Lunchtime for freshmen and juniors eventually came. After lunch would be the Spirit Week activity Makenna had read about in the schedule that morning. She still didn't know what it was, but nobody did.
Makenna arrived in the cafeteria before Tracey. She and Jessica bought their lunches and carried their trays to an empty table in the far corner of the cafeteria. They set their trays down, and Jessica sat before hers.
Makenna remained standing. She stood on her tiptoes and searched for Tracey.
Jessica noticed her and bit into her cheeseburger. Once she swallowed, she peered at her friend and asked, "Who are you looking for, Makenna?"
"Nobody, Jessica," Makenna lied.
Jessica chuckled. "You can't fool me, Makenna. You're searching for Peter Nelson, aren't you?"
Makenna shivered at the name. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah. Of course, I'm searching for Peter Nelson. Hmm, I don't see him. Oh well." Getting off her tiptoes, she plopped down beside Jessica and faced her lunch tray.
While Makenna and Jessica ate, Jessica showed Makenna a few ballet and surfing videos on her iPhone. They chuckled every time somebody wiped out.
Tracey soon appeared from the lunch line's exit. For once, Peter Nelson wasn't with him, but Tracey didn't see Makenna and Jessica, just like how they didn't see him.
He searched the cafeteria and gulped, too shy and scared to sit with other kids. Tracey hung his head and stumbled to an empty table, sitting. He sighed. He wasn't very hungry. School was very strange for him. He was also starting to feel a little sick again.
Tracey thought his day couldn't get any worse, but then Peter Nelson and Bruce came.
They approached him from behind.
Propping up his head, Tracey picked up his fork and poked his salad.
Behind, Peter, holding a cup of ice coffee, glanced at Bruce and smirked.
Bruce did, too.
Peter next glanced at Tracey's so-called wingless back and approached it. He quickly shot his hand out and grabbed the back of Tracey's green and purple, tunic-like shirt. He then lifted the cup and dumped the ice-cold coffee down it.
Tracey gasped when he felt the cold. He threw down his fork and jumped to his feet.
Bruce and Pete chuckled meanly.
Tracey turned to them. He felt his wings sticking together with the coffee and glared.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ninja Boy," Peter sarcastically spoke. "Was that cold?"
"Want us to call your mommy?" asked Bruce. "You look like you're about to cry."
Tracey sensed they were trying to pull him into a fight, so he said, "I don't want to fight you, Bruce and Peter. Shoo, please. Leave me alone."
Peter turned red. Lifting his fist, he tried to punch Tracey, but he grabbed his wrist and stopped it from coming. He squeezed Peter's wrist.
Tracey pushed Peter off him and into Bruce. Then, through ninja speed, he appeared at the cafeteria's exit and searched for Makenna. Slipping out of the cafeteria, Tracey hurried down the empty hall, looking for a place to hide and air out his wings. He sped up but tripped.
With Bruce behind him, Peter marched toward Tracey and cracked his knuckles.
Thanks to his fairy instincts, Tracey sensed Peter behind him and growled. He had had it!
Tracey's eyes glowed green, and he cupped his hands. A bright ball of green and purple light appeared in them. Whirling around, Tracey yelled, "Paintus Completeness!" and the spell flew out of his hands.
Peter gasped. The spell hit him in the chest and knocked him to the ground!
Bruce also gasped. "Pete!" He hurried toward his friend.
Tracey stood tall, fists clenched, and prepared another spell.
Bruce stopped beside Peter and offered him his hand.
However, Peter smacked Bruce's hand away and struggled to his feet. He looked himself up and down and gasped when he saw his entire body covered in green and purple paint. "Ahh! Why, you jerk!" he screamed at Tracey.
"How dare you!" Bruce shouted. "Think you're so funny, huh, baby?"
Tracey's fists stopped glowing, and he unclenched them. However, he still glared.
Clenching his own fists, Bruce approached him and added, "Let my fists do the talking. I will avenge my friend."
A few students wandering the hallway noticed the two boys. One kid pointed at them and said, "Hey, look! It's a fight!"
Quickly, a crowd surrounded Tracey and Bruce. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" the students chanted.
In the cafeteria, Makenna and Jessica heard the ruckus from the hallway. "What in the name of—?" Makenna asked. "What's with all the ruckus?"
Before long, a junior girl entered the cafeteria and announced to all the students, "Dudes, you've got to see this! It's a fight between Bruce and a new kid!"
"A new kid?" inquired Makenna. Her eyes widened. "Tracey!" She jumped to her feet and hurried toward the cafeteria's exit.
Behind, Jessica held her hand out to her. "Makenna, wait!" She, too, stood and hurried after her friend.
Makenna followed the junior girl into the hallway. Her eyes landed on the crowd of students surrounding Tracey and Bruce.
They still chanted, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Makenna scurried toward the crowd, Jessica behind her. "Makenna!" she yelled again. She and Makenna had a policy: They would walk away if there was a fight in school and wouldn't go toward it. However, Makenna was.
She soon reached the crowd and pushed through it. "Excuse me, excuse me." Makenna tried jumping into the fray, but other kids blocked her. Makenna grabbed their shoulders and called, "Tracey!"
Tracey and Bruce still faced one another, and Peter was back on the ground.
Bruce aimed a punch at Tracey, but he was too fast.
He dodged the punch, and a few students gasped. "Did you see how fast he was?" a freshman girl asked.
Bruce faced Tracey and gritted his teeth.
Tracey remained calm throughout the entire scene. "I'd keep your distance if I were you, Bruce. You don't want to get into it with me." He was telling the truth, too. Tracey was Tracey, Merlin the Great's apprentice.
"Shut your yap and fight!" Bruce aimed another punch, but Tracey front-flipped over him.
"Whoa!" a few other kids yelled. "This guy's good!"
Tracey landed behind Bruce and said, "I'd prefer not to."
Bruce lost his patience. He aimed numerous, quick punches at the young fairy, but he dodged every one of them. However, Bruce kept trying to hit him.
Makenna finally managed to push through the crowd of kids and leaped onto the scene.
From the ground, Peter saw her. "Makenna!"
Makenna ignored him. She again yelled, "Tracey!" and hurried toward the two boys.
Jessica had also managed to push through the crowd, and her eyes widened at the sight of Makenna. "Makenna, no!" she cried.
Makenna kept for the fighting boys.
Bruce lifted his fist to aim another punch, but just before he could strike, Makenna appeared between them from out of nowhere. Bruce gasped and immediately stopped his punch so he wouldn't hit her instead of Tracey.
At the sight of Makenna, Tracey's eyes widened. "Makenna!"
"Stop it!" Makenna shouted, glancing at both boys. "Both of you!"
"Ooohhs," came from the crowd of kids.
Bruce and Tracey immediately stopped glaring and focused on Makenna.
"Look," she sternly said, "I don't know what stupid thing caused this fight, but I forbid you guys to act aggressively! You will not send each other to the hospital! Not when I'm here, at least! Bruce, go away! Leave Tracey alone!"
Bruce leered at her, but because she was a girl, he refused to hit her. He backed away from Tracey and pressed against some lockers.
The crowd dispersed, and people returned to lunch.
Makenna, Tracey, Jessica, Bruce, and Peter were alone in the hallway. Peter soon stood, and the stench of paint lifted from his body.
"What happened to you, Pete?" Jessica questioned, approaching him.
"He did this to me!" Peter shouted, pointing at Tracey. "I don't know how he did, but he did it!"
Tracey and Makenna paid him no attention. They faced one another, and the second they caught each other's eyes, the fairies cracked small grins.
"Tracey!" Makenna called.
"Makenna!" Tracey choked back. His eyes swelled with tears, and he hurried toward her. With Makenna finally back on set, he felt much safer. It helped him understand that he wasn't the only fairy there.
Makenna hurried for him, and the two friends came closer, although Tracey still tripped. They soon reached each other and immediately pulled themselves into a hug.
Peter groaned and turned red again. He tightly clenched his right fist and watched the sickening reunion.
While they hugged, Makenna softly told Tracey, "I've been worried about you all morning, Tracey. Don't scare me like that again."
With every passing second, Peter turned redder and redder.
Bruce grasped his shoulder and tried to pull him back, but Peter broke free.
Jessica approached the hugging fairies and blushed at the sight of Tracey. "Oh, my God!" she whispered. "Ooh la, la."
Peter pushed by her and grabbed Makenna's arm. He pulled her away from Tracey and locked his arms around her.
"Peter Nelson!" Makenna gasped, blushing. "You got a new look!" She chuckled flirtingly and studied his arms. No way, Peter Nelson was holding her!
Tracey, who wasn't exactly pleased that Peter had pulled Makenna away from him, glared and said, "Release her."
"No, it's all right, Tracey," Makenna squealed. "Peter and I are a couple."
"That's right," said Peter, dragging her away. "You best go find your own girl, Ninja Boy. Bruce." With his head, he gestured at Bruce and then at Tracey.
His friend nodded and took his back off the lockers.
Jessica followed Peter and Makenna into the lunchroom, so only Tracey and Bruce were in the hallway.
Tracey growled from where he stood. "That jerk," he mumbled. "Makenna doesn't deserve to be harassed like that. She's only fourteen years old!"
"You are so right, Ninja Boy," Bruce snickered at him. He approached Tracey and glanced at him. Bruce stopped beside him, arms crossed, and repeated, "You are so right." He cleared his throat. "I'll talk to him. But before I do, here's a little gift he's been saving for you that he wants me to deliver to you."
"Gift?" Tracey asked. A question mark appeared above his head. "What gift?"
Bruce crept closer to him, arms still crossed. There was silence and no movement between the two boys for a moment. Then, Bruce struck.
He uncrossed his arms, clenched his fist, and punched Tracey in the arm.
Yelling in pain, Tracey grabbed his arm and collapsed onto the ground. "Ow!" he cried out. He curled into a ball and tightly shut his eyes.
Bruce, who shook out his fist, stomped down on his hand and said, "I can assure you, Mr. Tracey Know-It-All, if you attack my friend like that again, then so help myself, I will give you something even worse than a punch!" He took his shoe from Tracey's hand, turned on his heel, and left him.
Tracey remained on the ground. Now that he was alone, he could cry.
Tears of pain streamed down his cheeks, and he felt something warm and wet under the hand that clutched his arm.
Tracey struggled to his knees. He tried to stand but yelled and fell again. Tracey felt like he was dying. He knew he was dying. However, he needed to be strong.
Tracey rose to his feet without removing his hand from his arm, but the second he stood, his world spun. He took a few steps forward but fell against the lockers. Tracey knew his arm was bleeding. However, he didn't dare look at the bruise. He had a pretty good feeling Bruce had broken his arm.
Tracey was so glad school was almost over. When he returned to Seabrook Island, he would fly straight back to where he belonged, Merlin's Island. He refused to come back to human school.
Tracey didn't return to the lunchroom. During the rest of the lunch period, he stayed in the hallway and silently cried to himself.