Stella was a worrier. She was a worrier on the inside, but on the outside, she was nothing but beautiful. She had immaculate golden curls that glistened in the light and big blue eyes, red lips, and perfect skin.
Currently, Stella was worrying about her luggage. If her bags were delivered to her with scratches…even just one teeny tiny scratch, well, things would be dastardly indeed.
To distract herself, Stella took a good, careful look at her surroundings. As she entered the glass castle, mirrored words towering above her read The School For Good Enlightenment And Enchantment. The School for Good. As the daughter of Beauty and the Beast, Stella didn't need anyone to tell her she belonged in the School for Good. She was destined to be an Ever since birth. Ever was the term used to describe students from the School for Good, and Never was the term used to describe students from the School for Evil.
Two white swans adorned the front doors. The Nevers most likely had a black swan stamped somewhere in their school. Swans were part of the School for Good and Evil crest, which had two swans (one black and one white) face to face and the words "The School for Good and Evil" printed on white ribbon underneath.
Fairies welcomed Stella graciously inside. After scanning the mirrored corridor (mirrors were everywhere in the School for Good) and finding no sign of her friends, Bernadette and Hadleigh, Stella continued on inside until she found herself in the grand foyer.
The foyer was unlike any other part of this school. There were four spiral staircases in the foyer, all carefully arranged. Two of them were pink, and two blue. The two blue stairs had the words VALOR written on one and HONOR written on the other. The two pink stairs had CHARITY on one and PURITY on the other. Professors in matching uniforms lined these stairs. The walls surrounding her had big letters painted on it to spell E-V-E-R, and portraits of former graduated students lined the walls higher above.
A fairy handed Stella her schedule, a basket of books, and her school uniform (a short pink pinafore worn over a white blouse). Then there was a tap on her shoulder, and Stella turned.
It was Bernadette, and next to her was Hadleigh. After Stella greeted them both, they immediately began talking.
"Do you know what's worse than cheese?" Bernadette demanded.
"Hmm, Nevers?" Stella said with a small smirk.
"Wrong—well, yes, but I was thinking of something else."
"Humidity! Humidity is worse than cheese!" Hadleigh exclaimed.
"Correct. And I think someone needs to do something about the humidity at the Flowerground. It's awful!" Bernadette wailed. "My hair is getting frizzy!"
"Oh my," Hadleigh gasped, examining Bernadette's hair. "That's horrible indeed."
"But I fixed it!" Bernadette said smugly. "With my mother's hair product that I snatched from her room! It's one of a kind! One small bottle probably costs around—"
"We really should get going," Stella interrupted suddenly.
Bernadette blinked, unpleased, but then a wide smile quickly crossed her face. "Of course! I hope you're rooming with me." Then the three girls set off to their assigned dorm towers.
The Theater of Tales was one of those rare things that was shared between the two schools. It was divided in two, with one half occupied by the Evers and the other half by the Nevers.
Wolves guarded the Evil side, and fairies guarded the Good side. Students were required to be at the Theater of Tales in time for the Welcoming.
Scarlet paraded into the Theater of Tales, a line of Never students trailing her. They all took their seats on the sagging, rotted benches on the Evil side, plopped down and glared at the Evergirls across from them. There were no Everboys in sight. The Evergirls all smirked in return, giggling among each other and applying last-minute layers of lip gloss. The Good side of the theater was in various shades of pink and blue, with glass vases and glittering bouquets. As a Never herself, Scarlet preferred the Evil side, with its worn wooden pews, jagged stone walls, and stalactites that hung ominously from the ceiling.
"I wonder where all those good-for-nothing princes are," said a Nevergirl next to her with greasy, stringy dark hair and shadowed circles under her beady eyes.
"Skewered and plucked apart alive by vultures, I hope," Scarlet answered maliciously.
The Nevergirl laughed. "Ha, Good one! Hey, your name is Scarlet, right?"
Scarlet nodded.
"Well, I'm Astrophel," the Nevergirl said. "We're supposedly sharing a room with Raven." Astrophel nodded towards a girl with dandruff-caked hair and a high forehead. "One more thing—is that your natural hair color?" Astrophel asked.
Scarlet glanced down at her ruby locks. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Actually, I like it," Astrophel said, squinting at Scarlet's red hair.
"You do?" Scarlet asked, failing to disguise the baffled look on her face.
"Sure. It reminds me of blood." Then Astrophel smiled (well, sort of smiled. Nevers don't exactly smile. Astrophel's "smile" was more of a grimace/sneer), revealing yellowed, razor-sharp teeth.
Scarlet turned away from Astrophel and her grimace/sneer, disgusted. Judging by the way Astrophel said blood, it was obvious that she was a vampire.
The doors on the Good side burst open, and dozens of Everboys brandishing swords entered. Scarlet let herself groan out loud as the princes began their sword fighting.
"Seriously?" Beside her, Astrophel let out a cackle. "This is what they train to do? Perform for their princesses? How ridiculous." Astrophel watched the princes with crazed glee in her red eyes.
The other Nevers seemed to react similarly. They all laughed and pointed, and Scarlet joined in. When the Everboys were finally done with their sword fighting, they threw roses at the most beautiful of the Evergirls and sat down.
"Attention!" said a sweet, musical voice. Everyone turned to see a two-headed dog step onto the stone stage.
"ATTENTION, YOU FOUL CREATURES!" the second head bellowed in a rough voice contrasting with the melodic voice. Scarlet could see an immediate difference between the two dog heads that had just spoken. The first dog head was cute and fluffy while the second dog head was ugly, with a string of drool dangling from its chin and wild, hungry eyes.
"I'm Pollux," the Good dog head said. "And this is—"
"CASTOR!" the Evil dog head roared. Everyone winced, even the Nevers.
"Welcome, Evers and Nevers, to the School for Good and Evil!" Pollux beamed. "Now remember, all of you here are either Good or Evil. Perhaps, you may feel as if you belong in both, but here, we can guarantee that you will find where you truly fit!"
"EVEN IF WHERE YOU BELONG IS IN THE TRASH CAN!" Castor barked.
"Something we remind students every Welcoming: all souls are fundamentally Good or Evil. You can't be both—that is physically and mentally impossible."
"AND DON'T FAIL!" Castor snarled.
"Ah, yes!" Pollux said. "Now here, instead of grading you, we rank you based on your skills and abilities. We divided you all into groups of twenty, one being the highest and twenty being the lowest. If you are repeatedly in the top five, you are on the Leader track. If you are in the midrange, then you are a Follower, and finally, scoring below a thirteen means you're best as a Mogrif."
"IF YOU GET THREE TWENTIES IN A ROW YOU FAIL!" Castor howled.
"Not that we need to worry about failing here!" Pollux said, eyeing the Evers proudly.
"AND DON'T FAIL!" Castor screamed at the Nevers, spittle flying.
"Every year, the School Master brings two Readers from the Woods Beyond," Pollux said, squinting at the students seated on rows of pews. "I'm not sure where they are now…but onto the rules!"
Everyone groaned.
"Rule number one! No wandering out after curfew!" Pollux announced brightly. "Rule number two…"
Across the Nevers, Indigo sat among the Evers on the Good side. She squirmed, eyeing the lovely roses that she lacked, sitting in the laps of lucky Evergirls. Next to her was Huntley, who had given his rose to beautiful, popular Stella. Of course he did. Except Indigo had thought Huntley might give her his rose since they were close friends, while Stella was practically a stranger to Huntley. She really did think he considered it for a moment.
Huntley glanced down at Indigo's empty hands. "Where's your rose?" he asked in a hushed voice (Castor and Pollux were still going over the rules).
Indigo shushed him, pretending to be deeply interested in whatever the two-headed dog was saying.
"I have one for you," Huntley said anyway, and he pulled out a white rose. "Milady."
Indigo carefully plucked the rose from his fingers and flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you," she mouthed.
"...And finally, rule number thirteen: students aren't allowed on the Halfway Bridge," Pollux said. The Halfway Bridge was the thin stone bridge connecting the two schools. "Also, as a first year student, you will have three tests to take at the end of your courses. The Trial by Tale, the Circus of Talents, and the Snow Ball. And after the first year, you will be divided into your Leader, Follower, and Mogrif tracks."
"NEVERS!" Castor hollered. "SINCE EVIL LOST THE CIRCUS OF TALENTS LAST TIME, THE THEATER OF TALES WILL BE IN THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD THIS YEAR! AND DON'T COMPLAIN BECAUSE THAT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The Nevers all began to complain.
"SHUT UP YOU BIMBOS!" Castor screeched. "OR I'M SENDING YOU ALL TO THE DOOM ROOMS!"
"Anyway," Pollux said pleasantly. "Evers, Groom Rooms are only available to the top ranking students. Also, the highest ranked student will become Class Captain after the Trial by Tale.
"There is one new addition to the classes this year. Your seventh class, Surviving Fairy Tales, will have both Evers and Nevers in it. Breakfast and supper will be provided in the supper halls of each school, but lunch will be eaten together in the Clearing."
"AND WHATEVER YOU DO—NEVER, EVER GO INTO THE ENDLESS WOODS! EVER!" Castor blared.
"That's all. You are dismissed," Pollux said with a sweet smile. "Sayonara, Evers and Nevers! I hope you enjoy your time here at the School for Good and Evil!"