Descendants 1

Chapter Six

The limo glided onto this ridiculously green campus and stopped in front of some huge building with a flower garden.  A bunch of students in these weird blue-and-gold uniforms were waving welcome flags. A marching band even started playing.  Then the driver opened the door, and Jay, Evie, and Carlos practically fell out.  It was… less than graceful.

Jay was yanking on a scarf Carlos was clutching.

"You got everything else, why do you want this?" Carlos asked.

"’Cause you want it!" Jay yelled, tackling Carlos to the ground. They were completely oblivious to the students staring at them. The students recoiled, the band sputtered to a halt.

A smiling woman pushed through the crowd, arms outstretched like she was about to hug someone. Brown hair in a bun, pearl earrings, a lavender dress…totally fake nice.

"Guys, guys, guys," I hissed, "we have an audience." I plastered on a fake smile and struck a pose. Evie followed suit.

Jay grinned. "Just…cleaning up," he said to the students, helping Carlos to his feet.

The woman addressed Jay. "Leave it like you found it!" she said, grinning.  "And by that, I mean, just leave it."  She gave him a pointed look.

Jay tossed his loot back into the limo.  The woman nodded.

Then Jay spotted some pretty girl with caramel skin and chocolate hair.  He immediately sauntered over, all charm. "Hello, foxy. The name's Jay."

The girl laughed, then stopped.

The woman stepped between them. "Welcome to Auradon Prep," she said. Jay's smile vanished.

"I'm Fairy Godmother. Headmistress." She bowed.

"The Fairy Godmother?" I asked.

She nodded.

"As in ‘Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo’?" I asked, pretending to wave a wand.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-you-know-it!" she chirped.

I gave her my best fake good-girl smile. "Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you…just appeared! With that sparkling wand and warm smile…and that sparkling wand."  I flashed a huge, cheesy grin. Carlos was licking chocolate off his fingers.

"That was a long time ago," Fairy Godmother said. "And as I always say, don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future!" She smiled. "Wherever you wind up!"

A handsome guy stepped forward.  Navy suit, pocket square, pastel tie…the whole nine yards. "It's so good to finally meet you all," he said. "I'm Ben."

"Prince Benjamin," a girl beside him squealed. "Soon to be king!"

"You had me at 'prince'," Evie said, staring at Ben. "My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess." She started to curtsy.

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here," the girl snapped, "and neither do you."

Ben gave the girl a "cool it" look. "This is Audrey…"

"Princess Audrey," Audrey said, taking Ben's hand. "His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?" She smiled and tucked her chin.

Ben chuckled.

"Ben and Audrey will show you around," Fairy Godmother said. "I'll see you tomorrow. 'The doors of wisdom are never shut!' But the library closes at eleven, and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews." She smiled, turned, and walked away with the marching band trailing behind her.

Ben approached us. "It is so, so, so good to finally meet you all." Jay playfully punched him. Ben shook our hands, looking at me with this intense stare. "This is a momentous occasion," he said, "and one I hope will go down in history as the day our two peoples began to heal." Evie held his hand way too long. Audrey pulled him away.

Imitating Ben, I said, "Or the day you showed four people where the bathrooms are."

My friends laughed. Ben grinned. "A little over the top?"

"A little more than a little bit," I said.

"Well, so much for my first impression," he said, laughing.

I laughed too. I stared at him for a moment, then looked away.

Audrey glared. "Hey! You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" She said in this fake sweet voice, "I totally don't blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents. Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping—"

"Beauty. Yeah, I've heard," I cut her off. "And I totally don't blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the world except my mother to their stupid christening."

Audrey plastered on a fake smile. "Water under the bridge!"

"Totes!" I said, giving her my biggest fake smile.

We both fake-laughed, then stopped in unison.

Ben clapped his hands. "Okay! How about a tour?" He headed toward the garden, rattling off facts about the school. 

We looked up at this scary statue that looked exactly like Ben's dad…in beast form. Ben clapped, and it came to life and growled! Carlos screamed and jumped into Jay's arms. Ben quickly clapped again, and it transformed into a young prince.

"Carlos, it's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph to remind us anything is possible," Ben said.

"Does he shed much?" I asked.

"Yeah, Mom won't let him on the couch," Ben said seriously.

We exchanged a look. I gave a wry smile, and he smiled back.

He continued the tour.  Carlos, still a little shaken, was determined to make the statue come alive again.  Nothing happened.

Inside the building, it was all fireplaces, dark wood, chandeliers…it felt weirdly warm and sunny.

"So, you guys have a lot of magic here?" I asked. "Like wands and stuff?"

"Yeah, it exists, but it's pretty much retired," Ben said. "Most of us are just ordinary mortals."

"Who happen to be kings and queens," I added.

"That's true!" Audrey said snootily, draping her arm over Ben's. "Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years."  She looked at Ben possessively.

Ben took his arm away. "Doug!" he called to some nerdy kid in a marching band uniform. "Doug, come down! This is Doug. He'll help you with your schedules and show you the dorms." He looked at me. "I'll see you later, okay? And if you need anything…"

"Ask Doug," Audrey blurted out, fake-laughing and dragging Ben away.

"Hi, guys," Doug said. "I'm Dopey's son? As in…" He started counting on his fingers. Evie caught his eye. "Heigh-ho," he said to her.

Evie went nose-to-nose with him. "Evie. Evil Queen's daughter." She twirled her hair.

"So, about your classes…" Doug said. "I put in the requirements. History of Woodsmen and Pirates, Internet Safety, and…Remedial Goodness 101."

"Let me guess…" I said, popping a candy in my mouth. "New class?"

He nodded sheepishly.

"Come on, guys," I said, dropping the wrapper. "Let's go find our dorms."

Doug pointed the wrong way.  We went the right way.  Upstairs, Evie gasped at our dorm room. It was light, airy, and sunny.  White canopy beds, pink pillows…

Evie's eyes widened. Mine narrowed.

"Wow," Evie said. "This place is so amazing—"

"Gross," I said.

"I know, right?" Evie said. "Amazingly gross. Ew!"  She secretly loved it.

"I'm going to need serious sunscreen," I said, crossing my arms.

"Yeah," Evie agreed.

I pointed to the windows.  We closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness.

"Whoa!" I said. "That's much better."