Free My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski Page B

said.
    â€œBut—”
    â€œTake me home!”
    Dr. Bradley gave a reluctant nod and looked at Anthony. The gnome sighed and snapped his fingers. Pop!
    I was pulled out of the world, tossed around, and dumped onto my kitchen floor, alongside Anthony and Dr. Bradley.
    As I got to my feet, Aunt Evie came into the room holding a mug of tea.
    â€œOh,” she said, looking back and forth between the gnome and the doctor.
    â€œIt’s all right, Aunt Evie. They’re leaving.”
    â€œJenny…” Dr. Bradley pleaded, but I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say.
    â€œI’m done. It’s over. I’m never going on an adventure again.”
    Dr. Bradley looked on the verge of begging, but Anthony gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Come on, old man. It’s obvious we’re not wanted here.” Then he took Dr. Bradley’s arm and led him out the door.
    â€œWere those friends of yours?” asked Aunt Evie.
    â€œNo,” I said. “Don’t worry. They won’t bother us anymore.” Then I sank down at the kitchen table and put my head in my arms.
    â€œAre you all right, kitten?” said Aunt Evie.
    I shook my head, tears trickling onto my sleeves. Everything in my life had been a lie: my parents, my friends, Dr. Bradley. I had thought being an adventurer would be fun and exciting. Instead, it had taken everything I cared about away from me. And now I’d never get any of it back.
    â€œThere, there,” said Aunt Evie, sitting down beside me and scratching the top of my head. “How about a nice saucer of warm milk?”

Part 2

Chapter 12
    Monday morning felt like the first day of school all over again. For once, I was going to arrive as a regular, normal girl. The last time I’d been so excited to get on the school bus had been in kindergarten on Halloween. Unfortunately, that had turned out to be a day of disappointment.
    It was one of the few memories I had of my mother, even though I couldn’t quite remember her face. She’d sewn me an Indiana Jones costume, complete with a whip made out of yarn. My mother had even pinned a plastic cobra to my sleeve so I could glance over at it and mutter, “I hate snakes!” To top it all off, I had secretly collected spiders for days and put them into a small jar.
    When I’d arrived at school, I had swashbuckled my way into my classroom, released the spiders onto the floor, and started saving my classmates from certain doom. The day had ended in the principal’s office, and I hadn’t been a fan of Halloween, or school, ever since. A few months later, my parents had disappeared, and I’d had no one to make costumes for me anymore.
    But today would be different, I told myself. It wouldn’t end in disappointment.
    Before I left the house, I took a few practice swings with my mini-golf club to help calm my nerves. My injured arm was finally back to normal, and my favorite pink ball sailed into the cup like it couldn’t wait to go in. That had to be a lucky sign, I decided as I slipped the ball into my pocket. Today would be the first day of the rest of my amazingly average life.
    When I got on the bus, no one said a word to me, which wasn’t unusual. But they also stared at me like I was some kind of sea monster. I sat in a seat by myself and tried to ignore the strange looks. When I got to homeroom, the staring continued. I wasn’t sure what was wrong. Did I have a tarantula on my head? Or had I gotten so good at being invisible over the past three years that everyone was surprised to see me?
    When the teacher came in, she scanned the room, humming under her breath. But when her eyes stopped on me, her face changed. She looked down at the list in her hand and studied it carefully.
    â€œAre you new, dear?” the teacher asked finally.
    I stared back at her, not sure what to say.
    She raised her eyebrows and walked over to my desk.