“They’ll come around,” Evie said firmly, as she looped her arm through Mal’s.
“And if they don’t, Mal will burn them with her dragon fire,” said Jay with a laugh.
The girls glared at him. “Not the point, Jay,” said Mal.
He held up his hands in surrender. “I was just kidding!”
A trembling LeFou Deux awaited them at the entrance of the school. “Welcome back to Dragon Hall. Please follow me. Dr. Facilier is expecting you.” He groveled, bowing so low his forehead almost touched the floor.
LeFou Deux led them to the headmaster’s hidden office in the Athenaeum of Secrets. Dr. Facilier was seated at his faded velvet chair, but he stood when they entered. “Welcome back,” he said with a terrifying grin. He was as tall and slender as ever—almost as thin as his mustache. He shook their hands with his long, bony fingers. Dr. Facilier never failed to strike fear into the hearts of Dragon Hall’s pupils, and Evie knew the four of them were having difficulty remembering that they were no longer under his supervision. They were Auradon Prep students now, and protected by Fairy Godmother, she reminded herself.
“Now, what brings the four of you here?” he asked as they all sat down. “Not looking to come back, I presume? Or are you?” He laughed heartily at his own joke.
Evie shot the other three a nervous smile. “Planning to trap us here, Dr. Facilier?” she asked lightly.
“Oh, no, no,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “As much as I would enjoy trying, I don’t think that would be beneficial to anyone.”
Mal cleared her throat and sat up straight. “Auradon Prep is expanding its program to bring more students from the Isle of the Lost over to the mainland,” she told him. “So we were hoping you could distribute these applications and encourage kids to sign up. And as you discussed with the Royal Council, tomorrow we will be available to talk to students and answer any questions they might have about Auradon.”
Carlos opened his backpack and handed over a stack of papers to their old headmaster. “Here you go,” he said.
Dr. Facilier picked up one of the documents. “And how many kids from the Isle of the Lost is Auradon Prep accepting?”
“Four,” said Jay.
“I see,” Dr. Facilier said, as he continued to study the forms. “And if I do this for you, what’s my cut?”
Mal blinked. “Your cut?”
“Excuse me?” asked Evie, as Carlos hesitated to remove more application forms from his backpack.
“Your cut,” said Jay, deadpan. “Your bribe, you mean.”
The headmaster of Dragon Hall leaned back on his chair, put his feet up on his desk, and took a moment to admire his shiny shoes. “Exactly. What do I get in return for sending students to your program?”
“The joy of knowing they’re learning and well cared for!” Evie said indignantly.
“Dr. Facilier, that’s not really how it works,” said Mal sharply. “We don’t do kickbacks or deliver bribes. Especially not in Auradon.”
Dr. Facilier chuckled, sending shivers up their spines. “Let me remind you, you’re back on the Isle of the Lost now.”
“What do you want?” Jay asked bluntly.
“Yeah, spill it,” said Carlos.
Evie looked at the boys, alarmed, but Mal nodded. “I suppose it’s the price of doing business,” she said. Mal gave Evie a look that said, Just trust me.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement,” said Dr. Facilier with a smug smile. “I don’t ask for much. You know my younger daughter Celia, don’t you?”
Mal narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think we’ve met, no.”
“She feels very left out when she hears all the stories that her sister Freddie has been telling her about Auradon. Very left out indeed,” said Dr. Facilier meaningfully.
Mal and Evie exchanged a glance. “We’re not on the admissions committee,” said Evie.
“But I’m sure you could put in a good word,” said Dr. Facilier.
Mal raised an eyebrow. “We’ll take that under advisement,” she said. “That is, if you honor your end of the bargain.”
“You see that you do,” said Dr. Facilier. “So, for tomorrow, you will be speaking with students at some kind of roundtable discussion?”
“Yes,” said Mal. “We’re going to tell them all about Auradon Prep! I believe we’ve been given the study hall for our presentation.”
Dr. Facilier sighed. “Fine, I don’t see how I can stop you, since I’ve been ordered by Fairy Godmother to let you in.”
Mal nodded. The four of them began to stand up to say their good-byes.
“Also,” said Evie, “we’re going to be sending over posters—marketing materials, to encourage the kids to apply. It would be great if we could put up some here at Dragon Hall as well.”
Dr. Facilier shrugged. “I suppose we could agree to that,” he said.
“Great,” said Mal.
“Just remember her name: Celia.”
“Of course,” said Mal. “We’ll do our best.”
The four of them shook Dr. Facilier’s hand. Evie knew they weren’t in the business of taking bribes; if Celia deserved to get in to Auradon Prep, she would. But it would be on her own merit, not because the VKs swayed the committee. They left the application forms at the headmaster’s office and reminded him of the deadline.
“A pleasure doing business with you,” said Dr. Facilier, ushering them out of his office. “Oh, and here’s Celia now. Celia, come meet these fine folk.”
Celia jumped back. It was obvious to Evie that she had been eavesdropping at the door. “Oh! Hi, Dad,” she said. She wore a red dress and a little top hat that matched her father’s, and she was holding a deck of cards.
“Celia, this is Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. They used to be my top students here, but unfortunately they go to Auradon Prep now.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Celia. “Want to hear your fortune?”
Dr. Facilier smiled proudly. “That’s my girl.” He closed the door, and the four VKs were left in the hallway with Celia.
They all hesitated, but it was clear Celia was intent on reading someone their cards.
“Sure, tell me my fortune,” Evie relented. She could humor the kid, right?
“We’re going to talk to a few more teachers to make sure they tell kids about the Auradon Prep roundtable tomorrow,” said Mal. “I don’t trust Dr. Facilier to get those applications out. Maybe Lady Tremaine can help, since Dizzy really wants to go to Auradon.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Carlos. “Jay, you go find Coach Gaston in PE, and I’ll hit up Madam Mim.”
“I’ll go meet Professor Gothel and catch up with you guys at the hideout after hearing my fortune,” said Evie.
They nodded and went their separate ways.
• • •
Celia led Evie to a quiet desk in the library. She offered the cards to Evie to shuffle. Evie closed her eyes and shuffled them. Celia took the cards back and laid them out in three piles. Then she revealed the top card of each deck. “These three cards represent the past, the present, and the future,” she told Evie. “The first card is the Tower. It means you came from a difficult past. You were trapped and in danger.”