bowl. She folded her wings, and her nostrils again picked up the delicious scent of the soup. She prepared to poke it, but Selene shooed her away before her beak touched it.
"Shoo, Gina. Soup isn't for you. Soup is for Tracey."
Gina whimpered and stepped back.
"I'll feed you in a sec," Selene explained. "For now, I must try to make Tracey eat something." She scratched Gina under the chin, and she chirped. "Sorry, my dear, but I'm not too chipper this morning. Disgrace. Makenna is a disgrace. This entire time, she's been lying to Tracey. The poor kid is being bullied. I'm sure that's how he received that arm injury."
Through tern squawks, Gina said, "I never really liked Makenna anyway." She shook her body, and her feathers puffed out. "I always knew, from the time I first saw her, she was the snooty kind. Not to mention, she was the one who hurt Tracey in Merlin's Cave when she forced him into that dark corridor. She's a pill."
"Now, now, Gina." Selene tapped her beak. "Don't say that. Deep down, Makenna really is a beautiful girl. She just hasn't figured it out yet. I chose her instead of Caleb because I knew she could become a successful Metamorphic Fairy and queen. She has a great gift. She just hasn't unwrapped it yet. A bow still ties it." She sighed, and Gina did, too.
Selene picked up the bowl of soup and turned to Tracey. Gina watched as she approached him.
Tracey was still in pretty bad shape. His eyes were closed—he was barely awake—and still pale, but he wasn't as pale as he was when the sirens attacked. Thanks to the mask he wore, he was starting to regain his magic.
Once Selene reached him, she sat beside him and placed the bowl on the ground. Then, she came forward and took the mask off his nose and mouth.
Tracey's breathing was now a little more stable. He wasn't breathing as heavily anymore.
Selene reached down and picked up the bowl of soup. She took the spoon out and tried to make him eat something, but Tracey refused. Every time the spoon moved toward his lips, he moaned and turned his head away from it. "Tracey, please," said Selene. "You need to try to eat something."
Again, Tracey refused. He was currently more thirsty than hungry.
Selene finally just gave up. Tracey had completely lost his appetite. She sighed and put the bowl down again. "Poor dear," she whimpered. "I hate to see you so sick." She reached for the mask and picked it up, but Tracey spoke just before she replaced it. "Water," he weakly muttered.
"What?" asked Selene, lowering the mask.
"Water," Tracey repeated.
"Sorry, dear," Selene said, "but I don't know what you're trying to say." She patted her ear to ensure her hearing aid was on and leaned close to Tracey. However, she then heard Gina. Selene pulled her head away from Tracey and turned to her. "Yes, Gina?"
Gina now stood beside a cup of water. She tapped it with her beak, which caused the cup to emit a small ding.
Selene finally understood the message. She gasped and said, "Water! Of course!" She punched her palm with her right fist. "He's thirsty! Oh, well, I don't blame him. He's been sweating like a fountain. Thank you, Gina."
Gina nodded.
Selene approached her next. While picking up the cup of water, Gina opened her wings and soared back to Tracey.
She landed beside his head and peered into his face. "I'm right here, Tracey," Gina chirped.
"Gina," Tracey weakly spoke. He tried to pet her but didn't have enough strength even to lift his hand.
Gina rubbed her head against his own to tell him she was right there.
Selene soon returned to Tracey. She sat beside him and brought the cup of water to his lips. "Here's some water, Tracey. Drink up."
With his eyes still closed, Tracey feebly lifted his head and took a few sips.
Selene cracked a small smile. "That's it, my boy. Drink up. You're very thirsty."
Tracey was. Who knew sweating would make you that thirsty? He drank the entire cup of water, and once he finished, his head fell back and landed on his pillow again.
Selene put the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and said, "Breathe deeply."
Tracey obeyed.
Selene tucked him in and saw that he had happened opened his eyes, however, they were pretty much slits. She decided to test something. While Gina continued rubbing against Tracey's head, Selene held two fingers up to Tracey's face and asked, "Tracey, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Tracey studied the fingers. Finally, he asked, "Six?" and closed his eyes.
"Oh dear." Selene lowered her hand. "You're very dizzy, Tracey. Don't try to get up. Please." She rubbed his forehead. "Dear, why are humans so mean to you? Tell me, how did you receive that arm injury?"
"He punched me," Tracey mumbled, turning his head to the right.
"Punched you?" Selene yelped. "Who punched you? It wasn't Makenna, was it?"
"No. It was him—Bruce, Peter's friend. He told him to do it." Tracey almost sounded like he was about to cry. His voice was broken.
"Peter Nelson and Bruce?" Selene inquired. "You mean the boys I saved last night? Peter Nelson, as in Makenna's so-called boyfriend? They're the ones bullying you?"
"Yes," mumbled Tracey. A few tears ran down his cheeks and hit the mask.
Gina rubbed the other tears away with her beak.
Selene said, "Shh," and rubbed Tracey's forehead. "Don't worry, kid, I'll talk with Makenna when she comes. You're going home this evening. I promise. For now, I don't want you to say anything else. I want you to sleep. You need to sleep. Don't worry, Gina and I are right here."
Gina plopped down and cuddled up to her friend again.
Selene took Tracey's left hand and caressed it. She glanced out a porthole and sarcastically said, "This just gets better and better."
***
Makenna arrived at school early and tried to hide behind her hand because she knew she was the top witness for the incident the day before, but a few kids recognized her.
"It's Makenna Delling!" they yelled, pointing at her. They hurried to Makenna, and a crowd surrounded her. "Makenna, what exactly happened yesterday?"
"Did your friend have a seizure?"
"What was the cause of the collapse?"
"Shut up!" Makenna's head burned. However, the crowd continued to hammer her. Makenna was forced to the ground, and she inhaled and exhaled.
"Is he coming back?" asked another freshman.
Makenna finally shouted, "He left me! He's in the ER! He's very sick! That's the news, all right? Help, help! Somebody, please!"
"Hey, hey!" a sudden voice yelled from behind. "Leave her alone!"
"Huh?" asked Makenna. She removed her head from between her legs and looked up and into the crowd.
Somebody pushed their way through it. Believe it or not, but it was Jimmy Carter.
Makenna's eyes widened. "Jimmy Carter."
Jimmy shooed the crowd away and told them, "Disperse, disperse! Take it easy on her! She's had a rough week!"
The crowd obeyed and started to leave Makenna.
She stared. That wasn't Jimmy Carter, right? It was.
Once the crowd was officially gone, he sighed and approached Makenna. "Sorry, Fairy Girl." Jimmy offered her his hand. "I just saw you cornered, so I came to help you."
"Thank you, Jimmy," said Makenna, speechless. She took his hand, and Jimmy pulled her to her feet.
"No problem," he said. "It's strange, I didn't think you'd be here today. I thought you would want to spend the day with Tracey."
Now that he mentioned it, Makenna did feel slightly bad about leaving Tracey behind with an 8,000-year-old fairy. However, she refused to admit that she had any feelings for him. "The thing is, Jimmy," she explained, "I have a date to the Spirit Week Dance, and I need to meet with him today and discuss what I should wear."
"Ooh la, la," said Jimmy, smirking. "Who's your date?"
Makenna became excited and announced, "Peter Nelson!"
Jimmy's eyes widened. "Peter Nelson? Are you crazy, Fairy Girl? You chose to go to the dance with Peter Nelson?"
Makenna chuckled nervously. "Yeah," she spoke. "Why? Why do you seem so uncomfortable?"
"Peter Nelson is a jerk!" Jimmy spat. "Do you not even know what he does to girls?"
"What do you mean?" asked Makena. There was a pinch of nervousness in her system. She didn't understand what Jimmy meant by "Peter's a jerk."
"It's all a game," he explained. "He chooses a girl to toy with. He makes her think he loves her. Then, when he has the chance, he dumps them during a big event and punches them six feet underground!"
"Where did you hear that nonsense?" asked Makenna. "What are you talking about, Jimmy? Peter's a lovely boy!"
Jimmy shook his head. "No, he's not, Makenna. Trust me, I know. Peter is one of the most, if not the most, nastiest bully in the entire school."
"Bully?" yelled Makenna. Her mind returned to Tracey. "He's not a bully!" She didn't want to believe it, but what if Jimmy told her the truth? Peter was a little mean to Tracey. However, he couldn't be bullying him, right?
Makenna hesitated. Finally, she shook her head and said, "I don't believe you, Jimmy. Peter is not who you think he is. You're the one who's twisted."
"No, Makenna," Jimmy said. "You are. Fine. Go ahead and go to the dance with Peter, but please, watch your back." With that, he turned on his heel and left her.
Right after he did, Jessica arrived. She stopped beside her friend, holding a cup of coffee, and said, "Hey, Makenna."
Makenna jumped. "Jessica!" She snapped out of her doze and turned to her.
"Was that Jimmy Carter?" Jessica questioned. She took a sip from her coffee.
"Yeah," Makenna answered. "He was just telling me a few things about the upcoming dance." She was too shy to tell Jessica what Jimmy told her about Peter. Now that she thought of it, she didn't want to be at school that day.
Jessica, dressed up as Merida from Brave, next asked her, "Where's Tracey? Is he okay? Is he coming back?"
"Not today," Makenna answered. "I don't want to talk about it, Jessica."
"Hey, Makenna," another sudden voice spoke from nowhere. It was Peter Nelson.
Makenna gasped when she saw him.
Still shaken by the siren attack the previous day, Peter approached her. "Where's Ninja Boy?"
Makenna glared. "He's not coming, okay? He's sick! They took him to the hospital! And his name is Tracey!"
Peter held up his hands and said, "Excuse me."
"I'm sorry, Pete," Makenna apologized. She rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm just not in a good mood today. I want to be left alone right now." Without another word, she passed Jessica and Peter and headed toward the school's front door. However, before she entered it, she stopped and lowered her head.
Behind, Jessica nudged Peter, and he glanced at her. Jessica nodded and pointed in Makenna's direction.
Peter took in the message. He said, "All right, Jessica," and left her. Peter came within reach of Makenna and stopped behind her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Makenna spoke instead, sensing he was behind her.
"I'm not upset."
"Okay," uttered Peter. He clenched his fists and turned his head away from Makenna.
She gripped her arm and sighed sadly. Then, turning to her crush, she asked, "Is that a bad thing?"
"Probably," Peter admitted. "I mean, your friend is in the hospital. He probably screwed up Spirit Week pretty good."
Makenna closed her eyes. She finally couldn't take it anymore. Bursting into tears, she fell into Peter's arms, and his eyes widened.
After a few seconds, Peter returned Makenna's hug.
She couldn't believe he was one of the nastiest bullies at her school. Not Peter Nelson.
While hugging her, he asked, "Hey, Makenna, if it will make you feel better, do you want me to take you to Freshfields after school and help you pick out a dress for the dance?"
"A dress?" Makenna whimpered. She disconnected and looked Peter in the eyes.
"Yeah," he spoke, rubbing tears from her cheeks. "We can spend the entire afternoon together. I'll help you pick out a dress, and we can have dinner at Bohicket and walk along the marina. Since Nin, I mean, Tracey isn't with us, it will make things much easier."
Makenna chuckled. She always felt good when she was with Peter Nelson. "Sure, Pete," she flirtingly told him. "Sure. I'll spend the afternoon with you. That will make me much happier. Do you want to meet at the pond again?"
"Sure. Like last time, would 4:30 work?"
Makenna nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it will. Mom will be at a meeting, Caleb will be at soccer practice, and Dad will be at the field with him, so it'll be perfect. This will be fun, Pete."
"Yeah. It will." Peter and Makenna hugged again. During the hug, though, Peter performed his regular evil smile.