A Twist

“So that’s it? Two weeks of detention and you’re home free?” Linden asked for the tenth time.

Valerie held out her plate and the lunch lady deposited a scoop of purple something onto it. “Yeah, home free,” she said, watching the stuff ooze across her plate.

“That won’t be the last of it,” Gorn pronounced, grabbing a bottle of milk. “Kings don’t generally just accept apologies. He’ll put up a fuss.”

“Then he’s no better than his bratty kid,” Valerie said savagely, plunking down at their customary table. Linden sighed and sat across from her. “If you’re going to live here, you have to understand the system and respect it,” he insisted.

“And see it from their perspective,” Gorn added, opening his sack lunch with more delicacy than Valerie had thought possible from an Enting. “They don’t know how to interact with us, so they try to rule us. It’s all they know how to do.”

He flipped the lid off of his milk and it landed on the table with a clink. Valerie thought for a moment. “Your father is head of the Ent Council, but you don’t act the way they do.”

Gorn smiled. “Ents are raised differently than humans.”

Valerie looked at Linden. “And what about you? Are Dryads raised differently than humans?”

Linden shook his head. “Not really. We’re like humans, only wiser and kinder and more attractive…”

Valerie threw a carrot at him and he dodged it, grinning wickedly.

“For someone so wise and kind you sure are a pain in the butt,” Valerie said, shaking her head.

Gorn laughed, snorting milk out of his nose. The sight was so odd Linden and Valerie began laughing uproariously, attracting the stares of nearby tables. “Don’t laugh, it burns!” Gorn exclaimed, pulling out a large handkerchief and wiping his nose vigorously.

The bell soon rang and Valerie headed to class, still chuckling.

As she entered History the entire class stood up and applauded, much to the teacher’s disapproval. Valerie smiled awkwardly and headed to her desk, the applause continuing until Miss Edna, a graying, dignified griffin, beat her wings vigorously to restore order. As she turned to the chalkboard to begin her lecture on ancient dragon lore, the girl on Valerie's left slid her a scrap of parchment. After making sure Miss Edna was engrossed in her lesson, Valerie unfolded the note:

Way to go on breaking that princess’ nose. You sure are a twist!

Valerie looked up to see who wrote it. Three rows over and two up a dwarf child gave her a thumbs up. Valerie gave a tiny smile and tucked the note into her pocket.

*      *      *      *      *      *

“What’s a twist?” Valerie asked as the three headed to study hall.

“What do you mean?” Linden said, munching on an apple.

“Someone passed me a note in History today congratulating me on punching Ealis. He called me a ‘twist’.”

“That just means you’re interesting,” Gorn said, pulling in vain at his tie.

“More like unpredictable,” Linden corrected. “In a fairytale a twist is something that happens that changes the direction of the story, like when Sir Washington decided to rebel against the evil wizard and free the colonies from his oppressive rule.”

Valerie stopped dead in her tracks. “Sir Washington? Colonies?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, you know, from the story.”

“What story?” She pressed.

“Sir Washington and the English Wizard.”

Valerie burst out laughing in spite of herself. “That’s not a fairytale,” she said, wiping her eyes. “That really happened...more or less.”

Linden and Gorn looked at each other, then back at her. “We’re not stupid, Valerie,” Gorn said, raising what should’ve been an eyebrow.

“No I swear it did!” Valerie protested. “His name was George Washington, and he wasn’t a knight, he was a general. He and a group of men rebelled against King George of England because of the unfair treatment of the American colonies. He led the American Revolution and became our first president.”

Linden choked on his apple and his face purpled alarmingly. Gorn thumped him on the back and the fruit flew out of his mouth and across the hallway. A trio of fairies gave him a dirty look before continuing on their way.

“You mean,” Linden wheezed, “he existed?”

“Yeah,” Valerie said, looking at him concernedly. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill. “That’s him on the dollar.”

Linden took the bill from her almost reverently and he and Gorn stared at it for a while. “Sir Washington,” Gorn breathed.

“President Washington,” Valerie corrected.

The last bell rang and woke them from their trance. “We’d better hurry,” Linden said, offering the dollar back to Valerie. “Keep it,” she said, waving it away. He shoved it into his vest pocket and they hurried down the hallway, Linden still grinning.

*       *      *      *      *      *

There was a knock on the door and Reginald gave a deep sigh. “Come in,” he called, sitting up straight in his chair.

Belladonna peeked around the door, checking the room out. “Are you alone?” She whispered.

“For a brief moment I was, yes,” Reginald mumbled to himself.

She closed the door and walked up to his desk, leaning on it with both hands. “That girl, Valerie.”

“Yes?” Reginald said, lacing his fingers together.

“She called you ‘Uncle Reginald’.”

Reginald sighed again. “I see.”

Bella tapped a painted nail on the desk rapidly. “Would you care to explain that?” She asked impatiently.

“She’s my niece. I brought her to live with me before the school year began. She’s almost seventeen and just received detention for breaking someone’s nose. Will that suffice?”

“No!” Bella exclaimed, pushing herself away from the desk. “How can you have a niece? Where did she come from? And why are you taking care of her?”

Reginald put up a hand to quiet her. “I will answer your questions as succinctly as possible, but I don’t want you or any of the others harassing Valerie. Agreed?”

Bella nodded, folding her arms.

“As you know, our mother had several husbands before she died, each union producing children. But my father was married before, in a different place.”

Bella cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t mean…”

“I do indeed. That union also produced a child, my older half-brother. When my father and his mother divorced they remained in America while my father returned here and met our mother. Valerie and her sister Nicki are the children of my half-brother.”

Bella shook her head. “I still don’t understand why Valerie is here, with you.”

Reginald frowned. “After the death of my father I contacted my brother, Jake, and we kept up a correspondence over the years. Several months ago I received word that Jake had taken his own life.”

“Oh, how horrible!” Bella exclaimed.

“Having no other relatives to care for her, I made the journey to Maine, introduced myself to Valerie and brought her home. She’s lived with me for over eight months now.”

“And when were you going to tell us?” Bella demanded. “We’re your family, and hers. You should’ve given us a chance to welcome her properly.”

Reginald sighed, propping his feet up on the desk. “I was trying to give her a chance to acclimate to Tylwythian life. She’s still having difficulty, as we just saw. I didn’t want to spring an entire family on her before she was ready.”

Bella went to the door and put her hand on the doorknob. “Maybe a family is what she needs,” she said, and she left the office.

Reviews

[hi]

this story seems to have cute twist to it, i kinda like it

[Urja Gokani]

amazingly written keep it up and well penned!