Amanda Ashby - Fairy Bad Day

Table of Contents

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Suddenly, she was aware of the silence between them, and after the embarrassing misunderstanding of the tie incident, she decided that she had better stand up before she made another stupid mistake. She started to get to her feet, but before she could, she felt his fingers reach out for her hand.

Jones... His voice was low and raspy and sent a delicious shudder racing through her as his fingers curled possessively around hers and he pulled her back down to the bench. She looked up to see him staring right at her, and she swallowed. Last time this had happened he had fixed her tie, but tonight she didnt have her uniform on.

Yes? Her voice was croaky, even to her own ears, but instead of answering, he lowered his mouth to hers, and before she knew what was happening, Curtis was kissing her. The feel of his lips on hers, his skin touching hers, his fingers entwined in hers... it all made her feel something that she hadnt felt in a very long time. Happy. He deepened the kiss, and Emma felt her whole body start to tingle. However, too soon it was over, and Curtis suddenly pulled away and leaned back against the bench, shaking his head as he looked up into the night sky.

I shouldnt have done that.

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Published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2011

Copyright Amanda Ashby, 2011

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eISBN : 978-1-101-52906-5

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Jenny Bent, my fabulous Skittleloving agent. This book wouldnt have existed without you. To Christina Phillips, Sara Hantz, and Pat Posner, only you guys know what this one was like to writeand I will buy you pretty shiny things if you promise not to tell! I would also like to thank my amazing editor, Karen Chaplin, who works so hard to find the story withinthank you, thank you, thank you! And to everyone else at Puffin, you have no idea how much I appreciate all that you do to make my dreams come true.

To Marie Zitney, Delia Lynch, and Vanessa Charters, I met you guys well before the Internet ever existed, yet somehow youve turned into my Facebook cheer squadthank you! To my mum and my entire family, thank you for your excellent bookstore-stalking abilities! Id also like to give a special thanks to Mandy, Claudia, Ruby, Niko, and Willie for being such amazing friends when we needed it most! An extra big shout-out to all the amazing YA bloggers out there who do so much to support writers. You guys are the best! And as always, nothing would exist without Barry, Molly, and Arthur. Thank you for ignoring the dust, the burnt meals, and the occasional vagueness.

CHAPTER ONE

D emon, definitely, Emma Jones whispered as another sophomore made his way from Principal Kesslers office to where everyone was waiting on the grassy quad. It was late afternoon and the sun was still lingering. Two seconds later the student lifted both his index fingers up onto his head to mimic demon horns and let everyone know that he was now a demon slayer.

Thats incredible. How do you do it? Loni demanded, her dark violet eyes almost as wide as the large silver hoops that were hanging from her ears. (The same earrings that Loni had dragged Emma all around town searching for, before finally deciding to buy them from the first store theyd looked in.)

Its a gift. Emma grinned and shrugged as she marked her chart. So far she had managed to correctly call the designation of eighty of their fellow Burtonwood Academy classmates. Though to be fair, it wasnt that difficult. For instance, Loni, with her small frame and sharp mind, was always going to be much better at killing wily goblins than brawny harpies, whereas their friend Tyler, who was long and lean, was perfectly suited to hunt the six-foot firebreathing salamanders to which he had just been designated. Then there were the overbulked guys like the Lewis twins, who had ogre slayer written all over them.

Well, its a gift that should be harnessed. Tyler looked at the chart, his bright red shaggy hair poking out in all directions like an untamed lions mane. I mean, if youd told me sooner how good you were at predicting this stuff, I wouldve gotten some bets going. We couldve cleaned up.

Tyler, Loni chided, not everything has to be about making money and gambling.

Want to bet? Tyler grinned at his own joke as Loni rolled her eyes. Besides, considering the amount you spent on that weird-looking purple coat the other day, I thought you would appreciate the extra cash.

Its not weird, its gorgeous, Loni corrected him in a stern voice. Anyway, my horoscope said purple was my lucky color. What was I supposed to do? Ignore the sign?

Er, when the sign makes you spend a hundred dollars? Then yes, definitely just ignore it, he retorted, causing Loni to give him a swift punch in the arm.

Emma turned her attention back to her chart. Loni and Tyler had been bickering ever since theyd started Burtonwood Academy when they were eight years old (apparently it was because they were a Taurus and Leo, respectively), and so she hadnt really expected them to take a break just because theyd both received their dream designations. Of course the designations wouldnt be formally confirmed until the induction ceremony in six weeks, but everyone knew that once Principal Kessler had given you the all-important piece of paper, there was no going back.

Earth to Emma. Tyler suddenly waved a hand in front of her eyes, causing her to blink. So has anyone been given dragons yet?

She shook her head. Nope, not yet. Which wasnt really a surprise, since not only were dragons the hardest to kill out of all the elementals, they were also the creatures that the fewest people showed an affinity for. And there had never been more than one dragon slayer inducted in any given year.

But of course thats going to change soon, Loni chimed in. Since Emmas next to go in. Plus, shes an Aries, so its only right that a fire sign should get a fire elemental to slay.