Always Neverland Read Online Free PDF Page A

mind, the fizzy feeling in my stomach became a hurricane of bubbles, tickling me so much that I giggled out loud. I flew so fast that the wind chilled me inside my jacket.
    We passed through the clouds, and then we flew higher again, where the sky was blacker and dotted with little stars. They seemed a lot closer than they looked from the ground, and even though I couldn’t prove it, I think they moved when I wasn’t watching, rearranging themselves into different patterns.
    â€œWanna race?” I called to Peter as I zoomed past him. Technically, since I was already ahead of him when I asked, I kind of cheated. But I don’t think Peter minded. He thrust his face against the wind with a wide grin, and the next time I looked, he was gaining on me steadily.
    As soon as he was close enough, Peter shouted something. I didn’t understand what he said, but he sounded half exasperated and half amused. (It’s easy for me to recognize that tone. That’s usually how Mom talks to me.)
    I slowed and waited for him. “What?”
    â€œWhere are you going, Wendy girl? You don’t even know the way,” he said with a stern look.
    â€œOh.” I looked at the big open sky. “How do you get to Neverland?”
    Peter pointed ahead. “Second star on the right, and straight on to morning.”
    Those didn’t sound like the most exact directions in the world. I wondered if I should have gone to the computer before we left and printed out a map, like Mom does before we go on a road trip. But then again, I had the feeling that the internet didn’t know the way to Neverland.
    â€œI guess I’ll let you lead the way then,” I said with a grin. When Peter sped off ahead of me, Tink zipped past too, right behind Peter.
    Then we flew, all in a line. And flew some more.
    After about the millionth star, it felt a lot like flying in a plane—a little bit boring if you don’t have anything to do. I pulled my book out of my backpack and started doing a little research on Neverland.
    The stars on that part of the Milky Way weren’t very close, not close enough to give off enough light to read. But Tink did. And luckily, I was flying right behind her, my book open and tilted to catch her glow.
    Personally, I thought this was pretty smart. It worked out great . . . at least until Peter glanced over his shoulder to check if I was still following.
    He saw what I was doing and laughed. “Well, no Wendy girl has done that before. Or any of the Lost Boys.”
    Then Tink noticed me using her as a lamp. She didn’t think it was funny. She chattered at me angrily.
    â€œSorry, Tink!” I cried, stuffing my book in my bag next to Mom’s iPod. “I didn’t think that you would mind.”
    She just hissed. Then, she began zigzagging around Peter, so her light threw strange shadows everywhere.
    If I worked harder to win Tink over, maybe she wouldn’t get mad at me all the time, which would definitely make traveling more pleasant. In my reading, I’d learned that the fairy was a little vain, so I started with compliments.
    â€œThat’s a very nice dress,” I told her, pointing at the rose petals she wore.
    Tink didn’t chime, or turn toward me, or even stop zigzagging. I wasn’t sure if she’d heard me.
    â€œDid you make it yourself?” I asked, a little louder. “The dress, I mean?”
    Instead of answering, or even acknowledging me, the little fairy zoomed straight ahead, way out of earshot.
    â€œIs she always like that?” I asked Peter, feeling a little hurt.
    â€œShe is to the Wendy girls,” Peter explained. “She hated the original Wendy, and I think she decided to hate the rest of you on principle.”
    â€œOh,” I said, disappointed. Then I straightened my shoulders and said, mostly to myself, “I’ll just have to work extra hard to win her over.”
    â€œRight,” Peter said, his