Switched Read online

  Also by Jen Calonita

  Flunked

  Charmed

  Tricked

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  Copyright © 2018 by Jen Calonita

  Cover and internal design ©2018 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Series design by Regina Flath

  Cover image by Michael Heath/Shannon Associates

  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

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Calonita, Jen, author.

  Title: Switched / Jen Calonita.

  Description: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, [2018] | Series: Fairy Tale Reform School ; 4 | Summary: Gilly and her friends must prepare for a giant invasion after Jack plants magic beans, earning him a spot in Fairy Tale Reform School and reminding Gilly how good it feels to be bad.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017037467 |

  Subjects: | CYAC: Fairy tales--Fiction. | Characters in literature--Fiction. | Good and evil--Fiction. | Heroes--Fiction. | Giants--Fiction. | Reformatories--Fiction. | Schools--Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.C1364 Fj 2018 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017037467

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Acknowledgments

  A Sneak Peek at Misfits

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  For my godson, Gianluca Campagna.

  I can’t wait till you’re old enough for us to read this together.

  It’s all about the climb.

  Happily Ever After Scrolls

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

  Fairy Tale Reform School Has a New Library and Two New Teachers

  by Coco Collette

  Fairy Tale Reform School is buzzing with excitement this week as the school prepares to welcome two new staff members, one of whom will be running the school’s shiny, new library! “Headmistress Flora is thankful to her stepdaughter, Princess Ella, and the rest of the royal court for generously funding a new library at FTRS,” says school spokesmirror Miri.

  The mirror is quick to add that the school has always had an extensive book collection but nowhere to put it, and that their new library will include enchanted books. (“I’ll let our new librarian explain how they work,” Miri says cryptically.) The library, which was built by ELF Construction over the last several months, is in a new wing at the school, which will also include classrooms dedicated to FTRS’s new transitional school program—From Mischief-Maker to Model Citizen (also referred to as MMC).

  “MMC is for students who have shown significant improvement in their studies and behavior,” explains Headmistress Flora. “Rather than be released from FTRS, they have chosen to continue their studies under our tutelage, hoping to learn more about their new ‘good’ side and how to figure out their future in the kingdom of Enchantasia. We are honored to be able to help them on this journey.” The coursework was created after being suggested by star student Gilly Cobbler, who wanted to stay on at FTRS.

  Families in Enchantasia know all too well how quickly a child can go from wondrous to wicked. Many parents are still searching for students who decided to leave town with Rumpelstiltskin after he was ousted from his position as FTRS headmaster two months ago. Neither Mr. Stiltskin nor his squad have been heard from since. While there are whispers that many folks were won over by Mr. Stiltskin’s fear tactics and hard stance on protecting the kingdom, HEAS has learned the royal court did not like the direction in which he was taking FTRS and was pleased to see him gone. “The court was thrilled when several students tricked Stiltskin into giving up his position,” says a palace source. To no one’s surprise, Gilly Cobbler was among that student group.

  To thank them, and Headmistress Flora, the princesses gifted FTRS with a proper library. “We hope all of Enchantasia will delight in seeing FTRS’s new library with its many enchanting features,” says Princess Ella. “And we couldn’t be happier that Headmistress Flora liked our suggestions for new staff.” The princess would not reveal the names of the staffers, but says “they are known throughout the lands. We are fortunate they agreed to move to Enchantasia and help us.” HEAS can’t wait to find out who these staffers could be!

  Stay tuned for details on FTRS’s new teachers!

  CHAPTER 1

  Read It and Weep

  Who tells a kid to keep out of the library?

  As I tap my foot impatiently in the foyer of Fairy Tale Reform School’s new library services wing, that’s exactly what Headmistress Flora is telling me to do. At least, that’s how I interpret the glare she’s sending me from across the hall as I huff, sigh, and yawn while she’s talking to Happily Ever After Scrolls.

  Sparkle! Flash!

  The reporter covering the library dedication is waving his wand at Headmistress Flora and Princess Ella like he’s granting wishes, which I know he’s not. What is he doing anyway? And when is Headmistress Flora finally going to cut the blue satin ribbon and open the door?

  “Lovely smiles! Just lovely!” the reporter says as he jumps around like the Pied Piper, shaking a large wand that looks like a fallen tree trunk. Flora and her stepdaughter don’t seem to mind the fuss. They’re standing patiently (Grrr…) and smiling brightly in front of the library’s oversize stained glass doors.

  A library, I should add, that has been dangled in front of us in Miri the Magic Mirror’s daily announcements for months. All Miri does anymore is talk about the library. It has rare books that can unlock more than just stories! Books that have a mind of their own! Biographies that contain villains’ darkest secrets and potions! Mysterious works gathered from the far reaches of the kingdoms that will teach us things we’ve never even heard of! And the chance to gain knowledge about Enchantasia’s history and all its fairy-tale heroes, villains, and creatures!

  Truthfully, I’ve never been inside a library. Enchantasia Village ha
d a tiny library annex, but the books were ancient and mostly nursery rhymes or trade books about hot cross buns or shoe leathers. Riveting stuff. I can’t imagine what the FTRS library will look like. Headmistress Flora and the ELF Construction Company have kept the project top secret. Ollie and I tried to get a sneak peek one night, but Wolfington somehow sensed us coming and sent us back to bed.

  The trumpets sound, and a court jester steps forward. “‘And now a few words from Princess Ella about the new library,’” he reads from a scroll.

  Fairy be. How long is this ceremony going to take? My fairy pet, Wilson, the world’s cleverest mouse, sticks his tiny, pink nose out of my blue jumper pocket and squeaks in annoyance. (Technically, fairy pets aren’t allowed to leave the classroom, but I’ve never been a strict rule follower. Neither is Maxine, who houses her duck, Peaches, in our dorm room. The pair have become unlikely friends, like Maxine and me. Who knew an ogre and a human could be so tight?)

  “I know,” I tell Wilson. “I wish they’d quit with the speeches already. I am dying to get into the library too.” Wilson nods his little mouse head as if he understands me.

  Ollie clears his throat, and I glare down at him. He’s super-short for a pirate.

  “Acting impatient is very unbecoming of an RLW,” he says, adjusting his bright-pink Royal Ladies-in-Waiting sash, the same one I’m begrudgingly wearing over my jumper. “Dedicating Fairy Tale Reform School’s first library is a very big deal.” He motions to the hundred or so classmates assembled in the hallway. The entire teaching staff is here too, along with the royal court, reporters, and some fancy folks from the village. “Headmistress Flora wants to make sure it is presented perfectly, since the royal court was gracious enough to give us such an extravagant present.”

  I roll my eyes. “You know Rapunzel can’t hear you being a fancy-schmancy, perfect RLW right now, right?”

  “An RLW is always polite.” Ollie puffs out his chest, making the writing on his sash easier to read. (Ollie magically crossed out the word Ladies and wrote Lads next to the pirate skull and crossbones he drew. He’s RLW’s first male member.) His dark eyes are playful as he shakes his head. “Green does not look good on you, Gilly.”

  My jaw drops. “You think I’m jealous? I am not jealous!”

  “Yeah!” Maxine comes to my aid. “Gilly just wants to get in there to find books about Rumpelstiltskin.”

  Ollie and I slap our hands over Maxine’s drooling mouth. I wipe my hand off on my jumper.

  “Sorry.” Maxine’s muddy-gray cheeks turn red. “I forgot no one is supposed to know that.”

  It’s true. We want to find that little monster. Not only did he trick Flora into giving up control of FTRS, but he also conned a group of kids in the village into joining his Stiltskin Squad by promising them they’d run the kingdom, and he convinced some FTRS students to go with him too. Including my younger sister Anna! I know the royal court is looking for him, but no one knows where he is or what he’s plotting. All I know is that it can’t be good, and I don’t want Anna with him when things go bad.

  Sparkle! Flash!

  The reporter is back at it, wanding the royal court this time. I can’t take it anymore.

  “What in the name of fairy is that thing anyway?” I grouse.

  “It’s a Magic 2000,” says Jax. As a prince, he’s used to long and boring ceremonies. He also doesn’t mind ironing his school uniform (mine is wrinkly) and taming his curly, blond hair (my brown hair with the purple skunk stripe is wild today). His normally pale skin has bronzed, thanks to all the Pegasus flying we’ve been doing, patrolling the FTRS grounds for signs of Rump. So far, we’ve found none. “The royal court gave one to HEAS so they can start taking magical pictures. You should see them.” His violet eyes widen. “It’s like looking in a mirror! Pete and the Dwarf Police Squad have requested one too. Something about wanting magical pictures to use in Wanted scrolls.”

  “No scroll is going to find the Rump,” says Jocelyn. The Evil Queen’s younger sister has arrived fashionably late. She’s the only one at our school who gets away with not wearing a uniform. (She wears a blue sash around her moon-and-stars skirt to support the school colors.) She pushes her long, black hair off her pale, almost-white neck. “I told you. When he’s ready to destroy the kingdom, he’ll pop up.”

  “That’s comforting,” says Kayla, her fairy wings fluttering in agitation.

  She has more reason than most to get antsy about Stiltskin, who turned her mother and sisters into trees because…well, actually, we don’t know why. Kayla’s mom says they have very little memory of why he cursed them. Which is yet another roadblock we’ve faced in finding the little beast.

  Kayla’s amber eyes lock on the HEAS reporter. “That trickster convinced all those kids who went with him that the only way to stop evil is to work by his side!” Her nostrils flare. “They have no clue they’re unknowingly helping him try to take over Enchantasia.”

  “I know!” says a goblin in front of us, listening in to our not-so-quiet conversation. “My roommate, Simeon, was all, like, This guy listens to me! He wants to keep us safe, give me gold, and make me rich.” The goblin snorts. “Like Rumpelstiltskin would ever give up any of the gold he makes.” The goblin laughs. “Those kids who left with him were so dumb.”

  “They are not dumb!” I snap, unable to control myself. “Maybe they’ve realized they made the wrong choice, but now they have no way to get back home. Did you ever think of that?”

  Jax puts a hand on my shoulder. The HEAS reporter has stopped wanding, and all my professors are looking at me: Professor Wolfington, Professor Harlow, Madame Cleo (visible in a mirror made of sea glass that Professor Blackbeard is holding), and Rapunzel, who runs our Royal Ladies-in-Waiting club. Rapunzel shakes her head at me ever so slightly.

  Fiddlesticks.

  So much for flying under the radar this morning.

  “Sorry!” I shout to the reporter and the others. “Please proceed with the wand thingy. I’ll be quiet and not point out that we’re running fifteen minutes behind schedule and some of us have to be in Wanding: How to Block Curses in an hour.”

  Headmistress Flora glances at the large clock in the foyer. “Ms. Cobbler makes a valid point. Our new professors will be arriving any moment. We should get the ribbon cutting underway.”

  There is a murmur of excitement over the mention of new teachers.

  Our group has been making bets on what villain Flora turned who is coming to work here. Or maybe it’s a princess. We do tend to employ both these days.

  Could it be the Little Mermaid, Madame Cleo’s bestie?

  Or the Ice Queen? Some days, this large, magical castle does get quite warm. Maybe she could cool things down.

  Or Hua Mulan? She’s supposed to be one of the greatest warriors ever. We could use her. Or Little Red Riding Hood! I think of the bow and arrow she gave me on our quest to find the golden goose, and I grin to myself. Maybe Red is the one who is going to teach our From Mischief-Maker to Model Citizen classes! It makes perfect sense! I smile at Professor Wolfington. I bet he convinced Red to leave the Hollow Woods and teach at Fairy Tale Reform School.

  “Without further ado,” says Princess Ella in a breathy voice, “the royal court would like to open the doors to Fairy Tale Reform School’s new library.” Everyone starts to cheer as Ella cuts the ribbon with a large pair of scissors. “It is our hope that the knowledge and dreams you find in the books behind these doors will help you on your journey to not only find yourself, but also to help defend Enchantasia.”

  Everyone rushes to the doors. I’m not sure most people hear Princess Ella’s speech, but it is actually kind of inspiring.

  “Ooh!” says the crowd, stopping dead in their tracks as the doors magically open.

  Maxine’s mouth begins to drool again. “It’s like the library goes on forever!”

  I squint into the lig
ht. Somehow, it feels like the library is actually outdoors on a grassy field. I blink, and the background changes to a snowy mountaintop. I blink again, and I’m standing on a riverbank. Gingerbread, how does the room’s view keep changing? And why can’t I see a ceiling? Or walls? The floors, however, sparkle like glass, and it’s as if the bookcases go on and on forever.

  Somewhere in this jungle of books is the one that will give me answers. I just know it.

  My friends and I join the slow procession into the library as Miri shouts various instructions from mirrors hanging from stands around the room.

  “No touching any books until the Magical Librarian arrives! There are rules about these books that must be followed!”

  Jocelyn snickers. “Whoever heard of a book having rules? It’s not a person.”

  “No food, drinks, spelling, or wands allowed in the library,” Miri adds. “Books are meant to be read, not eaten by your fairy pets! The top floors of the library are for older students only and require permission from the Magical Librarian. First floor only today! No running or flying in the library! And please, keep your voices down!” she yells. Obviously, Miri is exempt from the rules.

  “Did you hear that?” I whisper to Jax. “Top floors require permission. That must be where the best books on villains are. Let’s go!”

  Headmistress Flora steps into my path before I reach the first winding staircase.

  “Ms. Cobbler, where do you think you’re going? As Miri explained, we are staying on the first floor today.”

  It’s almost as if she knows what I’m after.

  “But—” I start to protest.

  “Gillian, I told you before,” Flora says wearily. “There are days for fighting and days for celebrating, and today is a celebration. Open your eyes and marvel at this place!”

  I sigh heavily and let my eyes drift upward. The room is so majestic that I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a royal court palace. There are water fountains with cherub statues that talk and glittering signs that flash to show what books are on which floor. There must be thousands of books in here, shelved on four different floors. The categories fly by: Potions, Spells, Magic Tricks, Hexes, Surviving the High Seas, How to Talk to Animals, and From Wicked to Winning Self-Help Books. I don’t see a villain category or the History of Enchantasia section, but they have to be here. A large atrium beckons us forward. It looks so enchanting with all the stained glass windows that seem to reach the school’s highest turret. Magic carpets float in the air, waiting to take readers up to out-of-reach shelves, while kids run to cushy, oversize pillows perfect for curling up on for hours of reading, studying, or napping.