Apple was taking her Welcoming Committee role very seriously: Each time she and Meeshell passed something she’d say, “Welcome to the drinking fountain.” “Welcome to the wishing well.” “Welcome to the exterior hallway of the Student Union Building.” She certainly seemed very nice, and her desire to make Meeshell feel at home at Ever After High seemed genuine. Her warm smile put Meeshell at ease. But it was a bit unnerving for Meeshell to think that one day Apple would be poisoned by an apple and lie in a coma, waiting for true love’s kiss. The truth was, many of Ever After High’s students, including Meeshell, had stories that would require sacrifice and courage.
“Welcome to the Castleteria!” Apple exclaimed, throwing her arms wide.
The Castleteria bustled with activity as hungry students hurried in from the assembly, eager to grab lunch. There was so much commotion, and so many people, Meeshell wished she were a hermit crab and could disappear into a shell. Some of the students cast curious glances at Meeshell’s old dress. One student, a human-sized fairy with blond hair and iridescent wings, flew up to her and said with a sneer, “I didn’t realize that today was Wear Your Grandmother’s Old Dress Day.” Then she flew off. Meeshell felt her cheeks go red for the second time that day.
“Don’t mind her,” Apple said. “Her name is Faybelle and she never says anything nice. Besides, wearing old clothing is called being retro and it’s very in style right now.”
Lots of students said hello to Apple, who in turn introduced Meeshell, but the names and faces came so quickly, Meeshell was certain she wouldn’t remember a single one. Her gaze darted around the dining hall. Large trees grew along the walls, their branches reaching high above tables that were arranged in tidy rows. The kitchen area was its own vast room. Another tree grew in the center, copper pans hanging from its branches. Cauldrons bubbled on dragon-fire hearths and baskets overflowed with colorful vegetables and fruits. Students grabbed trays and lined up at a long counter to choose from a wide array of foods. Apple handed Meeshell a tray. Meeshell tried to forget the mean fairy’s comment but as she looked around, it was quite obvious that her dress wasn’t in fashion.
A hunchbacked woman stood behind the counter. She held a ladle that overflowed with something gray and gooey. A box labeled LUMPS sat at her elbow. Apple whispered in Meeshell’s ear, “That’s porridge. Hagatha serves it all day long. Blondie Lockes likes it a lot but I suggest you avoid it. It’s the worst.” When they reached the woman, Apple introduced them. “Hagatha, this is our new student, Meeshell. Meeshell, Hagatha is our Castleteria cook.”
“Got any food allergies?” Hagatha asked, wiping her hand on her greasy apron. Meeshell shook her head. “Got any special dietary needs?”
Meeshell hadn’t noticed any sea-lettuce salads or barnacle stew in the food choices, but she didn’t want to make special requests. She needed to eat the same things the other two-footed people ate. But there was one thing she couldn’t stomach. “I don’t eat fish.”
Hagatha grunted. “I don’t blame ya. Fish are slimy things. I don’t eat them neither.” Slimy wasn’t a word Meeshell would use to describe the ocean’s most beautiful creatures. Her eyes widened as Hagatha dumped a ladle of porridge into a bowl, then set the bowl onto Meeshell’s tray. The porridge jiggled a bit, as if it were going to jump out of the bowl, but then it settled into a mound.
“This will make it taste better,” Apple said as she grabbed a honey bear. The bear giggled as she picked it up and squeezed.
Because Meeshell was obviously overwhelmed and a bit confused, Apple helpfully selected a few more items for Meeshell’s tray—a cucumber sandwich, a miniature thronecake, and a glass of fairyberry iced tea. Then she led her to a table. “Everyone, I want you to meet our newest student, Meeshell. She’s a princess from the Kingdom by the Sea.”
One by one she was introduced. “This is Ashlynn Ella, daughter of Cinderella. She works at the Glass Slipper, which is the best shoe store in all the kingdoms. And she speaks to animals, which comes in handy if you get stuck in a tower and you need a griffin to come and rescue you.”
“Yes, Griffinglish is my favorite animal language,” Ashlynn said. A delicate crown was nestled on her long, strawberry-blonde hair, which flowed over her shoulders.
The next girl had wavy, milk-chocolate-colored hair and a pair of crownglasses perched on her head. “This is Briar Beauty, daughter of Sleeping Beauty. She’s the best party planner on campus, and even though she tends to fall asleep a lot, don’t let that fool you. She’s always up for a fun adventure.”
Briar waved. “Welcome to—” Her words were interrupted by a huge yawn.
A shiver ran up Meeshell’s spine. She was meeting the daughters of the best-known fairytale characters ever after! This was amazing.
“And this is Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter. We call her Maddie.”
Meeshell paused. She didn’t recognize the Hatter name. Must be from a story she’d never read. The girl was very colorful, with stripes and polka dots and swirls on her clothing. Her hair was equally colorful, with stripes of turquoise, purple, and blue. An odd little teacup hat sat on her head.
Maddie grabbed Meeshell’s hand and shook it quite vigorously. “Hello and good-bye. I like to say both those things because it saves time. When we save time in Wonderland, we put it into a jar so we can use it later.” Her personality was as exuberant as her outfit. Meeshell liked her right away.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Meeshell said. There was so much noise in the Castleteria from all the chatter, she could barely hear her own voice.
“Uh, what was that?” Maddie asked.
Briar cleaned her crownglasses with a napkin. “I think she said it’s nice to eat stew.”
Maddie nodded. “Well, who can argue with that?”
Apple squeezed in next to Maddie. Ashlynn scooted down the bench to make room for Meeshell, who placed her tray on the table and sat.
Ashlynn glanced down and gasped. “Your feet,” she said.
Meeshell bit her lower lip. Was it obvious that her feet were brand-new? Or was something actually wrong with them, as she’d suspected.
But Ashlynn was smiling. “They’re the prettiest feet I’ve ever seen. No wonder you don’t wear any shoes.”
“She lost her shoes on her journey here,” Apple explained. “They were stolen by a giant squid.”
“Awesome,” Briar said. “I’ve always wanted to see one of those.”
Apple stirred sugar into her tea. “I thought you could take her to the Glass Slipper and help her choose some new ones.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Ashlynn said. “We’ll use the new app and order a pair right now. What size do you wear?”
Size? Meeshell gulped. How could she possible know a thing like that? She must have looked very confused because Ashlynn smiled kindly.
“Oh, I get it. You probably always have your shoes ordered for you, so why would you know the size?”
“Uh, yes, that’s it,” Meeshell said.
Ashlynn placed her MirrorPad under Meeshell’s feet to measure their size, then selected a few pairs to be delivered to her room. “Easy as pie.”
“Hey, wanna see my tea-rriffic new talent show trick?” Maddie took off her hat and began to pull out a stack of teacups. The stack got taller and taller. How could all those cups fit inside that tiny hat?
“It’s a magic hat,” Apple explained. “She keeps everything in there.”
Maddie held the wobbling stack of teacups, which now reached to the ceiling. “Look,” she said proudly. “It’s the Leaning Tower of Tea-sa!” Right when she said that, the tower collapsed, spilling tea all over the table. A giant puddle formed and began to move toward Meeshell. She dropped her porridge spoon, her eyes widening. If the puddle rolled off the edge, it would land in her lap. It would land on her legs! She shrieked, jumped to her feet, and stepped away.
Maddie frowned. “Well, that didn’t go as planned, but you know what they say in Wonderland—there’s no use crying over spilled tea when you can sing over it instead.” As she started to hum a little song, a pair of cleaning fairies flew over and began mopping up the mess.
“You okay?” Apple asked Meeshell. “You look startled.”
Meeshell checked her legs. They were perfectly dry. She let out a long, relieved breath. “I’m fine.”
“You didn’t get tea stains on your dress, did you?” Ashlynn asked.
“My favorite color is tea stain,” Maddie said. “It’s pretty and it’s delicious at the same time.”
“No, there aren’t any stains,” Meeshell replied. The fairies cleaned the bench, then flew away with their little mops.
“You sure you’re okay?” Briar asked. The girls were all looking at her, probably wondering about her strange behavior. Who shrieks when tea is spilled? Was Meeshell already getting a reputation as an oddball?
“Are you afraid of tea?” Maddie asked.
“No, I’m… I’m not afraid of tea.” Meeshell’s heart beat quickly. That had been a very close call. Too close for comfort. And because she was quite flustered, she said the first thing that she could think of. “I’m… I’m afraid of water.”
It was absurd, of course, to think that a mermaid could be afraid of water. But, for the first time in Meeshell’s life, there was some truth to this statement, because the spell that had given Meeshell the ability to walk on two legs had a flaw.
And it was all because of Coral, the Sea Witch’s daughter.