Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 Ms. Rosemary suddenly stood up. She had a small book in her hand and she looked excited. "Right, everyone, I need to take the finest specimen of each item collected to Ms. Primrose." "Why?" asked Jack. "Ms. Primrose is going to make a potion to help with a small problem we have at school. It's nothing for you to worry about!" Ms. Rosemary said. She walked around, taking a selection of the items. Finally, she picked up the knitbone and feather that Ava's team had collected. "Perfect! Get on with your work, please, while I go to see Ms. Primrose. I expect you all to have finished when I return." The moment Ms. Rosemary left, everyone started talking. "What's going on?" said Scarlett. "Yes, what's this problem Ms. Rosemary's

talking about?" Isabel said. "Why do the teachers need a potion?" "Maybe it's about the lake again," called Jason. The noise level in the room rose. "Shh!" said Olivia. "We'll get into trouble. We need to finish our work." They settled down again, still talking but in quieter voices. Ava glanced around at everyone scribbling hard. Valentina, stopping to stretch her fingers, caught Ava's eye. Ava looked away, but Valentina was already nudging Jacinta and Delia. "Ava's hardly written a thing. And she spelled Scavenger Hunt wrong, even though it's on the board. Silly girl!"

Olivia's head whipped up. "Leave Ava alone!" she hissed. "She's much smarter than you, Valentina. She knows a ton about animals, including spiders." "Yes, she does," chipped in Sophia. "What was that dangerous creature you found today, Valentina? Oh, that's right, a harmless cave spider!" Valentina turned bright red. "Oh, for goodness' sake, don't you care that Ava can't spell?" "We care that you were making fun of her, which isn't very nice," said Sophia, and Olivia

agreed. "Leave Ava alone," added Scarlett. The rest of Sapphire dorm all glared at Valentina. Valentina turned from red to purple. She glanced over at Jacinta and Delia, but they kept their heads bent. With an angry sigh, Valentina went back to her work. Ava gave her friends a warm smile, but inside she was frozen with shame. Valentina had called her a silly girl, and that's exactly how she felt. Why couldn't she have even half the brains of her friends or her older brother and sister? Ava barely wrote a thing after that. She felt too miserable. After a while, Ms. Rosemary came back into the classroom. She looked gloomy. "Did you manage to find Ms. Primrose, Miss? Did she make a potion?" asked Billy. "Yes," said Ms. Rosemary with a sigh. "But it didn't work. We'll have to try something else. Now, hand your notes in, please, so I can see what you've been doing." "Not much in YOUR case," Valentina whispered to Ava as she brushed past her to hand her notes in. Ava blushed hotly.

The instant the lesson ended, she raced to the stable and told Star what Valentina had said. The unicorn listened carefully. "Valentina is wrong!" she exclaimed. "You're not a silly girl. How could you be when you know so much about nature?" "That's easy stuff. Anyone can learn about that," said Ava miserably. Star nuzzled Ava. "I don't think they can. Your memory for plants is amazing, Ava, and you're kind and generous and everyone likes you." Ava's cheeks warmed. To cover her embarrassment, she backed away. "Um…thanks," she muttered. She could hear the others arriving and starting to collect the feed buckets for the unicorns' dinner. "Let me go and get you some sky berries." Ava's heart was lighter, and she swung the bucket as she entered the feed room. Star always knew what to say to cheer her up. She realized she hadn't told her about Ms. Rosemary's strange behavior and the potion the teachers wanted to make. I'll tell her while she's eating, she thought. Ava dumped the bucket on the floor, lifted the feed-bin lid, and groaned. There were hardly any

sky berries left, certainly not enough for every unicorn in the stable to have an evening meal. She'd meant to tell Ms. Rosemary that morning, but she'd forgotten. Guilt flashed through her. The unicorns won't be able to have berries for supper tonight, and it's all my fault, she thought. The rest of Sapphire dorm came into the feed room. "Scoot over, Ava," said Isabel. "What's wrong? You look upset." Ava bit her lip. "We're almost out of sky berries. There's not enough to go around." "Let's volunteer to collect some more," Layla suggested. Ava nodded. "The bushes grow on the lower slopes of the mountain, just behind the school," she said. "If we all go, we'll soon pick enough for tonight's feed." "I'll help," said Sophia. "Me too," said Olivia. Just then, Ms. Rosemary swept into the feed room. Locks of brown hair escaped from the silver clips she wore, and, unusual for her, she was frowning. "Listen, please," she said, clapping her hands to