Page 5 of Barbie: Dreamscape

On top of regularly questioning the Fates, treating homework as a suggestion, and overall maintaining an impressive lack of discipline, Sunny also has a destructive hobby.

He likes to take things apart, see how they work. Put them back together again.

Sometimes… not quite back together. On purpose.

For instance, four years ago, Sunny turned Teacher’s desk into a soda machine that hurled cans whenever someone got an answer right. Which might have been a good incentive for focus, if they hadn’t all burst open simultaneously. It took a lot of pleading with Robin not to get him expelled.

Did that stop him?

Sunny lowers his voice conspiratorially. “You’ll never guess what Paige is about to walk into.”

The answer is: no. Definitely not.

I sigh. “Really, Sunny? It’s the last day of school.”

Paige is Callie’s roommate, and far from my favorite person at Swancrest. As children, I must have somehow entered into a one-sided competition with her, because she’s always treated everything as a duel between us. She took a special sort of pleasure in being chosen as line leader or teacher’s helper and, later on, rubbing it in whenever she scored higher on tests or projects. I thought she might warm up to me once she and Callie were placed together in the dorms, but in true Paige fashion, she’s remained stubbornly dedicated to her mission of winning this imagined contest, treating me frostily at best, wickedly at worst.

Bottom line: She sucks.

But even Paige deserves to enjoy the last day at Swancrest unscathed by Sunny’s idea of a prank.

Sunny looks unbothered. “Who cares that it’s the last day? And you know what? I hope the Fates are watching.” He shrugs. “Because then they’ll see how cool I am.”

Something explodes, just a few doors down.

“SUNNY!!!!” Paige’s shrill voice echoes through the hall.

Sunny purses his lips. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. Must have forgotten a screw or two or twenty…”

Teacher steps into the hallway, arms crossed over his checkered sweater vest, glaring daggers.

Sunny nods. “Yep. Right, then. I’ll escort myself to Robin’s office.” He turns.

“It’s Headmistress!” Teacher bellows at his back.

Sunny just looks over his shoulder. “No, no. We’re on a first-name basis now. I think it happened after… the fifteenth visit?”

Teacher just sighs. Sunny winks at us, then turns the corner, whistling.

“He is so getting the worst Fate,” Callie says.

She’s joking, but I wince, my mind careening back to that nightmare and all those Fates that I would deem the worst kinds.

“Barbie?” Callie says as we continue down the hall. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

She swallows. “You know I trust the Fates more than anyone, right?”

“Of course.”

Her voice gets so low I can hardly hear her. “Well, it’s just… I’ve been thinking… there are plenty of things I’m good at that I don’t want to do every day for the rest of my life.”

“Same.” Though Misty and Bonbon rarely let me do my own hair, I can make a ponytail swoop that seems to defy gravity; that doesn’t mean I want to make ponytails professionally.

She gnaws at her lip. “What if the Fates don’t know that? Or what if they do know but don’t take wants into consideration?”

Let’s hope they do, considering I certainly don’t want to do any of the roles from my nightmare.