Ever After High: Thronecoming

Chapter 5: A Great Big Basket of Disappointment Apples

   Cerise entered the gymnasium. Pausing, she looked around to make sure that The Three Little Pigs were nowhere in sight. She rushed straight over to Raven who was sitting on a Snow White themed float, trying to calm an emotional Apple.

    "He didn't even give the slightest hint that he knew what I was talking about." Apple said with a single tear in her eye.

    "He probably just has a surprise way to ask you to go with him." Raven suggested. "Or maybe he isn't going to ask you officially so that he doesn't make fifty other girls mad."

    "What do you mean?" She sniffled.

    "Maybe he'll hang with you at the dance, but not specifically ask you. You know he likes to keep the public happy."

    "Yeah, he does!" Apple said, happily wiping the tear from her eye. Not a single bit of mascara came off with it.

    "Anyway," Raven added. "Everyone knows you two will be together." Apple began nodding happily.

    Cerise jumped onto the float and stared at her reflection in a giant apple hanging from a fake tree. "What you guys talking about?" She said, picking at her teeth with her nails.

    "Apple tried to get Daring to ask her to the Thronecoming dance. He didn't understand." Raven explained. "She thought he was blowing her off."

    "Well if he was, she wouldn't be the only one."

    "You didn't make the team." Raven guessed.

    "I wasn't even given a tryout."

    "Tryout?" Apple asked.

   "I tried to join the Bookball team this morning. Sparrow would barely let me get a single word out, and Daring didn't even try to argue with him. Dexter at least tried to look concerned."

    "Yeah, Dexter's not one for speaking out." Raven said with a sigh. "He has other skills though, like catapulting cabbages."

    "Hey, look at the bright side, Cerise, this gives you more time to work on your float!" Cheery shades of red filled Apple's cheeks as she gave her signature awe-inspiring smile.

    "Little Red Riding hood decided not to have a float this year... you know, because Hunter and I are the only people from the  story in school... and Hunter is on the Bookball team."

    "Oh... right. I forgot." Apple said with an apologetic shrug.

 "I feel like I could be a real help to the team." Cerise slumped beside the other two. "I am really fast, and the team is gonna need something like that if they have any hope of beating Beanstalk High."

    "Well, that doesn't sound too hard!" Maddie said as she took a bite out of a foam apple. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the apple. Shrugging she took another bite.

    "What do you mean?... and where did you come from?" Raven asked.

    "I mean, how hard would it be to defeat a bunch of eeny teeny weeny tiny little beans in Bookball."

    "Um... Maddie?" Cerise said with a snicker. "You do know Beanstalk high is made up of giants right?"

    "Ooooohhhhh... so that explains why Daring is going crazy."

    "Going crazy..." Apple said with worry.

    "Yup, the whole team is talking about being DOOMED!" Maddie tossed the half-eaten foam apple over her shoulder and stood up. "Anyhoo, I need to bounce over to the Tea Shoppe to pick up a giant teacup. Dad says I can use one for the float."

    "I'll be around to check out your float soon." Apple said standing up.

    "Hat-tastic! It should be as perfect as a rabbit at teatime. Well, unless I'm late." Maddie promptly turned and began cartwheeling out of the gymnasium.

    "You heard her," Cerise said with a sigh. "They need me."

    "Sadly, there's nothing you can do about it." Raven said standing up.

    "Since you're stuck here," Apple began. "Wanna help me and Raven critique the finished floats?"

    "Sure, why not, it's not like I have anything better to do."

    "Hexcellent!"