by Joan Holub
She ushered them into the office that used to belong to Principal R. Goldie had been in it only once before, when she’d first arrived at Grimm Academy. She remembered then that it had been full of equipment and supplies related to the principal’s alchemy experiments, including a large heavy-duty metal worktable. All that was gone now.
Also gone were the shelves on either side of the room that had held strangely shaped dark lumps that looked like bad art sculptures but were really just the charred remains of gold-making experiments gone wrong. There had been jars of gold-colored flakes on the shelves, a tank of swimming goldfish, and a vase of goldenrods. Goldie had especially liked a picture of a golden retriever. It had hung on the wall behind the principal’s solid-gold throne, which bore the GA logo carved into its high back.
Except for the throne and Principal R’s large desk, all of his things had been removed. Almost every inch of wall space was now hung with mirrors of various sizes and shapes, all in elaborately ornamented silver and gold frames. And there was a lovely antique marble-topped table at one end of the room. It was covered with food. Goldie started edging toward it. She couldn’t help herself. She was starving!
Meanwhile, Ms. Wicked smiled at her many reflections, obviously pleased with the perfection she saw there. Then, with an effort, she tore her eyes away from the mirrors and gestured toward the lavish spread of breads, meats, fruits, vegetables, and sweets that sat upon the table. “Since I knew you’d be missing lunch, I had one of Mistress Hagscorch’s helpers bring a little something up from the kitchen. Please, help yourself.”
Goldie picked up a plate, her mouth watering. However, as she added a buttered roll to the mound of food she piled high on her plate, she wondered if Ms. Wicked were actually trying to butter her up for some reason by providing such a sumptuous banquet. The three girls sat in cushioned chairs around the table, with Goldie opposite Ms. Wicked.
While the girls ate, Ms. Wicked quickly got to the point. “Malorette and Odette have told me they think you’re a good candidate for membership in the E.V.I.L. Society,” she said to Goldie. “You’ve been here at the Academy for three months now. Correct?”
“Yerp, thas right,” Goldie managed to say around a mouthful of ripe strawberries. If all of Ms. Wicked’s questions were as easy to answer as that one, this interview would be a breeze. But, as it turned out, that was just wishful thinking.
Ms. Wicked gazed intently at her from across the food-laden table. “Tell me. Why do you want to be in E.V.I.L.?” she asked next. “Can you give me your reasons?”
“I … uh …” floundered Goldie. A bit of bread stuck in her throat and she swallowed hard. She could feel her face flush. She should have realized this was something Ms. Wicked would ask! As she struggled to come up with good and convincing reasons (lies, actually) for wanting to be a member of the Society, Ms. Wicked admired herself in the mirrors on the wall closest to the table.
“Take your time,” she said, patting her hair again. Then she smiled a self-important smile. “But not too much time. My principal duties, added to my teaching responsibilities, have made me a very busy woman these days.”
That’s it! thought Goldie, straightening in her chair. She’d make up “reasons” that would appeal to Ms. Wicked’s vanity and sense of importance. She leaned forward earnestly. “Yes, I can only imagine how busy you must be. And I really admire how well you manage to get everything done, and your superb leadership abilities,” she said, hoping her use of flattery was not too little, not too much, but just right.
“I try my best,” said Ms. Wicked, obviously pleased by the compliment. Then, she sent a hard look toward Malorette and Odette. “The guards tell me there has been some grumbling about the changes I’ve made, however. They tend to overhear such things.” Alarm crossed the sisters’ faces and the two of them wilted under the teacher’s stern gaze.
Uh-oh, thought Goldie. If these girls got the idea that Ms. Wicked was starting to prefer her to them, they might get jealous and make trouble for her. Quickly, she said, “Really? Well, I can say for sure that Malorette and Odette have nothing but the highest praise for you. In fact, they see you as a role model! If it hadn’t been for their encouragement,” she said, glancing over at them with a look of false gratitude, “I would never have even dared think I might have a chance at joining your illustrious Society.”
Ms. Wicked softened her gaze on the sisters. “Well, perhaps I was too hasty,” she murmured. “My information may be faulty. Those guards aren’t the brightest sometimes.” Looking relieved, both girls picked up the sandwiches they’d put together and continued munching as they waited to see how the rest of the interview would unfold.
“Thing is,” Goldie continued with false sincerity, “knowing how busy you are, I think it only fair that you should have students you can rely on — like Malorette, Odette, and me … and whoever else is already a member — to help out with the kind of tasks that you just don’t have time for. And shouldn’t be bothered with.” She paused. “So … um … that’s why I’d like to join. To … uh … make your life easier.”
Ms. Wicked nodded. “Yes. That’s a very good answer. Excellent, in fact.”
Phew! thought Goldie.
“Let’s move on from the interview to the next part of the application process, shall we?” Ms. Wicked suggested crisply. “What gift have you brought me?”
Gift? Goldie coughed, nearly choking on a piece of Black Forest ham. She couldn’t believe Malorette and Odette had failed to mention that Ms. Wicked would expect a gift. She’d brought nothing except herself! She glared at the two sisters, but they only shrugged. Thanks a lot!
“I’m really sorry,” Goldie fibbed. “I do have something for you, but I forgot it in my —”
“That’s all right,” interrupted Ms. Wicked. “I think I see something that will fit the bill nicely.” She was staring at Goldie’s hair. “Your pretty hairpin. Pearls go perfectly with my skin tone. May I?” Without waiting for an answer, she darted her hand forward. However, no sooner did she touch the pin than she gave a little jump and yelped in surprise. “Ow! That hairpin shocked me!” she exclaimed as she jerked her hand back.
Goldie’s face went white. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she gasped. “I can’t imagine why that happened. Static electricity maybe?” she said. She pulled the hairpin from her golden locks and held it out to Ms. Wicked. “Please take it. I want you to have it. A gift.” This was also a fib, since she really liked the hairpin and wanted to keep it. Besides being pretty, it was useful. Still, she did have other hairpins, though none as nice as this one, that she could use to unlock doors.
Ms. Wicked reached for it, then frowned and let her hand drop. “Never mind. I don’t need scars on my hands from a wayward pin.” Then, with a magnanimous sweep of her arm, she added, “We’ll skip the gift part for now. We’ll just go with the old saying that it’s the thought that counts.”
“Thanks!” Still wondering what in the world could have caused her hairpin to give off a shock, Goldie slipped the treacherous thing back into her hair and started to rise. “So if that’s all …”
“It is not all. Sit, please,” Ms. Wicked commanded. Leaning toward her again, she added, “You must know my stepdaughter, Snow, and her little friends. Yes?”
“Sure, I’m acquainted with them,” Goldie replied carefully as she reseated herself. “They’re in some of my classes, but I don’t know them all that well.”
Ms. Wicked nodded approvingly. “Keep it that way. I’m sorry to have to say this, since Snow is my own stepdaughter, but you’d do well to stay clear of her and her friends.”
“Oh? Why?” Goldie asked, making her eyes innocently wide as she picked up one of Mistress Hagscorch’s Heart-of-Despairberry Tarts. It moaned wretchedly, as all such tarts did when touched. She brought it up to her mouth and munched it. Mmm.
“Let’s just say they don’t share the same forward-looking goals that the Society and I have for the Academy,” Ms. Wicked said diplomatica
lly.
“Basically, they’re troublemakers,” Malorette growled darkly. She and Odette had been silent as ghosts up until now.
Goldie swallowed her mouthful of tart. “Wow, really? I didn’t know,” she said, acting dismayed. Of course, she didn’t believe a bit of it.
Ms. Wicked flicked her hand as if waving away her concern. “Not to worry. There are many other students at the Academy much worthier of your friendship and time.”
“Like us,” smirked Odette, pointing to herself and Malorette.
Goldie flashed them a fake smile. “Right! And who else?” she asked, fishing for Society member names she could take back to share with Rapunzel and the other Grimm girls. “It would be helpful to know who to befriend and who not to.”
Ms. Wicked cocked her head and smiled secretively. “All in good time,” she said. Then she suddenly rose from her seat. “Thank you for coming, girls. I’ll see you in class in a few minutes,” she told Goldie, who had Scrying fourth period.
Goldie and Cinda’s two stepsisters scrambled up from their chairs at the abrupt dismissal. In seconds, Ms. Wicked ushered them out of her office.
Ms. Jabberwocky wasn’t around as the girls left. Goldie wondered if she was taking a jalapeño break outside somewhere on the Academy grounds. In spite of Principal R’s famous temper tantrums, she’d kind of acted like she missed him and wished he were still in charge around here. Most GA students felt the same.
“So what happens next?” Goldie asked Malorette and Odette as they made their way back down the hall to the grand staircase.
Malorette shrugged. “Hard to say. You might not hear anything right away, though.”
“And even if you are approved, you’ll still need to pass a test,” added Odette. “You’ll be given a simple assignment — some little job to prove your loyalty before you can officially become a member.”
“What kind of job?” Goldie asked, frowning. First she’d heard of this!
“Like Principal W said, ‘All in good time,’ ” Malorette replied mysteriously.
At the staircase, the girls separated to go to their classes. Minutes later, Goldie took her seat in Scrying class. During the entire period Ms. Wicked gave no sign that the two of them had talked at lunchtime. Which meant that Goldie left the room at the end of class no better informed as to how her interview had gone than before.
She climbed the stairs to the third floor for fifth period Calligraphy and Illuminated Manuscripts. It was a class she shared with both Red and Snow. She had just pushed through the door on the third-floor landing and started down the hall when a voice whispered in her ear, making her jump.
“Psst. It’s me, Snow,” said the voice. “Rapunzel and Red told Cinda and me what you’re up to. Have you found out anything important yet? Society-wise, I mean?” Obviously, Snow was wearing her tiara and had made herself invisible so that no one would see them speaking.
“Nuh-uh,” whispered Goldie, trying to keep her lips from moving too much as she walked along. “But I had an interview with Ms. Wicked, that is, your stepmom, during lunch. Still no idea if I’ll get into E.V.I.L., though.” She hesitated as a jackrabbit guard who was standing in the hallway swiveled one of its enormous ears her way and gave her the stink eye.
“Fingers crossed, then. See you in class,” said Snow’s voice. She might have been holding her crossed fingers up, but if she was, Goldie couldn’t see them. Still, she nodded. At this, the guard’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, I talk to myself a lot,” she called to the jackrabbit with a laugh. “Guess it’s only a problem if I start answering myself back, right?”
Looking unamused, the guard’s nose twitched. “Move along. No loitering in the halls. Principal Wicked’s orders!”
Back in her dorm room after dinner that evening, Goldie waited anxiously to hear if she’d been approved for membership in E.V.I.L. She tried working on a knitting project she needed to finish for Threads class by next Monday, but worries about her interview with Ms. Wicked wouldn’t stop coming and she kept tangling her yarn and dropping stitches.
Polly knew about the interview, but Goldie hadn’t yet filled her in on what happened during it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t really discuss the matter openly, with spies like Malorette and Odette rooming right next door.
At last, feeling fidgety and desperate to know the answer to one burning question, Goldie grabbed a sheet of vellum paper from her desk drawer. Quickly, she wrote: Ms. W’s going to assign me a job to make me prove myself worthy of Society membership. What kind of job do you think it’ll be? Then she folded the note into a winged, birdlike shape and flew it up to Polly, who was already sitting on her bed in a nightgown, reading a book titled Tea Parties of the Rich and Famous.
When the paper bird landed on her book, Polly unfolded the note and read it. Then she scribbled an answer. After refolding the note, she flew it down to Goldie at her desk.
An evil one, she’d written as her reply.
Goldie grinned up at her, and they giggled. Then they both glanced warily at the wall next to Polly’s bed and tried hard to stifle their laughter. It was always on their minds that Malorette and Odette might be listening through that very wall.
Goldie flattened the paper on her desk and wrote another message below the one Polly had written: M and O said artifacts were going missing from the library a while back. Did they have anything to do with that? Wondering if they stole something to get into the Society. And if so, what? Then she refolded the paper into a bird and flew it back up to Polly.
Polly read her note, then looked up and nodded in answer to her first question. Since there wasn’t much room left on the paper bird to write anything, she silently mouthed the words Peter Peter Pumpkineater’s pumpkin in answer to the second question. With her forefingers, she drew a big pumpkin in the air.
Goldie nodded to show that she understood. Hmm, she thought as she took out her pj’s and started getting ready for bed. She’d seen Peter Peter’s pumpkin on a shelf in the library not long ago, so that must mean it had been returned after Malorette and Odette stole it.
So maybe whatever evil thing she wound up doing as her Society initiation job could be undone afterward. She hoped so. Would she be asked to steal something as well? Luckily, locked doors and cabinets were nothing her pearl-flower hairpin couldn’t handle.
“Wish you could’ve been at that meeting today,” she said to Polly, forgetting to whisper as she climbed the ladder up to her bed.
“Shh!” hissed Polly, holding a finger to her lips.
Goldie froze halfway up the ladder. “Oops,” she whispered before clambering the rest of the way up to snuggle under her covers.
“Scooch over,” said Polly, making move-over motions and throwing her covers off. Goldie sat up and made space as she watched her scramble down her ladder and up Goldie’s. Once they both were sitting on her bed, which was on the side of the room farthest from Malorette and Odette’s room, they could talk more easily. Without having to worry about being overheard!
“So what all happened at your meeting, anyway?” Polly asked quietly.
“My hairpin zapped Ms. Wicked, for one thing,” Goldie whispered back.
“Awesome!” Polly blurted, which made them both laugh again.
“Yeah, but last night in the dungeon, you, Red, and Rapunzel all held that pin with no problem. So I can’t figure out why it zapped Ms. Wicked. It was rather shocking!” Goldie quipped. They cracked up at her little joke, having both caught a case of the giggles.
“It must have magic in it,” Polly whispered back after they’d finally managed to get their giggles under control. Then she drew in a sharp breath. Turning to look at Goldie with excitement in her eyes, she said, “Hey! Do you think it could be your magic charm? They only work for the person they truly belong to, you know.”
“Mm-hmm, I’ve heard that,” Goldie replied, wrinkling her nose in thought. “The hairpin hasn’t done any actual magic for me, though, unless you count zapping Ms. Wic
ked. And she wasn’t trying to make it work for her when that happened. She was just trying to snatch it.”
“But that could still be why it zapped her,” said Polly. “Because charms avoid evil. They only come to those of good heart. Not a quality I’d use to describe Ms. You-Know-Who.” She put on a hoity-toity face, nose in the air, one hand smoothing her hair as she tried to match Ms. Wicked’s mannerisms.
Goldie joined in. “Students!” she whispered snootily. “Do my badding, I mean, my bidding. Or else! For I am the E.V.I.L. tastic principal of everything, not to mention a beauty queen, and don’t you forget it.” At this, both girls fell over on the bed, cracking up. It felt good to make fun of such a scary, powerful person as Ms. Wicked. Somehow, it made her and her possible plans for GA seem less terrifying, at least for the moment.
Eventually, their giggles turned to yawns, and Polly went back down the ladder at the end of Goldie’s bed. After blowing out the candle that lit the girls’ room, she climbed up to her own bed again. “Night-TEA-night,” she called softly to Goldie.
“Night-TEA-night back with sugar on top,” Goldie replied, smiling.
“And maybe a pinch of cinnamon,” Polly added with a smile in her voice, too. Then she yawned.
Snuggling under her covers, Goldie thought about how cool it was that she and Polly had more to talk about now than just tea. If there was one good thing to be said about Ms. Wicked, it was that she had united students against her!
Goldie’s eyes fluttered shut, but then they popped open again almost right away. Because something Polly had said about charms was still bugging her. “They only come to those of good heart,” she’d said. Unfortunately, when Goldie thought about the role she played in the Goldilocks fairy tale, she wasn’t actually sure she qualified for being of good heart. Even Ms. Wicked seemed to consider her the bad character in her tale.
She rolled over in bed and tried to focus on happier thoughts. If the pin really was her charm, what kind of magic might it be able to do? She pulled the covers up to her chin. Maybe it would grow into a sword like the needle charm of a daring princess named Briar Rose, who’d recently come to the Academy. Or expand and make itself into a cage or a ladder like Rapunzel’s magical comb?
