“So, you’re accepted back into the community now?”
“They act like the last eight months never even happened,” Lola says. Her arms are crossed. There’s a slight purple glow to her wings and cheeks that make it clear that even if she’s a bit bitter, she’s thriving on the change in attitude. A little good karma finally came her way.
“It was their loss to start with,” I say louder. Who cares if they hear?
A male pixie with red wings and dark-brown skin in a full tux lands on the table in front of me. My eyebrows rise. “I quite agree,” he says with a surprisingly low voice. He has a short afro and broad shoulders—relative to the rest of his seven-inch-tall body, at least.
Another red pixie swoops down from the hovering hoard above and drops to her feet beside him, followed by a yellow one. Both female. “Yeah, obviously,” the red female says. “But there were reasons for it, you know.” She crosses her arms and puffs out her chest.
“Shut up, Olivia,” the male says.
“What kind of reasons?” I ask, not hiding my indignation in the slightest.
“It’s motivation,” a voice buzzes over my head. I jerk away from the sudden sound by my right ear. Then, a third female appears in front of my nose, purple wings vibrating. “When you don’t live up to expectations there have to be consequences. It clearly worked for Lola; she got stronger because she had to.”
I curl a lip in disgust. Lola’s grimace matches mine. “Tell me this isn’t your sister,”I say.
Lola snorts, a smile teasing her lips. “Anita, meet Candice.”
Anita flutters around and lands next to the little group of pixies on the table. The rest still buzz above, watching the events from afar.
“You’re really trying to take credit for her accomplishments based on your cruelty? Ew.”
Anita flinches. “She got stronger, didn’t she?”
My mouth opens to respond, but Janet beats me to it. “Lola got stronger because she had unconditional love and support from her friends. Stop justifying your meanness. It’s gross.”
“Yes!” I say in solid agreement.
“If Lola wasn’t such a sniveling weakli—”
“Get out,” I say, not even recognizing the anger in my chest. “Leave now. You’re not welcome here.”
Anita gasps. But then, a shadow swipes over the table, pushing every pixie except Lola up and away from our portion of the table, creating a barrier between us.
Lola’s jaw is ajar.
“Thanks,” I mutter to Jarron.
He nods but says nothing.
“Lola, if you want them allowed back in, just say the word,” I tell her. “They’re your family, so I can deal if you want them here.”
She puffs out her chest. “They can come back tomorrow. For today, we’ll let them squirm.”
I grin and watch as the pixies scatter, splitting into several smaller groups and then reconvening on the other side of the lunchroom.
“They haven’t apologized or anything?”I ask eventually.
“Most of them, no. My sister acts like I should beso gratefulI’m allowed back in the group, even though I’m in Minor Hall.” She rolls her eyes.
“But Tyrane has been very kind.” Janet wiggles her eyebrows.
“Tyrane?” I ask, eyes darting to Lola to gauge her reaction. Her wings glow a little, but she holds her chin high, trying hard not to show any emotion.
“A very handsome red pixie, who has given her a lot of attention lately,” Janet says.
“Ooh, the male that showed up a few minutes ago?”
