Eventually, the car stopped as Regina pulled up to the school. Evie was applying make-up for what felt like the hundredth time which just made Mal roll her eyes and Henry just focused on his book like he was unaware of the world all around him.

"We're here, kids," Regina smiled. "Evelyn dear, I do hope that you can help show Malissa around properly."

"Sure, Mom," Evie replied as she clamped her compact mirror shut after puckering her lips, having applied lipstick as red as a fresh apple. "Come on, let's go to school, Malissa."

Mal rolled her emerald eyes as she hated that name so much. "Malissa Bertha"... Just more examples of her mother being cruel since her birth. Eventually, the kids got out of school and Henry looked up as the doors closed shut and he took his cue to come out of the car too, but not before giving his mother a goodbye kiss.

"Goodbye, dears," Regina smiled at Henry and Evie. "I love you both so much."

"Bye, Mom." Henry and Evie replied as they got out of the car and Mal went to join them.

Mal stepped out of the car and soon looked up and over at the school... The Walter Elias Academy... The major and most known preparatory school in all of Auradon Heights. How she was able to get in a school filled with stuck-up and snotty nerds, she would never know. The uniforms... The higher education... It was a lot different from regular school, though she knew that she would be dead or homeschooled before Prom Night anyway. Evie smiled at Henry as she went to walk him inside the school, holding his hand as he clutched his special book in his free arm. Mal looked over at them and soon decided to follow them since she had nowhere else to really go right now.

"I'll catch up with you a little later, Mal," Evie said to her possible new friend. "I have to get Henry to Ms. Blanchard's class. You don't mind though, right?"

"Sure... Why would I mind?" Mal rolled her eyes.

Evie nodded and soon walked off, taking Henry by the hand as she went to take him to his class.

"Well... Here goes nuthin'..." Mal gulped as she took a deep breath as she wandered into the school.

Everything seemed large and spacious to the dark-haired girl. Especially with how Evie just vanished with Henry and there were so many new faces. It was a bit overwhelming, even for a strange new teenager in a strange new land. High school was a jungle after all and only the fittest survive and the weaker students get brushed aside and swept up under the rug like yesterday's garbage or receiving a royal flush from the mean girls.

"Well, this is definitely bigger than my old school..." Mal said as she stepped into the hallway as it looked very easy to get lost, not to mention her voice felt like it echoed throughout the hallway.

There were many other students there who were talking and hanging around the lockers until class started while Evie seemed to disappear within the crowd with her little brother. A lot of the students stared at Mal and began to whisper to each other about how they didn't know who she was and how they had never seen her before. Mal just narrowed her eyes at the stares and whispers as she wandered into the hallway, wondering where to go before she yelped and ran into a door that belonged to the Headmistress's office.

The bell soon rang which summoned the students away suddenly and they seemed to scamper all around. Mal shuddered and shivered at how fast they all seemed like their lives depended on making it over to class on time. Mal watched them take off like a herd of wild animals on the run from a bigger and mightier predator who hunted for fresh meat. She then turned around to the door and gulped as she decided to go there as it was probably a good idea to visit there since had no idea of where to go now. At least she found it, right? She soon took another deep breath and then knocked on the door.

"Yes?~" A merry and cheerful voice answered from the other side of the door. "I believe you have class to go to, dear~"

"Uh... Hello?" Mal spoke up as she opened the door and stepped into the office, though she was surprised to see a warm, cheerful, and jovial faced woman behind the door as she expected to see some sort of Dragon Lady who lived off of the misery of small children. "I'm new here, actually... I don't know where my class is."

"Ah, yes, we were expecting a new student today, dear," The woman then smiled and nodded, speaking warm and cheery like she was the living embodiment of sugar, spice, and everything nice. "Please... Why don't you come in and have a seat? Golly! You must be so confused."

"You have no idea, lady..." Mal muttered as she sat down comfortably.

"I heard that, dear," The woman said with a small frown, though it didn't last long, she still sounded very cheerful and friendly, even if she was the opposite of happy. "My name is Farah Fairgood, but you should address me as 'Ms. Fairgood' or 'Headmistress Fairgood', and don't you forget those titles, young lady. Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am..." Mal nodded bashfully. "S-Sorry, ma'am."

"Very good," The woman nodded back once she got the jist. "So glad that you understand now," she then noticed something. "Oh, my good golly gosh! Where are your parents?"

"I guess Mom was busy," Mal shrugged. "Mayor Mills drove me to school with her son and daughter."

"Oh... I see... I figured your mother would at least be here... Especially on your first day of school..." Headmistress Fairgood replied softly. "Well, I suppose I should call down a student to show you around here and make sure that you're comfortable on your first week of school. If that's all right with you, dear."

"Sure..." Mal shrugged.

"Ahem..." Headmistress Fairgood cleared her throat as she pushed her call button to announce something over the intercom. "Attention, please... Jane Fairgood report to my office, please? Jane Fairgood, report to my office."

"Fairgood?" Mal repeated. "You two related or something."

"Ah, yes," Headmistress Fairgood smiled as she made the announcement all over the school. "My darling little angel... My baby girl... My special little princess... My Jane."

Mal forced a smile back to be as polite as her mental capacity would allow her to.

After a few moments, a shy and nervous girl with brown hair with a big blue bow in her hair arrived. She looked a lot younger than she actually was which made Mal believe that she was around Henry's age at first, but no... This girl was her and Evie's age, she was a teenager.

"Y-You wanted to see me, Mom-I mean, Headmistress Fairgood?" The girl asked, nearly sounding as quiet as a mouse.

"Mom... That makes sense..." Mal remarked to herself quietly.

"Yes, I did, Jane," Headmistress Fairgood smiled at the girl and once Mal looked back and forth at the two, she could definitely see a slight resemblance between the two. "Would you be a dear and show our new student Malissa Ignus around the school? I guess her parents couldn't make it, so I trust you to show Malissa around and help get her adjusted."

"Oh, uh, s-s-sure, Mom..." Jane nodded nervously. "Ma'am... I-I suppose I could do that."

"I'm sure you could, dear," Headmistress Fairgood beamed. "Now if any of your teachers ask, just tell them you had to do me a favor and I'm sure you won't get detention. You never had, even when you were in the primary hallway, though you started school late since you weren't just ready to outgrow diapers just before Kindergarten."

"MOM!" Jane's eyes widened as she turned bright red in the face.

"Oh, wow." Mal muttered to herself as a small smirk formed, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh at Jane's embarrassment.

"Have a good tour, Miss Ignus," Headmistress Fairgood beamed. "With Jane as your guide, you're in good hands."

"Good to know." Mal shrugged.

"Oh! And by the way," Headmistress Fairgood said before she took out a sheet of paper which was printed out and she gave it to Mal. "This will be your schedule for this semester. You'll get a good idea of what to expect next semester before Winter Break."

"Uh, thanks." Mal said as she took the paper.

"Now go," Headmistress Fairgood smiled. "Have a happy and healthy and wholesome day and school year, dear!" she then called out as Jane groaned at her mother's constant perkiness as Mal just tuned most of it out, though it seemed nice to see a kindly mother figure in one's life.

The two girls soon left the office and wandered into the hallways. Mal groaned as she just wanted to get this day done and over with while Jane looked very meek and nervous around the new girl, especially since she had a bit of bad girl written all over her body.

Eventually, the tour began as Mal took a look at her new school schedule which was bound to be an interesting one. A lot more than back home anyway, especially since it was more of an inner-city school which felt more like a prison than a school like this one.

"So, uh, Malissa?"

"Please, call me Mal... Malissa is too formal and dehumanizing."

"Uh... Very well... Mal..." Jane then said, trying her best to smile warmly, though she just had nerves taking over. "How long has it been since you moved into Auradon Heights?"

"Last week," Mal shrugged. "My mother just moved us without asking for my consent and wants me to be a model citizen so I don't get into trouble like my sister."

"Oh... You have a sister?" Jane smiled curiously. "Where is she? Is she in college now?"

"...Sure, why not?" Mal shrugged, though that seemed to be a lie.

Jane frowned as she noticed how strange that answer seemed, but decided not to bring it up anymore. "Uh, let's take a look at your schedule." she then suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Mal shrugged again as she peeked at the sheet of paper that was made just for her.

Homeroom with Mrs. Belfrey

Science with Mr. Deley

English Class with Ms. Porter

Physical Education with Coach Jenkins

LUNCH BREAK

Art with Mrs. Gardener

FREE PERIOD

History with Mr. Thatch

"Oh..." Jane smiled. "That looks like a good schedule. We have some classes in common... Maybe we'll see each other."

"Hmm..." Mal just shrugged in response.

Jane soon showed Mal all around the school and where her classes were and promised to help keep an eye on her during her first week. Mal tuned out most of what Jane was saying as she proved to be as chatty as her mother when she felt comfortable enough. It also disturbed her how Jane mentioned if Mal wanted, she could come over after school and they could maybe brush each other's hair and talk about rainbows... Or something like that. Mal then yelped as she ran into someone in the hallway and they both fell down on the floor suddenly.

"Watch it!" Mal complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." The other student said nervously.

"Are you okay, Maliss-I mean Mal?" Jane asked in concern.

"I'm fine..." Mal groaned. "It's no big-" she then lost her train of thought as she suddenly looked over to see who she had run into.

"Heh... Sorry about that..." The boy smiled nervously. "You must be new to our school."

"What gave it away?" Mal replied.

"Well, you're here with Jane and she's not the type to just wander around the hallways outside of class, even if her mother's in charge of the school," The boy chuckled sheepishly as he soon held out his hand to her. "Here, let me help you up."

"...I can help myself up..." Mal mumbled as she seemed embarrassed and her face flushed into a red color as she got up and stood right in front of this boy. "Say... Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yeah, I'm running a little late to Gym which means extra push-ups for me," The boy groaned and rolled his hazel eyes. "Uh... I better get going... Maybe I'll see ya later... I should go."

"Yeah, maybe you should... Heh... In 'Bowling', I think this is what they call a strike." Mal shrugged bashfully.

"In that case, it's better than a gutter ball." The boy replied.

The two soon laughed together as Jane just stood between them.

"...I better go... See ya..." The boy said before he took off running, even though that was forbidden in school hallways.

"Well, that was interesting..." Jane commented.

"Who was that...?" Mal soon asked.

"Oh, him? That's Benjamin French," Jane explained. "He's pretty popular around here and luckily he's a nice boy, so he's too polite to brag. He's on the football team like his dad and he's a real beast whenever we go up against The Fighting Monkeys."

Mal blinked and turned around. "Wait, what?" she then asked.

"The Fighting Monkeys," Jane repeated bashfully. "They're the kids from Lyman Baum Prep, they're our rivals."

"Oh... Okay..." Mal then shrugged.

"Anyway... Back with the tour..." Jane nodded.

"Yeah, yeah." Mal replied.

The tour soon continued as Mal tried to ignore the thoughts she had about meeting Ben. She normally didn't believe in having crushes or falling in love at first sight, but something different happened. She felt very funny... She was really warm right now and her heart was racing. She just figured it was first day of school jitters and being the new kid in school, but that was far from it.

Eventually, the tour ended as Jane knocked on the door to one classroom. A woman soon opened the door who gave off some sort of cold and bleak atmosphere. Mal could just feel her spine chilling already as something about this woman told her to feel fear from the pit of her stomach... Yes, she did feel scared, but she wasn't that open about showing her fear. She had to grow up with her mother after all.

The woman had short brunette hair that covered her eyes and her eyes felt as though they could pin you on the spot if she looked at you the wrong way. "Miss Fairgood, I don't recall you having a class with me..." she soon spoke, sounding very cold and chilling that did end up effecting Mal in some sort of way when her mother's voice was annoying at best and shrill at worst.

"Uh, y-yes, I know, Mrs. Belfrey..." Jane nodded. "You have a new student in your homeroom class though."

"Ah... I see..." Mrs. Belfrey replied as she looked over to see Mal, not recognizing her face at all. "You must be the new student or just a troublemaker loitering in the hallways."

"Erm... I'm new..." Mal defended. "I just started today."

"Well, I can tell with the information I currently have that that is true," Mrs. Belfrey replied as she soon gestured for Mal to come inside. "I'll excuse your tardiness for today since you are new here as a warning, but if you are late for any other day without a proper excuse, you will find that I will become your worst nightmare very quickly. And I'm sure that you don't want that, dear."

"Uh... No, ma'am..." Mal said, swallowing a lump in her throat as it was fear as somehow this woman found a way of breaking her down.

"Miss Fairgood, I suggest you get to class while I take care of-" Mrs. Belfrey advised strictly before checking Mal's schedule to see her name. "Miss Ignus."

"Yes, ma'am," Jane nodded. "Good luck, Mal." she then added and Mal couldn't help but notice that she was practically sprinting out the door like she couldn't wait to get out of the woman's line of sight.

Mrs. Belfrey nodded as she soon took Mal and placed her beside her desk in front of the class as the students all sat. They seemed like robotic slaves as they all stared at the front of the class like they were in some sort of Concentration Camp and that any movement in their desks would be a horrendous penalty. Mal soon found an open desk and nodded as she figured that she would be sitting there.

"Good morning, class." Mrs. Belfrey greeted.

"Good morning, Mrs. Belfrey." The class chorused from their desks, sounding just as stiff and robotic.

Mal couldn't help but snicker with how funny that seemed like they were in some sort of post-Apocalyptic and dystopian future. The students began to fear for Mal's life as she did that.

"What's so funny, dear?" Mrs. Belfrey demanded to know.

"Uh... It's a joke, right?" Mal shrugged innocently.

The students looked scared to death as Mal answered like that. Almost like that was a deadly sin or something to the same affect.

"I can tell that you're going to be a handful," Mrs. Belfrey replied firmly as she looked Mal right in the eyes which did in fact make the teenage girl feel trapped somehow before she looked to her class. "Would someone be as so kind as to tell Miss Ignus about the rules of our classroom?"

A few students raised their hands, being quiet in the process as they all had stoic frowns on their faces. There was one girl though who was blonde and appeared to be looking bored out of her mind and even resting her hands under her face as she looked like she could fall asleep any minute now.

"Yes, Mr. de Vil?" Mrs. Belfrey then called on a boy who seemed to have black-and-white hair and freckles all over his face.

"No giggling or laughing, stand when you speak, and always address you as 'Mrs. Belfrey'." The boy spoke up as he stood up from his chair, looking a bit dead-eyed and sounding stilted as he answered the teacher properly.

"Correct," Mrs. Belfrey nodded before looking at Mal. "You've only been in my classroom for five minutes and you've already broken certain rules I might have."

"Uh... Sorry." Mal soon said.

"Sorry, what?" Mrs. Belfrey prompted firmly.

"Sorry, Mrs. Belfrey." Mal said.

"Very good," Mrs. Belfrey nodded before gesturing to an empty desk in the middle of the classroom. "Now... Why don't you sit there next to Mr. de Vil, Mr. Schehaerzade, and Miss Mills?"

"Yes, ma'am... Mrs. Belfrey..." Mal said as she soon walked over and went to sit next to the other kids. She recognized this "Mr. de Vil" and Evie already, though the other boy looked over as he wore his long dark hair in a ponytail to keep it neat and tidy. She could already tell that this was going to be a whole new adventure and experience and this was just homeroom, the class where you usually relax, talk to your friends, and take it easy before the other classes start.