My Extraordinary Life: LeLe's Story

I slammed the door to the apartment I shared with two other people. "I'm home!" I called, but nobody responded. Anthony was likely getting ready for his basketball game; Maggie was probably working. I sighed and set down my backpack on our creaky, broken table. Ever since I had been kicked out of my home in Idaho and moved in with my boyfriend and his older sister in the capital of Pennsylvania, life had been tough. As I thought this, a roach scuttled across the counter in the kitchen, and I grimaced. I had stopped screaming, at least.

Careful to avoid the two or three small bugs who also shared our cramped living space (and who we could never seem to get rid of), I entered the small bedroom Maggie and I shared. Opening the door to the closet, I pondered what to wear. I didn't have that many clothes, so it wasn't that hard to pick out a pink tank top, jean shorts, leather boots, and my lucky silver charm bracelet. We needed luck on our side today. It was Anthony's big game. The one that would, more likely than not, decide if he would get a scholarship to Penn State, like I already had.

When I was dressed, I grabbed my purse and raced out the door, running to the nearest Capital Area Transit station. Luckily, it wasn't far (across the street, in front of the Rite-Aid), and I made the bus that would take me to Harrisburg High School. I probably could have walked if I hadn't had swim practice earlier- it wasn't far. But it took about an hour, and I didn't have that sort of time.

Even with the bus, the players were already doing their dramatic, yelling burst-in thing that they did. I slipped in quietly and found a seat, somewhere quiet, but with a full view of the action. I could see Anthony waving to the crowd- pretty much the entire school was there, plus some of the kids from Bishop McDevitt Catholic High School down the street- probably ready to see the opposing Creswell High School kick our butts. They're in for a surprise! I thought cheerfully. You could say a lot of things about me, but you could never say I wasn't a supportive girlfriend.

The game began, and as I suspected, we were winning almost immediately, keeping a steady eight or so points ahead of the opposition. My boyfriend was a big part of that, anyone could tell. He always had an ease to him on the court, a casual sort of focus that made his playing look effortless and fun. I didn't like basketball myself- I was a swimmer- but going to his games really was fun.

When the game was about half an hour in, I started to get hungry and went to get some pizza that one of the many clubs was selling. I wasn't so fond of pepperoni, which was all they had, but my empty stomach and I made due, pulling off the pieces of greasy meat one by one. It took about five minutes to do this and eat, and they didn't allow food in the gym. I hoped I wasn't missing anything important.

When I finished and was going down the hallway, ready to get back to the game, I saw that "something important" was an understatement.

"Anthony!" I yelled, running up to him. He was knocked out, lying on a stretcher. His legs were both bent in funny ways. "What happened?" I asked the first person I saw- a paramedic.

"From what I understand, someone fell on top of him."

"Is he going to be okay?" I was frantic.

The paramedic shrugged. "Hopefully, kid, but I can't promise anything. You his girlfriend?"

"His roommate." It wasn't a lie.

"Does this guy have any family?"

"Just me and Maggie, his older sister. Oh my god. This is horrible. Please, let me see him."

The paramedic moved aside, which I actually didn't expect. "Don't be too long- we need to get him to a hospital, but it's not the most urgent. If you want to talk to him, see if you can get him to wake up, that's fine. Just don't touch his legs."

I put my hand on his head, his hair, instead. I can't stand this, I thought, almost in tears. Can you please just be okay, Anthony? Why weren't you more careful? Be okay... for me? Please?

The more I wished, the more I could feel the wish around me. It was calming, and made me feel much better. I couldn't do a thing for him- except for hope.

He groaned suddenly, and sat up. The paramedic pushed me out of the way. "Lay back down!" he barked. "You're injured."

Anthony frowned. "I feel fine." He swung his legs over the stretcher and got up, looking just like he could walk back onto the court. In fact, I was sure that was where he was going. I wasn't sure if I should stop him or not. Maybe all that injury had just been a bad dream?

The paramedic grabbed his arm. "Whether your roommate is a fairy or not, we still have to examine you, kid."

I paused. Anthony stopped dead in his tracks. "What did you just call my girlfriend?" he asked.

"She told me you were her roommate. So I called her your roommate."

"No, the other thing."

"Oh, saying she was a fairy," the paramedic realized. "Isn't she? I mean, she had the weird glow, and suddenly you were all hunky-dory. And she's about the right age and stuff too."

"A fairy," I repeated.

"Yeah. You know, wings and sparkly outfits and magic powers? They're all over the news."

"You aren't a fairy, Lee. Are you?" My boyfriend's voice was soft and inquisitive, and he used my pet name. This was serious.

I answered honestly. "I don't think so... but what just happened."

"Let's go home," he said.

"What about your game?"

He took my face in his hands carefully. "LeLe, this is infinitely more important. I'll get into Penn State some other way. I promise you."

We walked home, mainly in silence, both thinking about what had just happened. When we were only a few blocks away from our apartment, I looked up at him. "Anthony," I asked. "If I turn out to be a fairy, will you still love me? Will you be alright with me?"

He slipped his hand into mine. "Of course," he said simply, and I believed it.

When we entered the apartment, Maggie was in the living room, reading a book. "You two are home early," she commented.

"Something happened," Anthony said. "Please don't get upset, Mags."

She closed her novel. "That's pretty much telling me I'm going to get upset. What's going on?"

We sat and explained what happened. Maggie, an intelligent girl of 24 with dark hair that matched her brother, always had an intense look- but the one on her face as we communicated our story could kill. In a different way, she was as focused as her brother, though on the older sibling it looked much less relaxed. "A fairy?" she echoed us when we had finished. "You know, I knew a fairy when I was younger. We went to school together until fourth grade. I think her name was Lisa or something..."

"I thought all the fairies disappeared centuries ago."

"The Black Circle- the evil wizard-dudes- apparently been hunting them for a while. Most vanished around the Middle Ages, but a few held out in secret until about ten years ago. Like my friend. And then the whole Magical Renaissance happened..." When she wasn't working, Maggie went to PSH- Penn State Harrisburg- where she was one of the first to study Supernatural History. That was one of the few magic-related jobs that normal humans could have, along with studying artifacts, learning the magic theory, and working with fairy DNA to try to determine what marks the differences. Maggie was not science minded, as the other jobs required, though.

"And now, they're reemerging. It's all over the news," Anthony finished.

I looked at my hands. They were somewhat dark, part of my Mexican heritage. And possibly, they could channel magic. "What do I do? How do I know?"

"We need to go to Gardenia," Maggie said. "Or rather, you do. I have classes."

"So do we," Anthony said.

"Yeah, but you guys can take five unexcused absences per semester. You're old enough to pack up and do this on your own. LeLe is nearly nineteen, and Anthony, you'll be eighteen in a couple of weeks. I give you my permission. In fact, I insist."

"Where are we going to get the money?"

Maggie bit her lip. "I have some. I was saving it up to move to a better apartment... but this is more important. Besides, it won't take all of the money. Not even half."

"I can't," I told her. "You earned it."

"Think of it this way- I'm paying you off to be my living dissertation later. Okay, LeLe?"

I cracked a smile. "If you insist."

In less than 24 hours, Anthony and I were on a plane, bound for Gardenia, California. We didn't know much about what to do. Were other teenage girls making their way to this city, desperate for answers? Or was I the only one? Maybe they wouldn't be interested in me... yes, we knew new fairies were awakening every day, but we didn't know what happened to them. Nervously, I ran a hand through my dark ponytail. "What if we came all this way for nothing?" I asked. "What if your injuries looked worse than they actually were? What if I'm a fraud, Anthony?"

He kissed me gently, then pulled back. "No. I believe in you, Lee. Stop thinking this way."

I nodded, though his reassurances didn't do as much as they normally did. I couldn't shake the idea that the fairies in Gardenia were a bunch of snobs. "You, a fairy?" they would sneer. "Not a chance. Go home, silly human girl."

I tried my hardest to sleep on the plane, but I tossed and turned in Anthony's arms, unable to get my internal chatter to stop. My head was full of what-ifs and worries. Eventually, when I did drift off into a doze, it was brief and from pure exhaustion. I hadn't slept since the night before the game. And a lot had happened since then.

"Please put your seats and trays in the upright position; we are preparing to land."

Groggily, I followed the instructions coming from the intercom. "I'm not ready for this," I groaned to my boyfriend.

"Yes, you are. I've got your back, Lee. Don't worry so much."

We exited the plane, went through several security checks, and finally emerged outside of the airport in Gardenia. It was easy enough to hail a cab to take us to the hotel Maggie booked us- not without several evil glares and long, parental chats about responsibility, though. Sure, we had two rooms, but from the look on her face, she obviously thought we weren't going to use both of them. In her defense... we probably wouldn't.

We settled in and put our things down, then Anthony whipped out his cell phone, searching for the nearest restaurant. Room service was extremely expensive, and we were starving hungry.

When we finally found a small sandwich shop within walking distance, we headed there. On the way, we were mainly silent, thinking. But when we sat down (him with a Philly Cheesesteak and I with a meatball sub almost drowned in mozzarella cheese), we immediately became talkative, planning things. "How do we find out who to talk to?" I asked.

"I guess we just ask around."

I groaned. "Oh, they're going to think we're annoying tourists trying to get in on the magic thing. What do I say? 'Hi, I think I'm a fairy, where do I go to confirm this?' Ugh, they're going to hate me, Anthony."

"Not possible. Now, if it makes you feel better, I'll ask. In fact, I would prefer to. You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

Sandwich finished, he rose and went over to the nearest occupied table, where two girls around my age (maybe a little younger) sat. "Excuse me," he said. "I have a few questions about fairyhood and the recent emergence of magic. Do you know who I could talk to?"

They giggled- ugh, it took everything I had not to pull him back, I knew they thought he was hot, and I was the jealous type. "Kristina... in the back... is a fairy," they confided. "She'll probably be taking a break in a few minutes. In the meantime, why don't you stay here and we'll try to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said easily. "I'll wait with my girlfriend."

Their faces fell. One of them blushed. Anthony didn't seem to notice, though, sliding back into his seat across from me. "I thought they were brother and sister!" I heard one of the girls whisper, and I barely stifled a laugh. Our dark hair might look alike... but in skin tone? Face shape? Really, now.

"That was easy, see Lee?" Anthony said. "Didn't have to walk ten paces. Let's just wait a while here until this Kristina girl takes a break. Are you going to finish your sandwich?"

I looked down at my half eaten sub. I was really too nervous now to finish it. "Take it." I slid it towards him.

True to the girls' word, in a manner of minutes, a petite girl with curly brown hair emerged, wearing an apron that was much too big for her. This is a fairy? I found myself asking as Anthony rose. "Are you Kristina?" he asked.

"Yep, that's me! I don't think I know you..."

"Anthony Cunningham. And this is my girlfriend, LeLe Castro."

I rose from my seat and walked over to them, pretty much on cue. "Hi," I said.

Kristina smiled. "I can't help you right now, I'm on break, but I'm sure someone else could assist you with whatever you need."

"Not so," I replied. "You see... umm... this is hard to explain, but..."

"We think that LeLe is a fairy, and we need to know who to talk to about this, what she needs to do."

Kristina looked at me oddly... like she was concentrating. After about a minute of this awkwardness, she smiled. "You're right. She's got magic." Turning to me, she said "Sorry if that freaked you out. I had to concentrate. I'm a new fairy too and so sensing isn't second nature to me."

"It's fine," I said, though my stomach was reeling. I had worried about not being a fairy, about being sent home. I had never bothered to worry that I would have been right all along. "Um, so now what?"

She pulled out a cell phone. "I'll text Nebula. The queen."

She's going to text the queen of the fairies. For some reason, this struck me as incredibly funny. Again, I hid a laugh.

A few seconds later, her cell phone rang. "Queen Nebula wants to see you," she said. "As soon as possible."

"Great," replied Anthony. "What's the address? I'll get her there."

Kristina took his cell phone and programmed an adress into his GPS, then handed it back. "This will lead you right to the Institute of Magic, where I go to school. There's a lot of people there, though not many students right now. But there will be scientists and tons of other fairies. One of them can direct you to Nebula. Just ask to see the queen."

The Institute of Magic was huge. It was a tall building with tons of windows right outside of Gardenia. As promised, I could see many people inside.

I gripped Anthony's hand tight as we walked in. A secretary sat at a desk, filing papers. When she heard the door close, she glanced up. "Hello, I'm Taria, welcome to eye-oh-em. May I help you?"

"I... I'm supposed to speak to Queen Nebula."

Taria smiled. "Alright. May I get your names?"

"LeLe Castro and Anthony Cunningham."

She frowned. "You aren't on the list... would you happen to be the new fairy that Miss Kristina called in?"

"Y...yes." I was very nervous.

She rose. "Right this way."

Taria led us to a security station, run by two women who looked about 35 years old. "Licia, Polly, these are LeLe Castro and Anthony Cunningham. Can you scan them and get them visitor's passes?"

One of them nodded. "Will they please step this way?"

We complied. They looked at both of us for a second. "One visiting fairy pass, pre-Charmix level, for the girl. And one ess-ay pass for the boy."

"Ess-ay?" Anthony looked confused.

"Specialist Aptitude. Though not highly magical- not wizard levels or anything- you have the base power needed to become a Specialist, a sort of psychic warrior. I'm sure the queen would like to talk to you about those opportunities when she's finished talking to LeLe."

My boyfriend looked vaguely shocked as Licia and Polly pinned on our visitor's badges. Taria smiled a thank-you at them, then continued to lead us through the big building. "We'll be talking to Queen Nebula first," she explained on the way. "Unless she orders otherwise, following this, you'll go through a few basic tests for power level and type. Then, we'll see what you're interested in doing."

We took an elevator up to the third floor and walked down a large, long hallway, full of shut doors. I imagined they led to crisp business offices. But when Taria opened one at the very end of the corridor, I found out I was wrong. "Please step in," the secretary insisted.

We complied, finding ourselves in an island-like place. I could see the sea from a window. "Whoa."

Taria smiled at me. "Welcome to Tir Nan Og."

I couldn't keep my eyes straight as she led us upwards again, this time using stairs. I was breathless when we finally reached the top- as much from the view in the huge window that took up one entire wall as the walk.

Taria opened one last door, and bowed as she walked in. "My queen," she said to someone I could not see from my view. "Announcing LeLe Castro, fairy, and Anthony Cunningham, potential Specialist."

"Thank you, Secretaria," said a stunning woman as she rounded the corner.

I knew from Maggie that Nebula, though new to the throne, was rather old, but I couldn't tell. She looked to be Maggie's age, maybe a little older. Her curly black hair was cut in a cute asymetrical style, the front longer than the back. Her eyes were determined, but not in a hard, cold way. The dress she wore was a chic mash-up of styles and colors. Large, sheer wings protruded from her back. "Hello," she said to me.

"Um... hi," I said.

"You're LeLe?"

"Yes..."

"Alright. Tell me your story." Queen Nebula folded her arms over her chest and I began, telling everything that seemed important- Anthony's injury, my wish, Maggie's job, Kristina's sense. She nodded and asked questions as I related my tale. Eventually, she nodded. "Please go to the testing chambers immediately. When you are finished, I will see you again."

I followed Taria again, into a room where I was poked, prodded, and given bunnies and crayons, told to do things with them. Did they get me in the right testing chamber, cause I'm pretty sure that this one is for preschoolers... My thoughts trailed off as one fairy approached me. "Moderate level of power, 99% chance that it involves healing... or, as it is officially referred to, you most likely have the power of Life."

"Life. LeLe the Light Fairy. Like Glinda the Good Witch, only with less pink."

The testing fairy cocked her head. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Never mind."

Back in the Queen's Room, Anthony was talking seriously with Nebula, sitting on a large couch. I could hear snippets of discussion.

"... any program at a known, Earth college?"

"No, Red Fountain is the only school to train for this career path."

"It's so far from home, and from LeLe."

"She can apply for a scholarship to the nearby Alfea if she so chooses- it's very likely she'll get one. No Earth fairy has attended in years, and they do try to help minorities. As for you, I can almost guarantee a full ride at Red Fountain University. You are the first Earth Specialist to emerge since fairies began to disappear."

I could see Anthony frown. "Why is that?"

"Specialist powers are very low-key, it's hard to detect them unless you are looking for them. Our security guards are trained to look for any power. If not, you would likely never have known about your abilities."

Nebula looked up and saw me. She motioned with one hand. "Come sit down, LeLe."

I complied. "I was told I'm a moderately powered Life fairy."

The queen froze, then relaxed. I wonder what had caused the slight hiccup, but it didn't take a word for me to find out. "I must ask you a favor."

"Um... okay?" I frowned, confused.

Nebula sighed. "My niece was attacked, and her wing hurt in the process. She's flightless. We need a healing fairy to fix it, or else it will likely take a year and a lot of bedrest- luxuries she can't afford right now. I understand you're new, but could you try? All our healers were killed when we were locked in this realm- a part of the Wizards of the Black Circle's plan to make us stay in pain as long as possible."

I was scared, and nervous. "I don't know."

"Please, try. I'll even make you a deal. If you try to fix Roxy... even if you can't succeed... and either or both of you can't get a full ride to Alfea or Red Fountain, I will pay for your entire education."

I didn't know whether to ask what Alfea was, where it was, all my college-information-needing stuff, or just say "whoa." A queen was offering to pay for my education. Just for trying to fix her niece. "I'll do it," I decided.

She led me down more staircases, back through the magical door into the glass building, then an elevator ride down to the first floor. Through several winding hallways. Finally, I found myself in a large, circular room, where three girls sat. They all looked normal, chattering away. Probably a little bit younger than I was. One, a girl with darker skin and black hair, looked up. "Queen Nebula," she said, sounding slightly surprised.

The pink haired and the girl with short blonde hair also looked. "Aunt Nebula," said the one who I guessed was Roxy.

"Oh, hey, Nebsy," the other one said.

Nebula raised one eyebrow at the nickname, then turned to her niece. "Roxy, this is LeLe. She is a new fairy, a fairy of Life."

Roxy frowned. "But we didn't bring her in..."

"She came here herself."

The girl gasped. "Wow. That's pretty incredible."

"Anyway, LeLe needs to look at your wing so she can try to fix it. Do you mind?"

"Believe me, I don't. I'll be happy to have my flight back."

A bright green light surrounded her for a matter of seconds, hypnotic and beautiful. When it faded, Roxy was dressed in green, with large wings on her back. One held on somewhat limply. I went behind her to examine it. "Small tear," I noticed. "But big enough to matter."

I placed my left hand on the wound, and Roxy winced. I tried to channel everything that I had... but I couldn't. I was working so hard, and after five minutes or so, something slid into my right hand. I looked up from the injury to see the dark skinned girl holding my hand tightly. "I'm Safeyah," she said. "Roxy is one of my best friends... and so I will help you help her."

With an experienced fairy helping, things flowed easier, if slowly. I watched as the wing reattached itself to Roxy's back. It took half an hour before it was done, but the beauty of the healing made it worth it.

When I pulled my hand off, Roxy beat her wings experimentally, then rose slowly into the air. "This... this is wonderful." From her place in the air, she looked down on me. "Thank you, LeLe."

"It's no problem, really," I replied, beaming back up at her.

She landed, and the light flashed again momentarily. This time, when it left she was back to her normal self.

Queen Nebula came up behind me put her hand on my shoulder. "LeLe is... if she would like to... going to attend Alfea at the start of next school year. If all goes well, Roxy will too. It depends on how everything goes."

Safeyah, Roxy, and the tomboyish blonde shot glances at each other. "The way it's going, no flippin' way will our mission be done by then," said the girl with the blonde hair.

"Avalon," Safeyah chided. "Stop being such a pessimist."

"Mission?" I questioned.

"We find lost fairies, unless, apparently, they find us first." The girl named Avalon smirked at me a little.

"Oh. Sounds fun."

Nebula and Anthony each took one of my hands. "Come, LeLe," the queen said. "We have a lot to talk about. We need to get you into Alfea, help you learn more about your powers, and as you're only spending seven days here, we must do this fast. There's a lot to do when you are a fairy."

I didn't doubt it. Somehow, though, I felt ready. I felt like this is how things were supposed to be.

Author's Note: Character by Invader Tyleana. So fun to write! I hope, as always, that I did alright.

Wanna clear something up: All characters are accepted, but some may be changed. If I change something, I DO have a reason. Promise.

Next up is Amanda Gordon, submitted by the lovely author Chibi Horsewoman!

Also, read Akela Victoire's story Gems of Arcelia. It's brilliant. :)