My Very UnFairy Tale Life: Jenny’s First Adventure by Anna Staniszewski

Jenny’s First UnFairy Tale Adventure
     
    I wasn’t just sitting around twirling my hair
when my life went from normal to magical. I was in the middle of
gym class, trying to convince my teacher that mini-golf should be
taught in school. I’d just spouted one of the catchy slogans I’d
invented the night before when— Kapow !—something exploded on
the other side of the gymnasium.
    Kids all around me screamed like they were in
a horror movie.
    I whirled around to find a gnome standing
next to the bleachers. Seriously. A gnome. With bright orange hair,
a bright orange beard, and a bright orange lollipop in his
hand.
    “Jennifer?” he said. “Anyone here named
Jennifer?”
    All eyes swung toward me. “Um,” I said,
half-raising my hand. “I usually go by Jenny.”
    The gnome’s face lit up as he practically
skipped toward me. He really was a gnome. Unless the taco I’d had
for lunch was making me—and everyone else in the class—hallucinate.
The beef had been particularly spongy that day.
    “Who are you?” I managed to say.
    “I’m Anthony,” the gnome answered, sticking
out a pudgy hand and furiously shaking my fingers. “And I’m going
to be your magical guide!”
    I checked to see if my teacher, Mrs. Hartley,
was going to do anything about the situation, but she was busy
being frozen in shock.
    “Are you really magical?” I asked.
    “Sure am!” the gnome chirped, sticking the
lollipop in his mouth. “See?” He snapped his fingers
and— pop !—an enormous duck appeared in the middle of the gym
floor.
    “Quack,” it said. It wasn’t actually making a
quacking sound; it was literally saying “quack” like it was
imitating a duck. And, on top of that, its feathers were bright
purple. Clearly, this was no regular animal.
    “No birds allowed in the gym,” Mrs. Hartley
said weakly.
    I heard something hit the floor behind me.
When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that a few of the kids in my
class had fainted.
    I should have been scared. I guess any normal
person would have been. But if there was one thing my best friends,
Trish and Melissa, were always teasing me about, it was that I was
definitely not normal. So while everyone else in my gym
class was passing out, I was getting annoyed.
    “Maybe we could talk about this somewhere
else?” I asked the gnome. “Since you’re freaking everyone out?”
    Anthony’s grin faded. “You humans are so
sensitive.” He grabbed my arm and— pop !—everything around me
disappeared. Instantly, I was thrown into an upside-down
tilt-a-whirl. I tried to scream, but the sound got sucked right
back into my throat.
    Then the horrible feeling faded, and I
realized we were in my bedroom. My legs gave out, and I flopped
onto the carpet. The purple duck landed next to me with a
thump.
    “Ouch,” it said.
    I couldn’t deal with talking ducks at that
moment, so I ignored the creature and glared up at Anthony
instead.
    “Couldn’t we have just walked to my house
instead of doing…whatever that was?” I said.
    The gnome rolled his eyes. “Look, if you’re
going to be traveling between worlds, you might as well get used to
how it feels.”
    I sat up. “Did you just say something about
traveling between worlds?”
    Anthony’s grin came back. “That’s right! I
told you, I’m going to be your guide, and you, Jenny-girl, are
going to be an adventurer.” He puffed out his chest and looked at
me like he expected me to jump up and down with glee.
    “What’s an adventurer?” I got up and went to
sit on my bed. The purple duck had made itself at home and was
roosting in between my pillows. I pretended not to notice.
    Anthony let out a loud sigh. “I knew this
world had no magic, but this is ridiculous!” He shook his head, his
orange hair bouncing. “Okay, fine. When you’re an adventurer, you
travel to magical worlds and swoop in to save the day. All the
magical creatures adore you for helping them, and they reward you
with riches and jewels and a