Descendants 2 Junior Novel

by Eric Geron

  “Here we go!” called Jay from the driver’s seat of the limo.

  He aimed the remote out the front window, and the limo blasted through the magical barrier in a blinding flash of light and emerged on the other side. Everyone let out sighs of relief. Jay loosened his grip on the wheel, and Lonnie smiled at him from the passenger seat.

  Jay sighed, then turned to Lonnie. “Why don’t you stop by practice later?”

  “In the mood to break some rules?” asked Lonnie, recalling the R.O.A.R. rule about a captain and eight men.

  “No.” Jay’s eyebrows furrowed; then he quickly smiled.

  Soon the limo pulled past the sign outside the school.

  WELCOME TO AURADON PREP.

  GOODNESS DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER.

  After Jay parked the limo back in its spot, the five teens made their way across the sunny campus.

  Mal walked silently with Ben at the back of the group, with Evie, Carlos, and Dude in front of them and Jay and Lonnie in the lead.

  Lonnie carried the quiver of swords. “I’ll get these back to the gym.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” said Jay.

  Lonnie grinned at him, and her eyes twinkled. “See you later.” She dashed off.

  Jane ran up to Ben, wielding her trusty tablet. “Ben! There you are. Cotillion’s tonight!”

  She pulled him away from Mal and showed him the tablet. “This is the stained glass window for Mal. Isn’t it beautiful? She’s going to love it!” Jane squealed.

  “Hold on,” Ben told Jane. He spoke to Mal. “Do you want to cancel?”

  Mal looked up at Ben and her mouth opened.

  Jane looked from Ben to Mal. “Oh! I can come back. But, you know, like really, really soon.”

  “No, no, no. Now’s fine,” said Ben, turning back to Jane. Then, after a beat, he leaned in toward Mal, put a hand on her lower back, and whispered, “Do whatever you need to do.” He gave Mal one last long glance and walked away with Jane to talk last-minute details for the event.

  Evie took Mal by the arm. “We need to talk,” Evie told her, starting to walk.

  Carlos cut in. “No,” he said.

  Evie and Mal turned around to face him.

  “No?” Evie asked Carlos.

  “No,” he said. “You guys are always going off in a huddle, whispering all your girl-talk stuff, or whatever, and Jay and I are tired of it.” He looked at Jay.

  “I’m not,” said Jay.

  Carlos ignored him. “We’re your family, too,” he told Mal. “We’ve been through a lot together. We’re not stopping now. So everybody sit.” Carlos sat on the grass with Dude in his lap. Jay sat down next to him. Evie and Mal sat, too.

  “I don’t actually know how to start girl talk.” Carlos’s eyes shifted.

  Mal and Evie giggled uncomfortably.

  “Whaddup?” Jay said in an attempt to break the ice.

  Everyone looked at each other.

  “Well…” Mal started.

  Her friends looked at her.

  Mal looked back at them. “I’m a mess,” she confessed, beginning to cry. “Six months ago, I was stealing candy from babies, and now…everybody wants me to be the lady of the court. And I can’t keep up with the act.”

  “Then don’t,” said Carlos.

  “See? This was dumb.” Jay planted his hands in the grass and moved to stand.

  “Maybe it wasn’t,” said Evie.

  Jay sank back down.

  Evie took Mal’s hand. “We’re always going to be the kids from the Isle. I tried to forget it, but those are our roots. And we all did what we had to do to survive. But it made us who we are. And we’re never going to be like anybody else here. And that’s okay.”

  “And we can’t fake it,” added Carlos.

  “Yeah, especially without my spell book,” said Mal.

  “If Ben doesn’t love the real you, he’s not the one,” said Carlos.

  Evie agreed. She looked at Mal. “I like that.”

  “Give him a chance,” Carlos said.

  “I’m going to make some changes to your dress,” Evie told her. “And if you’re up for it—only if you’re up for it—it’ll be waiting for you, okay?”

  Evie released Mal’s hand, grabbed her bag, and walked off with the boys.

  But then Jay hung back and plopped down in front of Mal. “Come to Cotillion tonight. If Ben isn’t smart enough to love you, and you can’t stand another day, I’ll drive you back tomorrow myself.”

  Mal just looked at Jay. He rested a hand on her shoulder, stood, and strolled off. Alone, Mal stared into the distance. If only she knew what her heart was telling her to do. She had known before. Why didn’t she this time?

  Or maybe she did.

  As everyone gets ready for Cotillion, I’ll just be quietly freaking out….

  Carlos and Dude walked on the grassy school lawn toward the dorms.

  There were groups of students in pastel-colored Auradon Prep clothes standing in clumps, chatting with others, and strolling to class in the shade of trees.

  “Girl talk. Crushed it,” said Dude.

  Carlos laughed. “Yeah, except when it comes to asking Jane out. Then I’m a total chicken,” he said.

  “I’m going to paraphrase one of the bravest boys I know,” said Dude.

  Carlos stopped and looked down at him, waiting for the rest.

  Dude cleared his throat. “If she doesn’t like you, then she’s not the one for you.”

  Carlos knelt down, smiling. “You really are man’s best friend.” He scratched the top of Dude’s head, then laughed and stood up. “Come on, buddy, let’s go.”

  Jay was wearing his sporty blue-and-yellow R.O.A.R. outfit when he strolled into the amphitheater, where the team had assembled. They were in the arena, stretching.

  “Let’s bring it in!” Jay clapped.

  Everyone gathered around him.

  “All right,” Jay said. “You all know I come from the Isle, all right, where things are pretty wack. But there is one thing the Isle’s got on Auradon: if you’re strong, we want you by our side—girl or boy.”

  Chad stepped beside him. “Hold on here, Jay. We don’t break rules here in Auradon, okay? That’s more on the Isle.”

  Jay pulled the rule book from his pocket and read from it. “‘The team shall be comprised of a captain and eight men.’ So, uh, give it up for your new team captain.” He pocketed the rule book and turned to the doorway, where Lonnie appeared in a custom-designed pink-and-teal R.O.A.R. uniform. She quickly joined the guys.

  Jay placed a whistle around her neck, bowed, and left her in the center. Then he clapped, which started a chain reaction of applause throughout the rest of the team. Everyone but Chad put his hands together. Then Jay led the team in a unified bow, and everyone bowed to Lonnie except for Chad. Lonnie looked long and hard at him, and he finally gave in and bowed along with the others.

  Lonnie was ready for her new role. She blew her whistle. “Give me ten!” she instructed. “Come on, guys!”

  The boys dropped for push-ups and began to count.

  Lonnie put a foot on Chad’s back. “Pick it up, Chad!” she said. “Nice form, Jay!”

  Jay smiled at her and went lower into his push-up, showing how strong he really was.

  Lonnie laughed, took a step back, and blew her whistle again. “’Kay, practice is over,” she said to her team. “Get outta here! Go get ready for Cotillion.”

  The team dispersed and jogged out of the amphitheater.

  “Hey, Jay!” said Lonnie from the arena.

  He turned and walked over to her. “Yeah?”

  Lonnie smiled. “Wait till I tell my mom.”

  Jay smiled and gave her a playful tap on the shoulder. “Let’s get outta here.”

  Inside Mal and Evie’s dorm room, Evie was altering Mal’s dress.

  She gathered up bits of fabric and swaths of gold lamé and glanced at the pile of Dizzy’s hair creations. She took a headband, turned it over in her hands, an
d added a piece of leather. It was just the touch the headband needed. She smiled.

  Doug knocked on the open door, then entered before Evie could answer. He was pale. “I have a scout badge in s’mores!” he cried. “How could you go camping without me? Are you seeing someone else?” He was so upset his mouth trembled.

  “What? No!” said Evie.

  “Is it Happy’s son?” asked Doug, taking another step into the room. “Let me tell you, he isn’t as happy as his dad. Kind of a dark streak, in fact.”

  Evie took his hands and gave him her full attention. “Ben was taken on the Isle. We rescued him and saved Auradon.”

  “So…you’re not seeing anyone else?” asked Doug, relieved.

  Evie laughed. “Don’t be dopey.”

  Doug smiled. Dopey might’ve been his dad, but Doug was his own person.

  “Come on,” said Evie, “we’ve got dresses to deliver.” She looked at the headband, and her eyes lit up. “And that’s not all.” She looked back at Doug. “I’ve been given a chance, and now I need to give someone else a chance, too.”

  “My uncle Bashful used to say that. But really quietly,” said Doug.

  Evie gathered up Dizzy’s hair accessories, smiled at Doug, and headed out. “Let’s do this,” she said.

  Out on the lawn, Carlos saw Jane hurrying with her tablet and talking on the phone. She was wearing her Auradon Prep blue, white, and yellow cheerleading uniform.

  Carlos quickly ran up to her and grinned.

  Jane smiled at him and lowered her phone.

  Before he could lose his nerve, Carlos just came out with it: “Uh…would you…go to Cotillion with me?” he asked.

  Jane didn’t get it. “We’re all taking a stretch carriage over at six,” she explained. Then she went back to her phone call. “Yeah, no, no. The pen toppers on the left side.”

  “No, I mean, uh…with me.” Carlos pointed to himself.

  “I’ll stop by your room,” she said, still not comprehending. Then Jane spoke back into her phone. “No, no, no. So when you’re on the boat facing the left—Yeah, yeah, right. No, no, no, not right—left!”

  “Uh…” said Carlos, getting her attention again. “This is gonna be trickier than I thought,” he mumbled to himself. “Jane?”

  “Yeah?”

  He put a hand on her phone and slowly lowered it. “Would you…be my date for Cotillion? And if you don’t hate me by the end of it, would you consider…maybe being more than friends…maybe?” He looked at her with widening eyes, waiting.

  Jane’s face broke into a huge smile. “Like…boyfriend and girlfriend? Where we hold hands instead of slugging each other all the time? And we text? And I can tell you how great you are? Because, Carlos, you’re really…you’re so great. And you’re so cute and so nice and I’m the luckiest girl in the world!” She hopped up and down.

  “Me too!” said Carlos. “I mean, guy!”

  “No, right!” said Jane.

  “Luckiest guy!” said Carlos.

  Jane gave him a big hug.

  “Oh!” said Carlos. It took him a second to register what was happening before he hugged her back.

  Jane’s phone buzzed, and she broke apart from him. “Oh! Sorry!” She held up her phone. She was grinning at him. “I’ll see you later?” she asked Carlos.

  “Yeah. Totally,” he said.

  He watched her pass through the rows of hedges, back up toward the school.

  Dude’s tail wagged. “Good boy,” he said to Carlos.

  Carlos laughed and patted him. “Come on, Dude. Let’s go.”

  In the boys’ dorm room, Chad pulled a crown from Carlos’s 3-D printer.

  He wore his baby-blue suit with gold details and the amazing faux-fur-trimmed cape Evie had designed for him. He added the fake crown to the regal ensemble and admired himself in the mirror. “Not bad. Not bad at all. What’s that? Why no, Audrey, I haven’t chosen my queen yet.” He turned away from the mirror, wheeled back to face it, and winked at his reflection.

  Just then, Chad’s cell phone rang. He walked to the table and saw the screen. It was Audrey calling. He picked up the phone, fumbled it, dropped it on the floor, and dove for it. “Audrey!” he exclaimed.

  Carlos appeared in the doorway. “Chad, this is—”

  “Sh! Sh!” hissed Chad from the floor.

  “My room,” finished Carlos.

  Chad held up a finger as he listened to his phone. “Audrey? Yeah?” He got up on his knees. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Chad turned to Carlos. “She’s got a flat tire in Sherwood Forest, and she wants me to go change it!” He stood up and chuckled.

  Carlos squinted at him. “That’s six hours away.”

  “Just six?” Chad spoke into the phone: “I’m going to be there sooner than I thought!” He sauntered toward the doorway.

  Carlos stopped him. “Uh…” He removed Chad’s crown. “My printer, my crown. Thank you.”

  Chad realized he wasn’t going to win this one. He glared at Carlos as he passed him, then said, “Coming, Audrey!” He sprinted down the hall.

  “Wow.” Carlos scoffed.

  Cotillion. it’s time.

  I have a million thoughts in my head but just one feeling in my heart.

  And I hope my heart is right.

  The only event grander than Ben’s coronation ceremony was Cotillion.

  For starters, it was being held on a sleek white party yacht called True Love that was docked in the marina. Auradon royal crests adorned either side of the yacht. Orbs of light hung from long cables strung over the deck. There were little round tables with lamps on them here and there, leaving plenty of room for people to dance. A set of stairs with a blue-and-gold-trimmed carpet led up to a stage. Everything looked incredible.

  Partygoers boarded the yacht in front of roped-off fans and paparazzi, and a few, including Evie and Doug, stopped to talk with news reporters in front of the step and repeat. Evie wore a floor-length midnight-blue dress with black beading branching across it, a long blue cape, red gloves, and a thin gold choker featuring a red heart gem centerpiece. Her handbag was the shape of a poison apple with a bite taken out of it. And to top it all off, she wore Dizzy’s ruby-studded hair ornament clipped neatly to the side of her bun. Evie struck pose after pose for the cameras.

  News reporters held microphones up to her. “Evie, you look beautiful!”

  “Thank you,” said Evie.

  “The dress is gorgeous! Did you design the barrette?”

  “No, it’s not my creation, actually,” she said. “Many of the hair accessories this evening are by a fabulous new designer, Dizzy of the Isle!”

  “Who’s your date?”

  “This is my Doug.” Evie extended a hand, and Doug took it and moved closer to her. “Dopey’s son.”

  He stood by her in his tan suit and black bow tie and waved.

  Meanwhile, on the Isle, at Lady Tremaine’s Curl Up and Dye, Dizzy watched the live feed from the Cotillion on a boxy old TV. After Evie’s mention of her hair accessories, Dizzy shrieked.

  “I made that! That’s me!” She squealed again with glee.

  Lady Tremaine banged the floor above her, as if to say shut it.

  Dizzy put a hand to her mouth and flinched at the sound. “Sorry, Granny!” She spun back around to face the TV. She couldn’t help smiling.

  Jane and Carlos descended the steps to the party deck, past bushels of colorful flowers in clusters of white, yellow, and blue, toward the table where people served fruit punch. Carlos was super fashionable, as usual, in red knee-length pants and a black-and-white leather jacket. Jane’s gown was a long sparkling periwinkle dress with a magenta bow at the waist.

  When Fairy Godmother spotted Jane with Carlos, her face lit up. “Jane! Jane, there you are, my dear one!” She made her way from the refreshments table to the dance floor, waving her magic wand and looking like a true fairy in a pale blue dress and hooded cape tied at the neck with a pale silk bow. “Everything looks beautiful, my love
, but we need to ladle out the punch before the sherbet melts.”

  “Mom,” said Jane.

  Fairy Godmother looked at her expectantly.

  “I have a date,” said Jane with a smile.

  Fairy Godmother gasped and grinned. “A date?”

  Jane nodded.

  “Really!” Fairy Godmother looked at Carlos, then over the deck, searching.

  Carlos awkwardly looked around.

  Fairy Godmother rested a hand on his shoulder. “Do you have a date, too?”

  “Yeah.” He gestured to Jane.

  “Really!” said Fairy Godmother with a smile.

  Carlos laughed. “Yeah.”

  Fairy Godmother looked around again, not quite getting it.

  “Mom.” Jane took Carlos’s hands.

  Fairy Godmother looked down at their intertwined hands. Then she looked up from Jane to Carlos, realizing. “Bibbidi-bobbidi! Ooh!” she said with a great big smile.

  Carlos let out a little laugh. He looked Jane in the eyes and nodded toward the dance floor. “After you.”

  Jane walked off with Carlos, and they danced on the deck. He spun her and then kissed her hand. Evie and Doug were dancing there, too, along with Jay, who boogied with a group of girls. Jay looked handsome in his red-and-gold leather suit jacket and crimson fingerless gloves. The girls swooned. He moved to dance with Lonnie, whose dress was actually a coral pink jumpsuit with a long open skirt.

  The music stopped, getting everyone’s attention. Young men in pale yellow suits lined the yacht’s steps, and in one unified motion they lifted their trumpets and began playing fanfare.

  All eyes turned to Lumiere at the top of the steps. He had thin gray hair and resembled the candelabrum he had once been enchanted to be. That night he wore a white suit with gold epaulets and a pale gold bow tie. “The future…Lady Mal!” Lumiere announced.

  Mal entered at the top of the staircase.

  She looked stunning in her yellow dress bejeweled with blue gems, blue and yellow tulle, and a sparkling cape that trailed the ground behind her. Evie had edged up the look, adding a leather bracelet, boots, and a crown-esque hair ornament. Mal’s purple hair was in a pretty side braid that snaked down her shoulder. She looked down at all the people silently watching her from the ship’s deck. Mal’s heartbeat quickened. The throng responded to Mal’s purple hair with a murmur of surprise, which was drowned out by Mal’s friends, who clapped and cheered. Others joined in. Photographers turned all their video equipment on Mal.