Note from Work Stew editor Kate Gace Walton: On Sunday, when I announced the winner of the latest Work Stew writing contest, I mentioned that I would also share a few of the other entries. The whimsy of this fictional (I presume!) submission caught my eye.
THE FAIRY
He walked into the playroom, and Courtney looked up from her collection of Monster High dolls, who were preparing to rumble with the Barbies. The man wore shiny shoes and a dark suit. His hair was slicked back and he raised one eyebrow while he scanned the colored pictures on her walls and the hopscotch rug on the floor.
“Who are you?” Courtney asked.
“I’m your guy,” he said. “Didn’t you call me? About the bedtime situation?”
“Oh!” Courtney frowned and slid her Monster High dolls to the side. “I thought you’d look different.”
“What did you think I’d look like?”
“Like a fairy godmother,” the child said.
“Well, I am, sort of. I’m a lobbyist. How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“Super. Tell me what you’ve done so far.”
She got up from the floor and looked up at him. “Are you sure?”
“Do you want to avoid your bedtime or don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Then I can help you.”
Courtney chronicled what she had done to avoid the ritual. The tantrums, the begging, the promises, the defiance. Nothing worked, so she did what any kid would do. She conjured a fairy.
“We’re going to filibuster,” he said.
“What’s that?”
The man smiled. “Do you like to talk? Do you really like to talk?”
Courtney shrugged. “I guess.”
“Then you’ll be fine. The goal here is to eliminate your parents’ ability to get you to bed.”
“How?”
“Watch. And learn. And bring me all your books.” 
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