A Little Bit Of Magic

• Ben Zhang, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

Before biting into his apple, Hope flipped the page of his book (A Guide to the Magical World of Fairies and Pixies) and shuffled further in his seat until he fitted snuggly into the space between the metal bench and the table. Hope, what a strange name, not only was it the only thing that was keeping him going, but it was also the last thing that he shared with his mother. When she was still alive, they would take long walks in the woods behind the little shabby village they lived in in hope of finding a fairy. But now that his father had found a job in the city, everything changed. In this school, there are two types of people, unpopular and popular. With his strange obsession with magical creatures, everybody stared at him weirdly or fast-walked away without looking at him twice. Long story short, Hope was a complete and utter outcast.

After reaching the core, Hope dunked the apple in the trash can a few meters away and made a victory fist bump with himself, he swiped for his sandwich too but the space where he had left the paper bag was empty. Hope patted the area around it and noticed an abnormally large shadow behind him he looked in that direction and froze straight away. Round-bellied, buck-toothed with lime-green eyes, too many freckles, and a sinister grin it was none other than Jeremy Tan, St Luther Height's one and only bully. What makes matter worse was that he was clutching Hope's lunch. What happened next was gruesome for Hope to watch. That brute ripped only his juice box, poured it into Hope's paper bag swished the sandwich mush all around, and propelled what used to be a perfectly good lunch into the bin. "You're not the only one who has good aim!" he snorted and left.

Trying not to sob out loud, he paced back to his classroom. Halfway, something caught his eye: Mythologic/Magical Creature Club(MCC) Without thinking, Hope barged straight in. Within minutes, he had already made a pack of friends who actually care about him and share the same likes and dislikes. Secretly, in a hedge outside, a small miniature pink human with wings smiled at Hope through a window and flew off into the distance. Magic is all around you. You just need a bit of hope, persistence, and patience to uncover it.