Were You Expecting Flowers? ✔️

18

And my friends say I'm losin' my mind
And my parents check in all the time
But it's harder to see you're not mine
With my bloodshot eyes
____________________

THIS WAS not what we expected to see on the third floor.

The statue of the Evil Queen stood at the far right, dressed up in a delicate blue dress, an apple in her hand raised up into the air. The apple was so shiny and polished, you could see your own reflection in it... which says a lot about the Queen.

The statue of Jafar stood at the back, his figure was crooked into a wicked pose. A staff with a snake's head in his hands, his gaze sharp. Jay stepped in front of me, like he was trying to get a better view. The look he directed towards his dad's statue looked more like a glare than any kind of admiration.

Suddenly, Carlos scooted towards me. I followed his fearful gaze and spotted the statue of Cruella de Vil in her signature fur coat. Smaller statues of dogs ran near her feet. Skinny, frightened dogs. Just looking at the structure made me feel sick to the stomach. It was almost like Carlos had lived has one of those hopeless dogs that trembled at this woman's feet for years.

There was also another statue, one of a man who killed millions. I paid no attention to it, but I felt my body shiver with recognition.

I couldn't see the wand anywhere.

It was a very heavy moment for all of us, standing before the figures of the very people who we feared. So heavy that we almost forgot why we were here in the first place.

Mal was stiff in front of Maleficent's statue, her back against us as if in a deep trance. There was no way she didn't hear us come up the stairs.

"Mal." I called, with no answer. I tried again. "Mal!"

She suddenly tumbled back, like she just broke free of something, then turned to us. Her eyes were a bright, chilling green. And the color flickered a few times before it faded back to its original color.

What?

It took her a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. The look on her face said it all. I saw confusion, alarm, then betrayal all flash across her features.

"What're you guys doing here? I can't find the wand. It's supposed to be here. Where is it?" She stammered, the flood of words escaping her lips, before turning back to the statue and saying "Mom? Where are you?" to it as if it could reply.

"It's... it's just a statue, Mal." Jay said, eyebrow raised.

"No!" Mal cried, she whipped her head around.

Has she gone mad?

"No- I saw her. She sang to me!" Mal insisted, then she faced us again, "What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be sleeping-"

"You spelled Evie, didn't you?" I said, my tone accusing.

Mal didn't answer. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I thought we agreed on not stealing the wand." Jay added, showing dismay.

"I- That was what you guys said. I didn't say I was giving up on that idea..." Mal looked pleadingly at us, "I had to..."

"Mal, if they find out about this, you'll be sent back." I said, struggling to be calm.

"There's no reason for me to be here! I'm an Isle girl." Mal shouted, "Please. Let me do this... before I mess anything else up."

I loosened up in realization. "Is this about me passing out?"

Mal's voice suddenly became ragged with emotion, tears flooded her eyes. "Please..."

I held out my hand. "Mal, come here." I said softly.

The hesitation was evident and expected. The teary eyed girl stared at me, then at the statue of Maleficent, like she couldn't choose who's side she wanted to be on. The electrifying green returned to her eyes, flickering again and again uncontrollably. She struggled. It was like she was fighting herself.

"Mal. Look at me." I said, my hand still out stretched.

She obeyed.

"You don't have to do this." I told her, "You don't. You're not in this alone."

Her face crumbled.

"You only wanted to help me, Mal. Your intentions were good. Now let me help you."

Suddenly, Mal's head snapped up, and her eyes glimmered like never before. Her expression was deadpan as she started to howl. Carlos jolted.

Jay ran forward and grabbed her. "What in the devil has gotten into you?" He cried as he forced a hand over her mouth to silence her screams, "They'll hear you!"

I stood in my spot, dazed. She was acting like the little boys on the Isle who ran past my hideout every evening, hollering their heads off as they trampled over boxes of crops and clothing- victims of the dark magic that had seized them when they were younger. My mind went blank with the dreadful memories of the Isle.

"Wait." Carlos said as Mal continued to lose her mind, "Jay, where's her spell book?"

"In- in her pocket." Jay answered. He was thankfully strong enough to hold Mal down, but barely.

Carlos leaped towards him, and, with some difficulty, fished the small book out of her pocket. He threw it across the room, and it landed with a thud.

Mal gasped, and suddenly her eyes stopped glowing, and her arms became frail. She looked at us and it felt like an eternity until she spoke.

"Oh my gosh-"

She pushed Jay off her, then stared at the three of us, mouth agape.

"I knew it." Carlos muttered, crossing his arms, "It was the spell book. Your mom-"

"- she was controlling me." Mal finished, standing up as everything came crashing back to her. She looked horrified of what she had done. "I'm so sorry-"

"Let's talk about that later." Jay said hastily, "What are we gonna do now? They probably heard the screaming by now. It's obvious someone broke in. They'll send us home in two seconds flat."

I continued to remain speechless.

"We run back to the dorms. Now." Carlos said.

"That's stupid, Carlos." Jay said angrily, "It doesn't matter if we hide. We're obviously gonna be on top of the suspects list no matter what."

Mal was crying, but frankly, no one was in the right mood to comfort her.

"We're the kids from the Isle." Jay continued, "They're gonna know it was us."

Carlos shrunk back, afraid of Jay's sudden change of manner.

"Calm down, Jay." I finally found my voice, "We haven't stolen anything."

"Calm down?" Jay was close to shouting, "You tell me how to calm down when we're about to be sent back to the same place we escaped from." He loomed over me, but I didn't back down.

"Your screaming isn't helping." I told him candidly, "Listen. What I'm saying is: we tell them exactly what happened. It wasn't our intention to steal anything, and that's the truth."

Jay laughed, but it wasn't a joyful one. "When will you learn, Isle Orphan? Auradon isn't all fun and games. In their eyes, we're criminals. You really think they'll believe a word we say? There's nothing we can do, no where we can run." He shook his head, defeated. "Might as well enjoy the fresh air while we can."

A clear and loud voice bursted into the room, followed by lights shown at our faces.

"On the ground! Now!"

Carlos froze. Mal sobbed. Jay gave me a cold, empty look, then slowly sank to the ground.

And just like that, our biggest nightmare came true.