Later that afternoon, Mal grabbed Maleficent’s spell book from her locker. She intended to walk it over to the Museum of Cultural History at some point before classes started the next day. She flipped through its well-worn pages, softly caressing each spell.
It was one of the only things she had left of her mother’s, and she was loath to part with it. There was so much knowledge and wisdom in its pages. The time-turning spell had helped them retrieve the trident after all. Plus there were so many more that she loved to use. Hair spells, which had proven popular with the female segment of Auradon Prep, love spells, and anti-love spells. There were spells that brought luck or great fortune, and even a few that could turn a girl from the Isle into an Auradon princess, or a close facsimile of one. Spells for every aspect of life, truly. And while Mal understood why it had to go to the museum, that didn’t mean she wanted to surrender it.
Still, she had promised Ben, and if Evie, who cherished her magic mirror as much as Mal treasured her spell book, could voluntarily give that up, then she could give up her book. Mal tucked it under her arm, determined to head to the museum before she changed her mind.
But as she walked across campus, Mal realized that while she still wasn’t sure exactly who she was, she did want to make Ben happy and explore the kingdom by his side—even if the idea of all the royal events coming up made her feel just a little ill. She turned on her heel and ran all the way to her room.
“E?” she said, bursting through the door and glad to find Evie at her sewing machine as usual.
“Yes, M?” asked Evie, looking up from her task.
“I think I need some help,” she said. “I’ve got a kingdom to meet.” She counted herself lucky to have Auradon’s most promising young fashion designer as her best friend and roommate. Mal decided she wanted to make a splash, and not the watery kind that left her looking like yesterday’s yams.
“Do you think you could make me look more like them?” Mal asked, motioning to the wall of princesses on Evie’s pin board. She wanted to look as smart as Belle, as beautiful as Cinderella, even as sweet as Aurora—but she wanted to maintain something of herself as well.
“Ooh! Yes!” said Evie, clapping her hands. “I have so many ideas. Plus, I want to show you this fabulous dress I made you for Cotillion.”
“Great!” said Mal, picking up a thick fashion magazine and riffling through the pages. “When’s Cotillion?”
“Oh!” said Evie. “Ben hasn’t asked you yet?”
“Asked me what?” said Mal.
Evie smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see.”
Over at his homeroom, Carlos leaned back in his seat, his exams arranged on his desk. All of them boasted A-pluses, as well as effusive praise from his teachers in the margins. Brilliant!—Professor Merryweather. Astounding—Genie. Even crotchety old Grumpy, who was teaching a seminar on Cooperation, had drawn a happy face on Carlos’s paper.
Carlos smiled in satisfaction at a job well done. He was looking forward to the next semester. There were so many new elective classes to take: Language of the Stars, Enchanted Oceanography, and the Politics of the Palace, just to name a few. After having the usual fight with the registrar over his need to take over the maximum amount of classes allowed for the term, he bumped into Jane, who was wearing a brand-new blue-and-gold Auradon cheer uniform.
“You did it!” he said. “You made the team! That’s awesome! Congratulations!”
“I did! Thanks so much!” Jane said, a huge smile on her face.
“What did I do?” asked Carlos.
Jane punched him in the shoulder. “You’re the one who said I should try out and not give up!”
“Aw, shucks. Anyone would have told you the same thing,” he said, looking down and shuffling his feet as his ears turned pink.
“But you did,” said Jane. “So thank you. Are you heading that way?” she asked. “I have to meet Ben in a few minutes.”
Carlos, who had been heading in the exact opposite direction, said “Yes,” just so he could walk with her a little more.
“So everything worked out okay?” asked Jane. “With that secret mission?”
Carlos nodded. “Yeah, it did.” He wished he could tell her all the details, but he knew it was safer for everyone if only the five of them plus Arabella knew what had happened. “It all worked out okay.”
“Good.” Jane looked up from behind her bangs and smiled at him, and Carlos felt something in his heart that hadn’t been there before. Something more than friendship. He couldn’t stop smiling; his cheeks started to hurt.
But before he could say anything about it, Audrey ran up to them. The bossy princess looked harried. She was carrying a huge cardboard box in her arms. “Jane! Just the person I’ve been looking for!” she declared.
“Oh, hey, Audrey,” said Jane.
“I’m so glad I found you. I need a lot of help,” said Audrey.
“What’s up?” asked Carlos.
In the background, they could hear Chad sobbing. “Audrey! Audrey, don’t do this!”
“Ignore him, he’ll be fine,” said Audrey, rolling her eyes. “Jane, we’re really glad to have you on the team, and you’re sure you can handle Cotillion duties too?”
“For sure!” said Jane.
“Great,” said Audrey, and she dumped the box on Jane. “That’s all the planning we’ve done so far. You’re going to have to work closely with Mal, since it’s her big debut. Although hold on, I don’t think Ben’s asked her yet, so she probably has no idea she has to do all this. So maybe remind Ben he’s got to formally ask her.”
“He’s working on it as we speak,” said Jane.
Audrey didn’t respond, and tapped her pen against her forehead, thinking. “What else. Oh, and do you have a date yet? Just curious.”
“No,” said Jane. “Not yet.”
Carlos blushed and tried to look somewhere else. He’d heard vaguely about Cotillion, but hadn’t realized that it was a date type of situation. So far at all the balls and parties, everyone went as a group, even Mal and Ben.
“Oh,” said Audrey, looking condescendingly at Jane. “It’s okay if you don’t.”
“I know it’s okay,” said Jane, rolling her eyes and struggling under the weight of the box. “Carlos?”
“Yes!” he said hopefully, standing at attention.
“Will you help me bring this box back to my dorm?” she asked sweetly.
That was so not what he expected to hear, and Carlos’s smile wavered a little. But he rallied. “Of course!”
Jane doesn’t have a date for Cotillion.
One day at a time, he thought.
It was the afternoon of the final R.O.A.R. tryouts. Carlos had already won his spot on the team, and now it was Jay’s turn. The field was whittled down to the last four guys, and Jay crushed them all in quick succession. If he did well in the final round, he would make the cut too.
“Ready?” said Chad, suiting up.