by Lisa Shea
“That sounds perfect,” Apple White squealed, her blond curls bouncing as she nodded.
“Well, it wasn’t perfect for everyone,” Cerise admitted. “And it was not the fairytale for me. If Dexter hadn’t been there to help me through it, I might not have passed my hexam.”
“How did Dexter help you?” Cedar asked. “What was Dexter like as a beast?”
“Was he all, ROAR?” Hunter Huntsman asked with a laugh.
Cerise hesitated for a moment and glanced nervously at Dexter as she wondered how much he was going to say. Would he keep his promise and not share her secret? But Dexter rubbed his head and looked around the school in confusion.
“Zoom in on Dexter,” Blondie instructed. The cameraman did as he was told.
“Oh hex, I think I hit my head on the way back,” Dexter said. “I don’t remember a thing about our trip.” But then he noticed Raven smiling at him. A vague, fuzzy memory washed over him. Something about being proud of who he was and Raven thinking he was great.… Where did he hear that? Was it Cerise who said it to him? He couldn’t remember. But he knew that with Raven smiling at him the way she was right now, he had a chance, and he wasn’t about to blow it. Dexter walked over to Raven and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Raven, would you like to go to a movie with me sometime?” Dexter asked.
It took everything Cerise had not to jump up and applaud. Yay, Dex! she cheered to herself.
Raven didn’t hesitate. “Sure, Dex,” she said. “I’d love to!”
For a moment the old Dexter came back. “You would?” He gasped. “Are you sure?” Then he took a moment to compose himself. “I mean… you would! Great, that’s just great! I’ll… I’ll send you a hext later and we’ll pick a day.” Raven smiled again and nodded.
“Oh my wand, this is just hexcellent!” Blondie cheered. She turned to her cameraman. “You got that all on tape, didn’t you? Please tell me you did.”
“Don’t worry; I got it all.” The cameraman nodded.
After exchanging a few more words with Raven, Dexter went over to where Cerise was sitting.
“Great job on the movie invite, Dex,” Cerise whispered. “I don’t think Daring Charming himself could have been any smoother.”
Dexter grinned ruefully and rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks—but you know, I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t remember anything,” Dexter told her. “What exactly happened when we were together?”
Cerise smiled and gave a little shrug. “Not too much, Dex. We just learned a little bit about each other. And ourselves. And it was pretty spelltacular.”
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