Chapter Six - Hot'n'Spicy Cookies
It was apparent that the first day of classes were... Interesting to say the least. Carlos and Jay had both joined some sort of sport team, Evie fell in love with some prince, and Mal, well Mal became some sort of hair dresser. If Mal's new occupation wasn't uncharacteristic enough for you then you should just see Carlos. The timid boy, one who feared dogs and hell, his own shadow, was carrying a medium sized canine.
One day of school and his friends all managed to surprise him. It was great.
Besides Mal, who couldn't seem to stop thinking about that damned wand, were having, dare I say it, fun. They genuinely looked to be enjoying their first day. Theodore was ecstatic of this revelation. His friends deserved happiness.
Classes were over for the day and Theodore was waiting for his friends to come back to the dorm. He would have gone to the girl's room but he had no idea where it was. That and with Mal's new found popularity there was bound to be a few students in there as well. He heard the commotion about the purple haired girl's magic skills and was sorta disbelieving. It wasn't until he heard she helped out the fairy godmother's kid that he understood.
If it were any other time Theo would be concerned over Mal's free use of magic. Last he heard, Auradon was a magic free place now. Stupid really. Everyone wants a magical solution to their problem, and yet, everyone refuses to believe in magic. Magic was real. Everyone knows that. Its there, lingering under the surface. One day this whole ignoring magic thing was going to bite Auradon in the ass.
He just hoped Mal's use of magic wouldn't get her kicked out.
Currently Theodore sat in the dorm sorting through his bag of goodies. He couldn't help but marvel at the bright colors each item had. Some food items he couldn't even name. There was one tiny fruit thing that was about the size of his pinky finger but shaped and colored like a banana. It didn't give off any smell and he couldn't figure out how to peel the damn thing.
Theodore liked bananas enough. He thought the tiny banana he found was rather cute.
As he was contemplating the tiny fruits existence, Jay and Carlos walked in the room looking rather cheerful. The pair chatted animately as they dropped their school stuff on the floor near the door. Carlos looked over at the orange haired teen and laughed joyously when he noticed the pile of food on Jay's bed.
"Whoa! You scored big time," He cried as he grabbed a peach. Theodore nodded with a huge grin before tossing a quarter of a loaf of bed to Jay.
"It's all so...clean!" Theodore laughed as he inspected his tiny banana once more.
"What's that?" Jay asked pointing at the little yellow thing.
"Baby banana maybe?"
"I don't think so," Carlos said, looking at it closely as well. "It looks shinier than a banana."
"I'm not sure how to peel it," Theodore admitted before giving the fruit a tentative lick.
"Just bite it then," Jay said with a shrug. Theodore stared at him for a moment before shrugging and popping the itty-bitty banana in his mouth. Theo began to chew, his expression curious before he gave a small smile in appreciation. It was no where sweet like a banana. It was acidic, tangy and very juicy. Theo was about to tell the two other boys the unknown fruit wasn't bad when out of nowhere...
"HOOOOTTT!" Theo cried jumping off the bed. The boy's face immediately turned red, his eyes watering as he ran around the room in pain. Carlos and Jay watched as the other boy ran about looking for something to drink to alleviate his pain. It wasn't long before the two boys began to laugh. Jay literally falling to the floor in mirth.
"Here," Carlos laughed throwing Theodore a water bottle. Theo didn't notice so he got a face full of plastic. Being in too much pain to glare at the de'Vil Theodore just ripped the cap off and chugged the water down, the cool drink calming the burning sensation on his tongue. Theo sighed at the almost instant relief the water provided. He then turned to glare at the other teens.
"Stahp laughin'," Theo said with lisp. "it's not fuhnny."
"Y-you should have seen your face!"
"I never seen it so red!"
"You were nearly crying, dude!"
"Those things are definitely not bananas," Carlos said once his laughter died out. "Im guessing you didn't like it?" Theo glared at the teen before turning away from the pair and crossing his arms.
"Awe come on, Theo," Jay laughed slinging his arm over the smaller teens shoulders. "Don't be like that." Carlos laughed as he walked over as well, bumping his shoulder against him.
"We'll keep you away from the tiny evil bananas." Theo looked at the two in front of him before sheepishly smiling.
"They actually weren't that bad. The spiciness was just a shock. I'm sure if I hadn't eaten the whole thing in one go, it would have been better," he told them, completely meaning it too.
"Really?" Jay asked as he leaned over to pick up one of the yellow fruit on his bed. Carlos grabbed one too before looking at the long haired teen and shrugging.
"Well," Carlos said staring at the not-banana. "Bottoms up."
It turns out that like Theodore, Carlos had as little or less tolerance to the heat as he did. Jay, though, ate the tiny sucker like nothing. In fact, the older teen actually seemed to enjoy the burning sensation. Jay liked them so much to even going as far as to stuffing his pockets with the remaining bit of the yellow stuff.
"What?" Jay asked when he caught Carlos' and Theodore's incredulous looks. "I like them."
After putting away the goods in various hidden locations around the room, the boys walked into the hall and towards Mal and Evie's room. Theodore didn't exactly know what was going on but he was just glad they decided to include him as well. He knew they had some sort of plan running through their minds as he led them towards the kitchen but it seemed as though he was going to be kept out of the loop for a while.
"Seriously?" Theo laughed as he watched the two girls mix a few ingredients. "We're making cookies?" Theodore began to giggle uncontrollably when Carlos turned to him and nodded. He thought they had asked him to lead them to the kitchens for some scheme but here they are, making cookies. So domestic.
"Not just any cookies, Theo," Evie said as she turned slightly to smile at the boy. Theodore's giggles immediately died down. He sat rigged on the counter next to Carlos as he looked at everyone, including the dog, to fill him in.
"Ben's coronation is next Friday and the fairy godmother uses her wand to bless him during the ceremony. Only Ben, his parents, and girlfriend could sit at the front, close enough to grab the wand and run," Mal explained.
"We are lacing the cookies with a love potion so Ben will ask Mal to be his girlfriend," Jay finished.
"Love potion?" Theo whispered in shock. "T-that's-"
"Brilliant?" Mal laughed cutting him off.
"-Horrible." Mal turned to Theodore with a grin and nodded before turning back to the mixing bowl.
"I know. Thank you," she said.
"No. I mean you shouldn't do this, Mal!" He cried. Everyone froze as they turned to the orange haired teen who stared at Mal with a furious expression.
"What?" Mal deadly whispered as she set down the whisk to turn to him.
"You- you're takin' awa' his free will!" He shouted at her as he jumped off the counter. Theodore walked over to Mal, standing literally inches away from her face. "That's th' most vilest thing ye hae ever done!"
"That's sorta the point, Theodore," Mal growled back at him. Her eyes began to flash green as she held back at physically hurting her friend.
"The lad has dain naethin' but welcome ye aw here. He wanted tae gie ye a chance tae be yer ain person an' thes is hoo ye repay him? By druggin' him? Ah ken ye aw ur tryin' tae please yer parents but this- thes has gain tay far!"
"Are you backing out now?" She shouted back. "After everything we've done. This is what draws the line! You are evil, Theodore. Taking away free will is what we do."
"Is it really," he whispered angrily. "Or is it whit yer maw, yer parents, dae?" Theo's head snapped to the side suddenly. His cheek stinging horribly as he looked at Mal. The purple haired girl looked at the boy in shock. Her hand still raised from when she had struck him. The room was deathly silent as everyone waited for someone to do or say something.
"T-Theo," Mal choked as she looked at her hand, horrified at what she had just done. Theo just shook his head and gave her a small smile.
"Hoo did it feel?" He whispered. "Ah can teel ye aren't bad, Mal. nane of ye are. Yoo're scared an' that's awe rite. We are not on th' islain anymair I'm gonnae say it. Ah caur fur each an' everyone of ye. Ah want what's best fur you all an' Ah want ye aw tae be happy. If stealin' thes wain makes ye happy, Ah will stand behin' ye. But dornt mistake yer parents happiness fur yer own." Mal looked at Theodore with her lips pierced before looking down at her feet for a moment. Evie, Carlos, and Jay waited in bated breath as the room seemed to loose its tension. Finally after what seemed like forever did she look back at Theodore with a small smile.
"I can never understand you when you get all emotional," she said causing the group to laugh a little. "Making my mom happy makes me happy, Theo. But I'm not doing this just for her. I'm doing this for all of us. I don't want to go back to how things were in the Isle. I want fresh food, TV, wifi. I want to live like how people live here."
"I want my own bed," Carlos said.
"All the mirrors here are flawless," Evie agreed.
"Tourney is the coolest thing I have done since, well since ever," Jay admitted.
"See, Theo," Mal said gesturing towards everyone else. "The wand will give us all of that and more."
"We coods get aw of thes an' mair a different way," Theo whispered. The others stayed quiet for a moment before Mal shook her head.
"This is easier." That was the last thing anyone said before continuing on with the batch of cookies. Theodore sat back at the counter, his heart feeling like it shattered in a million pieces as he stared at the wall across from him. On one hand he was dismayed over what his friends were going to do to the nice boy he met earlier. On the other hand he was confused as to why Mal and the others let him be. He practically said he was against taking the wand. He was a traitor and yet they still welcome him into the group.
Theodore sat, pondering over their actions for a while. Never noticing the new arrival until she spoke directly at him.
"And who are you?" A girl's voice called, snapping Theo's attention over to her. His eyes widened as a girl with long brown hair and equally brown eyes smiled at him in confusion. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Theodore looked at his friends, willing them to come to his aid but they stood equally as frozen as he.
'Shit. Twice in one day.'
"It seems as thocht everyone is forgettin' abit me." Theodore started with a sigh. He then hoped of the table and looked at the new girl with his hands on his hips in mock exasperation. "I've bin a student haur thes whole year an' yit nae a body ever remembers mah name."
"O-oh," the girl gasped in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I just remembered!" She hastily tried to lie.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah! We took bio together, right! You sat near the window?" Theo grinned in amusement and laughed. The others tried to hide their snickering as well and did wonderfully in doing so.
"There you go!" Theodore said rolling his eyes playfully. "Not that hard was it?"
"No, of course not,-"
"Teddy," Theodore supplied for her.
"Right, Teddy," she laughed nervously. "Well I best be going now. Curfew is in a little bit so you should try to hurry up and finish in here." With that, the girl turned and fled the kitchen. Once the door shut closed, the remaining teens laughed uproariously. The kids at this school were so gullible.
"Teddy? That's so cute," Evie gasped as she leaned against the counter for support. Carlos and Jay laughed even harder at the mention of the name, even the dog seemed to be giggling at him.
"Alright alright," Mal said calming everyone down. "The batter is done so now all we need is to bake them. Evie grab the cookie sheets. Carlos and Jay, set the oven." She ordered. Theodore grinned and hopped off the counter grabbing an orange as he did so.
"And Teddy," Mal called with a grin. "Set the timer."
The following night after the whole cookie baking was hell for Theodore. His whole body ached and stomach was cramping painfully. He felt as though he could vomit at any second. Theodore felt as though he were about to die a slow and painful death. He tried to keep quiet since the boys were sleeping in the other room and for the most part succeeded. He even made sure to keep the door locked in case one of them tried to get in the restroom.
He didn't sleep the whole night being in too much pain to attempt to get some rest. He only knew it was morning when Jay had begun to knock on the door to be let in. With a groan, Theo stood, his body leaning heavily against the wall as he clutched his aching tummy. He slowly unlocked the door and sighed in bliss as a cool gust of wind hit his burning face.
"Dude, Teddy," Jay started finally looking at the younger boy. "You look like shit."
"Thanks," the other groaned. Theodore then began to hobble out of the room and slowly made his way to Jay's empty bed before falling face first on top of the messy sheets. Jay would have pushed him off his bed but figured he might as well let the boy take it for now. He was already passed out anyways.
It felt like he had just closed his eyes when a warm hand began to shake his shoulder. Theodore tried to move away from the unwanted heat but it wouldn't leave him.
"Teddy come on," Mal's voice groaned as the boy tried to move away.
"Go away," he said, his voice muffled by the pillow.
"You have been asleep all day! Get up! We just gave Ben the cookie and we need to see how it all plays out," she said.
"No," he groaned. He then felt a hand on his burning forehead but as quickly as it came it was gone.
"Oh no, Mal," Evie sighed. "He's burning up."
Theodore didn't hear what the girls began to say as he tuned them out, trying to get some more sleep. He then felt a hand shake him awake again which made him groan tiredly.
"How are you feeling, Teddy?" Mal asked, surprisingly sounding pleasant for once.
"Like death," he responded softly.
"Be specific." Theo gave a smile smile into his pillow at that. He could almost hear Mal rolling her eyes.
"My stomach is revolting against me."
"Well no wonder," Mal sighed. "You did eat a lot last night. You have to be more careful, Ted."
"You need to pace yourself when you eat," Evie said. "The food is different here. It has a lot more nutrients than food on the Isle. Your body needs to adjust to it before you can gorge yourself." Teddy groaned, signaling to her that he headed her loud and clear.
"Hold on," Mal muttered flipping through her spell book. "Ok got it!"
"Like a match when it starts to burn,
Make my stomach stop to churn."
Teddy felt the change almost instantly. A wave of coolness seemed to seek into his skin. Calming the aching and burning sensation instantly. His stomach settled and the growing need to vomit vanished. Theodore flipped over on his back and sighed in relief. He then sat up and nodded at the girls in gratitude before standing and stretching his arms above his head.
"Thanks," he grinned.
"Don't thank me yet," Mal said rolling her eyes and shutting her book with a 'snap.' "Knowing you boys, this is going to be a well used spell."
"Well let's go, Mal, Teddy," Evie said with a laugh as she pulled the two out of the room. "The tourney game awaits."
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