Sister Secrets (6 page)

Ha! I've got her now!
thought Twink. She zoomed towards the branch, already planning exactly what she was going to say to the wayward fairy. She could hardly wait!

‘WHAT do you think you're doing?' boomed a voice.

‘Aargh!' cried Twink, skidding to a mid-air halt. Whirling about, her eyes widened in horror. Hovering just above her was Mrs Lightwing, the first-year head!

The teacher flew slowly forward until she was only a wing's length from Twink. Her face was stormy. ‘Good evening, Twink. Can you explain what you're doing out here in the middle of the night?'

‘I – um –' Twink glanced desperately at Snowdrop Branch, several branches above them. Its windows were dark.

‘I'm waiting, Twink.' When she didn't reply, Mrs Lightwing shook her head. ‘I would have thought that you're a bit old to be playing pranks now, my girl! If you can't explain yourself, then –'

‘But it wasn't me, it was Zuzu!'
burst out Twink. Then she caught her breath in alarm. What had she done? It was an unwritten rule at Glitterwings that one should never be a tell-tale.

‘
Zuzu?
' Mrs Lightwing stared at her. ‘What are you talking about?'

Twink gulped miserably. But having said this much, she knew she might as well say the rest. ‘I – well – you see, she was planning this terrible prank, and I was just trying to stop her.'

‘Go on,' said Mrs Lightwing, raising one sky-blue eyebrow.

Twink cringed. To be honest, she was a bit frightened to even
tell
Mrs Lightwing what Zuzu had been plotting. ‘Well – she stole some fairy dust, and then she was going to sneak into your room while you were asleep, and – and put a power spell on you, so that you had to do everything she said.'

Mrs Lightwing gaped at her. ‘A
power
spell? On
me
?'

Twink nodded. ‘She – she sneaked into the restricted section of the library to find out how to do it. She thought it would be funny.'

For a moment, Twink actually thought the first-year head was trying not to smile. Then her eyes narrowed. ‘Are you saying that you were trying to stop Zuzu just now?'

Twink hesitated, wondering why Mrs Lightwing looked so suspicious. ‘Yes, she had just come out of the supplies branch, and –'

‘Stop right there!' ordered Mrs Lightwing. ‘Twink, Zuzu is in the infirmary tonight with a bruised wing – I've just come from checking on her. There is no way that you could have been following her.'

‘But I was! I saw her!' cried Twink.

.

.

‘Enough,' said Mrs Lightwing crossly. ‘I've heard through the grapevine that you don't like Zuzu, but I wouldn't have thought this of you, Twink – trying to get a younger student into trouble! Now, if you can't explain why you're really out here, then I'll have no choice but to punish you.'

‘But . . . that
is
why I'm out here,' whispered Twink. Hot tears pricked at her eyes. ‘Mrs Lightwing, I promise I saw Zuzu – just go into Snowdrop Branch and see for yourself!'

‘I'll do better than that!' snapped Mrs Lightwing. ‘Come with me, Twink.'

Grimly, Mrs Lightwing led the way back into Glitterwings, using the teachers' entrance midway up the tree. A few moments later, she was holding up a lantern in the infirmary. Twink stared down in confusion at Zuzu's sleeping form.

‘But – but it
was
her,' she repeated miserably once they were outside the infirmary again. ‘I don't know how she did it – maybe she doubled back really quickly, or –'

Mrs Lightwing's eyes flashed in the lantern-light. ‘Quiet!' she barked. ‘I've heard more than enough, Twink. Get back to bed this instant! And tomorrow you're to do a hundred lines for me:
I must not sneak about and tell lies!
'

.

Chapter Seven

‘But if it wasn't Zuzu –' started Bimi.

‘It
was
!' said Twink hotly, putting down her snail-trail pen. The two friends were sitting in the library as Twink did her lines. High above, students skimmed about the tall shelves like hummingbirds.

‘Bimi, I saw her!' insisted Twink. Glancing at Mrs Stamen, she lowered her voice. ‘She was right there, plain as day. Why, she probably had the whole thing planned, just to get me into trouble.'

Bimi made a face. ‘Why would she do that?'

‘Because she knows I don't like her!' Twink stopped short, staring at Bimi. ‘You don't believe me, do you?'

Bimi rubbed her wing against Twink's. ‘It's not that! It's just – well, I wonder if there could be some mistake.'

‘
What
mistake?' said Twink in exasperation. ‘Summer
told
me what Zuzu was going to do, and then later on that night there she was, doing it!'

‘Only it wasn't her,' pointed out Bimi.

‘It
was
! I saw
her.' Twink propped her chin on her hand, her thoughts spinning in angry circles. She knew it had been Zuzu – and yet somehow it hadn't been! Was she going mad?

‘Saw who?' asked a voice. Looking around, Twink saw Ivy hovering nearby. The green-haired fairy flitted over and sat down at their table, tucking her wings behind her back.

‘Who did you see?' she asked again, glancing from Bimi to Twink.

Twink shrugged. She liked Ivy, but she didn't know her very well yet – and it seemed a bit pushy of her to sit down with them uninvited!

Ivy put her hand on Twink's arm. ‘Please tell me,' she said. ‘I overheard a bit, and – well, I have a reason for asking! Just trust me, all right?'

And all at once, Twink found that she
did
trust her. Taking a deep breath, she related the whole story – from her first meeting with Zuzu to the disastrous events of the night before.

To her amazement, Ivy burst out laughing. ‘Oh, they got you!'

‘What do you mean?' demanded Twink.
What
was so funny? Beside her, Bimi looked just as confused as she felt.

Ivy smiled. ‘Well, they call each other
twins
,
don't they? And they look alike, you said so yourself! It's easy – they just switched places. Jade and I do it all the time.'

‘
Switched places?
'
Twink gaped at her. ‘But –'

‘Of course!' Ivy fluttered her green and white wings. ‘Why,
you
almost guessed the other day about me and Jade. We swap lessons sometimes. It's easy! We just meet up beforehand, switch our dresses, and there you go.'

Bimi looked dazed. ‘But – that's cheating.'

Ivy's eyebrows shot up. ‘No, it's not. We never take exams for each other. It's only for a joke – and hasn't it been glimmery?' Her green eyes sparkled. ‘Especially seeing Pix try to work it out! She doesn't know whether she's coming or going.'

A startled laugh escaped Twink despite herself. ‘Ivy! Is
that
how you – I mean, how Jade always knows all the answers? Because she's taken the class before?'

‘Partly,' said Ivy with a grin. ‘But she really is very clever, too.'

Bimi clapped a hand over her mouth as she giggled. ‘Oh, poor Pix! She's been going
mad
.'

‘Well, don't say anything,' said Ivy. ‘Everyone will realise what's going on soon enough, and we want to have fun for as long as we can. Especially Jade. She's usually so serious that it's a real laugh for her!'

.

.

‘We won't tell – will we, Twink?' promised Bimi.

Twink nodded. ‘Your secret's safe with us, Ivy! Though I don't know how we'll keep from laughing the next time Jade knows all the answers in class.'

Then her smile faded as her thoughts returned to Teena. ‘So you think – you think it was really
Teena
I saw?' she said slowly.

‘Definitely,' said Ivy. ‘Think about it – you only saw her in shadow, and the back of her head. So how did you know it was Zuzu?'

‘Because . . . she was wearing Zuzu's hair clasp,' said Twink feebly. Oh, it seemed so obvious now! No wonder the fairy hadn't turned to face her. It had been
Teena
!

‘There, you see?' said Ivy. ‘She knew you'd think she was Zuzu, because she was
supposed
to be Zuzu – and then your mind filled in the rest!' She bounced up from the table. ‘Anyway, I'm meeting Jade at the tuck shop. Remember your promise, you two, all right?'

Twink and Bimi agreed – and then glanced at each other worriedly as Ivy flew from the library.

‘So it was Teena!' breathed Bimi. ‘But why would she do such a thing?'

Twink's chest felt tight. ‘I bet Zuzu put her up to it – and Summer, too, for that matter. Zuzu probably planned the whole thing! And Teena went along with it.' Pulling the petal towards her again, Twink started scribbling lines as fast as she could.

‘But Twink, you don't
know
that,' protested Bimi. ‘I think you should talk to Teena, and find out what really happened!'

Her best friend had a point. Twink looked down, playing with her snail-trail pen. ‘All right, I'll talk to Teena,' she said finally. ‘Maybe – maybe there's some explanation.'

But she didn't believe the words, even as she said them. Teena had pretended to be Zuzu just to get Twink into trouble. Hurt anger stuck like a stone in Twink's throat. How could her sister explain
that?

‘Oh no!' gasped Teena in dismay. ‘Is that
why you didn't follow me into Snowdrop Branch? We didn't know what had happened!'

‘So it
was
you,' said Twink bitterly. It pained her to have Teena admit it, even though she'd known it must be true.

The two sisters were hovering outside the main entrance to the tree, where Twink had caught up with Teena after Flight class. Teena nodded, hugging her petal bag. ‘It was only meant to be a joke, Twink!'

Twink stared at her, hardly able to believe her ears. ‘A
joke
?
To have Mrs Lightwing catch me?'

‘No!' cried Teena. ‘We didn't know she would. We just thought you'd come in the window after me, and then you'd see that Zuzu wasn't even
there
,
and you'd realise –'

‘What?' burst out Twink. ‘That she's a really bad influence on you? Because she
is
,
Teena – I've never known you to act this way before!'

Teena's eyes grew wide. ‘But – but I didn't do anything really bad,' she whispered. ‘Neither did Zuzu. We just wanted to show you that –'

Deep down, Twink knew she should listen to what her little sister had to say. But then she thought of Zuzu's smug, cheeky face, and she felt on fire. Oh, Zuzu must be having a great time sniggering at Twink now! And here was Teena
defending
her.

‘Well, don't worry, Teena – I've had enough of trying to help you!' she interrupted coldly. ‘You and your precious Zuzu can
stay
friends, for all I care!'

‘But you don't understand!' wailed Teena, her eyes bright with tears. ‘It was
my
idea, not –'

Twink didn't hear. She had already flown back into the school, her pink hair whistling behind her.

Teena hovered by herself, staring after Twink. She couldn't blame Twink for being angry about the lines, but she hadn't even given Teena a chance to explain! She'd just stormed off without listening.

Shakily, Teena wiped her eyes. Well, if Twink had had enough, then
she
had, too! She needed something to take her mind off things – and all at once she knew just the thing.

.

.

Swallowing hard, Teena gazed up at the top branches of the tree. She couldn't see it from here, but she knew the star-gazing platform was up there, waiting for her.

A sudden idea popped into Teena's head, and she caught her breath. Why had she wasted so much time trying to get to the platform from inside the school? All she had to do was climb out of the Snowdrop branch window, and fly right to it!

Her hands felt clammy, and she wiped them on her skirt. Though she hadn't admitted it to Zuzu, the thought of actually going up there made her a bit nervous. Was it really dangerous, like Miss Shimmery had said?

Then Teena remembered Twink's angry face, and her resolve hardened. Well, she didn't care. She
would
go up there, no matter what – and that very night, too!

‘Twink? Twink, wake up!'

‘Um?' Twink stirred drowsily, cuddled into her petal duvet.

‘Twink!
Please
wake up; you've got to!' The fairy shaking her sounded close to tears.

This time the words reached her, and Twink sat up in bed, blinking. What was going on? What time was it? Then she saw who the fairy at her bedside was, and she stiffened.

‘Summer! What are
you
doing here?'

The younger fairy's tear-stained face gleamed in the moonlight. ‘It's – it's Teena and Zuzu,' she choked out. ‘They've gone up to the star-gazing platform, only that was ages ago, and they're not back yet!'

In the next bed, Bimi propped herself up on one elbow, listening.

Twink snorted. ‘Oh, right! And I suppose when I fly up there, it won't be Teena and Zuzu at all, will it? Then Mrs Lightwing will catch me, and –'

‘No!' said Summer. ‘It's true, I promise! She's been wanting to go up to the star-gazing platform for ages, and tonight she said she was going no matter what, and then they
both
went, because –'

‘Hang on – you mean they're
really
up there?' cried Twink. Fear shivered through her as she recalled Miss Twilight's description of star-struck fairies.

Summer nodded, gulping hard. ‘Can't – can't you help, Twink? We're all so scared – we don't know why they're taking so long –'

Twink leapt out of bed. Grabbing her dressing gown, she pulled it on with shaking hands. ‘Bimi, go and get Miss Twilight!' she said urgently.

Bimi was already out of bed, shrugging into her own dressing gown. ‘I'll be as quick as I can!' she said, her face pale. Her bright wings glinted as she sped from the branch.

‘Sooze!' hissed Twink, gliding down from the loft space. ‘Sooze!'

‘Mmf?' muttered Sooze, lying on her stomach.

Twink shook her shoulder. ‘Sooze, wake up! You've got to help. It's that cousin of yours – she's taken Teena up to the star-gazing platform! Bimi's gone to get Miss Twilight, but we've got to hurry!'