Read Treasure Hunt for Free Online Page B

later,’ Twink muttered back.
    At the front of the branch, Miss Sparkle clapped her hands together sharply. ‘All right, that’s enough! Petal pads out, please. You’ll be taking notes today.’
    Twink sighed. She enjoyed Miss Sparkle’s lessons when they got to use fairy dust, but her lectures were often long and dull. She uncapped her favourite snail-trail pen as Miss Sparkle began to speak.
    â€˜Now then, you all know that you can use fairy dust to transform objects, but it has other purposes as well. You can use it to locate lost fairies, you can leave a trail with it, you –’
    Twink didn’t hear anything after ‘locate lost fairies’. Her hand shot up in the air. ‘Can you use fairy dust to find lost things ?’ she asked.
    Miss Sparkle regarded her drily. ‘What sort of things?’
    Suddenly aware that everyone was watching her, Twink lifted her wings in a shrug. ‘I don’t know. Like . . . a lost piece of jewellery, maybe?’
    â€˜Misplaced your diamond tiara again, have you?’ sniggered Mariella. Twink made a face at her as the class giggled.
    Miss Sparkle shook her head. ‘No, if an item like that is lost, then the fairy dust has nothing to work with. You see, you need to have something belonging to the missing fairy before the fairy dust can locate him or her – it’s similar to when humans give a scent to a dog, to help them sniff something out. Now, as I was saying – ’
    â€˜Is there any magic that can find a lost item, though?’ Twink blurted out.
    Miss Sparkle almost smiled. ‘Have you lost something, Twink?’
    â€˜Not really,’ mumbled Twink. ‘I just wondered.’
    â€˜Well, unfortunately, the answer is no,’ said Miss Sparkle. ‘Magic is much easier to use on living beings than on things like jewellery. But I hope you find whatever it is,’ she added kindly.
    Twink’s cheeks were blazing. She took notes automatically as Miss Sparkle continued with her lecture, hardly even noticing what she was writing.
    When Miss Sparkle wasn’t watching, Bimi slipped a scrap of petal across to Twink. What have you lost? Can I help? was written on it in Bimi’s neat, curly handwriting.
    Something of Gran’s , Twink wrote in reply. I’ll show you in her journal later.
    Maybe Bimi could help somehow, thought Twink as she passed the note on to Bimi’s mushroom desk. Her father always said that four wings were better then two when it came to solving a problem!
    At the end of the lesson, Miss Sparkle took a sheaf of petal pages from her desk. ‘I’ve marked the essays that you wrote over the holidays. You’ve done very well, most of you. One of my third-year students even got a hundred per cent.’
    A few fairies turned to grin at Pix – but when Miss Sparkle handed their essays back, Pix stared down at hers with a dazed expression. Craning to see, Twink could just make out a large red 97 on Pix’s petal.

    â€˜Miss Sparkle – was it Jade in your other class who got the hundred per cent?’ asked Pix in a strangled voice.
    Miss Sparkle turned to her in surprise. ‘Pix, that’s none of your business. But yes, since you ask, it was. She’s an excellent student.’
    â€˜Oh,’ mumbled Pix. She shoved the petal away in her bag. When the magpie’s call rang through the school, she was the first one from the branch, jetting away before anyone could speak to her.
    Twink stared after her in surprise. How could Pix be so upset over only three points? She always did so well in school – and it wasn’t as if she had anything else to worry about.
    Unlike Twink. Her heart felt heavy as she slowly packed up her books. Her parents had been at Gran’s for several days now, yet she hadn’t heard anything from them. Gran must still be very poorly, lost in her Doldrums.
    I’ve got to find that ring , Twink thought,