Chapter Sixteen
"Hi! I've come to pick up an order of cotton silk satin.", Evie greeted the receptionist in the Housekeeping department where all shopping orders of students were placed, processed, and received. "It should be under the name Evie."
Ever since the leak on the school board, Evie had been throwing herself into her fashion projects. All her creative ideas prevented her thoughts from straying into the territory of anxious what-ifs that did no good.
After checking the log on the computer, the receptionist looked up apologetically at the girl. "I'm sorry, but that order seems to have already been claimed."
Evie's brows wrinkled in confusion. "I don't understand. The order is mine, and I haven't claimed it yet."
"Our records show that the item has already been checked out of our inventory.", the member of the staff explained.
The bluenette took a deep breath to keep her frustrations from bubbling up and showing on her appearance. Honestly, she wasn't even surprised about this. Recently, it had been harder to get materials for her projects, and she suspected that someone was intentionally intercepting all her orders.
Evie had decided not to tell Fairy Godmother about it as the matter would add to the old woman's plate which was already full enough as it is with the villain kids' issue. She was used to acts of stealing, anyway, which were a favorite pastime back on the Isle.
The situation just irked the girl to no end. Did everyone really have to be so mean?
"I guess it can't be helped then.", Evie said, sighing. Cotton silk satin was uncommon, so it was quite difficult to find a supplier that sold genuine and good quality material for the fabric.
"Do you want to place another order?", the receptionist offered as consolation.
Evie shook her head. "Even if I do, I suspect I still won't be able to get my hands on it, but thank you for the offer anyway!", the girl said with a cheerful smile.
Evil Queen's daughter left Housekeeping and made her way through the halls of the Main Building to get back to her dorm room. She also hadn't been frequenting the Fashion Design studio lately as everyone's stares and whispers proved to be too much of a distraction from her work. Luckily, with the constant sleepovers at the boys', the girls' room had been turned into sort of a workplace for Evie.
As she rounded a corner, her body bumped into someone else's. Steadying herself, Evie turned to apologize and found herself staring into a friendly face.
"Doug!", Evie exclaimed. "It's been quite a long time since I last talked to you."
The boy glanced nervously around him before replying to Evie. "Y-Yeah. Sorry about that. I was busy with the band and all…", he trailed off.
The bluenette immediately understood the meaning behind his words. With the current situation, no one wanted to be caught dead being nice to the villain kids. Doug was kind, and even if he wanted to talk to her, the students of Auradon Prep would probably treat him terribly too.
"That's alright.", Evie assured him. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer, so I'll be on my way now."
Evie stepped to the side to continue walking. She didn't want to force Doug to talk to her if he didn't want to.
She had already taken a couple of steps when Dopey's son spoke again. "Wait."
The girl turned around to look at the boy curiously. "Is something wrong?"
Doug rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "It's just that... I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend to you recently, especially since you've never really acted badly towards me. I… I hope you can forgive me."
Evie smiled warmly at the boy. Not everyone was mean, after all. "There's nothing to forgive, Doug. You've always been my friend, and that's already more than I could ever ask for."
Doug's face visibly brightened, and he broke out into a huge grin. "So I'll see you tomorrow at Chemistry then?"
"Uh-huh. Looking forward to it.", Evie agreed happily with a nod of her head before the two said their good-byes and went their different ways.
Mal slung her backpack on one shoulder as she walked through the campus grounds after leaving her last class of the day. With Fairy Godmother's request of keeping out of trouble, the girl had decided to stick to a routine.
She attended all of her classes—no more skipping—during the day, then she spent the rest of her time practicing magic, sketching, and trying to do her homeworks which always ended up with either Evie or Carlos finishing it for her.
Being the central subject of the school board post, the situation was harder for Mal than for the rest of the villain kids. The students of Auradon Prep were firm in the belief that she truly was a villain, someone who would become the next Maleficent if left unchecked.
Before, this kind of thinking directed towards her would make the girl swell with pride, but now, it only bothered her. She didn't want to be evil anymore, and she wasn't interested in taking after her mother.
Maleficent would surely flip and completely disown her if the villain knew about this, so Mal relished her last days in Auradon where she was still free from her mother's grasp and influence.
Sure, there was no decision yet about the villain kids' fate, but the purple-haired girl was certain that there was no way they would let her—specifically—stay here. She was prepared to leave even if it meant being separated from her friends, yet she still dreaded what would happen once she was back on the Isle.
Mal reached her locker which she visited every day to sort out the school books and art materials that she needed to bring back to the dorms. The graffiti art of her mother's shadow was gone from her locker door; she had long since replaced it with a purple dragon, a symbol she had always associated with herself.
Entering in the alphanumeric password on the lock, she grabbed the handle and pulled the locker open, and out came spilling hundreds of papers. Confused, Mal picked up one and read the single sentence that was on it.
"GO BACK TO THE ISLE! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, VILLAIN."
The girl knew at once what the content on the rest of the papers were. They likely had other malicious messages intended for her written on them too. With a sigh, she emptied out the huge pile of papers that remained inside her locker.
She had to acknowledge the effort to prepare the papers, along with the fact that seeing these notes for her did hurt a little bit. But with all the methods available for these people to get their message through, did they really have to choose one that forced her to clean all these up by herself?
After dropping off the books she didn't need and retrieving some necessary files, she closed and relocked the compartment. She muttered a quick protective spell to prevent any others from tampering with her locker and attempting something like this again.
Mal bent down to scoop up the papers in her hands, swearing violently under her breath as she did so. She stashed them in her bag for later disposal. Once every piece was picked up, the purple-haired girl got back on her feet, only to freeze momentarily as her eyes caught sight of someone standing several steps away from where she stood.
It was Ben, looking at her with his hazel-green eyes and honey brown hair.
Mal could feel the pounding of her heart. She hadn't spoken with Ben since the issue started, and though she spotted him a few times in the hallways or out on the tourney field, he never looked her way.
Even if she did say that she wouldn't be bothering the prince anymore, Maleficent's daughter debated whether she should at least smile or wave at him. However, before she could do so, Ben turned his back on her and walked away.
Pain blossomed in Mal's heart, but the girl was quick to chase it away. 'This is what you wanted. With everything that has happened, Ben is better off without you.', she reminded herself.
Her phone suddenly vibrated from her pocket, and she fished the device out. Seeing that Evie was calling her, Mal immediately pressed the green button.
"E, what's up?", the girl greeted.
"Where are you? Fairy Godmother wants to see the four of us."
Her footsteps heavy, Mal entered the Main Building with Jay who she ran into while he was coming back from the tourney field, and they made their way to Fairy Godmother's office.
The fairy wanting to see them could only mean one thing: a decision about the villain kids' situation had been reached.
Maleficent's daughter kept clasping and unclasping her hands in apprehension which caused Jay to give her a sideways glance. "Mal, calm down.", he said in concern for her.
"Sorry. It's just really nerve-wracking.", she admitted sheepishly.
"Well, no matter what happens, just know that the four of us will stick together, okay? We're all here for each other.", Jay reminded her, earning a smile from the girl. Jafar's son had always been an older brother figure in their group, and now, more than ever, Mal was grateful for his presence.
Upon reaching their destination, Mal knocked softly on the door. Hearing Fairy Godmother asking them to come in, she gripped the knob and opened the door. The two saw Evie and Carlos already sitting on a couch facing the fairy.
"Mal, Jay, come in!", Fairy Godmother greeted them. They stepped inside quietly and sat on the vacant spots beside their friends.
"Does anyone want any tea? Scone?", the old woman offered.
"Don't mind if I do.", Carlos replied with a nervous laugh. Food had always been one of his sources of comfort, and his nerves could definitely use some calming down right now.
Fairy Godmother placed plates of cinnamon scones and cups of Ceylon tea in front of the villain kids. Carlos and Jay immediately got around to eating the baked goods, while Evie picked up one of the cups and sipped on the tea to soothe herself.
"I have been in constant communication with the queen and the rest of the school administration. As you may have already guessed, we've finally reached a decision about the actions we are to take in response to the recent issue.", Fairy Godmother explained.
Without even realizing it, Mal's hands began to reach automatically for Evie's on her right side and for Jay's on her left. Evie squeezed her best friend's hand reassuringly as she also reached out to hold Carlos's.
The villain kids held their breaths as they waited for the fairy to continue. They all had one wish on their minds—that the four of them would be allowed to stay.
"We have decided to allow all of you to stay in Auradon.", Fairy Godmother announced with a smile on her face.
A brief silence settled inside the office, and Jay was the first one to come to his senses as Fairy Godmother's words sank in. "Yes!", he cheered as he fist-pumped happily.
Evie burst into tears of joy out of relief, and Carlos only continued to stuff his face with scones—this time, in excitement.
Mal remained rooted to her position on the couch, unable to believe what she had just heard. The fairy must have probably meant that Evie, Carlos, and Jay would be allowed to stay, right?
"I'm sorry, Fairy Godmother. I didn't quite catch that.", Maleficent's daughter spoke up. "Did you say all of us, including me?"
"Yes, Mal. The four of you get to stay here in Auradon, but only if you want, of course."
"I-I don't understand. Shouldn't I go back to the Isle?", Mal asked, confused.
Fairy Godmother smiled warmly at her. "We recognize your efforts to change which was what we ultimately wanted to happen as you studied here in Auradon Prep. Yes, you may have come here with an evil plan in mind, but you chose not to push through with it. My child, you—no, all of you are good people, and you deserve to stay here."
"And we will be staying, Fairy Godmother.", Evie spoke up. She turned to her side to hug Mal tightly. "We don't have to go back, M. No more acts of evil."
"No more destroying things.", Mal agreed with a wide smile. "It's time we finally choose good."
"This means I still get to play tourney!", Jay said eagerly. "I was worried I'd miss the match with the Falcons."
"Wait.", Carlos butted in as a thought entered his mind. "What about our parents? Won't they be really mad about all this?"
Fairy Godmother pursed her lips at the boy's question. "You don't have to worry as your parents won't be able to reach you here. But as it is still our duty, we'll be informing them of everything that has happened and your continued stay in Auradon."
"However, for now, we won't be allowing any of you to communicate with your parents. Hopefully, once things have settled, you may be able to talk to them again.", the fairy clarified.
"That's good enough for me. Thank you, Fairy Godmother.", Carlos approved, and the others consented with him. The young boy shuddered at the thought of talking to his mother again. "I don't think I'll be able to face any of our parents right now."
"Moving on, unfortunately, we still haven't found the person behind the post on the school board, but you can rest assured that we've deleted the online entry, along with other malicious posts."
"If I found out who's behind all this…", Jay mumbled as he cracked his knuckles.
"Now, now, we do not condone violence here, Jay. Once we find who's responsible for this, we'll be taking appropriate actions to correct them as we believe this whole issue could've been resolved quietly without making everything public."
"We've also been getting reports from school personnel about the other students' behavior with regards to this situation. We'll be releasing a memo calling for these actions to stop and for the student body to be unprejudiced. After all, Auradon Prep should remain welcoming to those who want to do good.", Fairy Godmother went on to expound.
"Oh, thank you, Fairy Godmother! It's been difficult for us to stay inside the studios and libraries.", Evie breathed out, slightly miffed at the treatment that the four of them had been receiving.
"We want to make sure that all of you are comfortable with staying here.", Fairy Godmother guaranteed them. "Lastly, we do still realize Mal's part in all this. As such, Mal, we are requiring you to undergo weekly counselling sessions with me. Would that be alright?"
"Yes, it's fine with me.", Mal agreed with a nod. Going to counselling was definitely a whole lot better than going back to the Isle, and besides, the fairy was someone she had already come to like and respect.
"That's great to hear.", the old woman replied, beaming. "I believe that's everything we've decided about the issue."
"Thank you, Fairy Godmother. For letting us stay.", Mal said sincerely, and the other villain kids voiced out their gratitude as well. "We'll do our best to change from here on."
"You are all welcome, my dears.", Fairy Godmother said in response. "On another note, I'll also be informing you that in a few weeks, we'll be having the Midyear Ball. It's a yearly tradition in Auradon Prep, so I'm hoping that the four of you could attend."
"A ball?", Evie repeated, her eyes widening. "Yes, Fairy Godmother, we'll definitely be there!"
Jay groaned. "Evie, please don't tell me you'll be planning our outfits again."
"I think it's too late to say that, Jay.", Mal noted as she observed Evie's eyes sparkling in anticipation.
"I'm putting myself in charge of planning and making your outfits!", Evie declared.
"I'm fine with it as long as you let me wear shorts.", Carlos conceded.
The bluenette looked horrified upon hearing the boy's offer. "No! No shorts.", she said in protest to which Carlos replied with an attempt to persuade her.
Fairy Godmother could only smile warmly at the four as they continued their banter. A lot of people had opposed the idea of letting them stay, but she stood her ground and defended them. She had come to love the villain kids as if they were her own children, and she'd want nothing more than to see them grow in goodness away from the Isle's influences.