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“Really?”
“Totally,” said Mal with her sweetest smile.
Evie knew Mal wasn’t being sincere, but she was intrigued enough to play along with it.
She was about to tell her what she knew about the dome when Evil Queen burst out of Bits and Bobs, wearing a jet-black velour sweat suit with QUEEN embroidered across her derriere. “Evie! I got some new eye shadow for you! Oh!” she said, when she saw Evie wasn’t alone. “If it i
sn’t Mal!” she added nervously. “How are you, dear? How’s your mother? Is she here? Is she still mad at me?”
“Uh…” Mal blinked.
Evie wished her mother would stop talking, but of course that was a fruitless wish. Her mother continued to babble on nervously. “Tell your mother to come around and see me sometime. I’d be happy to give her a makeover! I’ve seen her photos in the paper. She’s looking a bit green lately. She needs a stronger foundation,” Evil Queen said.
“I’ll uh, let her know,” Mal said.
“You do that, sweetheart! And if I may say so, your purple hair is fabulous! It really brings out your cheekbones!” Evil Queen gushed.
“Thank you? I guess?” said Mal, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Jay laughed. “Take the compliment, Mal. Sorry, Evil Queen, Mal isn’t used to compliments. You know Maleficent has no interest in beauty unless it can be used to glamour someone into doing her will.”
“Right. Let’s go, Evie,” said her mother.
“Oh, can Evie hang out with us?” asked Mal with a syrupy smile. “We were just about to grab a few unhealthy snacks from the Slop Shop.”
Evie was torn. On the one hand, she knew she should stay away from Mal if she wanted to be safe, but on the other, she never got to hang out with kids her age.
Evil Queen nodded. “Sure! I’ll see you at home, sweetie.” As she left, she mouthed, “Reapply your lip gloss!”.
When her mother had disappeared into the crowd, Evie picked up the conversation where they had left off. “You guys want to know about the hole in the dome, or not?”
Mal and Jay exchanged glances. “Of course we do,” they chorused.
Evie shrugged. “Well, something happened the night of the party that may have to do with the dome.”
“Is that right?” asked Mal with a raised eyebrow.
“You need to talk to Carlos,” said Evie. “He knows what happened.” She shivered from the memory, at the bright light that had emanated from that little machine. For a second there, she had worried that they had broken the universe somehow. She still remembered the vibrant, sharp feeling of electricity in the air. It had felt like…magic.
“Carlos? Why? What does he have to do with anything?” Mal demanded as they passed a tent selling colorful scarves, and Jay practiced his parkour by running across the walls and rooftops.
“Because he was the one that did it,” said Evie.
“Did what?”
“Punched a hole in the dome.”
Jay barked a laugh and dropped down next to them. “Yeah, right—as if that little guy can punch anything. Come on, Mal. We’ve got work to do.” He began to turn away.
Evie stared at Mal. Mal stared at Evie.
“I’m not lying,” she said to Mal.
“I didn’t think you were,” said Mal, her green eyes flashing. Evie met them with her calm blue ones. Finally Mal said, “Okay.”
“You actually believe her?” Jay gawked, sounding right then like Iago.
“I think we need to check it all out,” said Mal.
