Emily Jenkins - Night Owl

H ere is what Elinor Boxwood Horace packed for the Dunwiddle Magic School Fifth-Grade Sleepover on Big Night:

1 water bottle with sparkly stickers on it

1 pair of plaid pajamas

1 sleeping bag, belonging to Aunt Margo

1 favorite pillow

1 second-favorite pillow

1 toothbrush and 1 adorable tiny tube of toothpaste, safe in a plastic baggie

1 hair scrunchie

1 pair of purple jeans and a bright blue sweatshirt with sequins on it, to wear the next day

Plus 1 pair of underwear, of course. And socks.

Nory felt a lot of feelings about the Big Night sleepover.

For one, she was EXCITED.

All the fifth graders would sleep overnight at school, staying up late for Big Night, the holiday to celebrate the longest night of the year. Theyd eat traditional Big Night treats and make paper owls.

There would be a scavenger hunt. The winning team would get an amazing prize: the key to a secret room somewhere on the grounds of the school.

But Nory was also SAD.

Her best friend, Elliott Cohen, wouldnt be at the sleepover. He was going to the Sage Academy Big Night Concert instead. In fact, Elliott was leaving Dunwiddle Magic School to go to boarding school at Sage Academy after the winter break.

Leaving!

Dunwiddle!

Forever!

Because of this terrible plan, Elliott had chosen to go to Sages concert over Dunwiddles sleepover.

How could he miss their last night of fun together?

So Nory was excited about Big Night, and at the same time sad, and on top of all that, NERVOUS.

Why? Because some kids at Dunwiddle were mean about upside-down magic. In particular the Sparkies, a group of Flare kids with unpleasant attitudes. If something wonky happened at the sleepover, the Sparkies were sure to be mean about it. Like if Norys friend Bax turned into a rock. Or if her friend Willa made it rain on their sleeping bags.

Norys own magic could go wonky, too. She could accidentally turn into a squid-puppy in front of the whole fifth grade!

Heres how magic worked: When you were young, you were just a regular kid. You didnt know what your magic would be yet. You went to ordinary school. Then, shortly after your tenth birthday, your powers bubbled up. You got one of five talents.

Flares had fire magic.

Flyers could fly.

Fuzzies had a magical connection to animals.

Flickers had invisibility magic.

And Fluxers could turn into animals.

Most beginner Fluxers started off turning into kittens. When they got their kittens rightwith straight whiskers, four legs, and nice sharp kitten teeththey started learning to do puppies. Later, they would learn other mammals, like goats and hamsters. In high school, they fluxed into wilder animals, like apes and deer. Birds, insects, and large carnivores could be learned if you went to college.

Nory was a Fluxer, but she mixed up her animals. Kitten was the only animal shape she could hold for more than a couple minutes, and even doing that had taken her tons of practice. When she fluxed, Nory often added dragon to her kitten and became a dritten. Or she added goat to her kitten and became a koat. Or squid to her puppy and became a squippy. Stuff like that.

The bright side: Nory had some pretty big power. At age ten, she had already fluxed into a couple of shapes with bird elements. And a couple of shapes with fish elements. Plus one with a touch of mosquito.

The other bright side: Because of Norys upside-down magic, she now lived with Aunt Margo and went to a new kind of experimental class, one for kids with unusual magic. Her teacher, Ms. Starr, helped each kid in Dunwiddles Upside-Down Magic class figure out how to manage their own unique powers.

The UDM kids had become a team. They had one anothers backs and did their best to understand each students unusual magic. They stood up for their friends and had a lot of laughs.

It wouldnt be the same without Elliott.

Aunt Margo and her boyfriend, Figs, were waiting downstairs when Nory lugged her duffel bag into the living room.

Have fun at the sleepover, said Figs. And keep an eye out for Big Night owls.

Silly man, said Aunt Margo. Big Night owls are invisible.

According to legend, Big Night owls were an invisible breed of owls that visited people on Big Night. Nory would never get the chance to see one, obviously. They were invisible. But she always hoped she might hear the beat of their wings.

Do you believe theyre real? she asked. The Big Night owls?

Figs pretended to be insulted. Excuse me? Of course theyre real!

Nory rolled her eyes, because yeah, yeah, yeah, he had to say that. And anyway, she was glad he did, because she liked believing in them, too.

Owls are nocturnal, Figs added. Theyre the perfect animal to visit us on Big Night since Big Night is the longest night of the year.

Also, owls have keen eyesight, Aunt Margo said. They see things clearly even from far away, and we try to do that, too, when we make our Big Night resolutions.

She pointed at the dining table. It was covered with brightly patterned pieces of paper. Do you want to fold some owls before you go?

Nory shook her head. Were folding them at the sleepover.

Nory had folded owls every year on Big Night. The pretty paper and the shape of the owls people often used nowadays were borrowed from Japanese origami, but the tradition of folding paper owls for Big Night had started with ordinary brown paper and tape. People did them all different ways. Nory liked making them, but she had never given the ritual much thought.

Ms. Starr said were going to make Big Night resolutions at the sleepover, Nory added, but this will be my first time. Ive always just tossed my owl into the air.

Ah, said Aunt Margo. Well, you were young.

Whats my Big Night resolution supposed to be ? Nory asked.

Aunt Margo tapped her chin. Its kind of like a wish, but its a wish you can make come true for yourself.

A wish you could make come true for yourself. What a cool idea.

Well, Nory certainly wished Elliott was coming to Big Night. And she wished he wasnt leaving Dunwiddle for Sage Academy.

But he wasnt coming. And he was leaving.

So she couldnt really make a resolution about Elliott, because she couldnt make her wishes about him come true.

Youll think of something, said Aunt Margo, noticing Norys silence. I have faith in you.

Nory put on her jacket and looked in the mirror. There she was: brown eyes, a red sweater, a plaid coat, brown skin, big hair.

She felt a little thrill. It was a holiday. She was staying up late. At school. With her friends! She would think of a good resolution. She would. And she would make the best of this special evening, even without Elliott.

Happy Big Night, she told Figs and Aunt Margo. She shouldered her duffel bag and headed out into the misty early evening air.