Outside of the school was filled with cheerleaders cheering with the upcoming end of the year. The days were just coming and going with the last day of school being very soon and the students could almost eagerly taste it in the very end. However, it was time for cheerleading and Mal seemed to be running late.
"I can't believe Evie suggested me to become a cheerleader," Mal said as she stood in the hallway outside of the drama classroom with her drama class friend, Rick Ratcliffe. "Me? A cheerleader? That goes as well together as peanut butter and jelly."
Rick seemed to give her a strange look.
"Peanut butter is gross, okay?" Mal defended for her analogy.
"Yeah, I guess," Rick shrugged as he seemed to be looking for a certain thing in his locker that he seemed to be having trouble finding. "It'll be okay though. Just put up with it for as much as you can. I mean, it's not like the other girls will nominate you as head cheerleader or something."
"Heh... Yeah... Me as head cheerleader," Mal smirked as she crossed her arms. "That would be the day."
"Tell me about it," Rick smirked back. "That's like... You and peanut butter."
"Nice try," Mal rolled her eyes. "But I dibs the peanut butter analogy on account of me not liking it, no matter what Carlos says about peanut butter and chocolate going together."
"Uh-huh..." Rick replied as he grunted and groaned, banging at his locker a bit.
"...What are you looking for?" Mal asked. "Was there a final homework assignment that you overlooked in your locker or something? We're not cleaning out our lockers yet."
"I'm looking for my pistol keychain," Rick replied. "It's one of the few things my old man ever gave me and it's kinda... Well... You might not believe in superstitions or whatever, but it's good luck to me."
"Good luck charm?" Mal asked cynically. "What do you need good luck for?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," Rick smirked before he groaned and kept looking. "I can't find it!"
"There's no such thing as luck, whether good or bad," Mal told him in defense. "Though... I might need a little more than good luck to put up with Audrey and the cheerleaders 'cuz I promised Evie."
"Well, if you believed in good luck, I'd wish you some, but seeing as we're both screwed, I guess you're on your own." Rick smirked.
"Ha!" Mal rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You must be a joy to the ladies, Rick Ratcliffe."
"Oh, I am, don't you know?" Rick smirked. "I lucked out having you as my drama partner instead of getting stuck with Audrey Thornley or someone crazy like Ginny Gardener or Yzla Kitt."
"Right... So you wouldn't have to kiss them and instead had to kiss me when Mr. Wiggins suggested we recite separate scenes and partner up for The Lady & The Tramp," Mal smirked back as she playfully punched his arm. "What would I do without you, huh?"
"Exactly," Rick smirked as he shut his locker door. "I give up. Maybe it'll just turn up someday and be in the last place I look."
"Everything you lose is always in the last place you look; that's how finding works." Mal spoke up rather sardonically.
"You're a mean old lady." Rick rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but you love me for it." Mal smirked.
"Pfft! Whatever," Rick smirked back. "At least for you, the Parents' Day Picnic before the last day of school should be interesting."
"Oh, yeah... I've been meaning to ask you about that." Mal then said.
"It's pretty self-explanatory," Rick replied as he had a feeling that she would be asking about that event. "Basically, our parents and possible other relatives come to the school and there's a lot of games, almost like competing in a tournament against each other and the winners in the very end win a trophy, but there are other prizes for other games and there's usually a special dinner held before the night ends with live music."
"Ah... Right..." Mal nodded. "My old school had something like that once."
"Yeah? How so?" Rick asked.
"We pretty much ran through town and tried to take as many items as we could without paying or getting caught by security," Mal replied. "Whoever doesn't end up in jail or a courthouse the next morning wins."
"...You have an interesting life, Malissa Ignus." Rick smirked a bit.
"Ahem! First of all, don't call me Malissa, and secondly, it's Malissa Mills now, thank you." Mal retorted.
"Alliterative name... Gotta love it." Rick grinned in a self-deprecating sort of way.
Mal chuckled before she checked her wristwatch. "Aw, shit... Is it that time already?" she then complained.
"What? You got a date?" Rick joked.
"Hilarious," Mal rolled her yes before explaining. "Nah. I should probably see Evie and the other cheerleaders before their heads explode. Maybe I'll get kicked out and be asked to never cheerlead ever again for the rest of my life."
"Well... Like I said before... Good luck to ya." Rick shrugged.
"Thanks, Rick," Mal nodded. "You're pretty cool for a boy."
"Funny. I could say the same thing about you." Rick smirked.
"Oh!" Mal huffed and glared, swatting his arm again before smirking back. "You're lucky I care about you about 35%."
"Gee. 35. What an honor. Now I can quit my paper route." Rick chuckled.
Mal rolled her eyes and then dashed off to go meet the cheerleaders on the football field. Rick then walked off, looking a bit soft as Mal left, then continued to go down the hallway as Jay chuckled, seeming to walk by with a pistol keychain that seemed to obviously belong to someone else.
"Go, girls! Go! Go! Let's see some hustle!" Audrey coached and clapped her hands together in a demanding way on the football field as the other girls tried to keep up. "We need to beat those Fighting Monkeys in Emerald Acres where rejects are born!"
"Hey! My aunt lives in Emerald Acres." Evie pouted, feeling offended by that jeer.
"Well, maybe you should remind your aunt that she needs to live in somewhere much better," Audrey retorted, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Like Auradon Heights."
"Hm..." Evie hummed firmly and narrowed her eyes.
Behind the bleachers, the cheerleaders were being stalked. Only this time, they seemed to be being watched by a girl with long black hair, wearing a cheerleading uniform that seemed to be black and green in color and obviously not blue and gold like for this school.
Audrey soon blew her whistle and crossed her arms. "Okay, Squad. Let's try the triple base pyramid with suspended blitz and free-falling splits." she then told her "minions".
The girls soon lined up, cheering their little cheer as they got ready for the routine that Audrey told them to perform. They formed their pyramid as the black-haired girl behind the bleachers smirked and took out a notepad before she seemed to write and draw out what she saw before her eyes.
"Uh-huh... Mission accomplished..." The black-haired girl smirked at herself before she ran off away from the football field before anyone would see her, running into a certain blonde boy on the school grounds. "Excuse me? Watch where I'm going!"
"Ah, buzz of, ya big ugly girl," The boy huffed and rolled his eyes. "No one tells Peter Banning what to do."
"Go back to the zoo where you belong, Monkey Boy, and take your fleas with you." The black-haired girl rolled her eyes and continued to run off.
Peter then stuck out his tongue, blowing a raspberry before rolling his smoldering eyes, then looked over to the bleachers. He leaned over them, looking in through the metal gaps and smirked once he saw Audrey again. "Oh, my dear... You're so damaged... You need someone to give you a helping hand," he then said before his eyes fell onto Mal. "You had your thunder and lifetime boyfriend stolen from you and you got into trouble for something someone else did. In my eyes, you are more than a princess, you're a queen... My Queen... I'll make you become The Queen of Mean before September begins~" he then chuckled darkly to himself.
Mal soon stumbled over before bumping into Audrey.
"Watch it!" Audrey glared before she turned around and crossed her arms. "Oh... Hello there, Mal."
"Hey, Audrey," Mal greeted calmly. "Aw... Did I miss the routine practice? Darn this lousy watch..." she then said as she tapped her wristwatch a bit.
"Yes... What bad luck for you to miss nearly the whole practice," Audrey remarked as she put her hands on her hips. "If you're gonna be late for practice, then don't bother showing up at all."
"Man. Who died and made you Queen of the Cheerleaders?" Mal rolled her eyes slightly.
"No one died. I was just born next in line," Audrey smirked boastfully. "After all, my big sisters were this school's best cheerleaders and it was simply my time to take over after they graduated."
"Ah... Right..." Mal shrugged. "Anyway, I guess I'll get into position or something?"
"Well... You might as well," Audrey rolled her light brown eyes in response. "Try to be a little more... Oh... What's the word I'm looking for?" she then began to direct.
"Like I give a damn?" Mal guessed for her.
"Close," Audrey smirked as she got in Mal's face. "More cheerful... This is cheerleading after all. Besides, you're just lucky no tumblers need replacing. With me and the rest of you standing there and making me look prettier, we'll be wowing Emerald Acres in no time." she then walked off sassily, waving her new blue and pink highlights in her hair from her spa trip.
"You still think we should be part of the cheer squad?" Mal groaned as Evie came over beside her.
"I am so sorry, Mal. I didn't think it would be THIS bad..." Evie replied softly.
"Not that bad?" Mal glanced at Evie. "We're spending a lot of time with Audrey who probably already wants my heart ripped out of my chest on a silver platter for stealing and then humiliating her boyfriend when I first came to school here. It's like I'm cursed or something."
"Look, I promise, I'll make it up to you, especially once we get going to Emerald Acres to see my awesome and cool aunt," Evie said as she took Mal's hands with a small smile. "It's gonna be awesome."
"You better hope so," Mal smirked. "Otherwise I'm gonna make you wish a tornado hits Auradon Heights and takes you with it."
Evie chuckled bashfully, but also nervously as she knew how dangerous Mal could be sometimes.
"Ready? Okay!" Audrey smirked as she took charge as the head cheerleader. "Let's go, ladies! Come on! Did they send me juniors when I asked for freshmen?"
Coach Jenkins was walking by before looking over at the cheerleaders as he glanced up from his clipboard. He took a look as Evie seemed to be bit more of a confident head cheerleader type than Audrey who seemed to be a spoiled diva.
"I'm just saying, I think there's more to cheerleading than just looking pretty." Mal shrugged as she crossed her arms.
"Do you not know what cheerleading is, Mal?" Audrey huffed. "I guess that's just how cheerleaders were at your old school or whatever, right?"
"Come on, Audrey. Give her a chance." Jane said softly.
"She's new after all," Keela added lightly. "And so am I."
"I'm sorry, I don't hear high frequencies," Audrey narrowed her eyes without even looking back at the two. "It's so high that only other freaks can hear."
Mal rolled her eyes while Keela and Jane seemed to look discouraged, though Keela looked slightly more abrasive compared to Jane.
"Audrey, you're going to pay for this bad behavior someday." Keela warned firmly.
"Ooh... I'm so scared of you..." Audrey retorted smugly.
"Hey! Girls!" Coach Jenkins called out as he walked over.
"Coach Jenkins. Look sharp!" Audrey whispered firmly and loudly before she stood up straight and grinned innocently. "Coach Jenkins... Hello there, what a surprise!"
"Hello, Coach Jenkins." The other cheerleaders added, sounding a bit dead inside and in unison as Audrey acted like a dictator around them.
"I was just doing some rounds and I happened to catch you girls in the act and I just wanted to say 'That was amazing'," Coach Jenkins smirked at the girls. "You're really head cheerleader material and really show your school spirit deep within your own soul. I want you to be the new Captain of the cheerleaders!"
"Oh, Coach Jenkins, don't you recognize me?" Audrey smirked innocently. "It's me, Audrey Thornley. The younger sister of Ariana and Rose Thornley who were both head cheerleaders before they graduated?"
"Yes, Audrey, I'm familiar with you, but I wasn't talking to you." Coach Jenkins retorted.
"Huh?" Audrey asked with wide eyes.
"Evelyn, is it?" Coach Jenkins then asked as he looked at Evie.
"My friends call me 'Evie'." Evie corrected lightly.
"Ah, yes... Evie..." Coach Jenkins nodded. "I want YOU to be the new Captain of the cheerleaders for The Summer School Games."
"Me?!" Evie gasped and beamed with sparkles in her eyes.
"But that's not fair!" Audrey complained. "I'm the Captain and if I go, I'm takin' all my GIRLS with me!" she then firmly pouted.
"If you wanna go then you can go," Coach Jenkins glared sternly. "Evie's a better choice than you anyway if that's going to be your attitude."
"Oh!" Audrey huffed and crossed her arms as she looked sternly over to Evie. "Listen here, Princess Evie, daughter of Mayor Regina Mills, if you become Captain I swear I will never speak to you again."
"Lucky." Mal whispered to Evie.
"Well, I guess I can't pass up that offer," Evie shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess I'll do it."
"Oh! You... Argh!" Audrey growled and groaned before she then suddenly turned around and stalked off.
"Way to go, Evie." Mal smiled and applauded her best friend/foster sister.
Everyone else then began to clap and cheer for Evie.
"Awesome..." Evie smiled softly. "This should be interesting."
"At least for you it will be." Mal replied.
And so, it seemed to be official that Evie would be the new cheerleading captain, at least for The Summer School Games. It seemed unclear if she would be the captain by the next school year or not, but Keela seemed to smirk and nod as she knew that Audrey was going to get herself into a lot of trouble one of these days. Evie seemed to be more open and accepting of ideas and routines, but still decided to go with the pyramid routine as it might be a good idea, especially to surprise Emerald Acres by the time the Games would come up.
"Evie, I gotta say your unique cheerleading style is going to be one to remember for years, especially at the upcoming Summer School Games," Coach Jenkins said as he watched Evie in action recently, though he still sounded sharp, even when he was happy. "Well done!"
"Uh, thanks, Coach... I guess..." Evie blinked.
Audrey watched Evie and Coach Jenkins talk as she groaned in frustration. "This can't get any worse," she then rolled her eyes. "What's next? They're gonna let that dark emo loser Mal lead the cheers from now on? Pfft! That'll be the day. Everyone knows that I should be in charge of the cheerleaders, getting all of that attention up there... That should be me, not that bratty mayor princess bitch."
"I can't believe how selfish you've gotten." A voice said sternly from right behind Audrey.
"Huh?" Audrey blinked before turning around to see Tilly of all people glaring right at her. "Oh... It's you..." she then crossed her arms.
"Yes, it's me," Tilly rolled her eyes a little. "Crazy Tilly, totally bonkers, absolutely mad."
"Yes, you went crazy, that's why I don't talk to you anymore," Audrey glared and crossed her arms. "Did you come here to gloat about Mal ruining my life and now Evie is too?"
"No, Audrey. I just came to warn you," Tilly retorted. "You're destroying yourself. You're not the Audrey Thornley I remember."
"What are you talking about?" Audrey scoffed.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Tilly firmly stated as she took one step forward. "We used to be best friends when we were little. Then you let your big sisters get to you."
"I'm not listening to this," Audrey snorted as she went to stalk off only for Tilly to grab her arm to keep her from going any further. "Tilly, let go." she then demanded lightly.
"I won't, I just want you to look at yourself and what you've become," Tilly replied sternly. "Don't you remember when we were little and we'd have picnic with our dolls? You with your Princess Anastasia doll and me with my Benny the White Rabbit doll and we'd have tea parties and my mother made us the best sweets and you didn't want them to be fattening."
"Tilly, I said let go." Audrey ignored Tilly's nostalgic trip, repeating her demand, a little bit firmer this time.
"We were best friends, Audrey Thornley," Tilly narrowed her eyes sharply. "Whatever happened to my best friend who was like a sister to me? It was you and me against the world for the longest time... Until you decided you were ready to grow up when I wasn't."
"You can't keep clinging to the past, Tilly," Audrey retorted as she looked back at the blonde girl. "People have to grow up whether they like it or not and that includes you. You're the one who keeps living in a fairy tale like some little kid when the rest of us have already grown up and moved on. Why can't you just do that?"
"Because I want the old Audrey I knew before she became Queen of the School because she became the girlfriend of Ben French!" Tilly frowned firmly with tears in her eyes.
"Get away from me, okay?!" Audrey huffed as she got her arm free and even shoved Tilly down to the ground. "The past is in the past. Let it go and move on with your life. I'll begin the next chapter of my life the way I want to, no matter what you do or say or us having a history together. Goodbye, Tilly, and don't ever come back." she then added before storming off sharply.
Tilly looked devastated and heartbroken as she wiped her eyes in defeat and depression. "All right, Audrey. I'll let you go, but you should know... You have officially gone off the deep end..." she then said to herself softly and quietly. "I'm very disappointed in you."
Audrey either didn't hear that at all, or she did and chose to ignore it, as she soon stormed off. She kept telling herself at least things could not possibly get any worse than it did now.
Later on, Mal was asked to have a one-on-one discussion with the one and only Mr. Hyde in his classroom. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Hyde?" she then asked.
"Yes, I promise not to take up too much of your time and I promise it has nothing to do with your poetry like that time on Mother's Day," Edward spoke to her as he leaned back against his desk as he stood up in front of her, crossing his legs. "I'm sorry for getting you into all of that mess, especially with Dr. Hopper."
"It's okay, I guess," Mal shrugged. "I just kinda felt like a nutcase when you and Headmistress Fairgood and Dr. Hopper were all trying to psychoanalyze me. Whatever happened to free speech, especially in a poetry class?"
"I understand," Edward nodded. "I just wanted to apologize to you."
"Oh? Apologize to me?" Mal blinked. "That hardly ever happens."
"Ah... Hm... I'm sure it does," Edward chuckled lightly with a small smirk. "I wanted to apologize for welcoming myself into your home and sort of... Studying your mother when you believed we were dating."
"Well, can you blame me?" Mal shrugged. "My mom's a single lady, you're a single dude... I guess it was just natural to happen."
"Yes, your mother was a single lady, but I'm definitely not a single... Erm... Dude," Edward replied. "I actually have a close bond with someone from The University."
"Oh?" Mal asked.
"Yes... Mary Lydgate from The Science Department," Edward replied. "I'm... Rather close and fond of her..." he said with a small smirk. "In fact, I was hoping to summer with her during this vacation away from school."
"Oh... Uh... Congratulations..." Mal said, attempting to be polite.
"Thank you..." Edward nodded before he took out a tiny black box and popped it open to show Mal and inside was a silver banded ring with a blue garnet on top of it. "In fact, I'm hoping to ask her a very special and important question."
"Oh... That sounds nice, Mr. Hyde," Mal nodded as she noticed the ring, figuring it was for engagement of course. "I hope the best for you and, uh... Ms. Lydgate."
"Thank you, Malissa," Edward smirked and nodded. "I'm quite hopeful for it myself. Just wanted to let you know I'm afraid to say I'm not interested in your mother like that."
"Eh... It's all right," Mal replied calmly. "Out of all of the new guys she's been with, I think you were probably the most interesting. At least you're intelligent and strong and not a total deadbeat."
"Well, I'm glad that you think so," Edward remarked. "I hope you have a great summer with your new family, Malissa."
"Thanks, Mr. Hyde... I hope that I do too." Mal said with a small smile seeping onto her face.
MEANWHILE, AT THAT VERY MOMENT...
"Check it out, Fighting Monkeys," The black-haired girl from earlier smirked as she showed her notepad at the other cheerleaders in their school gym. "I've got the cheers and I've got the moves that'll bust this Summer School Games competition wide open, because those Auradon Heights nerds are gonna croak when they see this routine. The Fighting Monkeys will always come out on top!"
The Fighting Monkeys Cheer Squad grinned and smirked at each other before they all shared a rather maniacal sounding laugh together.
"That is... If we can even compete." A voice piped up.
"Huh?" The black-haired girl glared as she put her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"
A golden blonde-haired girl stepped out, looking shy and nervous.
"Speak up!" The black-haired girl demanded.
"Uh... Well... Wilhemina? There was an incident during our gym practice earlier..." The girl spoke up nervously.
"What do you mean?" The black-haired girl, named Wilhemina, glared and crossed her arms.
"Uh... Erm... Um..." The blonde girl stammered before Wilhemina slapped her right on the back, making her cough and grunt before she came out with it. "Bella Eammon fell off of the trampoline and twisted her ankle."
"WHAT?!" Wilhemina shrieked. "How are we supposed to compete in The Summer School Games with not enough cheerleaders on our team?!"
A familiar face was coming over to see the cheerleaders.
"Tell me how! What're we gonna do? Hire Bella's brother, Boris?" Wilhemina huffed. "That coward? He's afraid of his own shadow and I'd call him a scaredy-cat if he wasn't already afraid of them. Use your brain for once, Blondie!" she then scolded the golden blonde girl who seemed to be lacking in a brain right about now if you know what I mean.
"I-I don't know..." The blonde girl shivered nervously.
"Great... That's just great..." Wilhemina rolled her eyes. "We might as well give Auradon Heights the competition right now. You all make me so sick with your lame excuses and clumsiness!"
"Ahem..." Peter spoke up, clearing his throat as he stepped over with a smug smirk. "Perhaps I could be of assistance?"
The Fighting Monkeys cheerleaders turned around to look over to see him.
"You again? What do you want?" Wilhelmina huffed. "Shouldn't you be in your boy prison school or something?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe I ran away or got sent home early, none of your business really," Peter shrugged with a smug and cocky smirk on his face. "You could say I'm sorta in-between schools right now."
"All right... Whatever... What do you want with us anyway? "Wilhamena demanded. "You better have a good reason and excuse before I get rough with you."
"Easy... I'm here on good terms..." Peter smirked as he put his hands up, not showing any fear or concern for his safety. "I might know someone who might be able to help you in The Summer School Games. I'm sure she'll be up for persuasion once I'm done with her anyway."
Wilhelmina looked over at the others before shrugging with a steely-eyed glare.
"I'll let you think about it," Peter smirked. "I'm sure we can talk things over because I have connections just about everywhere and plus, I'm Peter Banning, and Peter Banning never fails."
"All right... Spill... You better start talking sense..." Wilhelmina glowered with narrowed eyes. "This had better be good anyway."
"Just trust me..." Peter grinned. "I'm going to help make this summer unforgettable."
Wilhemina looked over and she, and the other Fighting Monkeys cheerleaders listened in to see where this would be going. Peter smirked once he had their attention and soon began to tell them everything that he had planned so far and he felt that it was going to be fool-proof. He was very sure, confident, and smarmy as always and one just had to wonder what was going to happen and what he would be doing just to get what he wanted out of whatever sick, twisted deal he made a poor sucker agree to whenever he could.