Ben raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t heard that it was quite that big a failure. “Really?”
“Yeah, really,” said Carlos, taking an empty seat across from Ben’s desk. Jay took a place by the windowsill, and Evie sat on a chair near to Mal.
“Isn’t that awful?” said Mal. “I think they’re scared to apply.”
“Or maybe they don’t know about it,” said Jay. “The Isle is a little…isolated.”
“So we need to drum up more interest,” said Evie. “I was thinking I could take some photos of us, and we could use them to make posters and put them all over the island. Kind of aspirational! Like, ‘You too could grow up to be Mal!’”
Ben smiled. He was pretty sure Mal was one of a kind, but he understood where Evie was going. “Okay, posters. I like it! Maybe we could put them up all around the mainland too, prove to people that anyone can be a great student here.”
Mal nodded. “We need to show them that everyone can come to Auradon Prep,” she said meaningfully.
“Everyone?” asked Ben.
“Well, yeah,” said Mal. “Right, Evie?”
“Right,” said Evie.
“We’ll definitely give everyone a chance to apply,” Ben said. “But we can’t take everyone from the Isle of the Lost. Where would they live? And who would mentor them? We need to figure out exactly how many kids we can bring over. There’s a lot to plan before this happens.”
“But we can’t waste another day,” said Evie.
“I agree,” said Ben. “We’ll get to work on those posters as soon as possible.”
Carlos leaned over. “That’s a good start”—he turned to Evie—“but didn’t you say you wanted to meet with kids to talk about the program? That the four of us should go to the Isle of the Lost?” His tone was hesitant.
“Well, yes, as long as Ben thinks it’s all right,” said Evie hopefully. “I just think if we could tell them exactly how wonderful it is here, and answer their questions, we’ll be able to get a lot more of them interested in applying.”
“The four of you? Back to the Isle?” Ben pondered the idea. The last time they had gone back to the Isle, things hadn’t gone so well. As in, getting kidnapped by Uma, and then being tied to the mast of a pirate ship and menaced by some pirate holding a hook in his hand. Ben had sympathy for the kids on the Isle, but he wasn’t sure he really wanted his friends to go back there. Wasn’t it too dangerous?
He said as much.
“Dangerous? Not to us,” scoffed Jay. “We know every trick in the book.”
“Because we wrote it,” said Mal.
“Danger is my middle name,” said Carlos. “I’m serious. Ask my mom. Or Dude. Or neither. Neither might be preferable.”
“We can handle it,” said Evie. “Nothing will happen.”
But there was also Fairy Godmother to think about. “Auradon Prep discourages student travel during the school year,” said Ben.
“But not if it’s part of my diplomatic visits…” mused Mal. “That’s it! My diplomatic visits!” She turned to Ben, her eyes sparkling. “We both agreed that the Isle of the Lost should be included on my official itinerary. And if I’m using my visit to promote the VK program at the same time, Fairy Godmother won’t be able to say no. It’s the perfect opportunity!”
“And we’ll all come too!” said Evie.
“Definitely,” said Jay. “You’ll need all the help you can get.”
“Yeah,” said Carlos. “I don’t want to see my mother. But I guess I’m in.”
“Good,” said Mal, who smiled at Evie.
Ben finally nodded. “It does make sense. We’ll present it at the next council meeting!”
ma seethed as she swam under the waves, thinking about all the ways she had been wronged. For a brief moment, back at the Auradon Cotillion, she had been a princess; she had stood on the deck of a magnificent ship, and Ben was hers. He had looked in her eyes with love—sure, he had been spelled, but who really cared? Except in the end, that’s all it was—a brief moment. As always, Mal had messed things up for her, and Uma was left floundering in the waves, alone.
What was it Ben had said to her that night? I know you want what’s best for the Isle. Help me make a difference. He had offered his hand, but she hadn’t taken it. Instead, she had returned his ring and swum away. But her rage had not diminished.
Mal! Daughter of Maleficent. Meddlesome, annoying, heroic Mal.
It was always Mal.
Still, Uma had to admit, it wasn’t all that bad spending this much time in the ocean. At least, not at first. She’d never had the chance before when she was trapped on the island, behind that invisible barrier. Now the world was hers to explore—the undersea world, that is. She had ventured to the deepest depths, seen ancient creatures of incredible size, swum with fish so big that she spent days lounging on their backs, feeling the sun in her hair and the salt spray on her cheeks. But eventually she’d grown listless and bored.
After all, how many coconuts can one person eat?
(Five hundred and twenty-seven. She had counted.)
Uma missed her pirates, she missed their camaraderie, she missed Harry’s smart mouth and his sly banter, she missed Gil’s goofy appetites. She had been alone too long, under the sea, in the water, with only sharks for company. And sharks were only entertaining for so long.
She could go anywhere she wanted on Auradon, but Uma found herself drawn back to the Isle of the Lost. She didn’t belong among the fresh-faced, good-hearted residents of the mainland. She wanted to be back at Ursula’s Fish and Chips Shoppe, making jokes with her crew and scheming to free everyone from the island once and for all. And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to go home. Home was a place where when you showed up, they had to take you in, right? She’d seen something like that embroidered on a random pillow in Auradon, so it had to be true.
Uma spent many days swimming around the waters surrounding the Isle, searching for a hole in the invisible barrier. Days turned into weeks, until she lost count. But Fairy Godmother’s spell was too strong. Still, there had to be a way to break it, didn’t there? Uma was a witch; she had her mother’s seashell necklace and the powers of the sea in her blood.
She drew herself up to her greatest height, transforming into a giant octopus with eight arms, and tried to cast her spells. “BREAK BEFORE ME!” she screamed. She felt the magic pulse in her throat and in her veins. The very skies above the island cracked with lightning and thunder.
“I COMMAND YOU TO BREAK!” she raged.
Nothing happened.
The barrier around the Isle of the Lost stood firm. The villains, including her pirate crew, would be trapped behind that dome forever. There was no way out or in.
Uma returned to her human form and swam away.
Once in a while she glimpsed a few pirates at the coastline and tried to call to them. One afternoon she even spied Harry, stealing another fisherman’s catch.
“Harry!” she called. “HARRY!”
But he didn’t notice. He just unhooked that unfortunate soul’s line and stole away with the bounty.