Were You Expecting Flowers? ✔️

16

I put a spell on you
and now you're mine.
You can't stop the things I do.
I ain't lyin.
____________________

I SPENT the next few days going around Auradon exploring after school ended, occasionally paying Lonnie and Jay a visit. I even sparred with Jay today, which was both challenging and hilarious. I saw a few miss calls from Evie, so I went looking for her. When I got back to my dorm, however, Mal was the only one there to welcome me.

"Where's Evie?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

"Studying." Mal answered, closing her sketchbook, "She went looking for you, but couldn't find you. She's in the library now, probably with Doug. Apparently your chemistry test was moved two days forward, to Monday."

I gawked at her. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope." She grinned, "At least tomorrow is Saturday. You'd have time to study."

I flopped down on my bed. "I'm gonna fail." I announced.

Mal crossed her arms, turning her chair my way. "And why's that?"

"I've never been to school before." I explained, "Not even on the Isle."

"What?" Mal responded.

"I know."

Suddenly Mal lit up, and hurried over to the nightstand that stood next to her bed. She opened the drawer and pulled out a small book. It took me a second to realize it was her spell book.

"I know exactly how to help you." Mal declared, flipping through the pages.

I wasn't too thrilled. "Have you done this before?"

"Nope. You're gonna be my first subject."

"Uh, alright."

Mal looked up at me. "Just trust me."

I nodded.

"Read it fast like lightning speed, remember everything I need." She twirled her finger towards me as she read the spell aloud. Her eyes turned a magical green.

I didn't know what to expect.

"I... don't feel any different." I told Mal.

"Let it settle in?" Mal suggested, obviously confused as well, "Oh actually, why don't you get your chemistry book?"

I walked over to my schoolbag and dug out my textbook. Sitting back down, I opened it to a random page, and suddenly all the words came crashing forward as if I was absorbing it. Overwhelmed, I closed the book shut and groaned. My head pounded and I felt as though the walls around me were spinning.

"Brae?"

When I opened my eyes again, Mal was hovering over me, looking concerned.

"What happened?" She asked.

I reached up and touched my forehead. "I don't know." I mumbled.

"Oh gosh- Brae, I'm so sorry." Mal stammered, sitting next to me, "I think I might've over done it."

"Over done what?"

"That spell was supposed to help you remember everything you read more quickly." She explained, taking a seat next to me, "I guess it was too much."

I grunted in response, a sharp pain radiating from my head.

"I'm sure there's a way to reverse it..."

And that was the last thing I heard before I fell back, unconscious.

When I came to, the sounds around me were muffled, and the lights were foggy and out of focus. For a second, I even wondered if I had died, until the voices became clearer and clearer. Did I fall asleep?

I could hear Evie. "Mal, I really think we should get an adult involved with this."

"Always the reasonable one." Jay commented.

"How am I supposed to explain to them how Brae got spelled without revealing that I have Maleficent's spell book in my possession?" Mal asked.

I opened my eyes and was blinded for a second. Evie was at the end of the bed, standing with Jay and Mal, caught up in their conversation. Carlos, however, sat at the edge of the bed right next to me, and was the first to notice I was awake.

"Guys." He called.

The others immediately turned towards me and started gathering around.

I sat up slowly. "What happened?" I asked groggily.

"Remember that spell I put on you?" Mal said sheepishly, "It knocked you out."

"How're you feeling?" Carlos asked, concerned.

"Not too good." I confessed, "My head's killing me. How long have I been out?"

"A few hours or so." Mal answered.

"So... am I okay now?" I questioned.

"I was hoping you would be, once you wake up." Mal said, sighing, "But now that you say you're not feeling well, I'm not so sure."

"I should go get Fairy Godmother." Evie, who was leaning against the bed frame, spoke up.

Mal turned to her, a touch irritated. "We can't, Evie. They'll start asking questions about my spell book."

"I'm sure we can come up with something else to tell them." Jay said, "Like, maybe she drank something in the lab. Or maybe she hit her head on something."

"That doesn't explain the magic part of it." Mal argued.

Carlos kept his focus on me as the other three bickered over what to do next. "Do you need anything?" He said softly.

"Hm? No, I don't think so." I replied faintly.

"Here... let me..." He reached over and placed the pillows upright so I can lean back and I quietly thanked him.

"Guys." I said, stopping Jay mid sentence, "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine. You don't have to get the Fairy Godmother or whoever involved."

"Are you sure?" Jay questioned.

"Yes."

"We're just worried about you, Brae." Evie said.

"I'll definitely be looking for a reverse spell." Mal reassured me.

"Thanks. But I'm sure it'll wear off eventually right?"

Mal sighed, and I could see the guilt in her eyes. "In all honesty, Brae, I don't know. This is the first time I've ever actually used the spell book."

"It's not your fault." I tried reaching out to her, but any movement made my head spin.

Mal shrugged. "I just feel like I keep ruining your life... and everything else."

Evie put an arm around her. "You were just trying to help her with the test." She reminded her.

Jay patted Carlos on the back. "We have to go. Curfew in fifteen minutes."

It's night already?

Carlos turned back to me. "You'll be okay, right?" He asked sweetly, standing up.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"Take care. We'll see you guys at breakfast." Jay called before the two of them disappeared out the door.

Mal sighed, biting her lip like she was in deep thought.

Evie squeezed my hand. "Rest some more, if you want to." She suggested.

"You too, Evie." Mal added abruptly, then polishing up with "It's a Friday. You should sleep in."

Evie gave her a look.

Mal was acting a little strange, but I didn't have the energy to think twice about it and went back to sleep.