Sadly, Ben couldn't meet up with Mal like he originally wanted. His parents decided at the last minute to leave at an unjustifiable hour in the early morning. After unsuccessfully begging his parents to let him stay with his grandfather—who would be leaving a few hours later—Ben sent a lengthy text to Mal, which explained the situation and apologized for not giving her a proper good-bye.
While on the road for nearly half an hour, Ben was completely surprised to see a message from Mal when daybreak had yet to occur. The message itself made Ben thoroughly impressed with the teenager's artistic skills.
In the short time span, Mal drew an incredibly detailed portrait of the two of them. They were on separate halves of the pages with the backgrounds being completely different. Mal wore a nightgown while leaning over a balcony while Ben—dressed in plain button up pajamas—was drawn leaning against an open doorway. They were gazing at one another while the words above them read: 'Until We Meet Again, My Prince . . .'
Ben couldn't take his eyes off the portrait. He must have stared at it until his phone died, when there was only an hour left of the original six-hour drive.
A week later, school started once again for the students at Auradon High. With it being the first morning back after winter vacation, the scene was complete mayhem. Kids were yelling at each other in greeting as they piled out of their respective buses. Other showed off their new clothing as they reunited with friends.
Being the captain of the Tourney team, Ben couldn't walk into the school building without somebody wanting to give him high fives, low fives, or side fives. Everyone knew who he was, so everyone wanted to be his friends.
One of the many downfalls of being captain,
Before he could have a moment to himself, Ben's teammate and one of his closest friends, Jay, came up to him, greeting, "Ben! Welcome back!"
Jay was completely loyal to Ben, always having his back and approval with everything Ben did. There have been many times that Jay wanted to quit because of other players disrespecting his father behind his back. Jay's father—Jafar Arabia—was 'accused' of stealing thousands of dollars from an extraordinarily rich couple that he worked for. The charges were dropped after Jafar told the court that he was a single father raising a son with no other relatives alive, and a majority of the money 'mysteriously' returned. Though he heard enough insults about his father to anger anyone, Jay stayed on the team for Ben.
"Hey, Jay," Ben bluntly greeted in return. "You seem excited to be back."
"Hell ya!" Jay agreed, ignoring the glares some students gave him at his vulgar language. "My best friend from middle school is transferring to Auradon High today. We've kept in touch, but the last time I got to see her was fall break. She and her parents went to a resort over winter break for a conference regarding her father's job."
Ben perked up at the information. "You know, my grandfather invited my folks and I to a resort because he didn't want to be alone for a conference involving his job too. Do you think it's possible that I saw her?"
"Maybe, but it's unlikely," Jay claimed doubtfully. "She says she hasn't made any new friends since she moved away the first time. She has this unique perspective on life that is hard for others to see, so it's hard for her to make friends. If you did see her, you probably overlooked her since she would have her nose stuck in her sketch-book."
Before Ben could have a chance to ask for the friend's name, the trio of Audrey Rose, Chad Charming, and Carlos de Vil pushed their way through them and the rest of the crowd of students. Audrey tossed her hair as the president of the Drama Club would do. As usual, Audrey looked picture perfect with her luscious brown hair, full makeup, and pink-blue clothes. Chad Charming looked just as hip with his blonde hair and blue outfit.
Meanwhile, Carlos simply didn't fit with other two, as he was dressed in a black-and-white color scheme. Trailing behind the duo, Carlos kept his focus on weaving his service dog—Dude—through the crowd while having a tight hold on his leash. It was quite a surprise that Carlos could even have a service dog, considering his mother, Cruella de Vil, was convicted of one-hundred-and-one counts of animal abuse. It was even more shocking that Carlos hanged with the two members of the Drama Club when he has almost nothing in common with them.
Looking up to see where he was going, Carlos flinched when he noticed Ben and Jay standing before him. Glaring softly, the white-and-black haired boy shoved passed them to follow his 'friends'.
"Why does he hate you so much?" Ben wondered once Carlos was out of hearing range. "I thought you and him used to be friends."
"We were," Jay agreed with an aggravated sigh. "We were friends with Evie too, but we drifted apart when the girl I mentioned before moved away. I'm hoping that since she's coming back, we'll be friends again. But . . . it might take a while before we can get Carlos out of Audrey's clutches."
As Ben nodded in agreement, the bell rang, forcing everyone to hurry to their homerooms so they wouldn't be late.
The crowd thinned as Principal Yen Sid escorted a nervous Mal and her father, who were listening to the principal giving them the grand tour. The teenage girl was more anxious than anything since she didn't look like her usual self. A long, blonde wig covered her purple-dyed hair while she wore a simple light green dress to appear normal. In actuality, the entire get-up made her uncomfortable, but she could suffer through for as long as needed.
"We're consistently rated in the top ten academically in the state," Principal Yen Sid boasted while trying to maintain humble. "You'll also find this a wonderful community atmosphere."
Mal peeked through an open classroom during the sales pitch. The scene inside was total, first-day-back-at-school chaos. Her stomach flipped over as she casted an appealing look at her father. "Dad, my stomach—"
"—is always nervous on the first day at a new school," Hades finished reassuringly. "You'll do great as always. You won't have to worry about moving once the semester is over. Your mother and I intend on staying in Auradon. The only time you'll have to leave again is for college."
Mal smiled weakly at her father's words. The first days were always the worst because she knew she would be leaving within the next few months. It was relieving to know she could stay at one place for longer than a year again.
"Worry not, Mal," Principal Yen Sid insisted. "I've reviewed your transcripts. Although you do have marks against your record here and there, I expect your light will shine very brightly here at Auradon High."
Mal knew he was trying to be helpful, but her stomach twisted even more at these words. "I don't want to be the school's freaky art girl again," she whispered to her father. "I don't want to be ridiculed because of what I see."
Hades hugged his daughter lightly as he advised, "Just be Mal. And don't forget, you don't have to worry about making new friends. You already have old ones who are waiting to see you again; who are waiting to experience your view again."
A few minutes later, Mal entered her homeroom with Ms. Paxson—or 'Fairy Godmother' as she heard people call her—the school's drama teacher. True to her theatrical background, Fairy Godmother was flamboyantly dressed in a long, flowing periwinkle dress with an over-sized pink bow on the color.
As Mal took her seat, she happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar boy she met before. Smirking to herself, Mal thought it would be best to stay invisible for the time being. She would make herself known to him soon enough to prove her point from the week before.
However, Mal didn't realize that he has already seen through his disguise.
As he greeted other students, Ben caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. Surprised, he craned his neck to get a better look, but his classmates kept getting in the way. There's just no way that she's—
"Uma!" Jay shouted, interrupting his friend's thoughts as he swarmed to a dark-skinned girl's desk. "Have you heard from your cousin? Is she here yet?"
Uma rolled her eyes as she flicked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear. "Not since yesterday," she claimed. "I offered to meet her at her house, but my uncle insisted they would drive in. He's known to arrive at the last minute, so she may be running late."
"That's not a great way to start off her new school year," Evie complained from the other side of the classroom as she twirled a strand of her own black hair around her finger. "Her father should really know better after so many moves."
A little background on Evie Queen: she used to be friends with Jay and Carlos before their mutual friend moved away. They drifted apart once they started high school with Evie finding herself to be the president of the Art Club because of her fashion designs and having one of the highest GPAs in the class. Her mother—Grimhilde Queen—was convicted of attempting to steal her step-daughter's inheritance and stealing seven brothers' fortune. Ironically, Evie recently started dating the son of one the brothers—Doug, the president of Band Club and in third place for the highest grades in class.
Harry Hook—sitting behind Ben, but in front of Uma—snickered as he spun his practice sword in his hand. "Just keep an eye out for purple," he bantered. "Once you see it, you'll know she's here."
Those four and a couple others chuckled at the harmless joke just as the final bell rang. Everyone scrambled to their respective desks as Fairy Godmother stood at the front of the class, as if she were taking center stage in a Broadway theater.
"I trust you all had splendid holidays," she said. "Check the sign-up sheets in the lobby for new activities, especially our winter musical. There'll be single auditions for the supporting roles, as well as pairs auditions for our two leads—"
Harry Hook scoffed at the information. "After what happened last time, why even bother offering auditions for pairs?" he grumbled under his breath.
Fairy Godmother glared at him for interrupting. "Mr. Hook, this is a place of learning, not a R.O.A.R. arena," she snapped. "Get that sword out of my sight!"
While his classmate reluctantly did as he was told, Ben craned his neck to see the 'new girl'. Finally frustrated that he couldn't get a clear look, he discretely pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed through the menu. The photo of Mal taken on New Year's appeared on the screen. He became transfixed on her while remembering the magical night, not listening as Fairy Godmother babbled on with the announcements.
"There is also a final sign-up for next week's Art Relay Competition," she continued. "Art Club president, Evie Queen, can answer your questions regarding that."
Meanwhile, Ben hit the CALL button on his phone. Suddenly, the sound of a violin playing was heard through-out the room. It took everyone a few moments to realize it was the sound of someone's ring tone.
Audrey and Chad snarled their noses as they tried shutting off their phones, believing the noise was somehow coming from them. Why wouldn't it stop?
Fairy Godmother strode to the front of the room, the light of battle in her eyes. "Ah, the cell-phone menace returns to our crucible of learning!" she cried. She grabbed a plastic bucket labeled 'Cell-itary Confinement' and held it out to the duo. "Miss Rose and Mr. Charming, your phones, please, and I'll see you in detention."
They rolled their eyes, but deposited their phones in the bucket. The violin sound, however, went on.
Fairy Godmother's gaze swept the room, searching for the source of the nefarious ring. Blushing from embarrassment, Mal fumbled with her backpack. Once she finally dug it out, she noticed the caller ID. Eyes widening in surprise, Mal accidentally hit ANSWER instead of DECLINE, though it did end the noise.
Now, Ben stared in surprise as he saw she had answered.
But Fairy Godmother was looming over Mal, holding out her plastic bucket. "We have zero tolerance on cell phones during class," the drama teacher informed sternly. "So, we'll get to know each other at detention. Phone, please . . . and welcome to Auradon High, Miss Fae."
Hearing the familiar name, a select few whipped their heads toward the new students. Those few couldn't help the gasp that escaped them as Mal waved meekly at the classmates staring at her. "Hi."
"MAL!" Jay shouted as he surged toward her.
Not giving her a chance to anticipate his intentions, Jay abruptly lifted Mal out of her desk as he embraced her tightly. Their interaction looked like a brother reuniting with a sister after not seeing one another for months. Mal's eyes watered at the affectionate hug, though she mentally scolded herself for getting so emotional.
Once Jay reluctantly dropped his hold on her, Mal received another embrace from Evie. The girls couldn't help their excited squeals at seeing each other again. They could finally have their 'girl talks' again since they're reunited.
Their moment was cut short when Mal felt someone tapping on her shoulder. Turning around, she found herself slightly surprised when she saw Carlos outstretch his arms in greeting. "Do I get a hug too?" he teased.
"Of course," Mal agreed as she embraced the youngest out of the four. "I missed you too, Carlos."
"Excuse me!" Fairy Godmother shouted to get the attention back on her. "Mr. Arabia, Miss Queen, Mr. de Vil, since you three seem so keen on speaking to Miss Fae during class, you can join her in detention for your disruptions. Miss Fae, next time remember to keep your phone on silent, so this doesn't happen aga—"
"It's my fault," Ben suddenly confessed, interrupting the teacher as he offered his phone for her to take, which she did without hearing the full explanation. "I called Mal. We met over winter break and exchanged numbers. I saw her when she walked in and wanted to make sure it was her. I didn't mean for the call to create such an uproar. I'll take the detention to make up for it."
Fairy Godmother couldn't help her look of shock at hearing the teenager's declaration. "Well, I admire your honesty, Mr. Adams," she praised. "And I will see you in detention too."
As everyone looked at the Tourney captain in disbelief, the bell rang. The class bolted for the door, relieved to be free of Fairy Godmother's rule for the time being.
