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  Chapter Twelve

  "Tho then, on July fourth theveheventy thikth, the Decrathion of Indepehe was thigned."

  Muffled ughter bubbled up from behind Rothington as he scribbled on the whiteboard, and he spun around, his face red.

  "Who wath that?" he demanded, air whistling through the gap in his teeth that Aesop had created when he'd stolen his gold tooth. "Who'th ughing at me?"

  And just like that, the entire css was silent. Judging from the solemn looks on our faces, you would have thought we were all at a funeral. The ughter still danced in the air above our heads, a rainbow mist that rose and fell with the tune of a song we couldn't hear, but it wasn't like Mr. Rothington could see that. He was, after all, just a human.

  A human with the fu speech impediment in the world, but—

  I bit my tongue, but couldn't stop myself from sn in ughter. Mr. Rothington spun to gre at me, and I quickly started coughing, hoping the gap in his brains was at least as big as the gap in his teeth, and he'd fall for it.

  "There'th nothing funny about being thtolen from," he thnapped—I mean, snapped. "Nothing! That tooth wath ekthpenthive. Do you think I afford another one on a teacher'th thary? I don't know who did thith, or how, but I will find out! Then I'll make sure they're ekthpelled!"

  Wheurned back to the board, I looked up at the delicious cloud of ughter and, trying not to attract attention, took a deep breath and sucked it all in. Energy exploded in my chest, rag through my veins to reinvigorate me. It was like I was Fraein's monster, and a pair of jumper cables had been attached to my neck.

  "Now, the retht of greth didn't thighn the decrathion until Augutht thed," Mr. Rothington tinued. "At that point…"

  I let his voice fade from my attention, until it was just a faint and distant hum. Grabbing my backpack off the floor, I set it on my desk and—after gng around to make sure no one was watg—unzipped it.

  "You all right in there?" I whispered, stig my head a little ways inside.

  Ethan glowered up at me with all his tiny fairy rage. "Let me out!"

  "Shh, be quiet!" I hissed. "Do you want the others to hear you?"

  "I want out of here!" he pouted, petuntly l his voice. "It's s in here—and it smells like death too!"

  "Don't be so dramatic. That's just my leftover peanut butter and pickle sandwich." I tapped my finger against a brown bag that had long ago been smashed by my schoolbooks. "It's only been in there a year or so, so it 't smell that bad yet!"

  "When I e out?"

  Jeez, talk about a orack mind.

  "I'll let you out during lunch, I promise. For now, just keep—"

  Suddenly, my backpack was snatched away.

  "Who are you thpeaking to?" demanded Mr. Rothington. "Do you have a thell phone in there?"

  "Wait, don't!" I yelled, lunging to grab my bag. I missed, though, and Mr. Rothington carried it to the front of the room. "Stop!"

  "You have it back when cth endth," he said.

  No, no, no! I thought, but all I could do—short of Sptsying him right in front of everybody—was watch with teeth ched as he opened up the bag, looked inside…

  And gred at me.

  "Where'th the phone, Henry?"

  Every eye in the room turo look at me. I sat there, dumbfounded. Where was my…phone? Why the refrigerated turkey sandwich would he ask me that when there was a freaking fairy right in front of him?

  My answer came when I spotted a little blue shape flit behind Mr. Rothington's head. Luckily, being the ter of attention for the moment, I was the only one who saw it.

  I just hoped Ethan was smart enough to keep it that—

  Zap!

  I sighed as Mr. Rothington yelped in pain, spinning around to see what had shocked him. Ethan had already flown away, and was hiding behind the coffee mug oeacher's desk.

  "Mutht be thomething wrong with the lightth," Mr. Rothington mumbled, his eye twitg.

  I let out the breath I'd been holding. Fihis was fine. As long as Ethan stayed out of sight, I could still make this work.

  As if you'd be that lucky, the voi my head taunted me.

  Sure enough, the ime I g the desk, Ethan was o be seen.

  Caramel apple sundaes!

  Trying to stay inspicuous, I looked around the room. Up front, Mr. Rothington had mao collect himself aurn to the lesson. For a sed, I dared to hope that meant I'd be the only one looking around—which was the universe's cue to do the exact opposite. Now that the little show he and I had put on was over, my cssmates had promptly gone back to their daydreaming. I had to bite my too keep from cursing under my breath. All it would take was one person looking in the wrong dire, ahan's stupid little secret would be out.

  e on, e on, I thought, nervously drumming my fingers on my desk. Where’d you go, you little blue butthole?

  Zap!

  I spun around in my seat as someone in the back of the room squeaked in pain, but Ethan was already gone. His unfortuarget was rubbing a sore spot on the back of his neck, giving an evil gre to the people sittio him.

  A glimmer of blue caught my eye, and I snapped my head around just in time to see Ethan nd on one of the decorative shelves up he ceiling—right o Mr. Rothington's globe. Rubbing his hands together in wicked glee, he braced himself against it and gave it a shove. His pathetic fairy strength only moved it about an inch, but it would only take three or four more io send it toppling over the edge…right onto poor Mr. Rothington’s head.

  Don't you do it, I thought, desperately trying to broadcast my thoughts to him. If you do, I swear I'll pluck those stupid little wings off AND MAKE YOU EAT THEM!

  He pushed it again, and the globe teetered, on the verge of falling. Mr. Rothington just kept talking, pletely oblivious to the danger he was in. One more push was all it would take, and Mr. Rothington would get ked by a freefalling p. Ethan's judgment was obviously being affected by the NuYu pill, which meant that it fell to me, his guardian, to keep him from hurting people.

  So I threw my shoe at Mr. Rothington.

  hty soared as gracefully across the as a shoe possibly could, and struck Mr. Rothington in the back of the head hard enough to sm his fato the whiteboard.

  The entire css went silent.

  "Who," demanded Mr. Rothington with the words ‘War of Inde’ written backwards across his face, "did that?"

  Every finger in the poi me. Mr. Rothington's face turned as red as Cousin Gumdrop's hair, and—

  The globe fell, missing him by half an ind shattering on the floor.

  "What the hell?" he excimed, looking down at it, and then up at the shelf where Ethan was still standing!

  "Hey, everybody look at me!" I shouted. Ag purely on my Hunter's instincts, I jumped up to stand on top of my desk. Everyoared at me with a mixture of fusion, fear, and amusement. Now I just o keep their attention. "I have something to say!"

  "Have you lotht your mind?" Mr. Rothington screeched. "Get down from there thith inthtant!"

  I stayed where I was. "I o say that…I love you, Mr. Rothington!"

  I leaped from the desk and sprio the front of the room, giving my fused history teacher a big hug.

  "Stay with me!" I pleaded. "Marry me and be mine forever and ever and—"

  "Get your handth off of me!" he snapped, shoving me away.

  I let him push me, wreng my shoe out of his grip as I did so. I even swooned dramatically for effect, and in the process I gnced up and scowled when I saw Ethan still standing on the shelf above me. Nobody had seen him yet, thanks to my noble and selfless sacrifice, but how much longer would that st? It would just take oray look for someoo spot him, and thehan and I were both dead!

  "Oh, Harold!" I cried, using his first name. "You're breaking my heart!"

  "Thtop thaying that!" he yelled. "Do you know how much trouble I could get in?"

  I folded my hands in prayer. "Isn't the trouble worth it, darling? You said there wasn't anything you wouldn't—"

  "SHUT UP! SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!"

  While he yelled and ranted, I looked up and finally saw Ethan leave the shelf. His tiny wings were a blur as he flew from the front of the to the back—stopping to hht o the window.

  Suddenly, I had an idea.

  "Henry Rider!" Mr. Rothington roared. "Thtop thith ridiculouthh right now and—"

  "Harold Rothington," I decred, trying to sound as heartbroken as possible, "if you won't accept my love, then I…I don't want to live anymore!"

  He blinked. "Wha…"

  I turned away from him. "So long, cruel world!"

  And with that, I sprinted across the room, winding iweeher students' desks. I o do this fast, while they were all focused on me. Just as I reached the back of the room, I jumped. With one hand, I snatched Ethan out of the air.

  Then I crashed face first through the window.

  "I'll always love you!" I yelled over my shoulder as gravity took hold of me.

  Mr. Rothington's css was ohird floor. As I fell, still clutg Ethan in one hand, I thrust my other hand into my backpack. My fingers ed around the sharp stone edges of the Escher Cube. Without pulling it out, I gave it a spin. I had my destination so ingrained in my memory that I didn't eveo look.

  Half a sed before I hit the ground, I vanished in a fsh of white light.