Right in Front of Me

Chapter 1

(Because MyaRose3 asked for it.)

𝙼𝚊𝚕'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

The first thing I noticed about Auradon wasn't the castles.

It wasn't the sparkling blue sky, the perfectly trimmed gardens, or the fact that there wasn't a single piece of graffiti covering every available wall.

It was the silence.

Not real silence, of course. Birds chirped in the trees. A fountain bubbled somewhere nearby. I could hear students laughing in the distance. But it wasn't the kind of noise I had grown up with. There were no sirens, no shouting, no fights breaking out around every corner. No one was trying to steal your shoes before breakfast.

Everything looked... clean.

Too clean.

The limousine rolled through the enormous iron gates and onto the campus of Auradon Prep. I watched through the tinted window as students stopped what they were doing to stare.

Of course they were staring.

We were the Villain Kids.

The children of the people their parents had spent years warning them about.

I crossed my arms and stared right back.

Let them look.

They had no idea what was coming.

The limousine finally came to a smooth stop outside the front entrance of the school.

The building towered above us, all white stone, stained-glass windows, and ivy climbing the walls. It looked less like a school and more like one of those ridiculous castles from the fairy tales our parents hated.

The driver stepped out first before opening the back door.

Fresh air rushed inside.

"Showtime," I muttered.

Evie flashed me a confident smile, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her perfectly pressed jacket.

"You think they like us already?" she whispered.

I smirked.

"Oh, definitely."

She rolled her eyes.

We climbed out of the limousine-

-and immediately discovered that Jay and Carlos had apparently decided today was a wonderful day to start wrestling.

"Oh, for the love of-"

Carlos was lying flat on the ground, clutching a faded red scarf with both hands as though his life depended on it.

Jay had one end wrapped around his fist and was pulling with all his strength.

"Give it!"

"No!"

"It's mine!"

"I found it first!"

"You found it in my pile!"

Carlos dug his heels into the pavement while Jay leaned backwards, trying to yank the scarf free.

"For someone who says he's athletic," Carlos grunted through clenched teeth, "you're struggling."

Jay laughed.

"I'm just giving you false hope."

"You wish!"

Evie sighed dramatically beside me.