After lunch, freshmen and juniors started for the auditorium while sophomores and seniors piled into the cafeteria.
Makenna exited it alone and waved at Tracey. "Tracey, come on!"
Tracey's eyes landed on her. "Give me a second, okay, Makenna?" he called.
"I'll just wait here," Makenna said, standing before the girl's bathroom.
When she wasn't looking, Tracey grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled it down and over his wound. He then grabbed his arm again and sauntered to Makenna, joining her. "All right, Makenna, I'm ready. Lead the way to wherever we're going."
Makenna smiled and grasped his uninjured arm. She tugged him forward to the auditorium. It was located at the other wing of Makenna's school.
Excited teenagers jogged into it, and many sat with their friends and chatted about whatever the activity would be.
Makenna and Tracey stepped into it, and Makenna jumped up and down excitedly. Since all the kids talked, it was loud in the auditorium. Makenna pulled Tracey down the aisle to the third row.
He flinched, and his eyes landed on the auditorium's stage. "Ow!" he whispered, for his arm still hurt, and he couldn't grab it. However, he hid the pain behind a feeble smile. Tracey's smile quickly died, though, the closer he and Makenna approached the stage. "Makenna," he asked, "what are we doing here? What is this place?"
He and Makenna sat in the third row of the auditorium, and Makenna explained, "Trace, this is the school auditorium." She pointed at the stage. "A Spirit Week activity will take place up there soon. Right now, they only want freshmen and juniors to pile into here."
"What about sophomores and seniors?" Tracey asked.
"They've already had the activity. They had it while we were at lunch. Now we're having it, and they're in lunch. After this, we'll go to 7th and 8th Periods and then homeward bound."
"What's the activity?"
Makenna shrugged. "I'm not sure, Trace."
"Hey, Makenna," a sudden voice spoke from nowhere. "May I sit here?"
Makenna looked up and gasped. It was Peter Nelson! He hovered over her and had changed into his gym clothes.
At the sight of him, Makenna instantly blushed. "Sure, Pete." She patted the empty seat on her right side.
"Thanks," said Peter. He sat and glanced at Tracey. He then wrapped his arm around Makenna's shoulders and pulled her close.
Makenna blushed harder and grinned.
"What's wrong, Tracey?" Peter inquired.
Tracey had a suspicious face glued on and seemed to stare at him. Tension built up in his body. He didn't like this. He didn't like that Peter had pulled Makenna close to him. Scoffing, he said, "Nothing, Pete," and closed his eyes. "I'm just fine."
"So, what do you think the activity is, Pete?" Makenna asked hunky Peter.
"Hopefully, something fun," he replied. "Perhaps a rap battle. Or maybe even better, a game show."
The lights in the auditorium soon dimmed. Tracey asked, "Huh?" and glanced at them. He shivered and nudged Makenna. "Makenna," he whispered, "it's dark."
"Oh, right," Makenna said. "It's all right, Trace. The stage lights should come on soon."
Peter overheard her. "Lights?" he asked. He sneered at Tracey. "Don't tell me, Tracey, that you, a seventeen-year-old, are afraid of the dark."
Tracey, hurt by the statement, lowered his head and clutched his throbbing arm.
"That's BS," Peter added. "Total BS. Why don't you step outside where it's light and leave us alone, Ninja Boy? You're a baby, being scared of the dark."
"Peter," Makenna whispered. She pushed his chest back. "Watch your language. He's new. Accept people for who they are, Peter, but don't tease him. That's just downright rude."
Thanking Makenna in his brain for helping him, Tracey crossed his arms and calmly said, "Your method of getting rid of me, Peter, is failing. I'll leave when I feel like it. I'll be honest, I am edgy around the dark, but as Makenna said, that doesn't give you the right to make fun of me."
Peter glared.
Makenna removed his arm from her shoulders and leaned toward Tracey, waving Peter away. "Peter, it's best you leave us to be right now. I believe there's a better place for you to sit up at the higher rows. If you wish to stay, you better not pick on Tracey again."
Peter huffed and blushed. "Fine," he growled, standing. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone, but I better not see you hugging again!"
"Just get out of our sight," Tracey snarled at him. "And learn how to be a gentleman, okay?"
Peter's face eased. "See you later, Makenna," he said, waving goodbye. Then, turning on his heel, he left the two fairies and sat with his friends on one of the auditorium's higher rows.
Where Makenna and Tracey were, they gave each other a fist pound.
"Thank you, Makenna," Tracey politely stated. "That meant a lot to me."
"No problem, Trace," she whispered. "Peter is handsome but tends to have firm opinions about others. I'm sorry I caved in on you, but I found it unnecessary for him to tease you about your fear of the dark. It was like when somebody teased me about my fear of nuts. Look!" She pointed at the auditorium's stage. "The activity is beginning!"
Sure enough, the stage lights came on, and Tracey sighed with relief. "Lights." He closed his eyes. "Thank the world for lights."
Makenna patted his hand.
Tracey soon opened his eyes, and he and Makenna studied the stage.
Mrs. Judith Barsley, head of Spirit Week, appeared on it. She was a pretty, middle-aged woman with long, dark hair, deep brown eyes, and a tan complexion. Over her eyes, she wore a pair of red glasses.
She opened her arms and announced, "Attention, freshmen and juniors, in case you don't know, my name is Mrs. Judith Barsley, and I'm head of this year's Spirit Week!"
There was a round of applause. Tracey was the only one who didn't applaud.
After a bit, the students stopped, and everything became quiet.
Mrs. Barsley continued: "I hope you're all enjoying Spirit Week. I know I am. We have an exhilarating activity for you today. This is something new the Spirit Week crew came up with this year."
Right after she said that, another faculty member, Ms. Faye Josephine, and four students, two girls and two boys, appeared on either side of her. All six people made up the Spirit Week crew.
There was another round of applause, and the members waved at the audience.
Once the applause ended, Mrs. Barsley announced, "Without further ado, we present to you…"
The students slid to the edge of their seats.
Mrs. Barsley extended her arms. "This school's first-ever teacher lip-sync battle!"
"Teacher lip-sync battle?" questioned a few bewildered students. "What's a teacher lip-sync battle?"
"Ah," spoke Mrs. Barsley, "I'm glad you asked." She nudged Ms. Josephine. "Would you do the honors, Ms. Josephine?"
"Certainly," she replied. She stepped before the Spirit Week crew and explained to the audience, "A teacher lip-sync battle is an annual contest when fellow teachers lip-sync to their favorite songs, and you guys vote on who has the best lip-sync. Don't choose your favorite teacher, though, okay? Vote on the teacher who impersonates the singer and song best. Sound like fun?"
"Yeah!" the students announced.
Makenna's eyes sparkled. "Oh wow!" she said, putting her hands together. "I've never seen a teacher lip-sync battle before! Tracey, this is going to be fun! You love music! It's perfect!"
Even though this was his first time at a human school, Tracey started getting into the school spirit. "I wonder who the competitors will be?" he wondered.
On stage, every member of the Spirit Week crew grinned.
Mrs. Barsley soon asked the students, "Are we ready to begin?"
The students cheered.
"All right!" Mrs. Barsley added. She, Ms. Josephine, and the students moved aside. "May we present our first competitor to you?" She gestured at the other end of the stage. "Mr. Fernando Gheesling!"
At the sound of Mr. Gheesling's name, Tracey inquired, "Mr. Gheesling?"
Mr. Gheesling jogged onto the stage. The students laughed when they saw him. He wore blue jeans, black sneakers, a black shirt, and a gray, unzipped hooded jacket. The jacket's hood covered his head, and he wore a backward baseball cap on top of it.
Makenna, one of the students laughing, asked herself, Is he Justin Bieber?
Mr. Fernando Gheesling was. He waved at the kids and stopped in the center of the stage. While he stood, he stretched his arms and body.
Tracey kept a straight face, but one could see that a smile was slowly taking over.
After Mr. Gheesling finished stretching, he waved at Tracey, who returned it. He held his hand to the ceiling and announced, "Hit it!"
Music started to play.
A great wave of laughter engulfed the entire auditorium.
"Oh, gosh!" Makenna yelled, covering her mouth. "Not this song!"
"Oh, gosh," Tracey said right after her. Who hadn't heard of "Baby" by Justin Bieber?
On stage, Mr. Gheesling held a microphone to his lips and began lip-syncing "Baby's" lyrics. He looked ridiculous but, at the same time, hilarious.
The entire auditorium was engulfed with laughter.
As the song continued, Mr. Gheesling began dancing. He crouched down, pointed his free index finger at the teenagers, and crept toward them when the ridiculous chorus rolled around.
Makenna hooted so hard that she cried. Mr. Gheesling acted out a perfect Justin Bieber.
It was unbelievable, but Tracey also giggled. He buried his face in his hands and shook his head.
Mr. Gheesling's entire face was red, but he continued into the next verse and danced like a maniac. He crept to Mrs. Barsley and grabbed her hand with his free one. He pulled her onto the stage and shuffled before her.
After that, Mr. Gheesling had had enough. He dropped the microphone and pushed by Mrs. Barsley. He hurried off stage, too embarrassed to show his face, and vanished. "Baby" continued playing from the stereo, and everybody kept laughing.
Mrs. Barsley picked up the microphone and pointed her hand in the direction Mr. Gheesling had disappeared in. "And that was Mr. Fernando Gheesling!"
There was a massive round of applause. Students whistled, and a few chanted, "You rock, Mr. Gheesling!"
Where Makenna and Tracey sat, Tracey clapped and smiled, but suddenly, he gasped. Tracey closed his eyes and lowered his head, grabbing it, for he had acquired another massive headache.
Makenna noticed his distress and immediately lost her smile. "Tracey, what's wrong?" She reached for his arm, but Tracey flinched away.
He tightly clenched his teeth and whispered, "Makenna, it's my head! My headache's come back! Why has it come back?"
A few students sitting behind and before them heard him and slowly focused their attention on the two fairies.
Mrs. Barsley carried with the teacher's lip-sync battle. She lifted her hand and announced, "Next up, give a warm round of applause for Mrs. Rita!"
All the students, except Makenna, Tracey, and the kids watching them, applauded.
Tracey's headache grew worse by the second. Finally, he shook it and whispered, "I can't take it anymore!" He quickly stood. "I'm going to the ocean! The ocean is where I belong!"
"Tracey," murmured Makenna. Clenching her teeth, she grasped his arm. "Sit down."
Other students, including Jimmy Carter, his gang members, and Peter Nelson, had now focused on Makenna and Tracey.
Tracey felt his life being sucked right out of him but also that if he went to some source of water, he could gain that life energy back.
"Come, young Tracey," the Octopus Man spoke in his head. "Come to the ocean."
Tracey's wings ferociously shook in his shirt. He collapsed from nowhere, like what had happened on Merlin's Island.
Makenna, who had also stood, caught him. "Ah! Tracey!"
Now, the collapse grabbed people's attention.
Students from all over the auditorium stood and pointed at Makenna and Tracey. "Somebody just collapsed!" yelled a freshman girl.
On stage, Mrs. Barsley and the Spirit Week crew knew something was happening but kept the teacher lip-sync battle moving.
The Geometry teacher, Mrs. Rita, appeared on stage dressed like Taylor Swift. Her impersonation of Swift was good, but not like Mr. Gheesling's impersonation of Bieber.
He had appeared at the base of the stage because he saw Tracey collapse and hurried toward him.
Tracey felt like his forehead was on fire and telepathically yelled, "Leave me alone!" at the sirens.
"I'm right here, Tracey," Makenna told him. "I'm right here. Shh." She grabbed his chin and studied his face.
Peter, one of the students who had stood, crept toward them, a suspicious face glued on. The photo his father had shown him of the so-called fairy he saw seven years ago was taped onto his brain. He couldn't help but feel like the colors he saw in that photo were identical to the ones Tracey wore.
Mr. Gheesling soon approached Tracey, as did the nurse, Mrs. Edith, and the principal, Dr. Medford.
The mark of the Octopus Man again flashed on Tracey's uninjured arm.
Mr. Gheesling quickly pulled him away from Makenna and picked him up.
Makenna was freaking out. What on earth was wrong with Tracey? She thought he was better!
Mr. Gheesling, Mrs. Edith, and Dr. Medford tried to have her stay behind in the auditorium, but Makenna refused. No way would she leave her friend! What if they found out his secret? If they did, she would give hers away, too. Then, she and Tracey could be in the laboratory together.
Makenna followed Mr. Gheesling, Mrs. Edith, and Dr. Medford up the auditorium stairs and telepathically begged, "Selene, please. What should I do?" She waited for Selene's answer but got nothing.
The teacher lip-sync battle continued with Mrs. Edith lip-syncing the words to "Blank Space", but half the auditorium wasn't paying attention to her.
While hurrying for the exit, Makenna and her crew passed Peter, who carefully studied Tracey. His eyes landed on the mark of the Octopus Man, and the photo his father had grabbed clicked in his brain again. His eyes barely caught the tip of Tracey's left wing.
Peter gasped and stepped back. "It's him. He's a fairy. He's the fairy Dad saw seven years ago! Oh, snap, man!"
Peter tried chasing Tracey, but his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Cunningham, pulled him away.