19. A fun day at school with the fairy

           Thing have been quiet the past few days.  I’ve been avoiding Unger, ever since that day the fairy dropped his binoculars in the toilet and tied his shoe laces together causing him to fall down the stairs.  Which he deserved, after we caught him peeping at my mom getting undressed for a shower.  We got Unger back good, unfortunately he saw the fairy, in plain view.  He’s called the house several times and tried demanding I speak with him, but I refused to take the phone and he eventually quit calling.  I think he’s trying to verify what he saw before taking action, which is understandable, it must be hard to believe.  So we’re okay for a while, but we have to be extra careful.  He’s still spying on us, only now he’s mostly watching me rather than my mom.  We haven’t heard any more from the fairy prince, nor seen any of the other fairies about, which saddens Bonnie, but I think is also a relief.  It is to me for sure.  Madison hasn’t been making any more demands on us, and even comes to visit and play with the fairy occasionally.  Westley comes by almost daily and has learned to keep his mouth shut.   Brian’s been let in on our secret.  He’s enchanted with the fairy and has dropped any plans for leveraging the fairy for financial profit.  No one else has seen the fairy, that I know of.  I’ve been keeping her pretty much confined to the house.  She’s been getting restless though, and today I agreed to take her with me to school again.  Life can get interesting when you have a fairy to take care of.
        We started the day at breakfast with Brian, I’ve been trying to give him just enough exposure to keep him satisfied so he won’t rat us out.  He and I were having cereal, Raisin Bran, and the fairy was making her meal out of a raisin, which is the size of a football for her.  Brian watched her intently as she munched on her raisin and he was actually being bearable this morning and was smiling and acting like a human being for a change, instead of an angry toad.  Although I’d shown him the fairy on several occasions now, I’d cautioned Bonnie not to talk around him and he didn’t know she could understand or speak English.
        The fairy seemed amused by his attention and got to showing off in front of us there on the kitchen table.  She started out with a little stretching routine, which I’ve seen a lot, which she seems to like for stretching her limbs before flying, and which reminds me of Tai Chi.  It’s better than the fast paced routines you see on Dancing With The Stars, more harmonized, beautiful, involving slow motion movements and stretches and balancing, with periodic freezement of movement.
        Completing her routine, the fairy slowly uncurled her wings and stretched them out to their full extent, making quite a sight.  She took a few steps and dove off the table, then rose and hovered in the air, a little wobbly still from her clipping, but nonetheless beautiful.  As if on cue, she swerved to the side and flew in an expanding circular pattern, rising up into the air about three feet, and then majestically executed a swoop and dive.  She was just rising up a second time, hands clasped over her head pointing upwards to the ceiling, and feet and toes pointing straight down, when we were interrupted by the sound of Mom coming down the stairs.  The fairy cut her performance short and gracefully swooped down, landing on the edge of the table.  She folded her wings and raced across the table, cutting between Brian and his bowl of cereal, overturning his glass of milk and causing him to jump back and almost tumble over backward in surprise.  The fairy just reached me and dove into the pocket at the front of my sweatshirt as Mom stepped into the kitchen.  I felt fairy settle into a familiar sitting position with feet forward and knees pulled up to her chin and eyes right behind a small slit in the fabric.  She’s ridden about in my sweatshirt pocket so much now that she’s quite comfortable there, so much so she’s even curled up all cozy and gone to sleep a few times.
        Mom was still dressed in her bathrobe and had a put upon look written all over her face.  She gawked at Brian until he got up and grabbed some paper towels to mop up his mess.  The she took a bowl from the cupboard and poured herself some Raisin Bran.  She added milk and looked like she was going back upstairs to eat.  I considered showing Mom the fairy too, to try and cheer her up, but decided against it.  Seeing a live fairy would probably have the opposite effect and merely added to her stress.  She’s enough on her mind right now and didn’t look like she was having a good morning. 
        I grabbed my backpack and we left for Scripture Study, picking up Westley along the way.  He climbed into the old Mustang and said hi, and the fairy came out of my pocket to greet him.  He entertained her with a music video on his iPhone and she was enthralled, as usual.  The fairy loves music and is especially fond of Taylor Swift.  In this music video Taylor plays a part in Romeo and Juliet, and the fairy was totally enamored.  She insisted Westley play it again and happily sang along with Taylor the second time through.  Westley and I were amazed, the fairy mimicked Taylor’s voice exactly.  You would of thought it was Taylor Swift in the car singing, only small in size.  I don’t think Bonnie understood half the words and it was uncanny how accurate she was in hitting all the notes and getting even Taylor’s accent and voice copied so exactly.  She even mimicked Taylor’s facial expressions and forlorn looks of love and anguish.  It was most amusing. 
        Things went well at Scripture Study.  The fairy stayed in my pocket while Brother Abernorth taught us a lesson about Daniel and dreams and interpretation of dreams.  I think Bonnie got bored and might even have gone to sleep, because there wasn’t much movement there in my pocket.  Madison noticed Brian’s excitement and suspected we had the fairy, so she walked us out to the parking lot.  Once Madison confirmed we did indeed have the fairy, she rode to school with Westley and I.  She sat in the back seat and didn’t say anything derogatory, but kept sighing at me and letting me know, in not too subtle ways, she did not think this was a good idea.  When we were almost to school, the fairy perked Madison up by flying to her shoulder and riding there the last few blocks, chattering away about how nice it was to be out.
        I could understand Madison’s concern, my first class is Chemistry lab and the first time the fairy stole away to school in my backpack she caused complete chaos in the lab - spilling chemicals, making Ms. Weaverspell angry, and then totally dousing the teacher with some white powdery chemical so Ms. Weaverspell looked like a zombie from the dead.  This time the fairy behaved much better and there wasn’t any trouble.  We did two experiments with polymers and in one we created slime and in the other bouncy balls.  Fun stuff.  The fairy was fascinated and very attentive, but restrained herself and stayed in my pocket throughout the entire period .  She listened to every word and watching the actions of every person in the class, her eyes glued to the slit in my sweatshirt.  A couple of times she made little squeaking noises of delight, which attracted the attention of Marie Vasquez, who has the station next to me.  I told Marie, “Sorry, missed breakfast,” and she thought it was just my stomach grumbling with hunger.
        My second period class is English Literature.  We’re reading an interesting book right now called the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.  Unfortunately the teacher was discussing plot structure today, which is a waste.  Why can’t we just read a novel and enjoy it without having to analyze every little nuance of every paragraph?  I don’t think old time authors even gave plot structure a thought when they wrote.  The fairy kept her interest up by watching people.  My teacher is more than a little odd.   I’ve got Mr. Beethan, who wears glasses, something the fairy had never seen before, and has a white goatee.  He must be about 70 and talks with a long southern drawl and likes to use the chalkboard.  He always wears a suit, but they’re old and decades out of style.  Sometimes he forgets what he’s saying and stops several moments to collect his thoughts as if trying to remember what he just covered.
        Third period I have math and I knew that would not be a winner for the fairy either.  I told her school was nothing great.  Mr. Pugh likes the chalk board also and spent the entire period drawing proofs of theorems on the board.  Like we care why an equation works.  If it’s good, then tell us how to use it and why, we don’t need proof.  Westley’s in this class with me and we sit next to each other.  He and the fairy managed to play a few games of “Connect the Dots” with me being the middle man passing the paper back and forth.  Westley won the first game but then the fairy caught on to some strategies and cleaned up the next two games, much to Westley’s astonishment.  Nevertheless, I was glad when class was over.
        “Bonnie need to get out,” the fairy exclaimed as we were walking through the halls to fourth period.
        “Now you see what I have to go through every day,” I exclaimed.  “Not as much fun as you imagined, is it?”
        “Bonnie need to stretch.  Bonnie can’t sit any longer.  Bonnie need to uncurl wings.  Bonnie need to fly.”
        “You’re going to have to stick it out one more class and then we get a break for lunch.  You wanted to come to school.”
        I was looking forward to fourth period, which is Art, hoping this class would be a little more exciting for the fairy.  Madison’s in the class, and I like my art teacher, Mrs. Vanderfelt.  She’s one of those happy type people that seem to enjoy life and are always smiling and saying encouraging things, and she tries to project her enthusiasm on her students.  We’re been working on self-portraits, Van Gogh style, and we’re supposed to capture our own images showing some type of emotion.  Madison’s really struggling with the assignment.  That’s because she doesn’t have any emotions.  No really, she just keeps them bottled up and so it’s hard for her to express herself, in real life or on paper.  We had mirrors set up facing ourselves and  I had a whole series of myself already sketched out over the past few days - Triumphant, Brave, Happy, and I’m currently working on Courageous.
        I felt sorry for the fairy, stuck in my pocket all day, but there wasn’t much I could do, and she wanted to come, and she had to learn what it was like.  I tried walking around the classroom some and look like I was studying other kid’s drawings, so the fairy could see their work too.  Mrs. Vanderfelt saw me and seemed to approve.  She likes doing that herself.  Madison’s latest feeble attempt at a drawing, trying to show Love of all things, was pathetic.  “Looks like you’re in a trace,” I said to her.  “Or like you got wacked on the side of the head by a two by four.”
        “Shut up,” she exclaimed and pushed me away.
        Jessica Boxer and Sarah Holmes are in the class too.  Their drawings are actually quite good, although I would never tell them that.  Jessica looked kind of scary in her Anger picture and Sarah had a really good Frightened drawing.  “I don’t think I’d want to meeting either of you in a dark alley, not looking like this,” I told them.
        “You were our inspiration,” Sarah said.  “We just pictured you at Mutual last week, at the etiquette lesson trying to learn manners - scary.”
        Not soon enough, the morning classes were over and it was time for lunch.  I met up with Westley and we headed for the cafeteria.  “We’re going to eat outside and take a walk,” I told him.  “Bonnie needs a break.”
        We went through the cafeteria line and got our food.  I selected the turkey and mashed potatoes and Westley got a burger.  He eats a burger and fries every day.  I picked out a bowl of fruit for the fairy, and a piece of chocolate cake in case she wanted to try something new.  Then I headed for some outdoor tables just outside the cafeteria back doors.
         There was a group of Goths there ahead of us, looked like they’d been camped out there all day.  There’re kind of a bizarre group and I thought the fairy might find them interesting, so I purposely skirted around their little gathering, until they started giving me strange stares.  Four guys and a girl, all dressed in black, with all kinds of metal jewelry and studs and black fingernails.  I think they were wanting to light up some cigarettes, or maybe something worst, because they hastened to cover something up, and were acting all suspicious when they saw us approaching.  The largest one stood up and glared at me, a big hulking guy with long spiky blond hair that was standing straight up, so I moved on.  They’re just punks and I don’t let them intimidate me, but this wasn’t the time for a confrontation.
        We made our way to an area out by the football fields where we could sit on the grass without being observed.  The fairy came out of my pocket and she looked all sweaty.  “I’m so sorry, Bonnie, were you getting hot?”
        “Yes, yes, hot.”
        I opened a milk container and put a straw in, “Here, try this.”  She wasn’t able to get enough suction so I pulled the straw out and deposited a drop into her cupped hands.  “So what do you think of school, Bonnie?” I asked.
        “Not what Bonnie imagined.”
        “I told you it would be boring.”
        “No, not boring.  Michael very lucky.  Learn much.”
        “If you say so.”
        “So why one teacher have glass in front of eyes?”
        “Mr. Beetham, he can’t see very good.”
        “And why girls put red markings on lips.”
        “Girls in high school worry too much about their looks.”
        “Why girls smile at Michael.”
        “What!  Oh, well, I guess some of them must think I’m hot.”
        “Haa,” Reggie interrupted.  “Some!  All the girls want to go out with Michael.  He’s the star of the football team.”
        “What football?”
        “You don’t know what football is, you’ve lived a deprived childhood?” I joked.
        “Surely they play football in fairyland!” Reggie joined in.
        “No, I don’t think so,” the fairy responded in all seriousness.  “What football?”
        “It’s the coolest game in the world,” Westley said.  “We’ll take you to a football game some time, you’ll see. It’s so much fun, especially when Michael runs through someone or just knocks would be tacklers aside.   It’s great fun to watch.”
        “Hey, you want a strawberry?” I asked.
        She pointed at Westley’s french fries instead.  “Bonnie try that.”
        Westley grinned and picked out a long one.  He dipped it in ketchup and handed it to her.  “You’ll love these, nice and greasy and covered with salt.”
        The fairy held it with both hands and took a bite off the end without ketchup.  She made a face and we all laughed.  I took it from her and tossed it away, then offered the strawberry again, which she took this time.
        A crow got up enough courage to swoop down from the safety of the trees to steal the discarded french fry.  The fairy glanced about apprehensively.
        “Crows don’t like fairies much, huh Bonnie?” I said.
        She looked surprised.  “Birds like fairies.  Fairies like birds.  Birds and fairies are friends.”
        “But, why were they chasing you the other day?”
        The fairy shook her head.  “Fairy warriors send crows after Bonnie, chase Bonnie away.”
        Westley looked all amazed.  “So fairies can tell birds what to do and they obey?”
        “Some birds, tame birds especially.  In the realm of fairies, birds are used to carry goods, or to ride on.”
        “Wow, I’d like to see that.
        The fairy grinned.  “Madison has green bird in her house.  Big.  Him friendly.  Bonnie like him.  Him talk.”
        “Right, a parrot,” I said.  “Long John Silver.”
        “Hey, look at that,” Westley pointed to a fallen log in the midst of a nearby clump of trees, about 20 yards away.  There was a large rat next to the log.  “I’ve never seen rats around her before,” Westley said.  We noticed there were actually several of the ugly beasts routing about.  A couple of them seemed to be watching us.  “Someone wants some fries,” Westley said, and tossed a handful of french fry in their direction.  The rats ignored his offering.
        “Bonnie want to go,” our little fairy friend said suddenly.
        I noticed she was shivering.  “Is everything okay?” I asked.
        The fairy moved up close to me.  “Rats bad.  Rats not good.”
        “It’s time to be heading back anyway,” I said.  I scooped the little fairy up and returned her to my pocket.  Then I grabbed up my tray and headed down the hill.  Reggie jammed the chocolate cake in his mouth, all in one bite, and followed.
        For fifth period I have PE.  This proved to be a challenge.  We’re required to change into gym shorts and I didn’t plan on taking the fairy with me into the boys locker room.  So I had to leave her in my hall locker with my textbooks.  I knew she would be safe there, but didn’t like having to shut the locker door on her.  We were playing badminton, which normally I would enjoy a great deal, but today it was a chore and I was sure glad when I could get back to the fairy.  She didn’t seem to be any worse for the wear and had been watching people pass in the halls.  She didn’t complain, probably because she wanted future opportunities to get out of the house.
        Sixth period I have French class.  This was almost a disaster.  Monsieur Boulanger was working on pronunciations today and kept repeating words and phrases over and over again and jumping all over us for the most minor errors in pronunciation.  The fairy got to repeating his phrases and words from my pocket and was getting louder and louder as she got more into the spirit of the class.  She caught on to one phrase right away, “Je ne comprend pas”, which means “I do not understand,” and the next thing I knew she was saying it over and over again after almost every new word.  In a class where everyone is concentrating on listening, I quickly grew alarmed she would attract attention, and sure enough, soon the students at the desks around me were shooting me odd looks.  Of course they thought I was saying it, and saying it in a high pitched voice to be funny.
        Then Monsieur Boulanger heard Bonnie, and thought I was mocking him.  He stared at me with irritation, until convinced I got the point, and when he turned his back she said it again.  “Je ne comprend pas!”
        I immediately respond without thinking, “Ferme ta gueule,” which is a slang expression for “Shut Up”.  Immediately the entire class broke out in laughter.  “Sorry, sorry,” I quickly apologized.  “I won’t make another sound!”  Fortunately Bonnie caught on to the trouble she was causing and kept her mouth shut for the rest of the period, and we were able to escape without further mishap.
        Football season is over so there’s no practices or games going on after school, so we went home.  I do track in the spring to keep in shape, but practice for track won’t start up until February.   Coach Timmons must miss having anyone to yell at.  I figured the fairy had enough excitement for the day and no one had seen her, and it would be best not to push our luck.  I took her for a short drive on the way home and went down a dirt road and did a few tight circles for her amusement and then then took her home.  Pulling my Mustang into the driveway, I was alarmed to see Max Unger standing on his front porch.  I put my hands in my pocket covering the fairy and stepped out of the car.
        “Hey kid, I want a word with you,” Unger shouted, and started across the lawn towards us.  This was not good.  I ducked my head and tried to ignore him but he was just too obnoxious.  “Hold up, you rude little twerp,” he called after me.
        I turned to face him.  “What do you want?”
        “What was that thing you had in the hall the other day?  Don’t shake your head at me, I saw it.  Don’t pretend otherwise.”
        “Let’s make sure you know where I stand,” I said.  “I told you not to come around my mom.  I’ve seen you watching her through the window.”
        Unger scowled.  “So what.”
        This encounter with Unger was ruining an otherwise enjoyable day.  I folded my arms across my chest.  “So I’ll make a deal with you.”  He looked skeptical, so I continued.  “You stay away from my mom, and I’ll not report you to the police.”
        He actually laughed.  “Go ahead.  See if I care.  Your word against mine.  You think anyone’s going to believe a punk like you, over the word of an air force officer.”
        “Bye Unger,” I turned to go.  He actually put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.  I spun around.  “You want to fight,” I exclaimed.  “Then you want to try explaining how you got beat up by a teenager?”
        He was surprised by the directness of my words and backed away.  He scowled and turned.  “You’re going to regret this,” he muttered under his breath.  “I don’t put up with this kind of lip.”  I watched him go and couldn’t help smiling.  My good mood returned.  Unger was nothing but an overgrown bully, and like most bullies, he backed away when confronted by someone that wasn’t intimidated.
        I got the fairy inside and safely up to my room.  It had been a fun day and we did it without anyone besides Westley and Madison knowing I had a fairy in my pocket.  It made for an interesting time, although I’m not sure the fairy liked the experience of spending a whole day in my pocket.  I’ll have to think of some other activities we can do, things that don’t involve interacting with so many other people.  Anyway, I had a good time and the fairy did too.

        December 17, 2012
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