Call Me Rumpel

Chapter Seven

It seems I'm not the only one to be having a bad day today.

This morning, Ari strolled in late to maths, but instead of sparing a cheeky grin for us as she usually does, she scowled and slumped into a seat at the front. Jordyn had simply shrugged as though it were a mere case of not saving her a good seat.

She still hasn't acknowledged us, though, and with a sigh, I stop staring at the back of her head and try to finish the questions Mrs Crawley has set. The unit is pretty easy, but I'm still glad when a year seven student knocks on the door, interrupting the lesson.

"Um, is this Mathematics General?" he asks, his voice cracking.

Mrs Crawley purses her lips, never one to tolerate people stating the obvious.

The boy gulps. "CoolwellMrHowsersentmetofetchsomestudentsand—"

She holds up her hand. "Take a deep breath and start again."

She ought to be an English teacher instead. The boy darts a frightened look at us before realising he can't run out of the class without relaying the message. He swallows and licks his lips, refusing to look at anyone.

"Mr Howser wants me to get, um, Ari P-park, Woodsy—er, I mean, Cory Woods, um..." He retrieves a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Um, San—Sanket Chopra, and, and, er, and Mischa Winscott."

"It's Mishka," my peers say in unison.

I look over at Ari as I stand, who shrugs and casts a side glance at Sanket. Cory is the only one who appears less worried about why the vice principal wants us and more pleased to be getting out of class. We skedaddle nonetheless before Mrs Crawley can call us back.

"So... Anyone got a clue what we've supposedly done this time?" Cory asks, running his hand along the lockers as he walks.

The padlocks rattle and clang, the sounds bouncing off the metal lockers and linoleum floor.

Ari shoots him an annoyed look. "Keep it down, will you?"

I know she's worried about what her parents will say if she gets into trouble. Whilst both she and Dae-Seong have mastered the act of appearing innocent, their parents still compare Ari to her cousins in the hopes she'll put more effort into school. I've been there a few times when Mrs Park has praised Ye-bin's high grades and Yoo-bin's blemish-free school record, and I've seen the way Ari's face fell each time.

She links arms with me, whatever she was annoyed at earlier forgotten, ready to present Mr Howser with a united front.

Cory flicks a heavy brass padlock. "I'm just saying, what do we have in common with him?" he asks, jabbing a thumb in Sanket's direction as he walks ahead of us.

My cheeks flush as I stare at the back of Sanket's head, worried he heard Cory. I don't think he did; he's too busy texting away on his phone. In fact, he's so busy texting he runs into the door, causing Ari to snort with laughter.

Cory sniggers as he whips out his own phone to record Sanket's blush. He stops filming, and not a second later, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out, praying whatever footage he got isn't too humiliating for Sanket.

You're not the only person who can grant wishes.

I stop in my tracks, as does my heart. I've had copycats trying to create their own Rumpelstiltskin service in the past, and every single one was eventually squashed when they offered nothing more substantial than petty gossip. Even Maya Brown's hair extension company, RapunzelMe.com, failed when Aria Lockwood almost went bald from the glue she used.