Jackie and the Zaps

Jackie heard the yelps of the other sprites outside his cherry tree. He sighed as he thought about the fun they were having out at the Pekinbo’s pond. Jake and Jasper, his brothers, had already gone down to play with the other boys. They were going to play another game of Zigilo.

The point of Zigilo was to hold your breath and swim all the way down to the bottom of the pond. Once you we there, you had to grab hold of one of three objects and swim it all the way up to the shore. The objects were a great big purple ball, a tiny little stick with a circle at the end, and a glass jar full of brown and yellow gunk. Once all three objects were found, the blower had to swim out from the middle of the pond. They dunked the stick in the jar of gunk and blew a bubble all the way around the purple ball. Once the blower blew the bubble around the ball, the team won!  

Zigilo was Jackie’s favorite. Jackie was a little clumsy, so he couldn’t swim as fast as the bigger boys. He also couldn’t blow very hard without getting dizzy, but that never stopped him from laughing with joy every time he played. He had more fun playing Zigilo that anyone else in Gonkzville.

  He wanted to go out and play with his pals, but , he knew it was more important to study for his flight test. Every year, the elder sprites came all the way from the Cove in Lilly’s Valley to test the young sprites. Once you were seven and three quarters, you could take the test to win your wings. The scariest thought was of not getting your wings. You only had one chance, and not everyone was guaranteed to pass.

The very best wings were called zaps, because they lit up every time they flapped. They were given to the one young sprite that worked the hardest and showed the elders that they were ready to accept the responsibility that comes with having wings. There were other wings for everybody else that proved that they were ready, but secretly everyone wanted the zaps. Nobody wanted those zaps more than Jackie.

His daddy told him that if he worked hard, he could do anything. Jackie didn’t always believe that since he was clumsy and got dizzy so easily. Still, he decided to work hard and study as much as he could for his test. His brothers teased him sometimes for studying so much. They told him to have more fun and to forget about boring things like books and learning. It hurt Jackie to hear those mean things from his brothers, who he really loved, but all he wanted was to prove them wrong.

The day of the test finally came. Jackie was so nervous that couldn’t stop his hands from shaking! At first he refused to get out of bed because his tummy hurt. Jasper spent the morning jumping from branch to branch showing his family how he would zoom through the air once he got his wings. Jake kept talking about how beautiful his new zaps were going to be. That just made Jackie feel even sicker. After another pep talk from their daddy, the boys left for the field.

 What awaited them was a shocking sight. There were big bright signs everywhere. Adult sprites were flying and flipping in the sky to the applause of baby sprites on the ground. Beautiful jewels were jetting through the air as a band bigger than the town of Gonkzville played a victory march. The sights and sounds of the arena made Jackie’s eyes grow wide and his head grow dizzy.

The first part of the test was on concepts. The young sprites had to answer all kinds of questions about the proper signals to make to other flying sprites, how to land correctly, and where Fleezles, who had been known in the past to snack on little sprites, were commonly found. Many of the sprites looked worried. Jake never stopped sweating. Jasper just stared at the leaf he was supposed to write his answers on. Meanwhile, Jackie happily jotted down his answers. Most of the questions he had seen before, thanks to his constant preparation.

The young sprites had to wait for the entries to be graded. It took all morning. The list with everyone’s name that had passed was eventually posted on the big oak tree just after lunchtime. If your name wasn’t on the list, you couldn’t take the actions part of the test, were the elders gave you a set of wings, and you had to fly through an obstacle course.

Jackie couldn’t remember breathing as he looked for his name. He couldn’t find it anywhere! Right as he started to give up hope, his daddy picked him up and showed Jackie his name near the top of the list. Jackie’s heart started to beat again.  Only, the sad part was that Jasper’s name wasn’t on the list. He didn’t pass, which meant he was never going to get his wings. Jackie wanted to say something to make him feel better, but right at that time, the elders gathered all the young sprites for the next part of the test.

The obstacle course that year was the hardest course ever. Besides it being the first time any of them had ever had wings, they had to fly through small gaps, avoid swinging vines, and navigate through a black tunnel. Time after time, the young sprites failed. Some got lost in the tunnel, others couldn’t aim to get through the tiny gaps. Some, like Jake, couldn’t even get off the ground.

Finally it came to be Jackie’s turn. The new wings felt cold against his back. He started getting dizzy. Then, he remembered his daddy’s wise words. He had worked hard! Why couldn’t he do it! The only thing standing in his way was himself. With that, he leapt through the air, and then the wings took over. He twisted and tumbled, he glided and glew. He made it the entire way through the obstacle course without making one single mistake. His ears tingled from the roaring crowd’s mark of approval.

            Jackie couldn’t remember much after that. All he remembers is standing on the stage with the elders as the presented him with his very own zaps! Butterflies tickled the inside of his tummy. He couldn’t believe that he, clumsy Jackie that gets dizzy, was awarded the zaps! He looked out at his daddy, who was beaming with pride. Then he saw Jake and Jasper standing next to him. They looked happy, but Jackie could see the dried up tears on their faces. Neither of them had received their wings. Without thinking, Jackie zoomed over to his brothers and grabbed their hands. Together they laughed as they flew to the moon.