Flying High by Titania Woods Page B

grabbed Twink’s arms, jumping up and down. ‘I knew you could do it! Twink, you can fly!’
    Suddenly all of Daffodil Branch was there, whooping and shouting, pounding her on the back. ‘Twink, you did it! You really did it!’
    Twink gasped as her friends caught her up in a jubilant hug.
    â€˜I can fly,’ she whispered. She fluttered her wings and lifted up in the air, holding her breath. But nothing bad happened. Her wings didn’t go berserk with fear. She was flying, just like any other fairy!
    Twink did a sudden dip, dancing about over the others’ heads. ‘I can fly! I CAN FLY!’
    And she was off, soaring up the great trunk of Glitterwings. Shrieking and laughing, Twink glided and dived, looping the loop and twirling in the air. She couldn’t stop smiling. Her heart felt like it was shimmering with fairy dust.
    Suddenly Sunny was there, flying around her with excited chirps. Twink flung her arms around his neck.
    â€˜Oh, Sunny!’ she cried. ‘I can fly!’
    â€˜We had it all planned,’ laughed Pix at breakfast. ‘It was Bimi’s idea to pretend to have wing cramp, but you had to be all on your own, so that you’d have to fly! So we all got up really, really early this morning and snuck out of the Branch, taking Sunny with us –’
    â€˜He didn’t argue at all!’ broke in Sili, bouncing on her mushroom. ‘I think he knew what we were up to.’
    Twink’s wings still tingled with the joy of flying. She could hardly wait to be up in the air again. ‘How did you know I’d fly to save you?’ she asked Bimi.
    The blue-haired fairy smiled shyly. ‘I remembered how you jumped to help Lola when she fell that time in Flight class. And I thought that maybe if someone else needed help, you wouldn’t think about being scared – you’d just fly.’
    Twink took another seed cake from the oak-leaf platter. ‘Oh, Bimi, I’m so glad you were right!’
    â€˜Me too,’ said Bimi with a sudden smile. ‘I almost hit the ground for real!’ Everyone laughed.
    At the end of the table, Mariella’s face was a thundercloud. Sooze nudged Twink and grinned. ‘I told her we were playing a trick to get back at you for all those lines we had to do, so that you’d be late for breakfast and get into trouble. She could hardly wait to help us then!’
    Mariella flushed and put down her acorn cup. ‘Well, I don’t know why everyone is making such a stupid fuss! It took you so long to fly that you’ll probably never catch up with the rest of us anyway.’
    â€˜Especially Mariella,’ squeaked Lola. ‘She’s a wonderful flyer.’
    Twink rolled her eyes. Trust those two to try to dampen her spirits! But nothing could dampen them today. She smiled and rubbed her wings together, reliving the magic.
    â€˜But I still say I should have been the one to get to fall.’ Sooze pretended to sulk, and then giggled and brushed her wing against Twink’s. ‘Opposite, isn’t it glimmery? We can fly together to all our classes now!’
    Twink hesitated, and glanced across at Bimi. ‘Thanks, Sooze . . . but I’ll be flying with Bimi,’ she said softly.
    â€˜Oh!’ Sooze looked taken aback, and was silent for a moment. ‘Well . . . I suppose I’ll carry on flying with Sili and Zena, then. But we’re still Opposites, right?’
    â€˜Right!’ said Twink. And it was true. Sooze was a wonderful friend when things were going well – but Twink knew now that she’d rather have a best friend who was wonderful all the time. She and Bimi smiled at each other.
    A flutter of wings stirred the air as Mrs Lightwing landed beside their table. ‘What’s this I hear about a high-speed rescue this morning?’ she said sternly, crossing her arms.
    Twink jumped up, almost knocking over her cup of fresh morning dew. ‘Mrs