Escape from the Isle of the Lost

by Melissa de la Cruz

  “Almost,” said Evie with a smile as she brought out Ally’s blue-and-white gown. “Let’s see it on you.”

  Ally popped into the changing room and walked out, radiant. “I love it!” she said, looking in the mirror. The gown’s colors complemented her bright blue eyes and fair hair. “It’s even perfect for a tea party!” she said, clapping her hands.

  Jordan was next, and she approved her flowing, midriff-baring graduation gown with its matching silk cap. She modeled it for Evie and did a little dance. “It’s gorgeous,” Genie’s daughter said. “Thanks, Evie.”

  “You’re gorgeous,” said Evie. “It’s the girl, not the gown!”

  “I can’t believe we’re finally graduating,” said Jordan sadly. “I’ll miss this place.”

  “Me too,” said Evie. “It’s not just a school—it’s a home.”

  “What are your plans for after?” asked Jordan.

  “More of this, I think,” said Evie. “Designing. Maybe doing a fashion show or two. There’s so much to think about. What about you?”

  Jordan shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll probably travel the world with my dad for a while. Maybe leave my lamp somewhere and see if I feel like granting wishes.”

  “Good luck,” said Evie, hugging her close.

  “You too,” said Jordan.

  • • •

  Ariana Rose, Audrey’s snooty cousin, swanned in, casting a skeptical eye at Evie’s establishment. “The three good fairies were supposed to make my graduation gown, but of course they’re too busy with Audrey’s,” she said. “Audrey, Audrey, Audrey.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I mean, who cares about Audrey? She’s not even dating Ben anymore. Or Chad.”

  “Did you want the blue or the pink?” Evie asked, holding up two gowns.

  Ariana put her hands on her hips and almost stomped her feet. “Both, remember?”

  Evie forced a smile. “Audrey doesn’t have to date a prince to be happy.”

  “Wow, you’re naïve,” said Ariana. “Only a prince would make me happy!”

  Evie wrapped up her gowns. “I used to think that too,” she said.

  “And now?”

  Evie pressed the brown paper package holding the blue and pink gowns into Ariana’s hands. “I’m just happy to have someone who cares about me.”

  Ariana sniffed. “Hmmpf.”

  Mal entered the room just as Ariana was leaving. “Oh, hey,” said Mal. She wasn’t a very popular person with Ariana’s family.

  Ariana merely brushed by Mal as if she didn’t exist.

  “You know how your mom cursed someone to sleep for a thousand years?” asked Evie.

  Mal nodded.

  “I totally get it now.” Evie laughed.

  Mal laughed with her, and for a moment, it felt fun to be just a little wicked.

  • • •

  Freddie was by far Evie’s favorite client. Her graduation gown was red with black stripes. She adored the little top-hat cap that Evie had made her, complete with bone necklace. “This is bomb,” said Freddie, looking at herself in the mirror. “You are a real magician, Evie.”

  “Thanks,” said Evie modestly.

  “Heard you guys saw my little sister Celia when you guys were back on the Isle,” said Freddie. “How is she?”

  “Good,” said Evie. “She tried to read my fortune.”

  “Ha! Did you let her?” asked Freddie. “I hope not!”

  • • •

  Even Lonnie stopped by. Evie explained that her gown had pockets for her swords and a sheath for her bow and arrow too. “I wanted the gowns to be both fashionable and functional,” said Evie.

  “Extraordinary,” said Lonnie. “I’ll show my mom. Maybe she’ll put in an order for the rest of the army.” She drew Evie in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you,” said Lonnie. “I can’t believe we’re all going to be separated so soon.”

  “I know, I’ll miss you too,” said Evie. “We won’t be too far away, right? You’ll come visit?”

  “It’s about a four-day carriage ride from the Imperial Palace to Auradon City,” said Lonnie. “So we can’t just pop in. But yes, I’ll definitely come visit.”

  Evie promised she would too. Still, she knew that Lonnie was right—their visits would be few and far between. As much as she hated to admit it, this phase of their life was coming to a close. It was time to forge their own paths now.

  Once more, Evie felt a rush of gratitude that she had been able to leave the Isle of the Lost and come to Auradon. Evie hoped that one day every little kid who grew up on that island would have the same opportunity.

  Lonnie left and Jane knocked on the door. She was holding her trusty clipboard.

  “Hey,” said Evie. “I have your dress ready.”

  Jane didn’t need a graduation gown, but Evie had made her a new dress for the occasion anyway. She brought it out—a silvery-blue cocktail dress with a pretty lace collar. “Evie, it’s beautiful,” said Jane in an awed voice. “It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”

  Evie blinked back tears. “I’m so glad you love it.”

  “We’ll miss you guys so much,” Jane said, enveloping Evie in a deep hug.

  “We’ll be back tons,” said Evie. “You’ll be sick of us.”

  “Really, really sick, okay?” cried Jane. “So sick we have the flu.”

  “Promise,” said Evie.

  • • •

  At the end of the week, Doug showed Evie his spreadsheet. “Look how much you earned! You are a queen!”

  “Oh my fairest!” said Evie. “I can finally afford what I’ve wanted all this time!”

  wo weeks before the very last day of school was the annual Senior Dinner, hosted by the royal family in honor of the graduating class. Ben came to knock on Mal’s door to escort her to the event. He looked particularly dashing in a new blue-and-gold tuxedo that matched his crown. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  Mal tucked her hair behind her ears and took one last look in the mirror. She was wearing a new purple dress trimmed with black lace that Evie had made her and had combed her hair just the way Dizzy had taught her. She hoped she had gotten it right. Doug and Evie had already left for the event just a few minutes earlier. When she turned to Ben, his smile widened.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself,” she teased.

  She took his arm and they made their way out of the dorms toward the main lawn, which had been set up with a majestic white tent for the night. Their fellow seniors milled around in their finest formal wear. Lonnie and Jay were standing by the buffet table, sampling the canapés. Jay was wearing his rust-colored Agrabah-style leather jacket with the epaulets. Carlos and Jane were talking to Fairy Godmother. Doug and Evie were once again saying hi to Doug’s many cousins. (His dad did have six brothers.)

  “Did I ever tell you how glad I am that nothing bad happened on the Isle this time?” said Ben, as he walked her to their table.

  “About that,” said Mal.

  “Something bad happened?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Except I don’t remember exactly what it was. We did get away. But we need to be vigilant. Something wicked this way comes.…”

  Ben raised his eyebrows. “I’ll double security right now.”

  “And we really did our best to try to convince kids to apply here,” said Mal.

  “I know you did.”

  “I just hope it was enough.”

  “What’s the event you’re planning with Evie? VK Day? That sounds pretty cool,” said Ben.

  “I hope it works,” said Mal.

  “We’ll be inundated with applications. You’ll see,” said Ben.

  • • •

  King Beast and Queen Belle arrived, and everyone took their seats. Mrs. Potts had outdone herself: there was hearty beef ragout, a bubbling and airy cheese soufflé, luscious and crispy roast chickens, mashed potatoes that had little pools of melted butter. It was the most decadent and de
licious meal they ever had.

  She was glad that Carlos and Jane had joined them, even though, technically, they were juniors. But as Carlos said, technically, Jane had planned the entire thing, down to the six-course dessert menu, so it was only fair that they got to attend.

  Ben—who, in addition to being Auradon’s king, was also the Class King—stood up to make a toast. “To the best Auradon Prep class ever!” he said. “My family wishes you all a wonderful future.”

  “To the future!” said Jay, smiling at Lonnie.

  “The future!” said Evie, clinking glasses with Doug.

  “The future!” said Mal, who feverishly hoped it brought only peace and no threats from her homeland.

  “To your future!” said Carlos, nudging Jay while he took a big sip from his glass.

  “My future indeed!” said Jay. “I’m going to check out Sherwood Forest University this weekend for visiting day.”

  “You’ve decided?” asked Lonnie.

  “Not yet. I want to check it out, but I’m excited to see what it’s all about.”

  “Take care,” said Ben. “They get pretty merry over there. But I’m sure you can handle it.”

  • • •

  Over dessert, Evie told them her good news. “So, you know how I’ve been making caps and gowns for everyone? I earned enough money to buy a place of my own. A home in Auradon,” she said.

  “Oh, Evie!” said Mal, reaching across the table to give her friend a hug. “That’s amazing!”

  “Wow, your own pad, huh? Sweet,” said Jay, looking a bit jealous.

  “It’s perfect! We found this tiny little adorable cottage in the woods,” said Evie.

  “We?” said Mal with a raised eyebrow. She elbowed Ben, who covered a smile with his goblet.

  “Doug helped me find it! His uncle was the listing agent,” said Evie quickly. “Who knew Doc wasn’t a doctor? He’s in real estate.”

  “Is he, now?” asked Jay, who raised his glass in Doug’s direction while Doug blushed and coughed.

  “What?” Evie asked with wide eyes.

  “Mmm-hmm,” said Mal with a smirk.

  Evie ignored her friends’ teasing, and Doug tried to look somewhere else, even as his ears turned crimson.

  “Evie, ignore them,” said Carlos, reaching to hold Jane’s hand.

  Evie nodded. She was all business. “Anyway, as I was saying, this solves our problem! The four new villain kids can stay with me over the summer. There’s a ton of space.”

  Carlos stole a bite of Jane’s cake. Then he turned to Ben. “Hey, I just realized—Jane and I will still be here at school next year. So we can mentor the new villain kids!”

  “Can we?” said Jane.

  “It’ll be like having a bunch of little brothers and sisters!” said Carlos.

  “Okay.” Jane laughed. “Whatever you want.”

  “It’s all settled, then,” said Mal. “They’ll stay with Evie this summer, and Jane and Carlos will help them out.”

  “Perfect,” said Evie, looking very pleased.

  “Now we just need four kids to apply,” Jay reminded them.

  Ben pushed his slice of cake over to Carlos so he would stop eating Jane’s. “Don’t worry, they will.”

  hen Jay arrived at Sherwood Forest University, he was greeted by a friendly student dressed in the green livery of the school. “Hey, man, I’m Bobby Hood,” he said. “Welcome to Sherwood.”

  “Your dad is a legend,” said Jay, bumping his fist. “You’re a student here?”

  “My first year,” said Bobby with a grin. “Come on, let me show you around.”

  Bobby gave Jay the campus tour—taking him to the archery fields, the student center, and the academic buildings. “And here’s the R.O.A.R. gym,” he said. “It’s where you’ll be playing.”

  It was a gleaming indoor gymnasium, filled with R.O.A.R. athletes in green uniforms, leaping off the walls and practicing with their swords and shields. Jay grinned. “Excellent.”

  Next, Jay sat in on a few lectures. The history classes were mostly concerned with the medieval and Renaissance periods, and an economics class showed how taking money from the wealthy aided the less fortunate.

  “But of course, the best thing here is the merrymaking,” said Bobby. “Come on.”

  He led Jay to the middle of the forest, where a few students were strumming guitars, playing games, and generally goofing off. There was a group of merry men who looked like a cheeky, irreverent bunch. And they definitely seemed like they were good with their bows and arrows.

  “So, what do you think?” said Bobby.

  “It’s awesome,” said Jay. If he chose to enroll at Agrabah State University, he would be burdened by his father’s legacy. Magical Institute Training was prestigious, but sounded way too academic and, well, magical for him—and he wasn’t very good at magic. Sherwood Forest U seemed like the perfect fit.

  “Good luck,” said Bobby, shaking his hand. “Hope to see you here next year!”

  Jay realized with a start that he still had to get in. Even though he was recruited and invited, nothing was set in stone until he received his admission scroll. Suddenly, he knew exactly how Dizzy felt about her Auradon application.

  • • •

  At last, it was the very end of school. Final grades had been posted, and graduation was only a few days away. It was also the week in which college decisions would go out to those who had applied. Some people had applied early and already knew where they were headed. Lonnie was going pro, joining her brother on the Great Wall team. Evie was expanding her fashion line. Mal was going to help Ben with his royal duties and learn the ropes of palace life.

  But Jay still hadn’t heard back from all of his schools.

  Early digital acceptances, as well as fat envelopes from both MIT and ASU, had arrived. Jay had his heart set on Sherwood Forest University, though. Yet ever since he’d returned from visiting day the other week, there had been no word from the school or the coach.

  Now he had to wait with everyone else in the library, staring at a computer, refreshing his screen to see if he had been accepted to the school of his choice.

  Jay drummed his fingers on the desk nervously. He never thought he’d ever graduate from high school, let alone go to college. Growing up on the Isle of the Lost, he didn’t think he had much of a future. But all that had changed when he came to Auradon. His whole life was ahead of him now. In the end, he told himself, it would be okay if he didn’t get into Sherwood. There were other schools. What was important was that he was going to get to do something that he loved, no matter where he ended up.

  He refreshed the screen.

  There it was. There was a message!

  CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION DECISION

  Jay hit the button and bit his thumb. He never had to wait for anything in his life. For so many years, if he wanted something, he just took it, or stole it, or talked his way into it. If he got in, this would be one of the first times he had actually earned something.

  JAY OF AGRABAH, CONGRATULATIONS!

  YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO SHERWOOD FOREST

  UNIVERSITY’S MERRY BAND OF STUDENTS.…

  It was even signed by Robin Hood himself.

  He leaped to his feet and yelled, “I’m going to college!”

  Carlos came over and slapped him on the back. “Congratulations, man! Dude and I are so happy for you!”

  “Go, Jay!” said Evie, who had been sitting with Doug. Doug was still waiting to hear whether he had gotten into one of the top seven schools in the kingdom. They both stood up and hugged Jay.

  “You did it!” said Mal, jumping up and down with Ben, as other kids began to scream out their acceptances.

  It was a frenzy of excitement and relief. Students tossed their books and notebooks around and danced on the tables.

  “I’m sad you’re not going pro with me,” said Lonnie. “But I’ll come visit you.”

  “Thanks. And I’ll come see you when you guys pl
ay at Sherwood Arena,” said Jay.

  “Perfect,” said Lonnie.

  Jay grinned. His future gleamed brighter than all the gold in the world.

  ven at Auradon Prep, senior year meant a certain loosening of the rules. Fairy Godmother didn’t look askance at seniors slouching in late to classes, or leaving their spells unchecked. Earlier in the year, when Mal heard of another secret tradition, the Senior Prank, she decided that the four former villains had to mastermind this operation.

  “It’s the Senior Prank, and we’re from the Isle of the Lost!” she told Evie, Jay, Ben, and Carlos, who was helping too.

  “Oh, we’ve got this,” said Jay, punching a fist into his palm in excitement.

  “We’ll make sure they’ll never forget us!” said Evie.

  “After we pull this off, they might want to,” said Carlos.

  “What exactly do you have in mind?” asked Ben, who couldn’t help but look a little worried.

  • • •

  So on the very last day of school, when Auradon students left the dorms for the academic buildings, they found a carriage crashed into the front of the school entrance. The carriage was half in and half out of the wall, and part of it was made of pumpkin. It looked like something terrible had happened.

  People gasped until they read what was written on the back of the carriage window, where Mal had scrawled SENIORS RULE!

  • • •

  But there was more. All the vending machines were stocked with water bottles that just happened to have goldfish inside of them. The hallways were either filled with balloons or covered in plastic wrap. Every chair in the cafeteria had been switched out for a throne and turned upside down. A New Orleans jazz band followed Fairy Godmother around all day.

  “Senior Prank,” the professors said with a sigh.

  The seniors laughed.

  Jay and Carlos hoisted up a large FOR SALE sign on top of the school’s roof, while Evie and Mal drew a colorful chalk mural depicting all the seniors on the front concrete steps.

  Mal put the finishing touches on Ben’s crown and looked at Evie. “I can’t believe it’s over.”

  “Me neither,” said Evie. “We had so much fun.”