Free My Fairy Godmonster by Denice Hughes Lewis Page A

floors, clean the refrigerator
and oven. I am only one person. Do I get to sleep?
    I slump down the hall. Hear footsteps and
turn around. Daria is sneaking behind me. Godzilla creeps on the
floor at her side.
    “You’re supposed to keep the cat locked in
your bedroom.”
    She whines, “Your dad isn’t here. Besides,
Gazella needs exercise.”
    “Cats sleep sixteen hours a day.”
    “She’s bored.”
    “You’re bored.”
    “There’s nothing to do around here,” pouts
Daria.
    “You could help your mother in the kitchen,”
I suggest. “Or if you want to help me in the stable or cleaning the
house, you can.”
    Daria lifts her nose into the air. “I don’t
work.”
    I hear a low growl and turn to see Fairy
Godmonster’s red claws curving around the attic stairwell.
    Daria’s eyes grow huge in terror.
    “EEEEKKKKK!”
    Godzilla hisses and races down the hall, tail
flying and ears laid back. Daria flees, trips on Godzilla and
sprawls to the floor. The cat rolls to the top of the stairs.
    “Gazella!” yells Daria. She reaches for the
cat. Godzilla rolls down the stairs.
    “Meowrrr!”
    “No!” screeches Daria. She hurries after her
cat.
    “Serves them right.” Fairy Godmonster
laughs.
    I want to know how to laugh like that and
still look sexy.
    “Did she see you?” I ask.
    “Only my claws.”
    “I thought you told me nobody’s supposed to
see you,” I say.
    “Monsters bend rules. Besides, who’s going to
believe her?”
    I follow her into the attic and lock the door
behind us. The drums beat louder. Leaves rustle in the trees. A
seven-foot monster that looks like a cross between a leopard and
gorilla pokes out its head. Green eyes stare at me. It roars and
slinks down the limb. I hardly breathe.
    “F-Faro?” My voice wobbles. “W-what’s
that?”
    “Oh, did he come too? That’s a Lapilla.”
    The spotted gorilla head sneaks closer. Its
leopard paws are as big as my head.
    Fairy Godmonster growls. The black fur on the
monster’s neck stands up. It backs into the trees and
disappears.
    Suddenly, everything is too much. My knees
shake and my head swirls. “Make it go away.”
    Fairy Godmonster pulls out her whip. With a
crack, the natives and their drums disappear. The whip fizzles,
leaving behind the jungle and Lapilla.
    “How utterly annoying. I thought FIMM was
fixed. You need help and I need to get home.”
    Fairy Godmonster throws the whip across the
room. It hits the wall like a bullet, bores a fist-sized hole
through it before it disappears outside.
    “Oops.”
    “Oops? How am I going to explain that to
Dad!” I exclaim.
    She goes to the window and starts to climb
out.
    “Stop!” I shriek. “You can’t go out there
now! Everyone’s still up!”
    “I need my whip.”
    “You should have thought of that before you
threw it.”
    Fairy Godmonster growls.
    I close my eyes. Tears straggle down my face
and I wipe them away angrily.
    “I thought you didn’t cry,” Fairy Godmonster
says quietly.
    “You read minds, too?”
    “No. I may be a Fairy Godmonster, but I
recognize the need to keep your emotions private. Has something
happened to upset you?”
    “Other than the hole in my wall?”
    “Drop the sarcasm,” says Fairy Godmonster
frowning. “Retrieve my whip and then you can tell me all about
it.”
    I sneak out the front door, find the whip on
the grass and return to the attic.
    “Thanks,” says Fairy Godmonster, snatching
the whip from my hand. “Now, out with it.”
    I tell her about Dad leaving and about
Weasel’s lists and no dinner.
    “Sounds like she belongs in Monsterdome!”
exclaims Fairy Godmonster. “Can’t wait to meet her.”
    “What!”
    “Oh, chill. She won’t see me. Especially when
my whip gets fixed.”
    I throw myself onto the bed. “I hate that
she’s cooking, but her chili smelled good and I’m starving.”
    “What’s your favorite meat?” Fairy Godmonster
asks.
    “Steak.”
    “Good choice! It’s the only thing I have with
me. Of