Neverland Read Online Free Page A

be rescued from?” I want to know.
    “Ooh, Hook is the ugliest, meanest and scariest man in Neverland,” Stan tells me with a cruel look and clawed fingers. All the others agree with enthusiastic nods. “His face is scarred something awful, his nose is longer than a raven’s beak, and there’s a hook on his right arm.” He pulls the zipper of his bear-fur vest closed, as if speaking about Hook gives him chills. “He’s the worst pirate sailing these waters. His only aim is to steal our treasure, and he won’t stop at anything to get it. He would let us all walk the plank with tied hands in a heartbeat.”
    “In fact, Peter had to save us more than once in the past,” Skippy adds in a dead-serious tone. Then he presses his palms over Tameeka’s ears and his voice drops to a whisper. “Hook never gets tired of making new plans to kidnap our little pixie and steal the map to the treasure’s den.”
    Tami fends him off and scoffs in his face, standing on her tiptoes. “You don’t have to do that all the time. I’m not a baby. I know what he’s after.”
    Skippy placates her, holding his palms up. “Just trying to be sensitive.”
    “You? Sensitive? Hah!” Peter laughs and flies out of the hammock. He smacks Skippy over his head with the toy sword. “The sharks around the Jolly Roger are more sensitive than you.”
    Skippy takes on the challenge and runs to grab another wooden weapon from the mattress playground. The Lost Boys holler and cheer as Peter and Skippy fight a perfect battle where neither manages to touch the other with his sword.
    I watch them in deep fascination, until someone tugs on my hand. Turning my head, I find Tami next to me. She sighs. “He does this every time.”
    “What? Start a fight?”
    “No, they aren’t really fighting.” She laughs. “It’s just a game. Peter doesn’t like us being too serious.”
    “Is Peter a Lost Boy, too?” I wonder out loud.
    “Oh no!” When she shakes her head, golden dust rains out of her hair. “He’s the only one who came here for a reason. He never wanted to grow up. So he ran away.”
    Her words intrigue me, but more so does the raining gold. I catch some and rub it between my fingers. It disappears. “What’s this?”
    “Pixie dust. You’ve never heard of it?”
    Should I have? I cock my head then shake it.
    A slow grin spreads on her childish face. “With the right thought in mind, it can help you fly.”
    Fly. Like Peter? Damn if I didn’t fall right into a fairy tale. “I’m afraid there’s no such thing where I come from.”
    “Where do you come from?”
    “A city in England. It’s called London.” Full of hope to get a reaction of recognition from her, I lift my brows.
    “Ah, I see. London,” she replies with a meaningful look. Anticipation kick-starts my heart. Then she puckers her lips. “Never heard that name before.”
    I grab my head between my palms and moan, frustration taking over. This can’t be true. Someone here must know about my hometown. “Where do the Lost Boys come from?” I press then. “I mean, where did they live before they got washed up on the shores of this island?”
    “The boys don’t remember where they came from. Nobody knows.” Tami’s tone is matter-of-fact. “And it’s better this way, too. I think if they did, they’d try to get back home.”
    “How can you say that? Of course they should try to go home. They surely have families who are missing them.”
    The little pixie shrugs. “Maybe they have, maybe they haven’t. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. When they made the choice to live here, Neverland fully embraced them. They are part of it now. You heard Sparky before. No one wants to ever leave again.” She smiles a warm, welcoming smile.
    My heart sinks and I feel totally lost and alone. I don’t want to become a part of Neverland. I want to go home to the twins and my parents. What will happen to Brittney Renae and Paulina without me? The fairy bug saw me fall.