Power Play (5 page)

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Chapter Five

The day of the first Sparklelight game dawned bright and sunny. As the rest of Bluebell Branch slumbered, Twink stood at her window and gazed down at the Fledge field, wondering what the game was going to be like. Jacki was playing in Romi's place, and though she wasn't a bad player, she wasn't nearly as good as Romi. And Vera and Zayna were being just as difficult as ever.

It's going to be a disaster
,
thought Twink glumly.

There was a soft movement from the next bed, and then Bimi appeared at her side. ‘It'll all be fine,' she whispered, slipping her arm through Twink's.

Twink let out a breath. ‘Oh, Bimi, I hope so. But – but it just hasn't been easy so far, being the Games Fairy.'

She had told her best friend some of the problems she'd been having, and now Bimi gave her a little shake. ‘Twink, don't let what Romi said get to you! You
do
have what it takes, I'm certain of it.'

Twink slumped her chin on to her hand. ‘So how come it all feels like it's going so wrong?'

‘You just need time to find your best wing stroke, that's all,' soothed Bimi. ‘You've only been doing it for a few weeks – why, I bet even Madge wasn't perfect at first!'

Twink sighed. ‘Maybe.' Straightening up, she squeezed her best friend's arm. ‘Thanks, Bimi. Will you be at the game this afternoon?'

‘Try and stop me!' laughed Bimi.

As Twink skimmed on to the Fledge field later that day to meet the Sparklelight Games Fairy, she saw that most of the school had turned out for the game. The grandstand – made up of hundreds of tall mushrooms – was almost completely filled, packed with excited fairies looking forward to the first game of the year. ‘GO GLITTERWINGS!' sparkled several fairy-dust banners.

Twink gulped as she flitted to a stop. She was used to playing in front of crowds, but not when
she
was the one in charge of the team. How on earth could she play well today, with everyone watching her every move? For a moment she was tempted to put Kym in the game as well, and coach from the sidelines!

The Sparklelight Games Fairy was a tall silvery-haired girl named Tasha. She gave Twink a friendly smile as she joined her on the field. ‘Congratulations, Twink! I'd heard you were the new Games Fairy – that's really glimmery.'

‘Thanks,' said Twink, trying to smile. If Tasha only knew all the difficulties she'd been having! The older fairy gave her a curious look, but there wasn't time to talk. Their two teams were hovering on the sidelines, waiting to begin.

Visiting players always brought their own Flea, and now Tasha held up the cage. ‘Well, shall we get started? I think the Flea's getting restless.'

Twink nodded, and drew the casting pebbles from her pocket. The pebbles each had a white side and a black side, and whichever Games Fairy called the right colour got to choose whether her team would Guard or Steal.

‘Is that a new Flea?' asked Twink. The hairy little insect had bright orange spots on his legs, and was bouncing up and down like he could hardly wait to get started.

Tasha nodded with a grin. ‘We just got him a few days ago. He's a tricky one – you'll have to watch out!'

Twink won the casting, to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. ‘We'll be Stealers first,' she said promptly. Fledge was played for the best of two out of three matches, and being on the Stealer side was seen as having the advantage.

Tasha shrugged good-naturedly. ‘Two minutes,' she said, flying off to her team.

Twink swooped over to where her own team was gathered. Poor Jacki looked terrified! Summer seemed nervous, too, though she managed a shaky smile as Twink flew up.

‘Right, everyone,' said Twink. ‘They've got a new Flea, so they're not really used to him yet. Keep your eye on that Flea! Don't let him out of your sight for a moment.'

The new players were watching Twink intently, nodding as she spoke. Vera and Zayna just looked amused. ‘Oh, Twink, we know
how to play!'
said Vera with a confident laugh.

Twink bit back her response. ‘They've got a new fairy playing Guard as well,' she continued. ‘That girl with the short blue hair. Summer, I want you and Cassi to keep an eye on her especially.'

‘Ooh, and what are the rest of us meant to do?' giggled Zayna.

Taking it seriously would be nice!
thought Twink crossly. But before she could say anything, the school magpie gave his call, signalling that the game was about to begin.

Twink took a deep breath. ‘Come on, everyone. Let's show them what we've got!'

She took off with her team in a rush of wings. The two opposing sides gathered on the field, the Sparklelight Guards taking up their positions around the centre pole. Their Flea sat atop it, poised to spring.

Twink hovered with the other Stealers. To her relief, Vera and Zayna looked ready for action now. They were both good players, she reminded herself. Perhaps she'd been unreasonable to expect them to pay more attention during practice.

The magpie shrieked again, starting the game. Instantly, the Flea bounded off the centre pole, right over the Guards' heads. They jetted after him, but he was practically a blur as he leapt about the field.

Twink motioned quickly to Summer, who whizzed around a pole to block the Flea's path. The insect promptly bounded off again, straight towards Vera – but Vera hadn't noticed Summer's move, and was slow to react. The Flea soared past her.

Twink grimaced. That should have been easy!

The same thing kept happening again and again as the game went on. Vera and Zayna were trying their best, but they were both rusty, and not used to playing with the new team members. Soon the crowd was groaning in frustration at a series of near misses.

Even so, the Sparklelight team was coming off worse – their Flea was like a mad thing! The Guards had to spend their time desperately chasing after him, rather than tagging Stealers. As a result, Glitterwings managed to catch the Flea three times, winning the first match almost despite themselves.

But when the teams switched sides, Sparklelight suddenly had the advantage. Twink's cheeks burned as she watched her three Guards – Vera, Zayna and Jacki – lose the Flea time and again. The Sparklelight Stealers moved together like dancers. It took them no time at all to capture the Flea three times and win the second match.

The final game was like a repeat of the first – except that Sparklelight was getting better at working with their Flea! By the time the Glitterwings team had caught him twice, the Sparklelight Guards had tagged four Glitterwings players, leaving only Twink and Zayna.

The Flea perched on top of a post, twitching his feelers. Twink started towards him, and then all at once Tasha flew out of nowhere. No! Twink hurriedly dived through the hole in the post.

‘Oof!' grunted Tasha as she narrowly missed flying into it. The Flea waggled his tongue at her and then bounded off again, heading straight for Zayna as she zoomed away from a Guard.

Zayna didn't even see him. Twink winced as she and the Flea crashed into each other. Recovering herself quickly, Zayna just managed to snatch the insect from the air. ‘Got him!' she cried, holding him up.

The crowd cheered wildly, waving their banners and clapping their wings. Twink shook her head in a daze. Glitterwings had somehow won their first game of the year . . . but it certainly hadn't been through playing well!

After the game, the Glitterwings team hosted a small party for the Sparklelight players in the Glitterwings guest branch. Though Twink put a smile on her face as the two teams mingled and chatted, her heart wasn't in it.
What
was she going to do? She had to get her team into shape before their next game, but she had no idea how!

Tasha came up, sipping fizzy nectar from an acorn cup. ‘Good game, Twink,' she said cheerfully. ‘But you'll have to watch out for us next time, once we're more used to our Flea!'

Twink grimaced. ‘Yes, I know. In fact, I'm not really sure how we won
this
game.'

‘Well, you certainly had a bit of luck,' admitted Tasha with a smile. ‘What's up, Twink? Glitterwings usually has such a great team.'

Somehow, Twink found herself telling Tasha about the troubles she'd been having – how superior Vera seemed whenever she tried to talk to her, and how the fairies had been playing up during practices.

‘I
knew
we needed more than two practices a week,' finished Twink. ‘But everyone really hated the idea, so . . .' She trailed off.

Tasha had been listening sympathetically. ‘I suppose it can't be easy for you, being younger than half your players,' she said. ‘But Twink, you've really got to take control. You're not there to be their friend, you're there to be their leader! Who cares if they moan a bit? They'll soon get used to it.'

The chatter in the branch seemed to fade as Twink stared at her. ‘You – you're right,' she said slowly. ‘I've been so scared that the team won't like me that I haven't dared to put my wing down.'

Tasha gave her a friendly nudge. ‘Well, don't be scared any more,' she said. ‘You're a great player, Twink, and I bet you could be a good Games Fairy.' She grinned. ‘Mind you, I don't know why I'm telling you all this. It just means you'll probably beat us at our
next
game, too!'

Tasha flitted off to talk to one of her players, and Twink munched thoughtfully on a piece of honey cake, turning the words over in her mind. Suddenly she realised that Tasha's advice had been exactly the same as Romi's . . . though Tasha was so nice that it had sounded very different!

Twink felt an unexpected pang as she glanced around her at the party. Romi should be here with us, she thought. Maybe the purple-haired fairy was prickly sometimes, but she was an excellent player – one of the best Guards they'd ever had.

Then Twink remembered Romi's scornful tone, and her wings stiffened. Well, good Guard or not,
she
certainly wouldn't be asking Romi back on to the team. It was difficult enough being Games Fairy without having Romi there, sneering at her every move.

Things were about to change, though. Twink glanced over at Vera and Zayna, laughing together by the window, and her jaw tightened firmly. Tasha was right. She was going to get her team under control . . . whether they liked it or not!