A Claim to Magic

Perspective

       CHAPTER FIVE

They reached the airport at a quarter to eight and began searching for Betsy, after five minutes of sticking together, calling her name, they decided that she was either on the plane, or hiding. Elizabeth volunteered to go save them seats and look for Betsy on the plane, while Corrie continued on to check every last hiding place at the airport. "Betsy! Betsy!" Corrie called her sister's name as she walked along a long line of people at the information desk, and there was Betsy.

"Betsy!" now that Corrie had found her she was so relieved that she thought she could hardly be irritated, "the plane's leaving in five minutes come on!" Betsy wouldn't move, no matter how hard Corrie tugged on her arm, she wouldn't move an inch. Betsy looked at her, and Corrie realized that she was crying.

"What's wrong?" Now Corrie was getting annoyed.

"Oh I don't know," Betsy was very upset, "Maybe it's that I am right where I am!" Corrie looked at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Do you think I'm mad at you?" Corrie asked.

"No!"

"What is it, then?"

"I don't want to be here, at the airport, going to a school at which my world will be turned upside down and I have no friends! I want to go home, Corrie, I want to go home!" Corrie thought for a moment, wondering what could have possibly happened on the plane that had made Betsy so miserable, and then, it hit her, "You don't have any friends, you're mad because I have friends!"

"No! I just I well, I don't think it's right to-" Corrie didn't hear any more, she didn't need to, she left.

Back in the plane, Corrie was quiet, she was confused, and yet everything made sense, Betsy had not actually thought anything was wrong when she had told Corrie about Igbo being a language that only the Ojoo spoke, she had been trying to make Corrie distrust Elizabeth, she had not been crying because she had made Corrie lose her only friend, she had been crying because Corrie had a friend. She was jealous.

Corrie was sitting next to Elizabeth and, unfortunately, Betsy. Betsy was crying, or Corrie thought she was, she wouldn't look at her, she wouldn't no matter what she said. Not that Betsy was about to apologize, she probably thought that Corrie was in the wrong, somehow like it was a crime to have a friend.

Corrie was looking out the window, she had been since take-off, it was the only way she could avoid looking at her sister. She watched the starry night sky more beautiful than ever, looking as if she could reach out her hand and touch the round, blue moon.

Harriet pulled out Fable Maker, the book she had ripped the cover off of, and opened it. She began to read,

They're fighting, the sisters, the twins, over the

smallest thing possible, a friend. A first friend,

the first friend Corrie's ever had-

Corrie jerked her head up, the book was talking about her! It was talking about her and Betsy. She flipped the book over, revealing the title page, what it said made Corrie gasp, Fable Maker, the book of perspective. Corrie thought for a moment, could this book be dangerous? She thought not. She flipped back to the first page,

A friend that, in truth, Corrie barely knew-

The book was suddenly wiped blank, then, it seemed, rewritten,

They're fighting over Corrie's only friend,

The friend that likes Corrie and not Betsy,

Corrie's friend and not Betsy's. Betsy is

Jealous.

The book changed again,

Corrie was her friend first, but she probably

Likes Betsy more anyways, Betsy is way more

Likeable, and she has so many more friends-

Corrie read the book intently, she found it interesting, though sometimes slightly offending, to see her situation from others' points of view.

At one in the morning, Corrie fell asleep, the book still clutched in her hand, her mind buzzing, and her heart racing, she had an idea.