Marissa the Science Fairy Read online

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Best Friends at School!

  The New Boys

  A Trip to Fairyland

  A Disobedient Class

  Fairies in School

  A Daring Plan

  Teaser

  Copyright

  It’s time the School Day Fairies see

  How wonderful a school should be—

  A place where goblins must be bossed,

  And learn about the great Jack Frost.

  Now every fairy badge of gold

  Makes goblins do as they are told.

  Let silly fairies whine and wail.

  My cleverness will never fail!

  Kirsty Tate smoothed down the jacket of her new school uniform and bit her lip.

  “I feel excited one minute and nervous the next!” she said.

  Her best friend, Rachel Walker, laughed and hugged her.

  “Stop worrying,” she said. “Just think how exciting it is that we are going to school together for a whole week! And you look really great in my spare uniform.”

  It was the first day of the new school year, and they were on their way to school. After weeks of late-summer storms and bad weather, Kirsty’s school in Wetherbury had been flooded. It was going to take a week to get back to normal, and in the meantime her parents had agreed that she could stay with the Walkers. Best of all, she could go to Tippington School with Rachel!

  “It’s just a little scary going to a new school,” said Kirsty.

  “But you’ll be with me in all the same classes,” Rachel reminded her. “Besides, we always have fun when we’re together, don’t we?”

  Rachel always knew how to cheer her best friend up.

  “I have the best times with you,” Kirsty replied with a laugh. “We’ve had lots of fun adventures with the fairies, haven’t we? Oh, Rachel, wouldn’t it be amazing if our fairy friends visited us at school?”

  Ever since the girls had met on Rainspell Island, they had kept the secret of their friendship with the fairies. They had often visited Fairyland together, and the fairies had taken them on many magical adventures in the human world.

  “Look!” said Rachel, noticing three people waving at them from farther down the street. It was her friends Adam, Amina, and Ellie.

  “Hi, Rachel!” they called. “Hi, Kirsty!”

  Kirsty had met them on one of her visits, and when they smiled at her now, she instantly felt more comfortable.

  “Did you move to Tippington?” Amina asked in an excited voice. “Ooh, I hope so!”

  “Not exactly,” said Kirsty with a laugh. “My school got flooded, so I’m staying with Rachel until it’s fixed.”

  “Well, I hope it takes a long time,” said Ellie with a grin.

  “Me, too,” said Rachel. Kirsty had a feeling that going to school with Rachel was going to be really fun! The first day back was always exciting, but because the girls were together, it felt extra special.

  When they arrived at school, they sensed a real thrill in the air. Everyone was wearing carefully pressed uniforms and carrying brand-new bags. Shoes were shining, and hair was neatly combed. The school secretary was trying to keep everyone organized, but she was clearly frazzled.

  “Ah, Rachel Walker!” she said, waving a clipboard in the air. “Is this your friend who is with us for a short time? Welcome, dear! Now, you are going to be in Mr. Beaker’s class this year, and your classroom is number seven. Hurry along, girls, and don’t be late!”

  Adam, Amina, and Ellie were also going to be in Mr. Beaker’s class. Together, they all went to the classroom. They were lucky to find a table for five at the side of the room, and they all sat down together. Kirsty had just taken out her new pencil case when the door opened and a tall, curly-haired man walked in carrying a briefcase. Everyone stopped chattering and sat up very straight. Kirsty and Rachel linked their little fingers. What kind of teacher was he? Would he be fair? Would he be strict?

  “Good morning, class,” he said in a friendly voice. “I am Mr. Beaker. Welcome to the start of a brand-new school year. I hope you’re all looking forward to learning a lot and having fun this year.”

  He smiled, and his brown eyes twinkled.

  “He seems nice,” whispered Rachel.

  Kirsty nodded, but she didn’t risk whispering anything back. Mr. Beaker opened the attendance sheet and started calling out names to take attendance. He had just gotten to Kirsty’s name when the door burst open and two boys leapfrogged into the classroom, giggling as they fell in a heap.

  Mr. Beaker’s smile disappeared.

  “Boys, you’re late,” he said. “Stop messing around and find a seat.”

  Kirsty nudged Rachel.

  “That’s odd,” she said in a low voice. “Did you notice? They’re in the wrong uniform.”

  The boys were wearing green blazers, and their green caps had extra-long brims that hid their faces. They swaggered to a couple of spare seats at the back of the classroom.

  Mr. Beaker finished taking attendance, but the two late boys weren’t on the list. He looked at them thoughtfully.

  “I guess you’re new to the school,” he said. “You’ll have to get the Tippington School uniform and take off those caps. The students here don’t wear hats.”

  “But our green uniforms look much better than the ugly Tippington colors,” the first boy complained.

  “We have notes that say we’re allowed to wear our hats,” shouted the second boy.

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged shocked glances. Neither of them had ever spoken to a teacher like that. Mr. Beaker didn’t look very pleased, but at that moment the bell rang.

  “Time for assembly,” said Mr. Beaker. “Come on, everyone, let’s go.”

  The class walked down the hallway in pairs, heading toward the assembly hall. Rachel and Kirsty were behind the two new boys, who were giggling and shoving each other. Everyone else was quiet, but the new boys didn’t seem to care. The first boy elbowed his friend into the wall.

  “Oops, sorry,” he said with a cackle.

  His friend shoved him back, giggling.

  “Whoops, didn’t mean it!” he said in a singsong voice.

  The first boy held out his foot and tripped the second boy, who staggered sideways with a snort of laughter.

  “Enjoy your trip?” asked the first boy.

  Expecting the second boy to play the same trick, Kirsty looked down at their feet. In shock, she nudged Rachel, who gasped. The boys had enormous feet, just like goblins!

  “They can’t be!” Rachel whispered. “What would goblins be doing at Tippington School?”

  At the assembly, the children formed neat rows on the floor. Rachel and Kirsty sat next to the goblin boys, who were now playing tug-of-war with a pencil case.

  “I still can’t believe that goblins are in our class,” Rachel said in Kirsty’s ear. “Maybe they are just ordinary boys with really big feet.”

  Before Kirsty could reply, Miss Patel, the principal, stood up. Everyone stopped talking, and Miss Patel smiled.

  “Welcome to a new school year,” she said. “It’s good to see lots of familiar faces as well as some new ones. This year, there are lots of exciting things to—”

  Miss Patel broke off and stared at the new boys. They weren’t paying any attention to her.

  “I want to hold it!” the first boy was saying.

  “Give it to me,” whined the second, pulling the pencil case toward him.

  “Boys, put that pencil case down and be quiet,” said Miss Patel in a sharp voice. “You may be new, but I’m sure this behavior was not allowed in your old school. It’s not a very good start.”

&
nbsp; The boys dropped the pencil case and folded their arms, sulking.

  “Now, we need you all to be on your very best behavior this week,” Miss Patel continued. “A school superintendent is visiting here in three days to see how well we are doing. Your teachers will be giving gold stars to any particularly good work you do, and it will be displayed for the superintendent. We want to show off your skills and talents, so let’s all start the new year by trying really hard.”

  Kirsty and Rachel were so excited to hear about the gold stars that they stopped thinking about the big-footed boys. Then right after assembly, Mr. Beaker took the whole class outside to the school vegetable garden.

  “We’re going to start with a science lesson on plants,” he said as they walked across the playground. “I want you to find specimens to bring back to the classroom. Then we will look at them under magnifying glasses. I saw lots of vegetables when I checked the garden this morning, so you will have plenty to choose from.”

  “I love science,” said Amina, catching up with Rachel and Kirsty. “I hope I can get a gold star for this.”

  “I wonder who will get the first gold star in our class,” said Kirsty.

  Just then Mr. Beaker let out a surprised cry. The children at the front gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Rachel, craning her neck to see over the heads of her classmates.

  Someone had trampled all over the school vegetable garden! It was a total mess of drooping plants and squashed vegetables. Some of the plants had been pulled up and then replanted upside down, so their roots were sticking up in the air. Everyone stared in shock at the awful scene.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Mr. Beaker.

  “Who could have done such a mean thing?” asked Adam.

  Kirsty and Rachel had a very good idea about who was responsible. At the back of the group, the new boys were stifling giggles with bony hands. Then one of them grabbed the pencil case from the other, and they started squabbling again.

  “They are definitely goblins,” said Kirsty, catching a glimpse of a long nose.

  “But what are they doing at Tippington School?” asked Rachel. “And why have they ruined our vegetable garden?”

  Mr. Beaker wanted to continue with the science lesson, so after the class had cleaned up the vegetable garden, they went back to the classroom. Rachel and Kirsty were given a dried-up bean to look at through their magnifying glass.

  “Draw a picture of everything you can see through the magnifying glass,” Mr. Beaker told the class.

  Kirsty and Rachel peered at the shriveled bean through the glass.

  “That’s strange,” said Kirsty. “It should look bigger through the magnifying glass, but it looks smaller!”

  “Same here,” said Ellie, who was trying to draw a squashed radish. “I can hardly see a thing.”

  “There’s something wrong with the magnifying glasses,” said Adam, giving his a shake.

  “They don’t seem to be having any trouble,” said Amina, looking at the disguised goblins.

  The first goblin was using his magnifying glass to look into the second goblin’s ear.

  “Yuck, it’s all hairy and waxy!” he groaned, sticking out his tongue.

  The other goblin grabbed the magnifying glass and peered up the first goblin’s nose.

  “Well this makes your nose look even bigger than usual,” he said. “And it’s full of boogers!”

  “Keep the noise down, please,” said Mr. Beaker.

  The goblins paid no attention, and Kirsty frowned.

  “Why is their magnifying glass the only one that’s working properly?” she whispered.

  “Amina, could you please water the plants on the windowsill?” asked Mr. Beaker. “They’re all drooping.”

  Amina filled the watering can and carried it toward the plants, but water started to drip from the bottom. It was leaking! The carpet was soaked, and so were Amina’s shoes.

  “Never mind,” said Mr. Beaker. “We have an extra pair of shoes here, and I’ll find a spare watering can at lunchtime. Now everyone take a ruler and measure one of the plants. We’re going to keep a record of how much they grow this year, starting today.”

  Rachel and Kirsty thought that sounded like fun. They picked up their rulers and went to measure the plants.

  “This can’t be right,” said Rachel. “My ruler says that this plant is four feet tall!”

  “My ruler says that it’s one-fourth of an inch tall,” said Kirsty, examining the ruler. “Rachel, look! All the numbers are jumbled up!”

  “Mine, too,” said Rachel. “I can’t measure anything with this.”

  All the rulers that Mr. Beaker had given out were the same. No one could measure the plants, and Mr. Beaker had to give up and move on to the next part of the lesson. He looked really disappointed.

  “Rachel and Kirsty, could you please get the plastic plant pots from the cabinet outside the classroom?” he asked.

  Feeling very sorry for their new teacher, the girls hurried out of the classroom.

  “Poor Mr. Beaker,” said Kirsty. “Nothing seems to be going right for him today, does it?”

  Rachel bent down to open the cabinet, and then tumbled backward as a tiny fairy fluttered out. She was wearing a cute denim dress and a purple T-shirt with an orange bow at the neck. Her long auburn hair was swept up in a half-ponytail, and she had a pair of cool, dark-rimmed glasses.

  “Hello, girls!” she said. “I’m Marissa the Science Fairy, and I’ve come to ask for your help. There’s a big problem at the fairy school. Will you come to Fairyland with me?”

  “Right now?” asked Rachel.

  Marissa nodded eagerly, and the girls grinned.

  “We’d love to!” said Kirsty.

  After a quick glance down the hall to check that no one was coming, Marissa made a figure-eight shape with her wand. Two golden rings of fairy dust appeared in the air and gently landed on the girls’ heads like tiny tiaras. Instantly, the school hallway disappeared and they found themselves standing in a rainbow-colored room. They had been transformed into fairies, and they unfurled their beautiful wings in delight.

  “Welcome to the Fairyland School,” said a familiar voice behind them.

  The girls whirled around and saw Carly the School Fairy smiling at them.

  “It’s fantastic to see you again, Carly,” said Kirsty, hurrying to give her a hug.

  They hadn’t seen Carly in a while. She was standing with a small group of fairies whom the girls had never met. Marissa took Rachel’s hand and led her toward the other fairies.

  “These are the other School Day Fairies,” she said. “Alison the Art Fairy, Lydia the Reading Fairy, and Kathryn the Gym Fairy. We’ve all noticed that things are going wrong.”

  “What kind of things?” asked Kirsty.

  “Well, in my science class, all the plants have died,” said Marissa.

  “The paint colors have gotten all mixed up in art class,” said Alison. “Everything is a horrible sludgy brown color.”

  “The words have disappeared from all the books,” said Lydia.

  “And all the young fairies are flying backward in gym class,” said Kathryn. “We really need your help.”

  “I bet Jack Frost is behind all this,” said Rachel, folding her arms.

  The School Day Fairies nodded.

  “He stole our magical gold star badges,” Marissa explained. “We use them to make sure that all lessons are interesting and go smoothly. Without them, classes are a disaster!”

  “Why did he take them?” asked Kirsty.

  “He’s using them to help set up his own school for goblins,” said Carly.

  “The worst thing of all is that Queen Titania and King Oberon are supposed to be visiting the fairy school in the next few days,” said Marissa. “We wanted everything to be perfect, but without our magical star badges it will all go wrong.”

  “Let us help!” said Rachel. “We’ll do everything we can to find your badges in time.”


  “That’s just what I was hoping you’d say,” said Marissa with a grin. “There’s no time to lose. Jack Frost has set up his school inside the Ice Castle, and my magic can get us in there. Will you come?”

  “Of course!” exclaimed Kirsty. “Let’s go!”

  “Good luck!” called Carly and the other fairies.

  Marissa waved her wand, and there was a dazzling flash of golden fairy dust. When it cleared, Rachel and Kirsty were standing on a balcony overlooking a large hall. Marissa was beside them.

  “We’ve been to the Ice Castle lots of times, but I’ve never seen this hall before,” Rachel whispered.

  The hall was very grand, with pillars of white marble and carvings of Jack Frost on the walls. There were red velvet curtains, and a portrait of Jack Frost hung at one end of the room.

  The hall was filled with uncomfortable-looking wooden chairs, and on each chair sat a goblin.

  “Look at their clothes,” said Kirsty in a low voice.

  The goblins were all wearing the same green uniform as the new boys at Tippington School. They were fidgeting, pinching one another, and fighting. None of them was paying any attention to Jack Frost.

  The Ice Lord was standing at the front of the class, wearing a black robe and an old-fashioned professor’s hat. He was trying to present a slideshow on the whiteboard, but he had to shout above the noise of the chattering goblins.

  The first slide was a picture of Jack Frost wearing glasses. The caption said:

  JACK FROST: FAMOUS SCIENTIST AND INVENTOR

  “Jack Frost invented absolutely everything!” he yelled. “He is a genius. Write that down, you fools!”

  Only one goblin, who was sitting in the very front row, started scribbling on a piece of paper. The others just crumpled up their papers and threw them at one another.

  “Sit down and be quiet!” Jack Frost yelled.