The dorm wasn't terrible. Sure, the pink and the entire cleanness of the room was a little harsh on the eyes at first but it wasn't bad. She just needed to get used to it, after being surrounded by so much red and black her entire life. And - well - Queenie had always dreamed of having a canopy bed, had always dreamed of being a proper princess like Evie. But things were different on the Isle, even more so in Wonderland. Glancing at her friends, she could tell they each had different reactions to it.
Evie was in love, it was so clear. Her eyes were bright and she couldn't hide her smile, though she was clearly trying to contain her happiness. She was a princess, of course she enjoyed how it all looked. If they had had the proper resources back home, Queenie was sure this is what Evie's room would have looked like.
Mal, on the other hand, was trying to contain her disgust. She wrinkled her nose, glancing around at the brightness as if it could and would burn her.
"Wow, this place is so amaz - " Evie began, before Mal interrupted, " - Gross."
"I know right?" Evie continued, "Amazingly gross." Seeing Evie looking discouraged, Queenie decided to step up and add her own two sense. "I don't know. I think it's okay. It's kinda - cute." Evie's head whipped around to look at her with big eyes and an even bigger smile, while Mal wrinkled her nose again, before saying, "Ugh, I'm gunna need some serious sunscreen." She walked towards the large windows, mentioning to the curtains, before continuing, "Q, E. Windows."
Both girls obeyed, pulling the silk curtains together, covering the once lit room in darkness.
"That is much better."
Once night had fallen and the other students had returned to their dorms, Queenie, Evie, and Mal carefully made their way to the boys' room. The sight when they entered - well, Queenie honestly wasn't surprised a bit.
Carlos was engaged in a intense video game battle, his eyes never leaving the screen, and Jay was emptying his pockets of things he'd previously taken - wallets, watches, money, jewelry, and even a laptop. "What are you doing?" Queenie asked curiously, sitting down on his bed, picking up a rather large gold watch.
Before she could examine the watch further, it was ripped out of her hands.
"It's called stealing," Jay answered sarcastically and Queenie wanted nothing but to punch the grin off of his face. She opened her mouth to make a clever remark (or call him a few choice words, whatever came out first), but Mal beat her to it. "Okay, but what's the point?"
"Well, Mal, it's like buying whatever I want. Except it's free."
"Okay. So you could do that," Mal covered over to the bed, "Or you could leave all this stuff here and pick it up when we take over the world." Evie glanced away from her mirror, pursing her lips. "You sound just like your mom." Putting a hand over her heart, Mal smiled, "Thank you." Jay watched the conversation with an unimpressed look, before rolling his eyes. "You do it your way. And I'll do it mine."
"Die suckers!" Queenie jumped slightly, having forgotten that Carlos even in the room. "Jay, come check this thing out! It's awesome!" Jay hurried over and took the controllers, enjoying the game almost immediately, a smile breaking out on his face.
"Guys! Do I have to remind you what we're all here for?"
"Fairy Godmother - blah - blah - blah," Jay recited, not bothering to even look at Mal, "Magic wand - blah - blah - blah." Queenie laughed along with the others, but quickly stopped once Mal lost her temper. "This is our one chance prove ourselves to our parents!" All smiles were gone, all attention now on the purple haired girl. "To prove that we are evil, and ruthless, and cruel. Yeah?"
The four teenagers had echoed their own 'yes's. "Evie, mirror me." They all gathered around the table, looking intently at the tiny mirror Evie held. "Mirror, mirror, on the - in my hand. Where does Fairy Godmother's wand - stand?"
A picture of the wand appeared, and Mal suggested, "Zoom out."
"Magic mirror, not so close."
A picture of the earth appeared instead, and Queenie let out a sigh.
"Closer...closer...closer." Carlos glanced at them before asking, "Can I go back to my game? I'm on level three - "
"- Stop!" Jay cried out. They all leaned closer, eyes glued to the mirror, as they read the sign that was pictured. "It's in the museum," Mal said, before Queenie asked, "Do we know where that is?" By then, Carlos already had his laptop open and fired up, typing the name in quickly and scanning over the page. "2.3 miles from here."
It took them a while to make it to the museum. Not that there was any real obstacles outside of the school - actually, it was rather easy for them to slip out unnoticed. It was more so the fighting and constant bickering that had slowed them down, but soon enough, they were standing in front of the door, peering in through the glass panes.
There was a only one security guard, his eyes glued to the multiple screens - each watching over a different artifact.
But right in front of them stood Maleficent's Spinning Wheel.
"That's - your mother's spinning wheel?" Jay asked, trying his hardest not to laugh. Carlos didn't even try, snickering as he commented, "Yeah, it's kind of dorky."
"It's magic," Mal argued with a pout, "It doesn't have to look scary." She then looked down at her mother's spell book, leafing through the pages, before reading, "Magic Spindle, do not linger, make my victim prick a finger."
The man didn't even flinch.
"Impressive."
"I've got chills."
Mal glared at the boys, before glancing back down at the page. "Prick the finger, prick it deep, send my enemy off to sleep." The security guard spun around and, slowly, made his way to the spinning wheel, raising his hand and reaching forward towards the spindle. When he came into contact with it, a spark was set off and he let out a yawn, before he laid down right where he was standing.
Queenie was impressed, for the most part, and Mal smirked. "Not so lame now, huh?" She tried to open the door, but, with their luck, it was locked.
Jay cracked his knuckles, walking further and further away from the door. "Stand back."
Mal flipped quickly through the spell book, before whispering, "Make it easy, make it quick, open up without a kick." The doors swung open, just as Jay had charged forward, ready to aim a good, strong kick. Instead of hitting the door, he landed on the ground.
While her friends laughed, Queenie felt a strong tug in her gut when she saw Jay still laying there. "Are you okay?" She asked, ignoring the roll of Mal's eyes, and Jay opened his eyes, sitting up quickly with a sigh. "Yeah," he mumbled, his cheeks bright red. Just before Queenie could ask anything else or even help him up, Mal called out, "Come on!"
They all passed through the hallways silently, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the wand. They came to a room, however, that they just could not pass by. Five statues, their parents, each restored to their earlier 'glory'.
The teens were frozen where they stood.
"Mommy?" Evie whispered, looking at her mother's statue, which depicted her holding her famous poisoned apple.
"Killer," Jay claimed in a soft voice, his eyes locked with those of his father, as well as the eyes of his snake spector.
"I'll never forget mother's day again," Carlos promised, almost shaking at the sight of his mother chasing a set of puppies.
"I like my head where it is," Queenie mumbled, her small hand rubbing at her neck. Her mother's statue was frozen mid scream and just the sight of it was made Queenie feel cold and icky inside. She quickly looked away from her mother's angry black eyes, willing herself to not throw up or pass out.
She's not angry at you, Queenie quickly told herself, she's not angry at you.
Jay snapped them all of out of their trances. "Well, there's no wand here," he commented shakily, "Let's bounce." When none of them moved, he made his voice louder. "Let's go!"
Queenie glanced at her mother one last time before she left and the sudden urge to rebel against her came over her again. Even though she knew that it wasn't really her and that it was just some cheap remake, she still wanted to scream. She wanted to sass her mother for the first time in her life, she wanted to tell her that not everything could be her way, she wanted to yell that she was none being controlled by a toddler -
But she kept it in.
Just like when she was in the apartment, she kept it in and quickly followed after Jay.
Mal and Evie were the last ones to leave the room, and when they finally caught up with them, they had found the wand.
Smirking, Jay ran from the balcony they were on, down the stairs to an area closer to the wand, with all of them hurrying behind him. He crouched below the bar, slowly reaching out towards it, as Mal began to cry out. "Jay, don't! No, don't! Don't!"
The glittery blue barrier repelled him, a loud shrieking alarm sounding afterwards. The loud sound made Queenie flinch and she clamped her hands over her ears, trying to listen to what the others were saying over the alarm but failing. When they all started running towards the stairs, Queenie followed.
They hurried down the stairs, before exiting through the front doors, Carlos staying behind. Mal cursed, before rushing back to the doors and calling out the younger boys' name, and only a few seconds later, he joined them and they continued to run as fast as they could.
"Way to go, Jay!" Mal hissed, "Now we have to go to school tomorrow!"
