Street Rat

أربعة - متحف التاريخ الثقافي

Mal clapped to get everyone's attention. "Okay, let's go."

The boys' Dorm was on the ground floor (first floor to you readers over state-side) so there wasn't much of a drop from the window ledge to the ground outside, not that Jay hadn't jumped from higher structures. In addition, it would be less noticeable to escape out of the window than sneaking down the corridors, so it was deemed the best route to the museum.

When the four were stood on the edge of campus, Mal stopped them suddenly.
"E, check your mirror," Mal hissed.
"Why, is my makeup smudged?" The Princess hastily pulled out her compact and adjusted a false eyelash.
"Uh, yeah. And hey, whilst you're at it, why don't you direct us to the museum?"
The bluenette faked ignorance at the fairy's tone. "Sure, this way."

Inside the museum, the four had walked into what looked like a security room, four large computers and a man watching over them. Mal, seeing her mother's spinning wheel in the centre of the room, pulled out her spellbook and started flipping through the pages.

"Magic spindle, do not linger, make my victim prick a finger."

Absolutely nothing happened.
"Impressive," Jay mocked.
"I got chills," added Carlos, laughing. The sound made Jay feel light, and calm, as if they weren't just about to steal from a museum in the dead of night.

Sick of the two boys teasing, Mal flipped furiously through the pages. "Prick the finger, prick it deep, send my enemy off to sleep."
As planned, the night guard walked sleepily over to the spinning wheel, jabbing his finger on the spindle.
"Not so dorky now, huh?" Mal sassed, and pulled to open the doors. Being locked, they didn't budge.

"Stand back," smirked Jay, moving backwards to give himself a run-up. As he did, Mal cast another spell from the spellbook. Just before Jay's leg made contact with the doors, they flew open, and the thief fell clumsily onto the floor. A jolt of pain shot up his back like electricity through copper, and his left shin felt quite tender. Used to the feeling, the thief shrugged it off.

"Ha. Coming?" Mal laughed, kicking him playfully as she passed. Following her, the princess patted his head.

Well done Jay, he thought bitterly, you've fucked up yet again.

An offered hand was held out in front of him. Small, calloused. Wait... How did Carlos get there so fast? Either way, Jay used his hand to pull himself up off the floor.

The four crept around the museum, following Evie's Magic Mirror directions. Up a few staircases, down several corridors...

A dimly lit room. Spotlights in an icy blue. Haunting figures that painted vivid nightmares. Cruella De Vil. Evil Queen. Maleficent. Jafar. Why were they in Auradon? How were they in Auradon? Had they already been considered failures?

No. No movements. They were just wax figures. Not another sceptre incident. Just a representation...

The only thing to come out of the thief's mouth was "Killer" because that's exactly what the corrupted adviser looked like. Soulless black robes lined in blood red, as if it had been dyed with the blood of his enemies. An intimidating black and golden turban rested atop his head. Iago sat proudly on his shoulder. A venomous snake. A killer.

Jay's heart raced. The last thing he wanted was to betray the others. But was that what his father intended him to do? If he took the wand before anyone else could, his father would reign supreme, with Jay at his side.

No. Jay wouldn't be at his side. Iago would. All Jay would be given was a greedy order to steal even more, and perhaps a proper mattress if he was lucky. Yes, magic would exist again, but Jay didn't inherit magic like Mal or Evie did. Or intelligence, like Carlos did. Now probably being the weakest of the four, Jay realised he now had no chance of winning a fight. So backstabbing them would be the stupidest idea he could think of.

"Well, the wand's not here, so let's go," said Jay finally, snapping everyone including himself back to reality. With Evie navigating, the four dashed through the hallways, down stairs to the hall of magic items. Like the hall of Villains, it was dimly lit in blue light, but unlike the Villains, nothing looked intimidating or dangerous. The light hit them at a specific angle - from above, rather than underneath. The magical bell jar with the rose inside, the travelling bedknob, the black flame candle... Jafar's snake staff. It was just as he had imagined; solid gold, with gleaming emeralds for eyes. 

But his father's staff wasn't the reason why they were there. Fairy Godmother's Magic Wand was. And the wand stood proudly at the far end of the room, the blue light shining down, appearing to hover in the air. A handrail caged it off, but there wasn't any other visible defences. So the four ran down the hall, as quietly as they could, to the target. Adrenalin took over Jay, and he ducked under the handrail, despite Mal's hissing at him not to. It was in reach, just a few more inches and he'd have the most powerful weapon in Auradon. 

Bang! His hand hit an invisible force, strong enough to throw Jay back over the handrail. A siren blared throughout the building. 
"A forcefield AND a siren?!" Carlos exclaimed, shocked. 
"That's just a little excessive," Jay followed. The pain of falling on the floor twice in one night stung his back, shooting through him like electricity. He didn't want to show it though, so he immediately pulled himself back up and ran out of the room following the other three. 

On the way back, the four passed the security room, with the guard missing. The phone was ringing. Carlos swiftly snatched up the receiver, giving off a cheerful demeanor to whoever was at the other end. 
"No, no, don't worry, it was a false alarm. A malfunction in the LM714 chip in the breadboard circuit. Yeah, say hi to the Missus."
The quick thinking relit something in Jay's chest, warmth spreading around him, and he couldn't stop staring at the white-haired boy. 
"Carlos!" Jay hissed, pulling Carlos away from the computers. 

"Nice one Jay, now we have to go to school tomorrow!" Mal snapped once the four were outside.