I couldn’t believe I’d left my spell book behind. I also couldn’t believe I was headed back to Auradon.

Ben and Mal were still trying to catch their breath. They sat side by side, but with an empty seat between them.

“I’m really sorry that things didn’t turn out the way you wanted,” said Ben.

Mal turned to look at him. She didn’t know what to say. “I mean, as long as you’re safe, that’s…” Her voice trailed off and she looked away.

A tiny smile formed on Ben’s face. “At least I finally got to see the Isle. They’re my people, too,” he said. “Uma helped me see that.”

Mal looked back at Ben, staring in disbelief. “Ben. Uma captured you.”

“She’s an angry girl…with a bad plan. Not so different from you when you came to Auradon, Mal.”

Ouch. Mal looked away, stung.

Ben faced the window.

“Awkward,” said Dude.

Evie and Carlos exchanged glances.

“Dude, I know you can speak, but it doesn’t always mean you should,” Carlos told him.

“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.