Wished Read online

  Also by Jen Calonita

  Fairy Tale Reform School

  Flunked

  Charmed

  Tricked

  Switched

  Royal Academy Rebels

  Misfits

  Outlaws

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  Books. Change. Lives.

  Copyright © 2019 by Jen Calonita

  Cover and internal design ©2019 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover image by Michael Heath/Shannon Associates

  Series design by Regina Flath

  Internal art © Samarskaya/iStock; Kozyreva Elena/Shutterstock; Veronika Rumko/Shutterstock

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  Fax: (630) 961-2168

  sourcebooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Calonita, Jen, author.

  Title: Wished / Jen Calonita.

  Description: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, [2019] | Series: Fairy Tale Reform School ; #5 | Summary: Maxine, with the help of an over-enthusiastic genie, makes a wish that has everyone at the Fairy Tale Reform School focusing on producing a musical rather than figuring out how to combat Rumpelstiltskin.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018040407 | (hardcover : alk. paper)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Fairy tales--Fiction. | Characters in literature--Fiction. | Genies--Fiction. | Musicals--Fiction. | Theater--Fiction. | Reformatories--Fiction. | Schools--Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.C1364 Wk 2019 | DDC [Fic]--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018040407

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Acknowledgments

  A Sneak Peek of Misfits

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  For Katherine Prosswimmer, my partner in crime.

  Be careful what you wish for…

  Happily Ever After Scrolls

  Brought to you by FairyWeb—Enchantasia’s Number One News Source!

  Enchantasia on High Alert

  by Coco Collette

  Hold on to your wands and take a deep breath. At a recent village meeting, the royal court admitted an attack on Enchantasia could be imminent.

  “We regret to inform you that Rumpelstiltskin is now in possession of Alva’s statue,” announced Princess Rose, in her first public appearance in months. “If he finds a way to free her from her cement bonds, we fear these two villains will be unstoppable.” (While this news is upsetting, this reporter must note the former Sleeping Beauty looked great and revealed her “curse has been lifted.”)

  The announcement sent those in attendance into a panic, but Princess Ella was quick to offer some assurances.

  “We don’t know what Rumpelstiltskin has planned, but we are doing everything we can to protect our kingdom.”

  The royal court wouldn’t say what measures they’re taking to ensure their citizens’ safety, but Princess Snow said the Dwarf Police Squad has been meeting with the royal court daily to discuss security upgrades and leads.

  “Our forces are patrolling the countryside for any sign of Rumpelstiltskin and his squad,” said Princess Snow. “Police Chief Pete wants us to remind you: If you see something amiss in your fairy garden or vegetable patch, say something. We will follow up on all leads.” Many citizens are already flocking to Red’s Ready-for-Anything Shoppe to purchase cloaking devices, powerful wands, and disappearing doors to protect their families.

  “We encourage you to be cautious, but don’t let your fears control you,” added Princess Ella. “Go about your day and trust that the royal court will keep you well informed.” Despite her assurances, many in attendance still worried about the royal court’s effectiveness in protecting the students at Fairy Tale Reform School.

  The school has been attacked by Alva and Rumpelstiltskin in the past, and both villains have lured students away to join their cause. “Don’t worry,” Rapunzel told the group. “Fairy Tale Reform School is being well taken care of.”

  Stay tuned for details on an imminent attack by Rumpelstiltskin and Alva!

  Chapter 1

  Ready for Anything

  “Attack!”

  The battle cry comes from Rapunzel as she races out of Fairy Tale Reform School with dozens of students on her heels. Every one of them has their training wand aimed and ready to strike if necessary.

  Normally, we can only use our training wands in Wanding 101 or Intermediate Wanding, but as Headmistress Flora says, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  “To the fields beyond the corn maze!” Rapunzel instructs. “Any moment they’ll be upon us!”

  Students stream out of the building with crossbows, bows and arrows, and slingshots. Others hold burlap bags containing potions and spell books or take to the sky on magic carpets and Pegasi. I blink rapidly when I spot a few daring kids even traveling by bubble. Professor Harlow whipped them up in her lab last week and showed them to us during a school security briefing—we have those weekly now—but the one she tested on Porter Millicent popped when he was only a few feet off the ground. I know she made modifications, but I think I’ll take my chances by foot.

  Zoom!

  I duck as a spell shoots right over my head.

  “Sorry!” Maxine calls, lumbering toward me. “Are you all right?”

  The bush behind me has caught fire. I grab a pitcher of water from a nearby wishing well (Please. What a crock!) and pour it on the bush. No wishes granted, but the fire is out.

  Maxine wipes the drool from her mouth. “I misfired again because the wand is too small for my fingers.” She shows me her ogre hands, which are twice the size of mine. “Why do we have to use these things?”

  “You don’t.” I pull an arrow from my pack. I set it up in the bow, pull back the string, and aim at the woods way off in the distance. They’ll be coming from that way. I let go of the quiver and whoosh! My arrow lights on fire, raining sparks as it flies through the air toward its final destination. Brilliant.


  “Wow,” Maxine marvels, her right eye rolling in its socket.

  “Don’t give Gilly credit for that move.” Jocelyn saunters over with two fireballs whirring in her outstretched hands. “It was my idea.” She throws one of the fireballs into the air, and it travels for miles before landing in the trees a ways off. “That should slow them down.”

  Maxine frowns. “You’re using an awful lot of magic lately.”

  Jocelyn narrows her dark eyes. Sometimes she looks so much like her big sister, Harlow (a.k.a. the Evil Queen), it’s uncanny—the creamy-white skin, jet-black hair, and permanent sinister smile…or scowl.

  “So what?” Jocelyn smarts. “Harlow and Headmistress Flora say it’s allowed because we’re at war. You’d be smart to learn some spells yourself, Maxine.” She points her finger at Maxine’s wand, mumbles a few words, and the wand begins to glow. “There. At least now you can disarm those scummy squad members if they come your way. One wave and you’ll send them flying a hundred feet.” She laughs wickedly.

  “Aaaooooh!”

  The beastly cry makes even the bravest kid stop for a second and look around. My friends and I turn to the open castle doors and watch as a wolf in a purple party dress runs past us on all fours.

  “Good girl, AG!” says Ollie, patting our friend on the back as she snuffles the wiry vegetable plants and eats a tomato from the vine. “Sniff out those evil candy-loving thugs and their friends. Which way did they go, girl?” he asks in a baby voice. “Which way?”

  “Ollie, show some respect,” I snap. “She’s royalty.” She’s also the daughter of Prince Sebastian (a.k.a. the Beast, a.k.a. our professor) and Beauty (our magical librarian). Even in her beastly state, they’d be horrified if they learned Ollie was talking to her like she was a dog.

  “A princess with a great sense of smell,” Ollie says and winks at me. He’s dressed for battle in his favorite blue velvet pirate coat he claims was a gift from a pirate on the island of Camazoo, and his dark hair is covered with a black skull-and-crossbones bandanna. Under his eyes, he has blue and black paint swiped across his brown skin. Ollie says even during war, it’s important the other side knows who they’re fighting (which is why he wears the Fairy Tale Reform School colors even when he’s not in uniform).

  “Okay, mate, go terrorize that evil troll and his friends!” He holds out an ivory handkerchief with the initials RS stitched into it in front of AG’s…er…snout. “This was his. Get a good whiff.” AG howls again and sprints away.

  “Where’d you get that?” asks Jax, walking up behind us with a large scroll, a map, and a quill. It was seven in the morning when we found out we were under attack, but somehow his uniform is neatly pressed and his sash is in place. I don’t know how he always manages to look like a prince even when he has no warning. My uniform is buttoned wrong and I didn’t have time to comb my hair, but I did grab my bow and arrow, so there!

  Ollie grins. “Swiped it from Rumpelstiltskin one time when we were in his office.” He waves it in the air, and it comes this close to being taken out by a rogue spell. “Always knew it would come in handy!”

  We really should find cover.

  “Excellent. I’ll need that when you’re done today.” Jax writes something on his scroll, and we all look at each other. Even Maxine rolls her eyes.

  Flora, Harlow, and Rapunzel named Jax as Student Director of Battle Affairs, and well, the newfound power has made his head become as inflated as Humpty Dumpty.

  He looks up at us, and we look away.

  “I’ve got all the students accounted for and at their checkpoints except you guys.” Jocelyn growls, and I squeeze her hand. “But I don’t see Jack.” He looks around, his blond hair turning almost white in the rising sun. “Where are Jack and Erp? How does one lose a giant?”

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  The ground beneath our feet begins to shake, and Ollie and I hold onto one another to keep from toppling headfirst into the vegetable patch. A large shadow suddenly blocks out the sun, and we all look up. A giant with a boy with dark skin sitting on his shoulders is standing over us.

  “Hey, Director!” Jack yells down from several stories up. “Looking for us?”

  Erp, who is taller than the trees and is wearing overalls, grunts hello. He’s holding onto one of the castle’s conical turrets for balance. A few bricks break free and begin tumbling toward us. We all jump to get out of the way.

  Jax grabs his bullhorn and shouts up to Jack, “You know this is too close to the castle for Erp. You’re supposed to be patrolling the Hollow Woods borders.”

  Jack salutes him, and I see Jax grimace. Those two have never really gotten along. “Aye, aye, Captain! Unless, of course, you want me to throw down a magic bean and make things in this battle really interesting.”

  “No!” we all shout.

  The sound of cannon fire interrupts further arguing. Blackbeard and Madame Cleo are directing the battle from the water. On the great lawn, students run in various directions, getting into attack position. My friends and I really need to get moving.

  Headmistress Flora’s voice comes over Miri the Magic Mirror’s magical loudspeaker system as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. “They’ve broken through the barrier! Be ready! Be ready!”

  There is a sudden pop and a bang, followed by a whoosh. Several figures have emerged from the woods and are racing toward the school by foot and air. Rumpelstiltskin flies by us, cackling on the edge of his cooking pot ladle.

  I feel my blood boil at the sight of him.

  Jocelyn grabs my hand. “Come on! We’re nowhere near the meeting point.”

  “We’re going to be late for Kayla!” Ollie yells, picking up speed and running ahead of us. “If we miss our entrance…”

  Boom!

  A group of kids in a flying Dutch oven land in front of us and run in our direction.

  “Too late!” Jocelyn begins casting spells as Rumpelstiltskin’s group of loyal servants—who are mostly kids—comes rushing at us. I pull out my bow and arrow and start aiming. The arrows hit kid after kid, each one going down hard. Good!

  (Okay, so I’m not actually hurting them. The fire in the arrows only stuns, so they’ll lay there, unable to move, until one of the FTRS kids drags them off to the dungeon. Then we can interrogate them. I love that part.)

  It feels good to hit Stiltskin’s evil little cronies. I spot Hansel and Gretel coming toward me, their faces filled with hate. I fire once! Twice! And boom! They’re facedown in the grass.

  “Okay, Gilly, don’t waste all your ammo,” Ollie says worriedly as he uses a cloaking potion to sneak up on unsuspecting Stiltskin Squad members.

  “I don’t have time to make you another batch of arrows this week,” Jocelyn adds as she sets the cooking pot aflame so the squad can’t get back in it. “You don’t need to hit every one of these kids. Remember the goal!”

  Get to Stiltskin. Find Alva. Stop them both.

  The words have been drilled in my head over and over, and yet, I find my eyes wandering, looking. For her.

  Finally, she appears like a mirage, rushing through the smoky field as the battle rages around her. My younger sister Anna, with her long brown hair and that smug smile she adopted once she started hanging out with him, is running straight for me. And for a moment, I falter, like I have too many times before. I want to believe the best in my kid sister, but she proved in Cloud City that she cannot be trusted.

  My sister is a villain.

  And I am not.

  The two of us head for each other. She aims her wand at me, and I raise my arrow, trying to keep the bow straight as I load up and prepare to launch.

  But behind Anna, something catches my eye.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! A group of kids magically appear on the grassy knoll. They must have used fairy magic to shrink themselves. The kids race toward the Stiltskin Squad me
mbers with a look of fire and fury on their faces. I have no clue who they are. They’re not wearing FTRS uniforms or gold Stiltskin Squad buttons. Instead, they’re wearing black capes and brandishing swords. A goblin goes tearing after Anna, and my jaw drops.

  “Tessa? Is that you?” I say in surprise. “You’re not wearing…pink.”

  As I’m looking at Tessa, Anna plows into my side, sending my bow and arrow pack flying.

  “Gilly!” my former roommate, Kayla, cries, her fairy wings fluttering as she runs in my direction. “Watch out!” A squad member shoots up at her, and she flies off, out of the line of fire.

  I hit the dirt, but quickly scramble to my feet and come face-to-face with Anna. My heart is pumping hard as I stare at her. We both know what we have to do, and yet, I hesitate for the slightest of moments. A second later, we’re rolling on the ground, fighting like we once did back home in our boot, and all I can think is she betrayed me. I can’t let her win. Not this time.

  Flip! I have Anna on her back and her hands pinned to her side.

  “Finish her!” Jocelyn shouts. “Spell her! She deserves it!”

  I can hear others egging me on as my sister squirms beneath my hold. I could stun her and take her to the dungeon to be interrogated. I’d have to do it by spell since I lost my arrows. Or I could physically haul her off to the dungeon, but I might get ambushed. What to do? Before I can decide, Anna pulls out of my grasp and flips me over.

  “I’m not as weak as you!” Anna shouts. “You’re done for.” She starts mumbling, and I realize she’s probably trying to banish me somewhere like Cloud City or worse. I’m so surprised, I can’t move.

  Maxine comes rushing over, barreling into the two of us, sending Anna flying. “Noooo!” Maxine shouts, her voice so loud, everyone stops to look. “Goldilocks! Goldilocks! Goldilocks!”

  The sounds of the battle stop. All over the battlefield, Stiltskin Squad members dissolve into thin air. When the smoke clears, Rumpelstiltskin and his cooking ladle are gone. So is Anna.

  “Maxine!” I groan, lying on my back in defeat as Jax and the others gather around. “What did you do that for?”