Misfits

by Jen Calonita

  Clarissa scoffs, and Professor Pierce raises his eyebrows.

  “It seems that Miss Hartworth would disagree. Can anyone think of a famous commoner from whom we can learn something?”

  The room is quiet, except for the noise of shifting chairs and rustling papers. I take a deep breath and raise my hand. The professor nods for me to speak. “What about Red Riding Hood?”

  Professor Pierce smiles. “Very good, Miss Nile.”

  He taps his board, and a girl in a red cloak appears, standing in the woods with a bow and arrow. “When a wolf threatened her safety, Red took matters into her own hands.”

  “But we’re supposed to wait for help,” a girl in the back row pipes up. “Aren’t we?”

  We all look at our teacher. “Yes, that is the headmistress’s preferred approach.” Professor Pierce is quiet for a moment. “But if Red had followed convention, she wouldn’t be where she is today. Not only did Red stop the wolf, but she also grew stronger and more powerful than anyone could imagine. Today, she owns a readiness and preparedness shop in Enchantasia Village, and she is one of the most sought-after huntresses in the Hollow Woods. Even though it was hard, she overcame her adversity and used it to help others empower themselves. And if that’s not a lesson we can apply to life as a royal, I’m not sure what is.”

  The two of us make eye contact. I know it’s silly, but a part of me feels like he’s talking directly to me. And for the first time since arriving at RA, I’m feeling inspired.

  Chapter 15

  Teatime

  As much as I like finger sandwiches, the last thing I want to do this afternoon is have tea. Not even those swan-shaped cream puffs could make me want to sit at a table with my roommates right now.

  “Hello, miss!” says Brynn, appearing at my side as I stand at the entrance to the banquet hall. She guides me into the room and steers me toward my table. “How were your classes this morning? Good? I heard Professor Pierce’s history class is the most enlightening of all first-year studies. Maybe I could look at your notes later. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the ogre uprising. I’ve always thought if the royals had just met with the ogre king before the troll bridge collapsed, all that fighting could have been avoided. Don’t you agree?”

  “Uh-huh.” My eyes are on a table across the room where Sasha and Raina are sitting together, talking quietly. I look around frantically for somewhere else to sit, scanning the elaborately decorated room. Candelabras are on all the tables, which are set with orange china for the first day of fall, and a violinist is serenading us with classical music. My eyes land on Clarissa, who has added three pillows to her velvet-lined chair because she’s so tiny. I’m definitely not approaching her table. And there is no way I want to sit with that table of princes who are using their knives as swords. Brynn and the other ladies-in-waiting eat in an adjacent banquet hall, separate from young royals, and Logan is nowhere to be seen.

  “I’m actually not feeling too well,” I say as I see Raina waving while Sasha pointedly refuses to look at me. “I think I’ll just go back to my room for a spell and…uh…nap.”

  “Nap?” Brynn repeats. “Miss, I didn’t know you to be a napper.”

  I’m not. I’m a terrible sleeper, actually. Brynn knows this.

  “Though, you do look a little pale.” Brynn smiles and takes my arm. “A cup of tea will do you good! I already ordered your favorite—green peppermint. Now, come on. Raina and Sasha are saving a seat for you.”

  Brynn is leading me to the table before I can stop her.

  She pulls out the chair and plops me in it. “I’ll have your teapot sent right over, miss. As you can see, the finger foods have just arrived.”

  I resist the urge to reach out and grab Brynn’s arm to force her to stay. Instead, I put my napkin on my lap and try to remember which fork I’m supposed to use to take some strawberries. I grab a cream puff swan to calm my nerves and stuff it in my mouth.

  “Hi,” I mumble.

  “Hi,” Raina says pleasantly. “I was just telling Sasha about how I accidentally knocked Amber’s tiara off during Cha-Chas to Charming Princes this morning. No way she’s getting Best Dressed again this week on the superlatives!” She wipes her mouth with her napkin daintily. “How were your classes this morning?” She looks at me expectantly, and I glance nervously at Sasha.

  If looks were curses, Sasha’s would have just turned me into a frog. “They were an absolute nightmare.”

  “I wasn’t trying to get you in trouble,” I blurt out. “I had no idea helping a dragon reunite with its baby egg would give us a strike. I really thought we did the right thing!”

  “Maybe we did, but I shouldn’t have gotten so caught up in your shenanigans!” Sasha says angrily, and I’m not sure who she’s really mad at—me or herself. “I can’t afford to get another strike. I have to stay at RA. I have plans that are already in motion, and they’re only going to work out if I’m in the actual school.”

  I’m too afraid to ask what she’s talking about.

  A pixie flies over our table with questions. “Creamer? Soy milk? Sugar?” She keeps going when we don’t answer her. “How rude,” she mumbles.

  “You got a strike?” Raina looks alarmed. “Why? When did you get a strike?” She looks from Sasha to me and back again.

  “This morning in your sister’s class,” Sasha says. She’s looking at Raina but talking to me. “Snow asked us to stay out of it when a dragon got loose, but Devin decided we should help the dragon since she can talk to it, and Olivina got mad we didn’t let the princes handle it.”

  “I never said I could talk to dragons,” I point out. “I only said I’d try.”

  “Why would you be so foolish?” Raina demands, pounding her fist and making our china teacups wobble. “Do you know how damaging a strike can be?”

  “It’s not good,” I say, looking at the serving plate again to see if there is another swan cream puff. My face is flaming. “I know.” This conversation is depressing.

  “We should be on the superlative list together as best roomies, not the roommates with the most strikes!” Her voice is shrill.

  “Raina, relax,” Sasha says, taking a sip of tea with her pinkie pointed straight in the air. “It’s not like you got a strike too.”

  “It’s guilt by association!” Raina waves a paper fan over her face to calm herself down. “Everyone will be talking about how you both have strikes, which turns into everyone talking about how the royal court’s siblings have strikes! Amber Arnold is going to have a field day!”

  “That’s what you’re worried about?” Sasha snaps. “What Amber Arnold thinks? My entire life’s work is in jeopardy right now!”

  “What about my life’s work of preparing to be a successful and beloved royal?” Raina is becoming hysterical. “Nothing is going the way it’s supposed to here! I was supposed to be at the top of the superlatives and get invited to private teas with Olivina like Snow once was. My name was supposed to open doors. Instead, the only person I can get an appointment with is Marta, and I’m sure that’s because my sister called her!” She’s hyperventilating. “You two have to stop misbehaving!”

  “I’m not misbehaving! This is all Devin’s fault!” Sasha bites back.

  “I’m sorry, okay?” I say, throwing down the last of my (cough) third cream puff. “I’m not trying to get in trouble. I’m just… I don’t know, being myself! Is that so wrong?”

  “It is if it goes against everything a princess is supposed to stand for!” Raina freaks out.

  “You just have to play along,” Sasha tells me heatedly. “Even if you don’t agree. Fake it till you make it!”

  “Follow the manual!” Raina throws the book down on the table, and a pixie gasps. “It’s not hard! Just read the manual and follow it.” Raina has a wild look in her eyes I’ve never seen before. But before I can say anything else, we’
re interrupted.

  “Hey!” Logan slides into a seat at our table along with Heath. “I heard they have olive focaccia finger sandwiches today. Personally, if I was making them, I would have opted for ham cornbread sandwiches. I made those all the time for Mother when Father and my brothers were out giant-hunting.” He looks at our faces and pauses. “Did I interrupt something?”

  “You all look mad!” Heath sounds amused. “What’s this about? Does one of you need to talk? Because I’m a good listener.” He bats his eyes, and Raina smacks him.

  “These two are ruining my RA experience!” she tells Heath.

  “Oh, Raina, please!” Sasha counters.

  Swoop! A group of pixies fly by, and one drops a scroll right into Raina’s lap. It’s tied with a simple red ribbon, and the handwriting on the outside looks uncomfortably familiar.

  Raina unrolls it and reads it quickly. Her face pales. She lets the paper flutter to the floor and points a shaky finger in my direction. “I think you should leave.”

  I’m one bite into a cucumber dill sandwich. “Me?” The crumbs fall as I talk. “What did I do now?”

  “That scroll is from Olivina,” she whispers hotly. “She said I should stay away from you! That you could be a bad influence.”

  “That’s what she said to me too,” Sasha seconds. My tea sandwich softens from the sweat on my hands.

  “If I want to stay the course at RA, she’s advising I distance myself from trouble until you can find your way,” Raina adds, then covers her mouth. “I’m not sure I was supposed to actually relay that.”

  “Devin, trouble?” Logan repeats. “I got a warning, but that’s not Devin’s fault. Besides, I’d do the same thing again. That dragon just wanted his baby back. Anyone could see that. And if I’m sticking up for a dragon, you know it must be true. I hate dragons!”

  “Rai, calm down,” Heath tells her. “It’s just a warning. Father gave them to me all the time. Nothing ever came of them.”

  “I don’t want a warning!” Raina cries, standing up quickly and throwing her napkin on her chair. “I want everything to be exactly how it should be!” She’s shouting now, and everyone in the banquet hall is turning to stare. “And you’re ruining that, Devin Nile! If you hate Royal Academy so much, why did you even come here?”

  Because I wasn’t given a choice, I think.

  Raina turns and runs out of the room, sobbing. With a sigh, Heath drops what’s left of his brownie, shrugs, and takes off after her. Sasha gets up quietly from the table and pushes in her chair too.

  As she walks away, I’m left wondering what Olivina will do next. All I know is I don’t want to find out. It’s time to fall in line.

  Chapter 16

  In My Ivory Tower

  Good morning, Royal Academy! How to Pose Like a Proper Princess has been canceled today. Instead, we will be having a Getting to Know You social complete with a visit from Cobbler Shoes, Enchantasia’s number one shoemaker! They’re now taking orders for gold slippers, so don’t miss out on this fun event!

  • • •

  Good afternoon, Royal Academy! Since the weather looks stormy, Professor Pierce’s field trip to observe princess politics in action at the royal court’s town hall meeting has been canceled. Instead, consider joining your classmates for an impromptu dance party with Monsieur Andre, who will be teaching How to Dance Your Way into Royalty’s Heart.

  • • •

  Happy Friday, Royal Academy! Who is excited for this weekend’s September Social? The bake sale at the RA rugby match against Fairy Tale Reform School will benefit the Save Humpty Dumpty Foundation. And not to worry—FTRS has assured us all their baked goods are hex-free and safe for consumption. Please note Headmistress Olivina was called away on official RA business so her Royal Studies class is canceled. Enjoy your free time getting ready for this weekend’s festivities!

  • • •

  “Again?” I ask as Logan and I wind our way around the castle past a group of girls making wishes in a well. “Do you think it’s weird we haven’t had her class once yet?” In all honesty, I’m relieved I haven’t had to see Olivina since she sent the scrolls to Sasha and Raina last week. But that doesn’t make her continued absence any less peculiar.

  “It is kind of strange,” Logan agrees.

  The two of us have been spending a lot of time together, especially now that I’m avoiding my dorm room. And that was before the latest Roster came out. I can’t imagine how Rana and Sasha reacted to none of us being on the list. Thankfully, I have Logan. Even though he also got a strike after what went down in Snow’s class, he wasn’t mad at me. (“I think it makes me look kind of manly,” he said.)

  “But everyone says this is normal,” he adds. “Olivina has always spent more time out of RA than in it. Apparently, last week she was only here one day!” He dodges a pixie. “She’s so busy. Between sitting in on all meetings with the royal court and scouting new up-and-coming royal talent, I have no clue how she has enough time to run a school.”

  “Maybe fairy godmothers don’t need sleep,” I joke. “She really does a lot. The only time I’ve even seen her sit still were when…I was called to her quarters and given my first strike. And then I got another because of the dragon incident.” I glance at Logan worriedly. “I’m still really sorry about that strike.”

  Logan shrugs. “It’s only one. Between us, I still think how we handled everything in Snow’s class was the right way. Even if it means I can’t go to my culinary class anymore.”

  “What?” I stop short and almost bang into a pack of pixies going in the opposite direction. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “You were already so upset about your roommates,” he says. “I didn’t want to upset you more. It’s okay. I’m sure she’ll let me back in the class eventually.”

  I don’t believe that, but I keep silent.

  “I meant to ask you… Did you ever ask Snow who Tara was?” Logan asks.

  I look around worriedly. I don’t want to talk about anything in front of Milo. I pull Logan into an alcove with a wishing well. Thankfully, this one has a waterfall, which gives us some noise interference. I look around for mirrors. “Something weird happened my first day here that I still haven’t told anyone about. A pigeon dropped a note at my window for a ‘T.’ It said ‘T— She knows. Be careful. —R.’ After Snow mentioned a Tara getting kicked out of RA, I started to think the note might have been for her, but there is no one I can ask to find out.”

  “It’s not that big a kingdom,” Logan says slowly, “but I don’t know any royals named Tara.” He scrunches up his face. “I wonder who she is.”

  “Me too,” I admit. I think I can hear someone coming down the hallway. To be safe, I change the subject. “What class do you have now with the schedule change?”

  “Some outdoor nature walk.” Logan glances at his scheduling scroll. I do the same and see a news alert saying harpies have been spotted in the countryside stealing farmers’ crops. The royal court is launching an investigation.

  “What about you?” he asks.

  Suddenly, a class update appears on my scroll. GYM, 10 a.m. Physical activity to be determined. That’s strange. I’m not sure I have appropriate gym clothes in my locker. I should contact Brynn. “Apparently, I have gym now.”

  Logan makes a face. “Just as bad as my class. Good luck.”

  I’ve never really enjoyed gym class. While other girls at my village school enjoyed an afternoon of croquet or Billy Goats Bluff Ball, I would always rather leave school early and get out to the clearing to see my animal friends. I reach the gym and push the doors open. Inside the sweat-scented room, gray Royal Academy flags hang from the ceiling showcasing the tournaments and achievements won by RA over the years. The walls are covered with large RA logos painted with aspirational sayings. (SLAY NOW. ASK QUESTIONS LATER! says a picture of a fire-breathing dragon.)
I don’t see any students or our teachers.

  “Hello?” I take a few more steps into the room. “Hel-looo? Where is every—”

  A sack is pulled over my head as hands grab my ankles. Rope is wound around my hands and feet before I even have time to scream. After a few seconds of shock, I find my voice. “Let me go! Hey! Hey!” I shout as someone throws me over their shoulder.

  “I’ve got this one! You get the next princess through the door,” I hear someone say.

  I can’t see anything. All I hear is Lily hissing in my pocket. I swing my legs hard and hit my captor.

  “Ow! This one is feisty!”

  “Put her in the room with the others.” We walk for what seems like a long time as I keep struggling before my captor stops and places me on the hard floor. I hear the footsteps walking away. Then sniffling.

  “Hello?” I try to wriggle out of my sack. “Is someone else here?”

  “Devin?” The sniffling stops. “Is that you? It’s Raina! You’re in this class today too?”

  This is the most she’s said to me in days (second only to “Did you touch my hairbrush?”). “Class? Oh! Class! This must be another test.” I feel my body relax. I’m okay. It’s just another of Olivina’s trials. “Hold on. I think I can get my sack off my head.” I wriggle like a snake for a few minutes before I succeed. I look around. I’m in a plain circular room with a group of princesses, including Sasha and Raina. Only a few girls have managed to get their sacks off so far. Sasha isn’t one of them, but I can tell it’s her by her silver lace-up boots.

  “Don’t worry, the princes will be here soon,” says Matilda Locust, a girl in my How to Write a Love Note class. “The best thing we can do right now is sit calmly and wait. I wish we had a game to play.” Matilda yawns with boredom.