Figurines

 

“Surrender or die!” Cade yelled. He was holding up a figurine of a mean looking goblin that acted as his General.

            “Never!” Blake retorted, holding up his own figurine of a wizard with a staff.

            The two boys had played for hours, imagining epic fight scenes and battles. Cade’s dad had collected and painted hundreds of figurines to use in his tabletop game. Cade was allowed to play with them as long as he was careful. The boys had set up their battleground in the basement. Rows of troops lined the floor.

            They played until Cade’s mom yelled out, “Blake, your mom called. She wants you home for dinner.”

            Cade groaned. They were almost to the end of their epic battle. Cade was going to win. “Aww, man,” he said sadly.

            “Just leave them out and we can finish tomorrow,” Blake suggested.

            “Nah, I can’t. My dad will be home soon and he doesn’t like it when I leave these out.” Slowly, Cade started picking up the figurines and putting them in their special box.

            Disappointed, Blake helped, too. “What does your dad do with these, anyway?”

            “They’re for his special game. Sometimes he gets together with his old friends and they basically use these to tell the story.”

            “Isn’t that what we do?” Blake asked, studying one of the figures that was a great big dragon with its wings spread out.

            “They have books and rules that they follow.”

            “That sounds kind of boring. Where’s the fun when you have to read?”

            Cade smiled. Blake was notorious for not wanting to read anything in school. “Apparently the books tell you which kinds of characters have more powers or whatever.” He picked up a figurine of a silver alien with big black eyes and showed it to Blake. “Like, maybe this alien would defeat that dragon in your hand.”

            Blake gave Cade a condescending look. “Come on, man. Dragons breathe fire. Nothing’s better than a dragon.”

            “Well, aliens have special weapons and laser guns. They could definitely take down a dragon.”

            “No way, dude. Dragon scales are impervious to lasers.”

            “Pew, pew!” Cade held up the alien, pretending to shoot at the dragon.

            “Whoa! The dragon’s scales sent the lasers ricocheting, and they hit your own army!” Blake made the dragon fly around.

            “Blake!” Cade’s mom called. “Cade! Have you guys finished cleaning up? Blake’s mom is waiting.”

            “Aww, man, I gotta go,” Blake said, putting the rest of the figurines away. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” With that, Blake grabbed his jacket and ran up the stairs. He lived less than a block away.

            Cade pulled out the alien figurine again and set it on a side table. This was actually one of his favorites. “I bet you could take down a dragon,” he said softly.

            To his surprise, the alien moved. It held up its laser gun and said, “This would most likely be ineffective against a dragon.” He held up a small metal ball in his other hand and said, “But this would create an explosion so large it would take down two or three dragons at once.”

            Cade’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “You’re alive?” he said in a small voice.

            “Well, not exactly. I’m made out of metal, but I just wanted to set the record straight.”

            Then another voice sounded out, saying, “That might take me out, but it would take you out as well.” Cade was again shocked to see that it was the dragon figurine who had spoken. “You aliens won’t use them unless you absolutely have to.”

            “Maybe,” the alien said, nodding his head. “But it’s still useful in keeping your fire at bay.”

            Cade couldn’t believe it. He’d always admired the figurines, but now they could talk! “I can’t wait to tell Blake,” he said softly.

            Both the alien and the dragon looked back up at him, and the alien said, “You can tell your friend if you want, but you know, he won’t believe you.”

            “Well, why don’t you tell him then?” Cade asked.

            “I don’t think so,” the alien said, shaking his head.

            “Why not?”

            “He’s not you,” the alien said simply.

            “Huh?”

            The dragon came up closer to Cade and said, “Your friend just thinks of us as toys. You, however, have really poured your imagination into us. You are the only one who can hear us. No one else believes as you do.”

            Suddenly, Cade’s dad came down the stairs. He was still in his suit and tie from work. He saw Cade with the figurines and said, “Did you and Blake have a battle today?”

            Cade blinked and looked back at the alien and the dragon. They had both turned back into still figurines. “Uh… yeah. You’ve really done a good job on these, Dad.” He pointed to the alien and said, “Did you know the alien could blow up the dragon with a special bomb?”

            “Yes,” Dad said, picking up the alien. “We’ve had him do that a few times during our game, but it’s a self-sacrificing move. He doesn’t survive after that.” He looked a little closer at Cade. “Are you interested in learning how the actual game works? Maybe I could teach you how to play now. I think you’re old enough. We’ll get you your own figurines and you can start building your army.”

            Cade closed his hand around the alien and the dragon. “Well, I really like these two. Could I use them?”

            Dad paused and then said, “Sure, you have those. I’ll get some more to replace them.”

            “Thanks, Dad!”

            And so Cade learned how to play the game with his Dad. Dad was always surprised at how much Cade knew about what his figurines could do. “It’s like you really know who they are,” he would say.

            Cade smiled, thinking that he did indeed know his figurines well. After all, they could speak for themselves.

A Magical Walk

 

            Rose was so excited. Finally, she was old enough to go with Cleo to the village. As a young witch, Rose hadn’t been allowed to venture out until she had learned all she needed to know about the mortal world. For fifteen long years, Rose had been confined to the cottage and the surrounding area. The forest was off-limits because it was full of magical creatures. Her mother had wanted to make sure she could handle herself against whatever she might come across.

            The bright sunshine kissed her face as Rose inhaled deeply. She was ready. “Come on, Cleo! Let’s go!” she shouted, anxious to get going.

            Cleo came out of the cottage with her basket on her arm. “All right, all right, I’m coming.” She looked sternly at Rose and said, “You’ve got your wand, right?”

            Rose showed her sister her wand in her hand. Then she slipped it inside her pocket. “Of course, now let’s go.” Then, for the first time ever, Rose crossed the magical border of their land and stepped into the deep, dark forest. She felt the protective magic leave her, but she continued on.

            At first, Rose looked carefully all around her as they started on the path to the village. She expected to see all the dangerous creatures her mother and sister had told her about, but she saw nothing. After nearly fifteen minutes of only seeing trees and bushes, Rose asked, “Where are they?”

            “Who?” Cleo asked.

            “You know, the dangerous magical creatures.”

            “There have been a few trips where I haven’t seen anything, but we’ve got a five-mile walk ahead of us. Plenty of time to run into something.”

            Appeased for the moment, Rose continued to look around as they walked along. After half an hour, she was starting to think that they wouldn’t see anything and was feeling disappointed. She was looking down at her feet when she heard a loud “snap.”

            Rose’s head jerked up and her eyes went wide as she saw a beautiful animal step onto the trail ahead of them. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw its white body with the silver horn sticking out of its forehead.

            “Amazing,” Rose breathed as she studied the unicorn. She and Cleo had both stopped to stare at the unicorn.

            “Wow,” Cleo said, sounding impressed. “I’ve actually never seen a unicorn before. They’re supposed to be super secretive and shy. Why would this one show itself to us?”

            Rose didn’t care why, she just wanted to get closer. The unicorn was more than twenty feet up the path, and it was grazing on the grass next to it. Rose slowly and silently started edging forward, watching the unicorn.

            The unicorn stopped its grazing and watched her. It seemed very patient and calm, not skittish like Rose would have thought. She slowly moved forward until she could reach out and touch the unicorn’s pure white fur.

            As Cleo watched her sister get closer and closer to the unicorn, something began to bother her. Why wasn’t the unicorn running away? This wasn’t normal unicorn behavior. Unicorns preferred to keep to themselves. When Rose had nearly reached the unicorn, something finally clicked in Cleo’s mind. “Wait, Rose, don’t touch it!” she shouted as she ran up right behind Rose.

            Rose actually had her hand extended and ready to pat the unicorn. “Why not? It’s like it’s waiting for me.”

            “But I think it’s a shapeshifter!” Cleo said desperately as she grabbed Rose’s hand just as Rose was about to touch the unicorn.

            The unicorn turned to glare at Cleo as Rose asked, “How do you know?”

            “There’s no way a real unicorn wouldn’t have run away by now.” She pulled Rose along by the arm, trying to get away from the unicorn.

            “Aww, come on!” Rose complained. “It’s just an innocent unicorn.” She pointed back to the unicorn, but it was gone. In its place was a nightmarish creature. A black, scraggly horse glared at them with red eyes. Long silver spikes ran along its back and two wicked-looking horns sat atop its head. It made a noise that was something between a horse’s neigh and a bear’s roar. It started to run after the girls.

            Rose yelped as she allowed Cleo to pull her along. Hoofbeats sounded behind them and urged her to move faster. Cleo grabbed her wand from her basket and spun around, just as the nightmare horse had nearly reached them. With a powerful burst of magic, Cleo performed a freezing spell.

            Rose watched as the creature immediately froze in place and ice formed all along its body. Cleo looked at Rose and said, “Never trust a unicorn that doesn’t automatically run off.”

            Rose swallowed, looking at the horse’s spikes that were as sharp as knives on its back. “Okay,” she said weakly.

            The rest of their walk to the village seemed uneventful after that. They did see a few more magical creatures on the way, but nothing else attacked them.

            Rose and Cleo conducted their business in the village, which fascinated Rose. The concept of money was completely new to her. When it was time to leave, however, Rose hesitated. Cleo guessed what was bothering her and said, “It’s okay. Those kinds of shapeshifters that we saw are very rare. I doubt we’ll come across one ever again.”

            Even so, Rose walked the entire way back to the cottage with her wand in her hand. When they finally stepped back over the magical border near their home, Rose relaxed in relief. She had never felt so glad to be home.

Weight Lifting

 

            Today was the day that Stella had been dreading: weight-lifting day in gym class. Stella had always been on the small side, and she wasn’t exactly athletically inclined. Gym was always torture for her, but today would be even worse because she would have to show everyone how puny she was. She supposed she had to have some muscles in her body, but to her they felt nonexistent.

            Taking as long as she could, Stella changed into her gym clothes and then slowly joined the rest of the class in the weight room. She knew she would be marked late, but it was worth it to not have to be one of the first on the weight machines. She joined the back of the line to watch the others in her class.

            They were working on the bench press today. Of course, the boys all wanted to show off how strong they were and tried to lift as much weight as they could. Stella wondered, again, when she would get her growth spurt. Her parents said that someday she would find her strength and her height, but she didn’t really know what that meant. So, she just waited to get taller and stronger. Now, she was in ninth grade, looking about the same as she did in seventh. People often mistook her for a seventh grader, and she was tired of telling them otherwise.

            When the boys finished showing off, it was the girls’ turn. Most of them weren’t able to lift nearly as much as the boys, but Stella knew it was still way more than what she could lift. As her turn got closer, she got more and more nervous. She didn’t want everyone to see what a complete weakling she was.

            When it was Stella’s turn, she lay down on the bench, looking up at the bar. She was determined to lift that weight no matter what. She didn’t need people laughing at her weakness, her height, and her athletic ineptitude too. Taking a deep breath, she put her hands up on the bar. Two spotters stood to the side in case they needed to help her or take off some weight.

            Taking a deep breath, Stella closed her eyes and focused. She was going to lift this bar. Exhaling, she pressed the bar with all of her might. To her surprise, she was able to lift it – easily. She did a few reps and set the bar back up like it didn’t weigh anything. Her spotters went to put on more weight while Stella marveled at her newfound strength. Looking at her arms, she saw muscles that definitely hadn’t been there before.

            She lifted the heavier bar down again and did a couple more reps. This was even easier than before! The spotters put more weight on, and other students were now coming over to watch. Her spotters added weights three more times, and Stella easily lifted it each time. She wasn’t even breaking a sweat. The whole class was now watching her. She had lifted more than any of the boys. Most of them were cheering, saying things like, “Come on, Stella!” and “You can do it, Stella!”

            When the spotters put even more weight on the bar, there were cries of “That’s over 200 pounds now! Wouldn’t that be a school record?”

            Stella was getting a little nervous. Shouldn’t it be physically impossible for her to do that? When she lifted the bar down again, she still did a few reps, but it was starting to get a little more difficult.

            “This next one will be 250 pounds!” her spotter cried next to her.

            A hush fell over the crowd as Stella lifted the bar, and she did a few reps with difficulty. Everyone cheered and people shouted, “More! More!”

            Soon, Stella was up to 300 pounds. Beads of sweat were running down her face now as she gripped the bar. Using all of her strength, she lifted it down over her chest and then slowly raised it up to set it back. Someone standing outside the weight room would probably have thought there had been an explosion or something. The cheering was deafening.

            Sitting up, Stella said, “That’s it, I can’t do any more.”

            Cries of protest rang out and everyone begged Stella to keep going.

            Reluctantly, Stella agreed and lay back down. The bar was set to 350 pounds. Once again, she gripped the bar, but when she pressed, she couldn’t lift it. Trying again, she took another deep breath and focused. She exhaled as she slowly lifted the bar over her chest. Everyone went quiet around her. She carefully lowered the bar and then brought it back up again.  As she did so, she noticed something strange about her arms. They seemed to be turning…red. Not red like she had been working out, but red, like the color of a red delicious apple. There also seemed to be small square shapes all over her arms. Shocked, she quickly set the bar back up.

            No one said anything as they all stared at her. Stella sat up and realized that her hands were also turning red with the strange square shapes. She felt so hot too. Not just sweaty, but like she was burning up from the inside.

            Stella ran to the locker room while everyone stared after her. She was scared when she looked in the mirror and saw that her face had changed and was still changing. Were those square shapes turning into scales?

            Stella ran away from gym class, and away from the school, and she didn’t stop until she reached home. It was a five-mile walk, but it only took her a few minutes. Her parents were still at work, so she called her mom and tried to explain what had happened. All that came out, however, was “Help! I’m red! Squares!”

            “Hold on, Stella,” Mom answered. “I’ll be right there!”

            Stella ran to her room and shut the door. She tried to calm down by lying on her bed, but she felt so different. Soon, she heard the front door open and Mom called out, “Stella, where are you?”

            “Up here,” Stella cried weakly.

            Footsteps sounded up the stairs and Mom knocked on the door. “Stella, can I come in?”

            “I look like a monster, Mom,” Stella said weakly.

            “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s totally normal.”

            When Stella heard those words, it took a few moments for them to sink in. Finally, she asked, “What is normal about this? I’m pretty sure that no one else has had this happen to them.”

            “Let me in, and we’ll talk about it.”

            Slowly, Stella opened her door and almost shut it again. “Mom?” she whispered. Her mother stood in front of her, but it wasn’t her mother as Stella knew her. Her skin was a deep magenta, and she was also covered in scales. Her face had stretched until she had a long scaly snout with sharp teeth showing from under her lips. Her eyes had changed and she had pupils like a cat’s. “You’re a…dragon?”

            “Yes, and so are you. Your dad is too. It manifests itself when you find your strength or your height, which you’ve obviously done today.”

            After the initial shock of finding out she was a dragon, Stella learned to embrace it. She learned to change her appearance at will and how to use her newfound dragon powers. The best was flying. It took a while to master, but her massive dragon wings took her places that no other fourteen-year-old could go. Becoming a dragon opened up worlds of wonder for her.

Motorcycle Gang

 

            Carter and Jason were best friends. They had met each other in kindergarten and had been inseparable ever since. Now they were starting sixth grade and would finally be at the top of the elementary school. They had epic plans for the school year that mostly revolved around football at recess. They were on their way to school, discussing tactics, when it happened.

            An enormous noise drowned everything else out. A roar of motorcycle engines echoed all around them. Carter and Jason looked behind them down the street and saw at least twenty motorcycles coming their way.

            The boys gaped from the sidewalk as the motorcycle gang rode by them. It was a continuous roar of engines as they passed.

            When the motorcycles had gone and they couldn’t hear their engines anymore, Carter asked, “Have you ever seen so many motorcycles together before?”

            Jason started to shake his head, but then he said, “Maybe at a parade or something. That was pretty amazing!”

            “Yeah. Did you see how they were all wearing matching jackets? That was really cool.”

            The football tactics were forgotten as the boys discussed the motorcycles. By the time they reached the school, they had both vowed that they would be part of a motorcycle gang together when they got older. They were planning what they were going to put on their matching jackets when Jason suddenly had a great idea. “Hey, I have a cousin who has a dirt bike. Maybe he would let us ride it and try it out.”

            Carter agreed wholeheartedly. They decided they would head over to Jason’s house after school to plan when they would get to ride the dirt bike.

            School seemed to take forever that day. Carter and Jason got to be the team captains during recess football, but their minds were elsewhere. They weren’t playing their A-game. Finally, school ended and they walked to Jason’s house. Jason called his cousin, Andy, to ask if they could ride his dirt bike. Andy agreed, so a few minutes later, Jason’s mom was driving both boys over to Andy’s house.

            Luckily, Andy only lived a short drive away and was pulling his bike out of the garage when they arrived. “Hey guys!” he said cheerfully when Carter and Jason stepped out of the car. He had just graduated high school last spring and was currently working for a lawn care company. Both boys idolized him.

            Jason and Andy gave each other a fist bump and Carter waved. Jason immediately launched into the story of how they had seen the motorcycle gang this morning and how totally awesome everyone looked in their matching jackets.

            “So, do you guys want to go for a ride?” Andy asked when Jason had finished.

            “Of course!” Jason cried excitedly.

            “Definitely,” Carter agreed.

            Andy showed them how the dirt bike worked, then demonstrated by kicking it to life and zooming off down the street.

            Carter couldn’t wait for his turn as Andy returned and Jason climbed onto the bike. It took Jason a few tries to get started, but then he zoomed around like he had been riding his whole life. Finally, he came back and it was Carter’s turn.

            Carter eagerly put on the motorcycle helmet and sat astride the bike. Andy coached him again on how to get it started and how to speed up and slow down. “It’s just like riding a regular bike, but with a lot more power,” Andy said as he slapped Carter on the back.

            Carter clumsily kicked the bike to start it, and almost before he was ready, he was off. Trees and mailboxes zoomed by him before he remembered he should probably slow down. He wondered if he should be scared, but this was so cool! He welcomed the wind blowing through his helmet and over his body. As he reached the top of the street, he let out a joyful, “Woohoo!”

            When he came back to where Andy and Jason were standing, Carter couldn’t control the enormous grin on his face. “That was unbelievable!”

            Carter and Jason had an amazing time with Andy and his dirt bike. When Jason’s mom came back to pick them up, they were already making plans for when they could come again. Carter leaned back in the seat, totally content. “This has been the best day ever!”

Lucky Day

 

            Keri was about to have the luckiest day of her life, but she didn’t know it yet. At the moment, she was just worried about today’s test in her history class. She kept reciting names and dates as she walked to school. She had studied them the night before, but she was still slightly worried.

            Keri held her notes in one hand and wasn’t paying too much attention to where she placed her feet until she nearly tripped over something on the sidewalk. Barely catching herself from falling flat on her face, she looked back to see what she had tripped over.

            A plain brown wallet lay right in the middle of the sidewalk. She looked around and didn’t see anyone else close by, which was a little weird because she was less than a block away from school. Usually there were at least a few other kids walking to school.

            Keri picked up the wallet, hoping to find some kind of ID inside. To her surprise, the wallet fell open, and it was stuffed full of bills. She gasped as she saw that most of them were $100 bills. There had to be at least $5000 inside.

            For a moment, Keri was unsure what to do. Her family wasn’t exactly poor, but they could definitely use this money. She rifled through the wallet, looking for an ID card, but there was only the cash inside. She felt frozen in time as she debated with herself about what to do.

            Finally, after pushing out visions of all the things she could buy with this money, she closed the wallet and straightened up. She wouldn’t keep it, but how was she going to return it?

            Keri decided to take it to school and give it to the office staff. They would know what to do. She hurried off to school before she could change her mind.

            The school secretary was surprised to learn that Keri had found so much money on the sidewalk, and that Keri was just going to turn it in.

            Keri tried not to think about it as she walked off to class. She refocused on studying for the history test. She didn’t know that someone was now watching her very closely. A woman moved effortlessly through the sea of junior high students. No one looked at her as she passed among them. Her eyes were fixed on Keri as she trailed her from a distance. All day, she shadowed Keri to each of her classes without saying a word to anyone.

            Keri didn’t notice until she left her history class, which was her third class of the day. Relieved after taking her test, she was able to pay more attention to her surroundings. She finally noticed the woman watching her as she walked to her next class. The woman didn’t seem to be doing anything and Keri wondered who she was.

            Every time the bell rang between classes, Keri would see the woman out in the hall, watching her. She stood with her arms folded, looking at Keri through thick glasses. Keri started to worry what would happen when it was time to go home. Would the woman follow her then? Who was she anyway?

            The minute school was over, Keri zipped outside, almost running to get home. She heard footsteps running up behind her, and she ran faster. She had gone three blocks before she finally heard the woman shout, “Wait! I only want to talk to you!”

            Keri chanced a glance behind her and saw that the woman had stopped running and was completely out of breath. Keri also stopped, but stayed far enough away that she could still run away if she needed to. “Who are you?” she called.

            The woman, taking great gulps of air, said, “My name is Anne, and I just want to talk to you.”

            “Why?” Keri asked suspiciously.

            “I wanted to thank you.”

            “For what?”

            “For turning in my wallet this morning.”

            “Oh.” Keri suddenly felt foolish for running away. “You’re welcome.” She tilted her head. “Why didn’t you just say that before?”

            Anne walked up to Keri, who waited patiently. “I wanted to wait and see if you were really the type of person that would appreciate what I’m about to offer you. Not many people would return a wallet full of cash. Trust me, I know.”

            Keri shifted a little nervously. It was a good thing that she had decided not to keep the money. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t mine, and I knew that if it was, I would want it back.”

            Anne studied Keri through her thick glasses. “I’ve been watching you today, and I would like to offer you something in thanks for returning my wallet.” She rummaged around in her handbag and pulled out a thin stick of wood. She held it out to Keri.

            Keri stared at the stick, confused. She finally took it saying, “Thanks?” Why would Anne think that Keri would want this?

            Anne smiled a knowing smile. “It’s a magic wand and I would like to teach you how to use it.”

            Keri wasn’t sure what to say. Was this woman crazy?

            Anne pulled out another stick from her handbag, and this time, she pointed it at a tree close by, saying words that Keri didn’t understand. The tree pulled itself out of the ground and then walked around Anne and Keri before settling itself back into the soil.

            Keri’s mouth fell open at what she had just seen. She couldn’t stop herself from shouting, “Yes, I want to learn how to use a magic wand! Please teach me!”

            Anne nodded and said, “I’ll arrange things with your parents, then. I look forward to seeing you soon.” She gave Keri a big smile and walked away.

            Keri turned to thank her again, but Anne had disappeared. Keri was left alone on the street with a wand in her hands. She ran home as fast as she could, grinning hugely. This was definitely her lucky day.

The Metallic Orb

 

            Cody couldn’t believe his luck when he found the figurine at the yard sale. It was a blue and gold dragon made out of metal that was about six inches tall. Cody had always thought that dragons were amazing, even if they weren’t real. This dragon became even more amazing when he saw the price tag. “It’s only a dollar!” he cried happily. He just so happened to have one dollar in his pocket.

            Cody paid for the dragon and then carefully carried it home. He was only a few blocks from his house, so it was an easy walk. He proudly showed it off to his older brother, Max, who was out riding his bike in front of the house. “Hey Max, check this out!”

            Max looked skeptically at the hunk of metal in Cody’s hands. “What is it?”

            Slightly confused, Cody replied, “It’s a dragon. Isn’t it cool?”

            “Looks like a metal blob to me.”

            Cody looked again at the finely crafted dragon. “What are you talking about? This thing is amazing!”

            Max shrugged. “Whatever.”

            Max rode away, and Cody was left thinking that older brothers can be so mean sometimes. He walked into the house and smelled dinner cooking. Wanting someone to notice how nice his yard sale find was, he went into the kitchen. “Hey, Mom, look what I found at the yard sale!”

            Mom glanced up from making dinner to look at the dragon. A strange look came over her face. “Erm, that’s nice, dear. How much did you pay for that?”

            “It was only a dollar!” Cody cried happily.

            Mom raised her eyebrows. “You probably should have just saved your money, sweetie.”

            Cody gaped at her. “Don’t you think it looks amazing?”

            Mom squinted her eyes and tilted her head. “Well…I guess it’s pretty cool for a block of metal.”

            “But…can’t you tell that it’s a dragon?”

            “Hmmm, well, I guess it could be a dragon, but I don’t want you spending any more of your money at yard sales.” She turned back to making dinner.

            Cody couldn’t believe it. How could Max and Mom not see how cool this dragon was? He took it upstairs to his room and sat down at his desk. He studied the fine details of the dragon. It had its wings spread as if it were about to take off. Cody studied the tiny grooves that were the dragon’s scales. It was impossible to mistake this figurine for anything but a dragon.

            Mom called up the stairs that it was time for dinner. Reluctantly, Cody set down the dragon on his dresser. The more he studied it, the more details he saw. The dragon almost looked alive. With one final glance, he turned around and went downstairs.

            After dinner, Cody had homework to do. By the time he came upstairs to bed, he was tired and had nearly forgotten about the metal dragon. As he went to set his alarm for the next day, however, he was reminded when he saw a jagged metal rock sitting on his dresser. “What the…?” he mumbled. What had happened to the dragon?

            Cody heard someone clear his throat behind him and he whirled around. At first, he didn’t see anyone, but then he saw blue and gold movement from his pillow.

            Cody’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when the blue and gold dragon spoke after clearing his throat again. “Good evening, Cody.”

            When Cody recovered from the shock, he answered. “H-h-hi.” He stared at the dragon that used to be the figurine on his dresser. “How are you alive? What happened to you?”

            Although the dragon was only six inches tall, he stretched his mighty wings and then sat on his haunches, looking almost like a small metallic cat. “My name is Apollo, and you have freed me from the metal orb.” He nodded to the jagged lump of metal on Cody’s dresser. “Now, I’m bound to serve you.”

            “So, you came out of the metal, then? How did that happen? Was it magic?”

            Apollo flicked his tail saying, “The orb is magic, but you were the one to see me inside it. All I needed was for someone to imagine me, and here you are.”

            “So, I imagined you then? I guess that makes sense…sort of. That’s why no one else could see you?” Cody was starting to understand why Max and Mom hadn’t seemed so interested in the dragon before.

            Apollo nodded. “I, as well as many others, have been trapped inside of the orb for a very long time.”

            “Others?” Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “You saw me, so that makes you and I bound to each other. Other people will have to see something else in the orb to free someone else. That’s why you must pass on the orb as soon as you can. It doesn’t happen often, but others may see something inside of it.”

            “Okay, so what do we do now? Will other people be able to see you, now that you’re free?”

            “No, I am bound to you and you alone. No one else can see or hear me. I will help you in any way I can, but you and I are now partners.”

            Cody thought this over and started to realize how awesome this could be. He’d always wanted a pet, but now he had something even better. Who wouldn’t want a secret dragon friend? He grinned and said, “Okay, Apollo, sounds great to me.”

            Just then, Max walked by and poked his head into Cody’s room. “Who are you talking to in here, Cody?” he asked.

            “No one,” Cody said, trying to appear nonchalant.

            Max looked around the room, and his eyes lit on the jagged metallic orb. “Whoa, where did you get that?” he asked, pointing to it.

            “I bought it at a yard sale today, but I’m thinking of getting rid of it now. Do you like it?”

            “Why would you get rid of that?” Max sounded surprised. “That’s the most life-like figurine of an eagle that I’ve ever seen.”

            Cody picked up the piece of metal and held it out to his brother. His eyes flicked over to Apollo, who had flown and landed on Cody’s shoulder. “You can have it,” he told his brother with a smile.

            “Wow, thanks Cody!”

            Cody grinned again. Brothers were meant to share, right? This would be the coolest shared secret ever.

The First Broomstick

 

            Cleo was unbelievably frustrated. She had spent more than a year developing a serum that would allow levitation in its subjects. All her research said that this should work. Her test subjects, however, weren’t cooperating.

            Her idea was to use the serum and inject it under the skin of the subject. Her calculations said that they should be able to lift off the ground and zoom around at will. She couldn’t test it on humans yet, of course, but her animal tests had all been complete failures.

            Cleo sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her colleagues had all laughed at her for taking on this project, and she was going to lose her funding if she didn’t produce results soon. She glared at the mouse inside its cage. It should be floating right now, but it remained rooted to the floor of the cage, calmly eating.

            All of her test experiments had turned out the same. She really wanted to move on to human testing, but she couldn’t without at least one successful animal test. She rubbed her eyes, thinking. It was getting late, but she felt like she was so close. It had always been a fanciful dream of hers to be able to push off the ground and fly around. She had to keep moving forward.

            Cleo thought about how amazing it would be to fly around wherever you wanted to go. It happened all the time in books and movies. Everyone knew stories about witches flying around on broomsticks.

            Cleo sat up so fast that she bumped into her desk, hitting the funny bone in her elbow. She rubbed it absentmindedly as she thought again about the idea that had just popped into her head. What if instead of making living things fly, I tried making inanimate objects fly, like broomsticks? She would have to modify the serum, maybe turn it into a coat of paint or something, but this could work.

            Cleo bent back over her desk, frantically making changes in her notes, then stepped over to the lab to create the paint.

            Half an hour later, Cleo was back in her office with the paint and an old broom that she had found in the janitor’s closet. Carefully, she painted the broom, wearing plastic gloves to protect her hands. She made sure to cover each strand of the broom’s brush. When she was done, the paint was gone, and Cleo waited for the broom to completely dry.

            Nearly bursting with anticipation, Cleo removed her gloves and set them haphazardly on her desk. She didn’t notice when they rose to the ceiling. She picked up the broom, checking for any wet paint. Then she waited for something to happen. When nothing did, she tossed the broom to the corner, feeling frustrated once again. Maybe she should just go home and try again tomorrow.

            To her surprise, the broom didn’t clatter to the floor like she expected it to. Turning to look at it, she saw that it was hovering in midair. Barely stopping herself from jumping up and down for joy, she grabbed the broom once again. She felt it vibrating under her hand.

            Cleo immediately wanted to try riding it. Straddling the broom, she slowly let her weight fall on it. It still seemed to be levitating, so she lifted her feet and felt a thrill when the broom held her weight.

            It only lasted a moment, however, because as soon as Cleo leaned forward slightly, she shot toward the open window in front of her. Holding on for dear life with her heart feeling as if it would beat out of her chest, she suddenly found herself outside. Her office was three stories up, so the ground was a long way down.

            Cleo leaned down to wrap her arms around the broom, and then she felt herself going even faster. She tried leaning back a little, and the broom slowed down. Feeling a little relieved, she tried getting the broom to turn around. She found that all she needed to do was lean slightly to the left or the right, and she would go in that direction.

            Eventually, she made it back to her office and through the window. She slowed down and dismounted, feeling an immense satisfaction. She had done it! No longer would flying witches on broomsticks be figments of someone’s imagination. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone that it hadn’t been impossible. They wouldn’t be laughing at her now.

            Cleo thought again of flying through the air with the night all around her and the wind whipping through her hair. Yes, she would show everyone tomorrow, but right now, she had to have that feeling again. Mounting the broom once more, she flew out the window, and this time, she let out a whoop of pure joy. It may have been more of a cackle, but Cleo thought it fit the night just right.

The Magic of the Cathedral

 

            Timothy hurried to the construction site. He wanted to get there before the foundation was finished. He lifted up the bottom of his robes so he could run. Shouts of “Good morning, Father!” and “Good day, Father!” followed him as he got closer to the site. There were a lot of people who had come to work on the new cathedral. This would be perfect.

            Timothy slowed down as he reached the center of activity. He looked over the nearly completed foundation and marveled at how huge this place was going to be. He drew his robes close around him and tried to appear pious. His disguise as a holy man would only work if he acted the part. He slowly walked the perimeter, pretending he was there to inspect the work as it progressed, but really, he was looking for a suitable place to perform the spell.

            He might have been dressed as a priest, but Timothy was actually a wizard. He had been looking for a permanent structure that would last a really long time, and a cathedral would fit that requirement. If everything he had heard about the new Notre Dame Cathedral turned out to be true, then this would be a truly massive building. It would take a very long time to complete, and it was meant to be around forever. This suited Timothy’s plans perfectly.

            The spell would tie his life to the life of the building and would allow him to find other young wizards and teach them about the magic in the world. Wizards usually lived longer than normal humans, but Timothy had already lived longer than most wizards. He had watched the magic in the world diminish alarmingly over the last five hundred years. He remembered when dragons actually flew in the sky and fairies didn’t feel the need to hide.  

            Timothy walked over to where the workers were digging and placing foundation stones. He would have preferred to cast his spell at night with no one around, but he would just have to create a distraction instead. Gripping his wand inside of his long sleeve, he muttered an incantation. Sparks flew out of his sleeve and streaked off behind him, landing in the back of a cart. That cart was full of hay bales, and the sparks immediately became flames, and soon the entire cart was engulfed in a burning inferno.

            People all around Timothy rushed in to help put out the flames. They could not let this fire get out of control. Timothy, meanwhile, took the opportunity to cast his spell on one of the remaining foundation stones that hadn’t yet been placed. Deftly cutting his palm with a small knife, he allowed a few drops of his blood to drip onto the stone. He then removed a vial of precious unicorn dust and sprinkled it over the stone. He then waved his wand and muttered a few words.

            With his work finished, Timothy walked over to join the rest of the crowd. Despite all their efforts, the fire had begun to spread. Several more carts and wagons now had flames coming off them. From inside his sleeve, Timothy waved his wand while muttering another incantation. After that, the flames lessened considerably, and people were able to put the fire out.

            Timothy smiled as he watched everyone return back to work. The foundation stones were laid, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief. This should allow him to live a much longer time and teach young wizards how to use their powers. It would also alert him to any new wizards in the area that would need guidance. He felt a hum resonate within him, and he knew that the magic was working. He looked around and immediately focused on a young man that was helping his father work on the cathedral.

            Timothy squared his shoulders and walked over to introduce himself. He needed to teach this new wizard everything he needed to know.

            Nearly 900 years later, Timothy no longer pretended to be a priest. He worked as a tour guide in the Notre Dame Cathedral. He had found and trained countless young wizards, and he still enjoyed his work. He shuddered when he thought of the horrific fire that nearly destroyed the cathedral a few years ago. It was a good thing he had chosen such an important building for his spell. The damage from the fire was being repaired, and the Cathedral would be around for many more years to come.

            Tourists were always amazed at his knowledge of the Cathedral. He knew the answers to everyone’s questions. Today’s tour group had the usual questions. As Timothy answered them, he felt the familiar hum of a new wizard nearby and turned to see a young man who looked a little bored.

            Timothy waited until the end of the tour, and then he slipped his card into the young man’s backpack. It had his website and email on it. He hoped the young man would contact him, but it would also allow him to know where the young man went. After so many years, Timothy knew everyone, and he could alert the wizard closest to the young man so he could still get a magical education.

A Horrible Day

 

            Jett knew that when life gave you lemons, you were supposed to make lemonade. At least that’s what his mom always said. But lately, he’d been given so many lemons, his lemonade would be way too sour. He really needed some sugar to sweeten up his life.

            Things had started off badly this morning when he realized he hadn’t done his homework from the night before. He tried to do it on the bus ride to school, but he had been in too much of a hurry and wasn’t able to finish. He handed it in to his teacher, knowing that he wouldn’t be getting a good grade. In math class, there was a pop quiz. Jett wasn’t totally surprised when he got a C- on it. In gym class, they played softball, which he usually loved. But it had rained the night before and the outfield was almost like a pond. Jett ended up covered in wet grass and soaked in mud.

            Lunch wasn’t much better. Jett had made himself his usual lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but somehow, his sandwich had slid out of the zippered bag and smeared jelly all over the inside of his backpack.

            By the afternoon, Jett was starving and upset. His bad mood got him into an argument with Ben in English class that led to both boys going to see the principal. Ben ended up with a black eye, and Jett’s lip was bleeding. When the bell rang, he got out of there as quickly as he could. He had a note he would have to show to his parents. He deflated inside when he thought about what his mom would say. On the bus, he plopped down in his usual seat and closed his eyes, just wanting this day to be over.

            Finally, the bus stopped at the top of his street, and Jett slowly got off. When his feet hit the sidewalk, he realized he must have made a mistake. Instead of looking down his street, he was standing in front of what looked like a bank building. He turned around to get back on the bus, but it was gone. Instead, there was a man wearing a shiny purple suit with a bowtie.

            Jett was so surprised that he just stared at the man before the man said, “Can I help you, young sir?”

            “Uhh, yes. I got off on the wrong stop and I need to get home. Where am I?”

            Jett expected the man to give him an address, but instead he said, “This is where you schedule your re-do.”

            “My what?”

            “Your re-do. If you have a bad day, sometimes you can be chosen to have the day to live over again.”

            Jett’s brain stopped for a moment. “I get a re-do? How come?” He thought back over his day and realized that he could have made some better decisions. If he could go back and do it again, that would really make it so much better.

            The man in the purple suit looked kindly at Jett. “It’s your lucky day! Just go in the front doors and step up to the counter.”

            Jett walked up to the doors that turned out to be purple with pink polka dots. He pushed them open to reveal what looked like a colorful circus. The people inside were all wearing bright colored suits with bowties. There was every color of the rainbow represented.

            Jett walked up to the counter where a woman in a glittery lavender suit greeted him by saying, “What’s your name, dear?”

            “Jett Phillips,” Jett replied a little nervously.

            The woman consulted a list in front of her. “Ahh, yes, it looks like you had a pretty rough day at school today. Lucky for you, you get another chance.”

            “How exactly does that work?” Jett asked curiously.

            “It’s a fairly simple process. Just let us know how far back you’d like to go, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

            “What do you mean, how far back?”

            The woman straightened a stack of papers and said, “At what point would you like to restart your day?”

            Jett thought about when his troubles began. “I know!” he said excitedly. “I want to go back to 8 PM from last night when I should have been doing my homework. If I can finish it yesterday, I’ll be able to turn it in in the morning.”

            The woman wrote something down in a big ledger. When she finished, she looked up and said, “All right, I’ve got you down for 8 PM last night. All you need to do is sign here.” She handed Jett a piece of paper.

            After quickly looking it over, Jett signed his name at the bottom. He handed the paper back to the woman.

            “Okay,” she said brusquely. “Please exit through the orange doors.” She gestured off to her right, where Jett saw some vibrant orange doors.

            “Okay, thanks,” Jett said, grinning. He walked toward the doors and actually had his hand on it when he thought to turn around and ask, “So when do I get to restart?”

            The large circus-like room was gone, and Jett found himself in his own kitchen. Confused, Jett whirled around, but the orange doors were gone too. He must have just gotten a drink out of the refrigerator. There was a cold glass of milk in his hand. Outside the window it was dark. Did it work? he thought, wondering if this could actually be happening.

            Jett ran out into the hall where his backpack stood in its normal place. Looking inside, there was no sticky jelly mess and his homework assignment worksheet was blank. “I really do get a re-do,” he whispered excitedly. He immediately pulled out his assignment and this time, he took the time he needed to finish it correctly.

            Later, Jett went to bed, excited for tomorrow. He fell asleep, telling himself things like, “Go around the giant puddle by first base,” and “Make sure the sandwich bag is totally zipped shut.”

            Jett had a great day after he got up the next morning. He confidently turned in his homework. Because he had done it correctly, the pop quiz didn’t seem as hard as it had been before. Jett spent the entire gym class trying to stay away from the large bodies of water on the softball field. His lunch tasted perfect.

            As he rode the bus home, Jett thought about the re-do circus place and hoped that if he ever had another bad day, he would get lucky enough to get another re-do. He would be totally fine having a do-over for all of his bad days. That would be awesome.

A Skateboarding Tale

 

            Kristy crashed down – hard. “Ow,” she moaned softly.

            Her friend, Becca, skated toward her, concern etched on her face. “Are you okay? That was a pretty big wipeout.”

            Kristy stood up, wincing when she tried to put weight on her leg. She hobbled over to where her skateboard had rolled away and picked it up. “I think I’m okay,” she said slowly. “But I must have landed wrong. My leg really hurts.”

            “Well, I saw how you fell,” Becca said in concern. “You tripped over your skateboard somehow and then it looked like you kind of sat on it sideways as you fell. I’ll bet your leg really hurt after that.”

            Kristy rubbed her thigh ruefully. “I guess I’d better be done skating for today.” She picked up her skateboard and started home, with Becca skating beside her. Kristy had just recently gotten into skateboarding after her uncle gave her a skateboard for her birthday. She had been a little dubious about it at first, but then she discovered that she really enjoyed it. She had convinced Becca to get a skateboard too, and most afternoons, they could be seen skating around the neighborhood.

            Kristy’s leg ached, and after saying goodbye to Becca, she went inside to check the extent of the damage. Carefully rolling up her pant leg, she saw a massive bruise forming just above her knee. “Ow,” she said again.

            Mom saw and said, “Ooh, you might want to get some ice for that, sweetie.”

            Kristy looked up at Mom worriedly and said, “Do you think it’s broken?”

            Mom shook her head and said, “No. If it were broken, you wouldn’t be able to walk at all.”

            Over the next few days, Kristy’s leg healed, but the bruise turned all different colors before it finally started to disappear. During this time, she didn’t want to get back on her skateboard. Every time Becca asked her to go skating, she would give excuses. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was scared. She was afraid of her skateboard and falling again. She and Becca found other things to do. Her skateboard lay forgotten in the garage.

            Months later, Kristy found her skateboard again while looking for something else. She took it out and looked it over. In dismay, she realized that someone had scratched the word “Coward” into the smooth purple underside of the skateboard. Who would do that? Kristy was an only child, and she couldn’t imagine her parents doing something like this.

            Kristy was still staring at her board in disbelief when she heard a small voice say, “So, is it true?”

            Kristy’s eyes snapped up, looking for the source of the voice. What she saw was a small creature, about six inches high. It looked like a tiny gnome or something with his hands on his hips. He was looking at Kristy accusingly. “What do you mean?” she finally said when she got over her shock.

            “Are you a coward?”

            “No, I mean, I don’t think so.” She looked closely at the creature’s angry face and asked, “Who are you?”

            “My name is Hobart, and I’m the guardian of this house. Some might call me a brownie or a hobgoblin.”

            Kristy felt her eyes widen at this statement. “Our family has lived here for my whole life. Why have I never seen you before?”

            “Well, I’ve never felt the need to talk to you before, but now I can’t keep quiet. I’ve gotten used to all of your faults, but I will not tolerate cowardice in this house.” Hobart glared at Kristy.

            “But I’m not a coward!” Kristy cried shrilly.

            “Then why haven’t you ridden your skateboard for months?”

            Kristy shifted her feet a little uneasily. “I’ve been busy.”

            “No, you’re scared. I watched you before you had your little crash. Didn’t you love it?”

            “Well, yeah,” Kristy answered in a small voice. “But I really don’t want to get hurt again. If that makes me a coward, then I guess I am.”

            The look on Hobart’s face softened a little. “Come on, all you need to do is get back on the skateboard. As long as you wear your safety gear, you can’t really get too badly injured. Where are your skate pads and helmet?”

            Kristy looked toward the other side of the garage where her skate equipment had sat for months. “Okay, I’ll try it,” she said with a sigh. She picked up her skateboard and safety equipment and hauled it out to the driveway. She put all the pads in place and buckled her helmet on. She stood up and placed her skateboard on the ground in front of her. Then she paused, looking back toward the garage. She could just make out Hobart giving her a thumbs up.

            Okay, she could do this. Taking a deep breath, she slowly placed one foot on the board and pushed off with her other foot. She skated up and down the driveway a few times before she realized something. This was fun. She looked back at Hobart, grinning, but he had disappeared.

            Kristy spent over an hour skateboarding outside. When Becca came over to hang out, she ran back home for her own skateboard. The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon skating around the neighborhood.  Finally, when Kristy came back in the garage to put her skateboard away, she looked around for Hobart. There was no sign of him, so she quietly said, “Thanks, Hobart,” before she went inside.

            The next afternoon, Kristy went to grab her skateboard again from the garage. This time, instead of the word “Coward” scratched into the board, it was smooth once more. Kristy ran her hand along where the word used to be, wondering if she had imagined seeing Hobart yesterday. That’s when she noticed a small painting on the end of her board. It said “Courageous.” Knowing now that she hadn’t imagined Hobart, she grinned and went outside to skate.