Power Play by Titania Woods Page A

important.’ She held her breath, waiting.
    Romi hesitated. ‘All right,’ she said finally. ‘But, Twink –’
    â€˜Thanks, Romi!’ broke in Twink with a grin. She flew quickly into the Great Branch before Romi could say anything else, feeling as if a weight had fallen from her wings.
    Even so, when it came time for the meeting, Twink found it difficult to get the words out. Her team sat gazing at her in confusion, clearly wondering what was up. Romi perched to one side, not saying a word.
    Twink cleared her throat. ‘I’ve, um . . . asked you all to be here because I wanted to say a few things. The first is . . . I’m sorry.’
    A surprised ripple passed through the team. Twink’s cheeks reddened as she continued. ‘You’ve probably heard that Summer’s quit, and . . . well, I know it’s all my fault. I’ve been horrid, always shouting and never saying anything nice to any of you. And – and that was really wrong of me, because you’ve been playing brilliantly these last few weeks!’
    Her team stared at her in stunned silence. Twink swallowed hard. ‘You see, I – I haven’t found it very easy being the Games Fairy. I didn’t know the best way to lead, and . . . I think I’ve made sort of a mess of it.’
    Oh, she hadn’t wanted to cry! But she could feel tears filling her eyes, and she swiped them away angrily.
    â€˜So that’s why I’ve asked Romi to be here today,’ she said. ‘Because I think that she –’
    Romi stood up. ‘Twink’s asked me to join the team again, and I’ve accepted,’ she interrupted. ‘And I’d like to say something, too. Twink, I shouldn’t have been teaching the Power Play when you’d told me not to. It won’t happen again.’

    Twink’s mouth dropped open. Romi stared back at her. Go along with it! her gaze said.
    â€˜Um . . . good,’ faltered Twink, her thoughts spinning. ‘Well – welcome back to the team, Romi. There’s not going to be a practice today, everyone,’ she added quickly. ‘You’ve all been working really hard, and – and I think three practices a week is probably plenty from now on. See you tomorrow.’
    As her team flitted out, Vera and Zayna hung back, looking uncomfortable. ‘Twink, we’re sorry too,’ burst out Vera. ‘Zayna and I made things pretty tough for you at first, didn’t we?’
    Zayna nodded sheepishly. ‘We just wanted to relax and have some fun, with Madge gone, but – but it wasn’t very nice of us. We’re really sorry.’
    â€˜That’s OK,’ murmured Twink in amazement. She stared after the two fairies as they left, and then slowly turned to Romi. ‘Why did you do that?’ she demanded.
    Romi lifted a wing. ‘You were going to quit, weren’t you? And ask the others if they’d have me as Games Fairy instead.’
    â€˜Yes, and it would have been the right thing to do!’ burst out Twink. ‘I’ve been thinking, and I can see now that you were right. I – I just don’t have what it takes.’ Her throat felt sandy suddenly, and she looked away.
    Taking her arm, Romi sat them both down on one of the bark benches. ‘It wouldn’t have been the right thing,’ she insisted. ‘I’ve been doing some thinking too, Twink. The team elected you, not me.’
    Twink made a face. ‘Yes, but only because Vera didn’t want to have to work hard – you heard her just now!’
    â€˜Maybe,’ said Romi, tapping her wings together. ‘But they still elected you, and I think you could be brilliant, if you tried.’
    â€˜If I tried!’ echoed Twink. She laughed in disbelief. ‘All I’ve been doing is trying – nothing seems to work!’
    Romi rolled her eyes. ‘You’ve tried being some tough fairy, barking orders, and