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Evie’s smile faltered a little. “Well, the four of us are going to be taking any questions tomorrow during a roundtable at study hall. If anyone’s curious about Auradon Prep, they can come and talk to us. It would be great if you could let people know.”
Mother Gothel shrugged. “People make their own decisions around here.”
“Please,” said Evie. She opened her purse and removed a tiny jar of moisturizer and pushed it across the table. “From me, as a token of my appreciation.” If it would help get a few kids to apply to Auradon Prep, was it truly that bad?
Mother Gothel snatched it up greedily without a word of thanks, but, of course, Evie hadn’t expected any.
• • •
The four friends met back up in the loft at the end of the day. They were hungry for dinner, so Evie opened her trunk again and set out a full meal, pulling out a picnic blanket, a cooler full of icy drinks, and hot containers of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. “Bless you,” said Carlos, awed by the incredible spread in front of them. “I thought we’d have to go to Ursula’s Fish and Chips Shoppe to eat.”
“Or the Slop Shop,” said Jay with a shudder. “Goblin cuisine. Blegh. I used to get the worst stomachaches.”
“Preparation is the key to success,” said Evie, spooning out braised greens and yams.
“And Mrs. Potts,” added Mal.
“Hear, hear,” agreed Evie, handing out napkins and utensils. They helped themselves and murmured their thanks to the benevolent school cook.
“So how’d it go?” Evie asked. “Do you think we’ll get more applications? And anyone to come to the roundtable tomorrow?”
“We tried,” said Mal. “Hopefully.”
“Who knows?” said Jay. “They’d be silly to miss out on Auradon Prep.”
Carlos shrugged. He was too busy eating.
There was a knock on the secret door, and Evie went to answer it. “Oh, hey, Celia,” she said. “What’s up? I don’t think anyone else is interested in having their fortune read.”
“No, I’m not here for that,” said Celia, flushing a little.
“Okay,” said Evie, ushering her inside. “Come and have a bite to eat with us, then.”
Celia’s eyes grew wide at the picnic spread. For a moment, the four VKs felt guilty for the bounty they shared. No one ate this well on the island. “Here, have a doughnut,” said Carlos.
“Thanks,” said Celia, and took a big bite.
“So, what’s up?” asked Mal.
Celia put down the doughnut and fidgeted with the sleeve of her dress. “I came to tell you guys: Uma’s back. She’s definitely on the Isle of the Lost somewhere. And I think she’s coming for you, Mal.”
Mal wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Uma hasn’t been seen anywhere, Celia,” she said reassuringly. “I promise, Ben and I have been taking the security of both Auradon and the Isle very seriously. Anyway, if she were back, she’d be with her pirates.”
“But my cards foretell doom and disaster,” said Celia.
Jay cocked his eyebrow. “Do they, now?”
“I wouldn’t believe everything the cards say,” said Evie, shaking her head and starting to put things away, folding up the picnic blanket and saving the leftovers in plastic containers.
“Whatever it is, we can take care of it,” said Carlos. “Don’t worry about us.”
“But I heard Uma’s voice! And we all know Uma is dangerous,” said Celia defensively. “She already attacked you guys once!”
“We’re leaving the day after tomorrow,” said Mal. “We’ll be fine. And we will watch out for Uma, I promise.” But Evie saw something flicker in Mal’s eyes. Was Mal worried? Were they safe from Uma? Evie shook away her thoughts. Everything was fine. They were just here to do a job. Nothing bad was going to happen!
“Okay,” said Celia finally. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“We won’t,” said Mal. “Thanks for coming by.”
