Page 8 of Switched

The professors start bickering, and Miri interrupts.

“Headmistress?” The nearest mirror glows red and pink. “We have an emergency sentencing that Pete would like you to handle right away.”

“Now?” Headmistress Flora sighs and claps her hands to get the room’s attention. Kids look up from the bookstacks, reading nooks, and library information centers. “Children, you are dismissed and should go to class. There will be time to explore the library later.”

A collective groan is uttered at the word class.

It’s followed by what sounds like a roar. I see Beauty nudge her husband.

My friends and I use the ensuing mass exit chaos as a distraction to try to get out of our punishment. Harlow points a red fingernail in our direction when she sees us slinking out.

“Uh-uh. Not you all,” she says, her lips pulling into a tight smile. “You’re on cleanup duty. Wait here. The elf cleaning crew will get you some cleanup tools.”

“Thanks a lot, Cobbler.” Jocelyn drops onto a feather bag chair.

I sit down beside her and watch the students file out, along with the royal court and the reporter from HEAS who is still asking questions. Beauty and the prince are talking quietly with their daughter on their way out the door. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but suddenly, Allison Grace laughs and hugs both her parents. I feel a small pang, knowing my own sister isn’t around to do the same thing.

Pete and Olaf burst into the library, each holding the arm of a curly-haired boy whose mocha skin is covered in what looks like flour. I don’t recognize him. Pete pushes the boy into the center of the room and throws his hands up.

“This one needs maximum security! He’s only been in the village a week, and he’s already… He’s… He’s… Three times! One week! The flour factory, the Three Little Pigs, and… He’s got to go here even without any parent permission. I insist.”

I haven’t heard Pete this flustered since he apprehended…me.

Flora reaches for the scroll that contains the boy’s rap sheet. “Caught stealing rolls from Gnome-olia Bakery on Monday afternoon.”

“I was hungry, okay?” The boy looks up at Flora with big, brown eyes. “So were some of the other kids on the street.” His mouth tightens. “I’d do it again if I could.”

“Same as me,” I whisper to Jax. “I used to steal bags of rolls for my family from there all the time.”

Flora keeps reading. “Two days later, you were caught pinching clothes from Combing the Sea.”

“I stole from there too!” I nudge Jax again. That’s where I got Anna’s dragon-tooth comb.

The boy hangs his head. “I’ve been in the same rags for weeks, okay? Besides, I didn’t just steal them for me. I was looking for a gift for my mum.”

“And then today, you were caught stealing a rib-eye steak from the Dwarf Police Squad Annual Picnic.”

Now that’s something I haven’t done.

“I’d marinated that steak for days!” Pete rails. “Finest piece of meat this side of the kingdom! Ordered it weeks ago for the party! Olaf and I couldn’t wait to dive into it, and this kid stole it right off the grill and tossed it in the trash!” He glares at the boy in his possession.

“You shouldn’t eat meat,” the kid says. “Cows have feelings too, you know. My cow, Milky Way, is my best friend.” He looks down again. “Or at least he was, till Rumpelstiltskin stole him and my mum. I’ve been on my own ever since.”

I feel a pang of sadness mixed with anger for this boy whose life seems to mirror my own. He’s alone because of Stiltskin. I’m without Anna for the same reason. I step forward to speak up, but Wolfington cuts in.

“In Enchantasia, putting your worst foot forward has consequences. What’s your name, boy?”

The kid looks Wolfington straight in the eye. “Jack Spriggins.”

“Jack Spriggins? You’re the one who climbed the beanstalk!” Maxine cries. There is a murmur among the staff and my friends.

This boy is the Jack? My brothers and sisters loved hearing Jack’s story when Father would tell it at bedtime. He told it so often that my siblings memorized it. I rack my brain thinking of the key details. Beanstalk, giant, golden egg, huge reward. But if that’s true, why is Jack still stealing?

“That was just a bedtime story,” Jax says. “There’s no such thing as a city at the top of a beanstalk.”

“Tell that to the giant who fell in my yard,” Jack fires back, and the two narrow their eyes at each other. “There are giants up there and treasures like you’ve never seen.”

“And yet you’re stealing bread,” Jax reminds him.