1 Wiggles and Giggles

  Hi, I’m Medusa. (You say my name like this: mih-DOO-suh.) I have two sisters my exact same age who look a lot like me. We’re triplets.

  My sisters are excellent at doing magic spells. So they get to go to a school for super spellers. They’re goddesses. But I’m just a Beast girl, with no magic power.

  Too bad that wiggling is not a magic power. Because I’m full of wiggles. So full that I have a hard time keeping still. I wiggle when I’m mad. And when I’m happy. I wiggle when I have a question. Or when I’m excited. Sometimes my wiggles get me into trouble. That does not make my sisters proud of me. Sigh.

  My fingers are crossed that someday I’ll earn a magic power like they have. Could happen. Because, guess what? A month ago I got invited here to this outdoor school atop Mount Olympus in the country of Greece. It’s called the School for Magical Monsters!

  Twelve monsters go to my school. Six of us are Beasts, and six are Creatures. It’s easy to tell us apart. Beasts like me wear a beanie with a big B on the front. Creatures wear caps with a C.

  Even though I’m a Beast, I look like a human girl. So I’m not really sure why I got chosen to go to this awesome school. But I’m glad I did. It’s the best ever! We get to make and do tons of fun stuff in our classes.

  Sometimes we Beasts and Creatures do not get along, though. Our teacher, Mr. Chiron, helps us work together, hoping we’ll all become friends. He’s a centaur (half human and half horse) and is supercool. We twelve monsters await him in the flower-covered Mighty Meadow right now.

    Waiting is not my best subject. When will our teacher get here? I wonder. I wiggle and hop from one foot to the other. I weave my hair into ten fat braids. I sniff the flowers. I sniff a long, curly green weed. Oops! That’s not a weed. It’s my friend Cerberus’s dragon-like tail!

       His three dog heads growl at me. He’s a Beast too. But unlike me, he’s big and scary-looking. Yikes!

  “Sorry,” I say as I back away from him. Thonk! I bump into a very tall pole. More poles like this one stand in a wide circle around us. Each has a colorful flag at its top. Suddenly those flags start to wave in the wind. Whoosh!

  Finally! Here comes our teacher, galloping across the meadow toward us. Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

  We gather around Mr. Chiron. I wonder what he will ask us to make or do today.

  “Good morning, students. Time for a new project!” he says, greeting us. “Today I want each of you to choose an object from nature. Then turn it into some kind of useful art by the end of class.”

  Yay! When I hear this, I can’t help doing a happy wiggle dance. Uh-oh. I step on Cerberus’s tail.

  “Grrr,” he says.

  “Sorry… again,” I whisper.

  “S’okay,” he mutters.

  I grin at him and back off, still wiggling with joy. Because art is my favorite subject! I already know what I’m going to make. You see, I like to collect stones. I paint happy art on them along with encouraging words. So today’s project sounds great to me!

  “When you finish your art, you’ll gift it to a new friend,” Mr. Chiron adds. “Get creative! Make something this new friend will enjoy. Something fun, yet useful. I’ll pop back here at the end of class. Then you’ll each tell our class about your art project.”

  Pop! Mr. Chiron magically disappears! We students can’t see him anymore. Still, we know he’ll watch over us to keep us safe while we work today.

  “I know what I’m gonna make!” roars Cerberus. He flips his tail back and forth with excitement. He earned a magic power last week—the power to bark and roar. So now he gets to guard the gate to a place called the Underworld on weekends. Lucky dog!

  “Shades down in the Underworld need benches to sit on,” Cerberus tells the whole class. “I’m going to build some for them out of tree bark! bark! bark!”

    We all cover our ears. Because his barks are loud! But his idea sounds amazing.

  Suddenly I’m worried. Maybe my art idea isn’t as good. What if whoever I give my project to doesn’t like it? That will hurt my feelings. And a bad project won’t help me earn a magic power.

  Only two Beasts have earned magic powers so far. Cerberus and a girl named Chimera, who can breathe real fire! But three Creatures have already earned powers. So we Beasts are behind.

  Mr. Chiron says that our special power will most likely find us when we’re being our best selves. Well, today I will be my best self! Fingers crossed that I’ll win a power and help our Beasts’ team catch up. And maybe make my sisters proud of me too!