One week later, Mal got a letter in the mail with a snooty crest on the envelope. She immediately pulled out her phone and shot off a text to her best friend. "It came. Have you gotten yours yet?"

Within seconds, Evie responded. "Yup. Carlos too. We're headed to the workshop now."

Evie and Carlos lived in the same apartment building and frequently walked together from their building to the abandoned cabin where the teenagers frequently hung out. Mal had discovered it one night when she was about ten. Her mother had been drinking again, and she didn't want to be around to deal. So she went walking toward the high school because she didn't know where else to go. Eventually, it began to rain, but she didn't want to go home, so she crept into the woods hoping it would be drier. Eventually, she happened upon the cabin. It was dark, and a bit dilapidated, but dry. She slept there, and the next morning, in the light of day, realized that it was completely abandoned. It became her place where she went when her mom started getting… difficult. She started going to the cabin to work on and store her art, because her mom didn't think it was a worthy use of her time. It became her workshop. And when she became friends with Evie, Carlos, and Jay, all four of them used the space to hang out and take refuge from their real lives. And that was where they went to meet to open their letters from Auradon Prep.

On her way to the cabin, Mal passed by Jay's dad's shop. She stepped inside. "Hey Mr. Vizier. Jay?"

Jay's dad gestured to the back without looking up, or even a word to the young woman. He was clearly distracted, trying to get the cash register to open. It seemed to be quite stuck.

Mal breezed past him to the back room where Jay was laying on the floor, asleep. As usual when she found him this way, Mal nudged him with her shoe as she moved toward his dad's desk where the mail was waiting. She rifled through it as she said, "Jay, get up. Our letters came."

Jay was a light sleeper and had no problem waking up, even in spite of the gentleness of Mal's tactics.

"Here it is! Let's go!" Mal dropped the rest of the mail back on the desk and gave Jay a hand standing up. He fixed the red beanie that was sitting crooked upon his head, pulled on his boots, and followed Mal out the door.

When Mal and Jay arrived at the workshop, Carlos and Evie were already there. Carlos was sitting at the desk, where he had used old parts to build a computer. Meanwhile, Evie sat with a sketchbook on the old red loveseat that sank too deep when you sat on it-it was definitely broken. When Mal and Jay walked in, Evie and Carlos got up and moved to the old circle table in the middle of the room. Whenever they had something big to discuss, the table is where they set up.

"So, let's open our letters." Mal's voice was matter-of-fact, but she knew Evie could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"M, should we talk about what we'll do if it doesn't go the way we want?" her best friend asked, reaching across the table to still Mal's hands about to open the envelope.

"What is there to discuss? If we get in with scholarships, great, we go. If we didn't get in or didn't get scholarships, then we stay. I don't see what we should discuss."

"What if some of us get scholarships and others don't?" voiced Carlos.

"Guys, I know I'm the weak link," Jay began.

"Don't say that. You're brilliant," Evie tried to reassure him.

"You guys are all way smarter than I am. I know it, you know it. It's okay. If you guys get scholarships, you have to go. I'll make it through Dragon Hall."

Mal's eyes widened. The thought that they might be separated hadn't even occurred to her. The four of them had been together for so long that she couldn't picture them separated. "No. We need each other. Either we all go, or none of us do. Right?"

Evie smiled. "Absolutely."

Carlos nodded. "For sure."

Jay shook his head. "I won't let you give up the opportunity to get out of this hole. Not for me."

Then Carlos piped up. "Okay, that's totally hypothetical. We don't know if any of us got scholarships. Let's just open the envelopes and find out. Then we can argue about reality instead of imagination. Because Jay, let's face it, you may not be as great with computers as I am," Carlos smirked teasingly at his friend, "but you are smart. Don't undersell yourself."

"Carlos is right. Let's just open the envelopes and see how the chips fell." And with that, Mal picked up her envelope and tore it open. The other three followed her lead. "We read on the count of three, okay? One. Two. Three." And with that, Mal unfolded the sheet of paper in her hands and read the following:

Dear Ms. Faison,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Auradon Preparatory School's Admissions and Scholarship Board. We have carefully looked over your application materials, as well as your aptitude test results, and are pleased to offer you a spot in the sophomore class for the upcoming academic year. We would also like to extend to you a full tuition waiver provided

Mal didn't even bother finishing the letter. She looked up to see the reactions of her friends. Jay's face was neutral, unsurprisingly. He had always been good at keeping his feelings hidden. Evie, on the other hand, looked ready to explode with joy. Mal was impressed that she hadn't squealed or jumped up and down yet. Carlos's eyes were huge, but Mal wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. He looked surprised, but it could be surprise either way.

"Well?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. "E?"

Evie's smile was enormous. "I got it. Full scholarship!"

"Carlos?"

"Same." Carlos's eyes were still big, still staring at the letter. "I can't believe it."

Mal turned to Jay. "And?"

Jay's neutral face cracked into a huge smile. "I'm there. Tuition completely waived!"

Evie squealed. "Yes! I knew it! M, you're in too, of course, right?" Mal's smile was all Evie needed. "We're going to Auradon Prep!"

That afternoon, Mal sat on the old couch in the living room, waiting on her mother to get home from she-didn't-know-nor-was-she-going-to-ask. She hadn't yet said anything to her about possibly changing schools or going to live with E's uncle. But she had to now, or else it wouldn't happen. She just had to convince her that it would be best.

After she had been waiting for twenty minutes, her mom finally appeared. She looked unhappy, which did not bode well for Mal. Unfortunately, unhappy days were far more frequent than happy ones, and Mal didn't have time to wait.

"Hey Mom. How's it going?" Instead of responding, her mother slammed the door. Mal cringed, but pressed on. "So, I have something I wanted to talk to you about. . ." She drifted off, waiting to see the response, if any, her mother had. Of course, she got none. "You know Evie? Well, her uncle knows someone at Auradon Preparatory School over in Auradon. He convinced them to let us apply and take tests for scholarship eligibility." Still, no response. If she didn't know better, she would have thought her mother wasn't listening at all. But her mother was always listening. "Well, we got our answer today. They let us in. And gave us full scholarships. But I would have to live closer to the school for it to be practical. So Evie's uncle volunteered to let us live with him for the school year." Mal paused, and her mother finally turned to look at her, her eyes full of cunning. Mal could tell she was plotting something. She waited for her to speak, and when she didn't, she asked, "So? Whaddya think? Can I go?"

The thing about Mal's mom was that she was a con artist. She schemed her way into people's lives, convinced them to give her all their money, and ran. She could seem like a lovely, gentle, friendly person when she wanted to, but was all the while planning to stab you in the back. So when she smiled and said, "Of course you can, dearie," Mal knew trouble was brewing.

"You can go to your fancy, expensive prep school. But you have to go my way. You have to help me get my biggest score ever. After all, you're going to be among the children of the wealthiest, most elite members of the state."

Mal inwardly winced, but kept a neutral face. She couldn't afford to show weakness. "How much?"

Her mother cackled. "How does a million sound? For starters. Otherwise, I'll pull you out of Auradon Prep and Dragon Hall. And you can forget about seeing your friends ever again."

Mal stared into her mother's eyes, unblinking, for as long as she could. This test of wills was their unspoken way of determining who would come out on top when they disagreed. Mal looked away first. "Fine."