FIFTY SHADES OF EDUCATION

Part 8

     Skinner sat in the middle of a fairy kingdom at the treetops of a forest. He was sitting on a branch with his legs dangling over the edge. The wings he had just discovered that day were flapping slowly. Mr. Skinner was trying to get the hang of them. Moving around in the kingdom proves to be quite hard without a pair of working wings. The city is built on several platforms scattered throughout the tree tops. This way, children who's wings aren't fully developed yet can stay on their platform and not wander off too far. The whole system had worked fine for every resident of the kingdom until Mr. Skinner arrived. He still had a long way to go until he was fit for flying.

     "You are new, I don't recognize you."

 The voice startled Skinner, almost causing him to fall. "HUH!? Oh sorry, I didn't see you back there. Yes, I am new. My name is Skinner." Mr. Skinner held out his hand to the young girl who stood before him. "My name is Alivia... what is your hand doing?"

"Oh, it's a greeting where I come from. You are supposed to shake it." Skinner explained. Alivia stared at his hand, still seeming confused. Finally, she grabbed his index finger with her thumb, index, and middle finger and whipped his arm back and fourth. Wow, I guess they don't shake hands here, Skinner thought. "Uhh... close enough." He said.

     "Anyway... It is time for the evening feast." Alivia could see that Skinner was confused. "Oh, I guess you wouldn't know where that was... I will show you then. Follow me!" Alivia ran down the tree branch and back to the platform. Skinner stood up with a sigh and jogged after her. Barley keeping up, Skinner panted after Alivia through the maze-like city. He slowed to a stop when they reached the end of the platform, but Alivia kept going. She jumped off the edge, but did not fall. The young girl turned around to make sure he was still following her. "What are you waiting for?"

"Uh, I can't fly"

"What!? How can you not be able to fly?"

"I don't know, I just can't!"

"Oh lord" Alivia mumbled, putting her hand on her forehead. She flew back to Skinner, grabbed onto his arms, and with a grunt, they were off the ground. It took them about thirty minutes to get to the platform that held the dining hall, and when they finally got to it, Alivia had to lay on the ground for about five minutes to regain her strength.

     Once they got to the dining hall all the good food was gone, much like the lunch room at Olympus Jr. High. Skinner sat by Alivia, because she was the only person he had met who wasn't completely annoyed with him, despite her having to carry him to the dining hall.

"So, what's your story?" Alivia asked.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me"

"Please, tell me. Now I really want to know."

"Okay... fine, I will tell you. But don't say that I am mentally unstable or anything when I do." Skinner then proceeded to tell her the story of how he got to this mysterious world. Alivia stared at him, wide-eyed. "See, I knew you would think I was crazy." Skinner said, folding his arms. Alivia then leaned in and whispered "I've heard rumors of a witch that lives not too far from here. She possesses magical powers, maybe she can help you return to your human realm."