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“Oh!” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I think I just have to lie down now,” he said. “Thanks for the dance.”
“No, thank you!” said Jane, a little wistfully.
Carlos crouch-walked out of the ballroom with Jay, who also made a show of looking ill. When they were outside the building, they straightened up and broke into a run toward the parking lot. They could still hear the music wafting from the dance as they made their way noiselessly across campus. They stopped uneasily when the ground rolled beneath them with a little tremor, but it faded away and they kept going.
Jay placed a chauffeur’s cap on his head and Carlos stuck in a fake earpiece. Since they were both already wearing black suits, Evie decided that was all they needed to complete the disguise as driver and bodyguard to the royal princesses. Now all they could hope for was that no one who saw them would know that Audrey and Lonnie were still at the dance.
They found the limousine, which had Auradon flags on each side of the hood. Jay removed the keys from his pocket and unlocked the car doors. He got in on the driver’s side and Carlos climbed into the passenger seat.
“Bridge remote?” asked Jay.
“Check,” said Carlos. “Found it in the glove compartment.”
There was a rustle of skirts from behind them, and the girls appeared out of the darkness. Mal had spelled their hair so that from far away, she and Evie really looked like Audrey and Lonnie. Actually, the disguise was so good that Carlos almost had a little panic attack thinking the real princesses were headed their way.
Mal opened the back door and they climbed in. “Hurry,” she said. “We need to get there before midnight.”
“Your chariot awaits, my ladies,” joked Jay, who revved up the engine.
“Um, Jay? Where did you learn to drive?” Evie asked, peeking out from the partition that separated the front of the car from the back.
“Street rats!” Jay cursed, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. “I was hoping you’d forget that I don’t, technically, know how.”
“Oh, for fur’s sake,” said Carlos. “Switch places.”
&
nbsp; “Carlos, you know how to drive?” asked Mal, impressed. “How?”
“I taught myself,” Carlos said. “My mom has a car, remember? She would make me drive her to the Queen of Hearts’s salon all the time.” He placed the chauffeur’s cap on his head and handed Jay the earpiece.
“Thank goodness!” said Evie.
“I don’t think goodness had anything to do with it, actually,” said Carlos with a smile. He eased the long car out of the parking lot. “Hey, if there’s any candy back there, you guys have to share.”
Mal threw him a huge lollipop that bonked him on the head, and they were off.
They had only traveled a few feet and hadn’t even left the school grounds when a flood of light covered the darkened driveway, and the limousine had to stop in its tracks. Mal squinted against the light to try to see who was blocking their way.
“It’s the royal carriage!” said Evie. “Ben must be back!”
“What do we do now?” said Carlos nervously. “I can’t go around it, it’s too big.”
The royal carriage was an imposing behemoth, resembling not so much a pumpkin as a giant squash on wheels. A footman opened the door and Ben stepped out, shaded his eyes against the light, and peered into the limousine.
Carlos switched off the ignition, resigned. “Oh, well, looks like we’re not going anywhere now,” he said, trying to sound disappointed, and failing.
“Let me handle it,” said Mal, stepping out of the car to meet Ben.
“Audrey?” Ben asked, when he saw her.
“No, uh, it’s me, Mal,” she said, feeling shy and a bit silly at the whole getup and embarrassed that they’d been caught sneaking out of Auradon. After all their careful planning, this was a bit anticlimactic.
“Mal?” He gaped. “What’s going on? What are you wearing? Is that a dress of Audrey’s? It’s so pink and blue. And is that the royal limousine?”
The windows rolled down, and the rest of the group waved cheerfully at Ben. Ben waved back, a bit confused. “Why does Evie look like Lonnie and why is Carlos driving? Does he even have a license?”
