Clare the Caring Fairy Page 2

  Kirsty, Rachel, and Clare zoomed after Jack Frost, flying high above him as he sprinted across the park. They watched him run around the park fountain, past the friendship sign on the wall of the tennis clubhouse, and right into the tent where the Summer Friends Camp was based.

  “Follow him into the tent!” called Kirsty in an urgent voice. “If we can corner him in there, maybe we can find a way to get the ring back!”

  They flew toward the tent opening, but at the last second Jack Frost slapped the tent flap shut and tied it from the inside. The three fairies bounced off it and landed on the grass with a bump. Rachel glanced around quickly, but no one had seen them.

  “Luckily everyone’s either at the barbecue or the ice cream stand,” she said, flying back up to the tent flap and whacking it. “Let us in! You can’t stay in there forever!”

  “Go away and bother someone else,” Jack Frost called. “I like being the boss of all these new friends, and I’m not giving the ring back, no matter what you say!”

  The three fairies stared at one another, and then Rachel snapped her fingers.

  “I’ve got it!” she said. “Jack Frost loves ice cream. I bet he’d come out of the tent if we could offer him something really amazing.”

  “Coming right up,” said Clare, waving her wand.

  A large cone of ice cream suddenly appeared on the grass outside the tent, standing in its own special holder. The cone was glittering blue and the ice cream was as white as frost, with sparkling blue sauce cascading over the top.

  “That is a beautiful ice cream cone,” said Kirsty in a loud voice. “It’s so blue and glittery. I bet it tastes amazing.”

  “It’s blueberry cream flavored,” said Clare. “It’s bursting with the taste of real, juicy blueberries and rich, smooth vanilla. The cone is made of sugar and fizzy candy.”

  The fairies saw the tent flap open slightly. One suspicious eye peered out at the ice cream.

  “Get ready,” Rachel whispered.

  Suddenly, Jack Frost’s hand shot out through the tent flap. As he grabbed the ice cream, Kirsty and Clare threw their arms around his wrist, holding on as tightly as they could while Rachel tugged on the ring.

  Jack Frost twisted his arm and roared with fury, but Rachel was strong and determined. Just as Jack Frost finally wrenched his hand away from the fairies, the ring came off in Rachel’s hands. She handed it to Clare and it shrank to fairy size instantly.

  “You tricky, sneaky fairies!” Jack Frost screeched, charging out of the tent like an angry bull.

  “We were only taking back what belongs to Clare,” said Kirsty, joining hands with Rachel and Clare. “You obviously don’t know very much about true friends.”

  “Oh, yes I do,” said Jack Frost in an offended voice. “I just made lots of new friends. They all want to do nice things for me. They just went to get me some ice cream.”

  He looked down at the ice cream in his hand and gave it a big lick.

  “But friendship isn’t about giving orders,” said Rachel. “You can’t just boss your friends around and expect to get your own way all the time.”

  Jack Frost’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Why not?” he demanded.

  “Because everyone’s feelings are important,” said Clare. “Not just yours. True friends care about and are kind to one another. That’s what real friendship is.”

  “Real friendship is about always having someone standing beside you, ready to help,” Kirsty added.

  Jack Frost took another lick of his ice cream. He looked very thoughtful.

  “I like the sound of that,” he said in a quiet voice. “I wish I had some real friends.”

  He gobbled down the rest of his ice cream. Rachel, Kirsty, and Clare exchanged surprised glances.

  “This doesn’t sound like Jack Frost!” said Rachel.

  “It’s a pity my plan didn’t work,” Jack Frost went on. “I liked having humans waiting on me hand and foot. But now that I know the secret, I’m going to be the best friend of all time!”

  “What do you mean?” Clare asked.

  Something strange was happening to Jack Frost’s face. It was something that Rachel and Kirsty had never seen before.

  “He’s smiling,” Kirsty whispered, hardly able to believe her eyes. “He’s actually smiling a real smile—a caring smile!”

  “I’m going to throw a party,” said Jack Frost, rubbing his hands together. “I’m going to invite all my goblin friends. And they love ice cream just as much as I do, so it’ll be an ice cream party!”

  The three fairies didn’t know what to say. They just stared at him in amazement. They had never heard him being so friendly.

  “Do you like ice cream, too?” he asked.

  They nodded, and Jack Frost opened his arms wide.

  “Then you are all invited—along with the other Friendship Fairies, of course. Let’s have a party to celebrate real friendship!”

  Clare still seemed to be too surprised to move, but Rachel and Kirsty fluttered forward, smiling.

  “We’d love to come,” they said.

  Jack Frost grinned and disappeared with a flash of blue lightning.

  Laughing in surprise and delight, Clare lifted her wand. Rachel and Kirsty saw her mood ring glittering on her finger.

  “Come on, let’s go to Fairyland and find the other Friendship Fairies,” Clare said. “We have a party to attend!”

  The party at the Ice Castle was in full swing by the time Rachel and Kirsty arrived with the Friendship Fairies. The castle door was wide open, and glittering blue lights adorned every turret. Arm in arm, the girls fluttered in with Esther, Mary, Mimi, and Clare. Florence the Friendship Fairy was close behind them.

  The Gobolicious Band was playing a lively tune, and there were tables set up all around the courtyard for guests to make their own ice cream sundaes. Huge bowls were scattered around the tables, filled with every flavor of ice cream that Rachel and Kirsty could imagine. Some goblins were dancing and some were squawking at one another, but most were making tall sundaes and gobbling them up as fast as they could.

  Jack Frost spotted the fairies and came hurrying through the crowd of guests.

  “Welcome to my party!” he said, beaming. “What kind of ice cream would you like?”

  He scooped ice cream for them all and led them toward the tables.

  “Come over here,” he said. “Make sundaes and eat them, and then come dance, all right?”

  Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t help but smile as he turned to greet the next guests. Even though he sounded bossy, they knew that Jack Frost was trying his best to be a good host.

  “How are you?” they heard him demanding of a small goblin. “Tell me your favorite flavor of ice cream. Quickly!”

  “It’s amazing,” said Rachel. “Jack Frost is really trying hard to be a caring friend.”

  “I guess Clare’s mood ring worked its magic on him without him knowing it,” said Kirsty.

  Side by side, they created glorious ice-cream sundaes in a rainbow of colors, topped with sprinkles of nuts.

  “We can’t thank you enough for all of your help,” said Clare as they all dug into their ice cream with long spoons.

  “We could never have imagined that our adventures would end with a party here in the Ice Castle!” Mimi added. “It’s all thanks to you.”

  “We care about all our fairy friends,” said Kirsty. “We just want you to be happy.”

  Esther and Mary stepped forward and gave each of the girls a tiny silver charm. Each was shaped like a fairy in mid-flight.

  “They are to add to your friendship bracelets,” Esther explained.

  “They’re to show that you are best friends to all the fairies,” Mary added.

  Thrilled, the girls slipped the charms into their pockets and hugged the fairies.

  “We’ve had a lot of fun,” said Rachel. “I hope we’ll see you again soon.”

  “True friends are always together in their hearts,” said Florence. />
  Smiling, Florence raised her wand and the world seemed to shimmer around them. Sparkling fairy dust lifted Rachel and Kirsty into the air. They blinked, and found that they were standing in Rainspell Park, close to the barbecue party. The sound of laughter and happy conversation filled the air.

  “There you are, girls,” called Mr. Walker. “I’m just going to get some more burgers so that everyone can have one.”

  “OK, Dad,” said Rachel, giving him a big smile.

  Everything was back to normal. Oscar and Lara came running toward them, hand in hand.

  “Look what we made together,” said Lara.

  Oscar held out two badges with “Summer Friends Camp” printed on them.

  “They’re special badges for everyone at the camp,” said Oscar. “And we were hoping that you both might agree to be pen pals with us, so we can stay friends after we leave the island.”

  “We don’t want to lose touch with the wonderful new friends we’ve made,” Lara added.

  “We’d love to,” said Rachel and Kirsty together.

  Just then, Jen stepped up onto a hay bale and motioned for the crowd to quiet down. Ginny stood at her side.

  “We’re absolutely delighted to see so many of our friends here today,” said Jen, gazing around at the crowd. “Thank you for coming.”

  “We’ve really enjoyed running the Summer Friends Camp together,” Ginny went on. “We’ve made lots of new friends and had tons of fun along the way. We thought that we would be teaching you, but actually you have taught us the meaning of friendship.”

  “We care about each and every one of you,” Jen continued. “We will never forget our amazing summer, and we hope that you will be back on Rainspell again next year.”

  “We can’t wait!” Ginny finished.

  There was a roar of applause, and the teenage best friends stepped down from the hay bale. Rachel and Kirsty ran over to them.

  “That was an awesome speech,” said Rachel.

  Jen and Ginny hugged them.

  “You two are amazing,” said Jen. “You’re such a fantastic example of a true friendship. I’ve never seen you get angry with each other.”

  “And you always listen to each other’s point of view,” Ginny added. “We’re going to try to be more like you in the future.”

  Rachel and Kirsty felt a little bit embarrassed, but very pleased. They shared a secret, happy smile and linked their little fingers together.

  “I’m so happy that I met you here on Rainspell,” Kirsty said. “Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve been best friends ever since?”

  “And that won’t ever change,” said Rachel, smiling. “Best friends forever!”

  “I can’t believe we’re finally here!” Kirsty Tate cried, grinning. “I’ve always dreamed about taking part in a real cheerleading competition.”

  Her best friend, Rachel Walker, squeezed her hand. “I can believe it! You and your squad have worked really hard. I’m so glad I got to come along to watch you compete!”

  The girls linked arms and skipped across the huge lawn in the middle of the Cove College campus. They’d come to Cove City with Kirsty’s parents for the big Junior Cheerleading Competition that weekend! It was Kirsty’s first year on a squad, and this was their very first competition. Rachel and Kirsty had only just arrived, but the weekend already felt magical!

  “Tumble over that way!” Mr. Tate called from behind the girls, pointing to a large brick building on one corner of the lawn. The archway over the door read COVE COLLEGE GYMNASIUM.

  Kirsty smiled and did a series of cartwheels on her way to the gym. Rachel whooped and applauded as Mr. and Mrs. Tate caught up with them.

  “Is the rest of your squad meeting you here?” Rachel asked, pulling the gym door open.

  “Yup! It’s our last practice before the competition tomorrow,” Kirsty said, peering around the massive gym in awe. “Though I’m not sure how I’ll ever find them. This place is huge!”

  Girls and boys were scattered all over the gym. Some were stretching and warming up, while others chatted excitedly. Colorful mats covered the floor, and Rachel and Kirsty could see piles of pom-poms and stacks of megaphones over by the bleachers.

  “Kirsty!” a voice suddenly called. A girl with a curly black ponytail ran up and gave Kirsty a hug. “Can you believe all this?”

  Kirsty shook her head, smiling. “I guess we need a big gym to hold this much cheer!” She turned to Rachel. “Rachel, this is my friend Sunny. She’s the captain of our squad.”

  “I can’t wait to see your routine!” Rachel said, waving as Kirsty and Sunny ran off to join their teammates.

  “Come on, Rachel,” Mrs. Tate said. “Let’s find a spot on the bleachers to watch them practice.”

  From the bleachers, Rachel, Mr. Tate, and Mrs. Tate had a perfect view of the whole gym. There was an awful lot to see! Rachel counted ten different squads practicing before she turned her attention back to Kirsty’s team.

  “Okay, let’s go!” Sunny cried. She and a boy with spiky brown hair led the squad in their opening cheer. Rachel couldn’t help noticing that they were all out of sync—some of the kids were forgetting the words, and others were doing the wrong arm movements. Maybe they just need a minute to get warmed up, Rachel thought, frowning.

  Their coach, Mrs. Gold, stood to one side, shaking her head in confusion.

  “I’ve never seen them make so many mistakes,” Mrs. Tate murmured. “What could be going on?”

  Copyright © 2016 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

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  ISBN 978-1-338-15770-3

  First edition, July 2017

  Cover design by Angela Jun

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-15133-6

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