Power Play (4 page)

‘Just a bit,' said Twink weakly.

‘Sorry!' said Vera with a bright smile. She didn't look particularly sorry, thought Twink. Nor did Zayna, for that matter.

Twink hesitated, wondering whether she should say something. But Vera and Zayna had taken seats beside Romi in the front row, folding their wings back and looking at her attentively, and she decided to let it pass.

‘Right! I'd, um – like to welcome you all to our first team meeting of the new year,' said Twink. Her voice sounded unnaturally loud to her, but she kept on. ‘I've got lots of new ideas for the team, and I'd just like to –'

Twink broke off. Romi's hand had shot into the air. ‘Er . . . yes, Romi?'

‘I know a glimmery set play we can do,' said Romi. ‘I went to a special Fledge Camp over the hols, you know, and –'

‘That's great,' interrupted Twink. ‘But I just wanted to go over a few things first.'

‘This won't take long,' said Romi. ‘Then you can work the rest of your plans around it.' And without waiting for an answer, she leapt up from her bench and grabbed the chalk from Twink's hand.

.

Chapter Four

‘It's called the Power Play,' said Romi, beginning to sketch on the oak leaf. ‘See, usually when you're Guarding you're on the defensive, right? You're having to watch the Flea, and guard it from the Stealers. Well, with the Power Play, you make the
Stealers
go on the defensive! The three Guards all band together like this, and –'

Twink thought angrily that she might have known Romi's great idea would place the Guards in starring roles, since that was the position she herself played! She snatched the chalk back from her. ‘Thanks, but I don't think we'll be doing that.'

The team grew very quiet, watching the scene. ‘But why not?' burst out Romi. ‘It's a brilliant set play!'

‘Because I've got other ideas in mind,' said Twink. ‘Maybe we'll look at yours later.'

Romi sat down again crossly. Trying to smile, Twink quickly brushed away Romi's sketch. ‘Right, where was I?'

The meeting fell a bit flat after that. Twink described her own plans, drawing on the leaf, and although the team seemed interested, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were all thinking about Romi's Power Play.
Why
couldn't Romi have spoken to Twink in private about her idea, instead of just taking over?

Gritting her teeth, Twink tried to push Romi out of her mind – which wasn't easy when the purple-haired fairy was sitting right in front of her, scowling!

‘So, um, those are some of my plans,' concluded Twink at last. ‘Now, you all know that we've got to beat Sparklelight at least twice this season if we're going to make the Fairy Finals. So I'd like to schedule three practices a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and –'

‘
Three?
'
echoed Vera. ‘We only ever had two with Madge!'

‘I know,' said Twink. ‘But we've got a lot of new players now, and –'

‘Twink, I'm sure that I speak for all of us older girls when I say that we just don't have time for that,' said Vera firmly. ‘We've got our Acorn Exams coming up, you know.'

‘Yes, and I'll have my Sapling Exams this year,' pointed out Twink. ‘But I still think it's important that we . . .' She trailed off. Zayna and Vera sat side by side, shaking their heads. The rest of the team looked undecided, glancing from Twink to Vera and back again.

Twink bit her lip. ‘Well . . . what do the rest of you think?'

‘
I
think two is plenty,' said Zayna immediately. Cassi and Kym chorused agreement. Romi sat silently, gazing up at the ceiling with a knowing expression.

‘I'm happy with three,' said Summer shyly. ‘I think you're right, Twink – we have a lot of new players, and we need the practice.'

To Twink's dismay, Summer was the only one on her side. She swallowed hard, wondering if she ought to put her wing down and insist on three practices a week. But she didn't want to come on too strongly at first – the others might think that being the Games Fairy had gone straight to her head!

‘All right,' she said finally. ‘Let's – let's start with two practices a week, and see how we get on.'

‘Brilliant!' said Vera, bouncing up from her seat. ‘Well done, Twink – that was a really good meeting. See you on Wednesday, everyone!' And with that, she and Zayna flitted from the room, laughing and talking.

But I haven't ended the meeting yet
,
thought Twink, her wings drooping.

It appeared that it was over, though. The other team members started leaving as well, smiling their goodbyes to her. To hide her burning cheeks, Twink fussed over the oak leaf and easel, putting them away.

‘Yeah, a really good meeting,' said a dry voice.

Twink looked up to see Romi beside her, shaking her head. ‘You've got to be a lot firmer than that with
those
two, Twink,' she said in disgust. ‘They like Fledge, but they don't like to work hard. They'll fly all over you if you're not careful!'

‘I was firm,' protested Twink. ‘I just asked everyone what they thought, that's all.'

‘Well,
I
think you're asking for trouble,' said Romi heatedly. ‘But then, you're the Games Fairy, not me.' Her tone made it clear how unfair she thought this was. Without waiting for a reply, Romi jetted from the room.

Slowly, Twink gathered up her things and followed.
Never mind what Romi thinks,
she told herself as she closed up the log.
I want everyone to like me before I start throwing orders around! Besides, two practices a week are probably plenty.

Even so, Twink's wings felt heavy as she flew back towards the school. Somehow being the Games Fairy seemed much harder than she had thought.

It didn't become any easier over the next few weeks. Vera and Zayna quickly made a habit of arriving late to practices, and then didn't seem to take them very seriously once they got there. More than once Twink saw the two of them hovering side by side on the Fledge field, chattering away while the others practised their moves.

When Twink tried to talk to Vera about it, the older fairy blinked in surprise. ‘But Twink, Zayna and I have been playing for years! We
know
all these moves already.'

Something in her tone made Twink feel like a beginner at the game. It was true that she hadn't been playing nearly as long as Vera.

She took a deep breath. ‘Yes, but it's not just about knowing the moves yourself – it's about working with the other team members so that you all play together smoothly. We've got the Sparklelight game coming up next week, and –'

Vera laughed and patted her shoulder. ‘We'll be fine! Don't worry, Twink. We'll beat Sparklelight, no problem.'

She flitted off, and Twink was left staring after her, biting her lip. Vera seemed so confident that suddenly Twink felt unsure of herself. Perhaps Vera was right, and she was worrying needlessly. Meanwhile, she supposed it wasn't harming anything to let Vera and Zayna have a bit of fun.

But as the days went on, the situation worsened. Some of the other fairies started to become affected by Vera and Zayna as well, so that practice times were rapidly becoming a time for jokes and merriment, rather than getting down to work.

Twink did her best to keep order, but it was difficult. If she didn't laugh along with the others then it would seem like she didn't have a sense of humour . . . and besides, some of the quips really
were
funny.
Maybe I'm just taking it all too seriously,
she fretted. Surely the team would calm down soon . . . wouldn't they?

None of this was helped by Romi's glowering presence. She did everything Twink asked of her, but with a look on her face that said that
she
would be doing a much better job as Games Fairy. The final straw came when Twink flew on to the field early one afternoon, and found Romi already there, teaching her Power Play to Cassi and Kym.

‘You need to link arms and fly together,' she was saying as Twink flew up. ‘No, not quite so tightly . . . yes, that's it. Good!'

‘Romi, what are you doing?' demanded Twink. Cassi and Kym stopped mid-move, their eyes wide.

Romi crossed her arms over her chest. ‘I'm
trying
to help the team, that's what.'

‘Kym, you and Cassi go and practise your high-speed barrel rolls,' ordered Twink.

When the two fairies had sped off, she whirled towards Romi. The pent-up worries of the last few weeks all seemed to come together at once, and the words burst out of her.

‘How dare you!' she cried. ‘I
told
you we weren't going to use that play – and now you're going behind my back with it.'

‘Well, you wouldn't listen to me!' retorted Romi. ‘I thought I'd use the play during the Sparklelight game, and show you how glimmery it is.'

Anger sizzled through Twink. ‘Oh, you thought
you
'd
use the play, did you? So you were going to ignore my coaching, and just do whatever you wanted!'

‘Why not?' snapped Romi. ‘That's what Vera and Zayna are doing, and
they
get away with it. Besides, somebody has to do something, or else we're going to lose the game!'

‘What do you mean?' asked Twink sharply.

Romi huffed out a breath. ‘I
mean
,
you're not exactly holding it together, are you, Twink? Vera and Zayna are larking about, team members are coming late to practice – it's a shambles. A good Games Fairy knows when she needs help! Maybe you just haven't got what it takes.'

Twink felt herself go icy-cold. Though part of her knew that there was a lot of sense in what Romi had said, the older fairy's superior tone made it impossible for Twink to admit it. She thought she'd rather die first!

‘I do
not
need help,' she hissed, clenching her hands into fists. ‘And Romi, if you're so unhappy with how I'm managing the team, then you don't have to stick around, you know. In fact, I wish you wouldn't!'

Romi's face turned poppy-red. ‘Fine!' she cried, her voice shaking. ‘I
will
leave – but you'll be begging me to come back soon. And if Madge could see what you've done with her team, she'd be furious!'

Romi shot away towards the school. Turning round, Twink saw to her embarrassment that the rest of the team had arrived and were hovering nearby, watching. Summer bit her lip, looking worried.

Vera flew over and put an arm round Twink. ‘Don't worry,' she said. ‘There can only be
one
Games Fairy, and Romi has had a thorn under her wing for weeks now that it's not her. We're better off without her!'

And though Twink hoped fervently that this was true . . . she knew that she'd feel a lot better if, deep down, she didn't think Romi had been right.