Following her second-to-last class of the day, Evie stopped at her locker to pick up her textbook. After failing geometry the previous semester, she was placed back into algebra. And if that had proven anything to her, she didn't want to have to retake it again.
Math wasn't an issue for her, she understood it for the most part. She just had very little motivation to do well in the subject. Well, because why would she? But today was different. Having spoken with Doug the previous night, a little of his ambition rubbed off on her. He had shared his interests and dreams with her, prompting her realization that she had little to none.
Her dreams consisted of a new boyfriend who wasn't Chad Charming, greater independence and something else. That something else was hard to pinpoint as it changed often. First it was to make her mother proud, then it had been fame, but ever since Doug mentioned the fashion industry, she had been taking her sketches a little more seriously. There was no use in buying something everyone else had jumped on the bandwagon for, so why not bring her sketches to life?
Trailblazing was a concept Evie was known for. And she took pride in it.
As her thoughts subsided, she grabbed her textbook and turned to the mirror hanging inside of the door. She patted her lips, a habit to ensure her bold lip was still intact. Shutting her locker swiftly, she came face to face with Jay and Mal.
"Auradon!" Evie exclaimed, her face frowning up until she remembered that frown lines exist. "I could've smudged my liner!"
"You don't even do your makeup at your locker, anymore, do you?" Jay inquired, Evie lifting her textbook up to hold in both of her hands. She chuckled and began to walk in sync with Mal and Jay, looking over her shoulder to double check she locked her locker.
"No, no, I don't. What did you two want, anyway?" Evie asked, Mal and Jay both shrugging.
"Mal suggested we see what you were up to. She's not in the mood for history because of tomorrow's quiz and I'm bored of drafting papers. You want to get out of Algebra?" Jay asked, Evie stopping as the three came around to the hallway leading to the math wing.
Evie held onto her textbook, trying to make a quick decision on what to do. On one hand, she liked skipping to sketch her next formal piece and discuss the school's latest drama. But on the other hand, she realized her grade in algebra was almost to a B. Although she hated the class and barely did the homework, she still managed to ace most of the exams.
"I think I'll go to Algebra today. Maybe tomorrow. I can't keep barely passing," Evie blurted, hearing the bell ring and suddenly becoming aware of the close to empty hallways.
"Really?" Mal said, her voice shocked. "I can't believe it, Jay. Genevieve is actually applying her smarts to the books."
Jay covered his forehead with his hand and pretended to be in agony. "Oh, Mal. She's too far gone," he cried, pretending to fall backward, Mal leaning to catch him.
Looking to the math hallway, then back to the two, Evie snickered. "I'm going to get going. I'll see you guys and Carlos at the quad later, okay?" Evie called after them, starting for the long hallway of classrooms.
Both Mal and Jay saluted her and began their trek back to the arts wing to find a spot in the band hallway. When Evie could no longer hear their chatter echoing as she walked to her classroom, she wondered how to make her tardy entrance. What excuse was she to use this time? Evie approached Room C150 and tried the handle. It wouldn't open. Moving it in both directions, back and forth, she gave up.
Already aware of the scenario playing out, she was to wait until the lecture was over and give her reasoning for being late. Pressed her ear to hear inside the classroom, she was proven correct. It would be another thirty minutes before the instructor opened the door. It was then when Evie let out a curse for not going with Mal and Jay. This one time, after who knows how long, she actually had the motivation to try. But of course there was a barrier. There was always a barrier.
"You stupid, poisoned apple of a locked door," she muttered.
* * *
Sitting on top of the picnic tables, Evie basked in the mild spring weather with her friends.
"Anybody got the study guide for the Fairy Era exam tomorrow? I can't believe Richards wants us to memorise all 43 terms from the unit," Jay sighed, scrolling through the course platform on his laptop.
Carlos reluctantly slipped the thick packet out of a folder, handing it over to Jay who almost fell off the bench. "Dude, you've got to get at least a C or else you'll get benched for the rest of the R.O.A.R season," he reminded Jay who waved Carlos off.
"If only I had my own tutor like Evie. Maybe I'd actually get to play more often instead of benched for getting D's," he said. Jay lightly hit Evie's forearm, her eyes glued to her phone screen.
"Whatever," she mumbled, placing her phone above her face at an angle. Puckering her lips, she returned loose strands that had gone astray, back behind her ears. Engrossed in her highly anticipated, daily selfie shoot, Evie was interrupted when Mal threw her backpack on the table, the contents spilling out.
"Chill, girl," Carlos said, looking up from his calculator. Jay laughed, glancing at Mal soon after.
"I just tried to get the answers to Richards' Fairy Era exam tomorrow with no luck. Does he really believe that any of us know the thirteen said powers of Flora, Fauna and Merryweather?" Mal huffed, digging through the contents and her backpack to find the study guide. With no luck she leaned over to grab the one near Jay.
Evie's attention peaked. She thought to hold back her tongue. They would become even more suspicious of her newfound knowledge and begin to question just how smart she was getting. She could already hear their spluttering shock now.
"Doug actually told me most of the answers on the study guide. And my brain is actually working for once. I think they're like telekinesis, flight, blessing, enchanting, conjuration, color-manipulation, vanishing, photokinesis, sleep induction, pyrokinesis, transformation, petrification and size-manipulation," Evie finished, her voice trailing off with the last few as all three of them sat stunned.
"So...it's true. There is intelligent life up there?" Mal joked, flicking her knuckles to Evie's head. Jay and Carlos both looked at each other and started laughing, Evie beginning to laugh with them.
"No, I mean, yeah. Of course. I don't actually know any of it, though. Doug just—"
"Yeah, I don't believe that."
"Me either to be honest," Jay admitted. He nudged Carlos who inaudibly agreed, everyone setting their things to the side. Evie could feel the interrogating energy emit from all of their bodies. As predicted, in a moment's time, Mal and Jay erupted in questions. They spoke over each other, inquiring about everything. Evie swallowed hard.
"Okay, okay. It's all a part of the act like we talked about. If I pretend to know stuff, I don't have to meet with him a lot. Plus, I'd have to go over the same stuff every time. I promise."
Evie tried her hand at pleading, lying, everything but none of them were buying it. Her mind raced with every scenario they were going to try and force on her. From cutting ties, to failing anyway.
"Why, Evie?" Mal asked, hushing Jay.
"It's nothing serious. It's just something to—to make him happy. I mean he seems like he needs it. It's just for fun," Evie tried to reason.
No one spoke. The picnic table's occupants stilled in silence. Chatter around the quad filled Evie's ears. She glanced toward Mal whose eyes were distant, her face hard. She noticed the placement of her hands.
She was plotting.
"Cauldrons," Evie muttered, looking around the quad at nothing in particular.
"All three of us know that you're one of the worst liars. But, I say that we take your word for it. If it's all an act like you said and agreed to at The Blend," Mal spoke, her words slowing. "I say prove it. To test how great of an actor you really are, rub in the happiness just a bit... more. Unless of course you aren't acting and it's for real."
No, Evie wasn't afraid of Mal. She was just afraid of the thoughts that brewed under her friend's violet hair.
"Invite him to go out with you. But of course, don't show up. And don't worry about how awful it sounds, I bet he'll be happy for the next few days. Trust me, this scenario is way more... fun. You seem like you need to get back to your roots," Mal concluded, a grin crossing her face. Evie's stomach flipped and she felt her head start to ache between her manicured eyebrows.
She turned to Carlos who hadn't said much, his leg fidgeting under the table. He had a blank expression. Next to him, Jay's lopsided smile grew with the pounding in Evie's forehead.
"What do you say, E?"
Evie heard Mal's voice, her friend's octaves echoing through her mind. The same mind that had stored study material and abstract chemistry problems. The same mind that sent the feeling that things were okay to her heart when she hung around Doug. She could say no and risk admitting to the growing friendly feelings she had. But she just couldn't do it. At least—at least not yet.
Her answer was nonverbal.
It was short.
And in the minutes after, she couldn't seem to process what she had just agreed to. For someone who had been trained to keep a straight spine, she never seemed to have the bone structure when her friends were around.
* * *
"Doug?" Evie called to the figure with a low ponytail and glasses, Thursday night. She stepped around the tables in The Daily Blend, careful of the freshly mopped floors.
It was just before closing time and Doug was sitting at a booth, typing something into his laptop. His glasses reflected the blue glow of the screen. Evie glanced to her left to see Fern leave the kitchen, a kind smile on her face. The woman sent a wave to Evie and tended to a stray customer.
"Hey, questions about the project?" Doug asked, his tone was softer than usual. He watched Evie make her way to him and smiled. She felt a little something cause her to smile his way, reciprocating the expression.
"Oh, no. I've got everything I need for the silver project. I just had a question for you," she said, sliding into the booth across from him. He typed some things into his laptop before closing it. Giving his undivided attention to Evie, she pulled hair behind her ear repeatedly before giggling.
Doug's heart fluttered in response to her flirtatiousness and he couldn't help the rosy, heat-filled glow emerging on his cheeks. "Go for it."
"Well, since you like movies and everything, and I really wanted to see Under The Moon, would you like to see it too? My friends aren't interested. I just thought—" Evie started, immediately cut off by Doug's response.
"Yeah, I would," he said, taking a sip of the lemon water to his right. Met with another one of his smiles, Evie had to smile despite her chest tightening.
"Saturday at noon? Does that work for you?" Evie asked, Doug nodding his head once again.
"Just let me take part of my shift off. Fern has been persistent that I let myself catch a break one of these days," he said with a laugh. Evie laughed too, pushing through her nerves that had begun to escalate.
Evie and Doug both looked over to see Fern and Greg trying to play off their presence at the surrounding tables. They were cleaning up the shop, but weren't even near any of the tables recently used. The couple turned away quickly, pushing each other into the kitchen.
Evie glanced at the time and quickly said a goodbye, mentioning that she had already called for a campus support escort to accompany her home.
Doug happily returned her goodbye and goodnight, seeing her to the shop's door. As the bell rang, he waved once he noticed she was with the escort. Doug was noticeably on air, walking back to the flapping door where his aunt and uncle had just come out of.
Evie, starting to walk with the escort, requested to wait for a moment. She peered through the window to see Fern and Greg both with smiles that could part a sea. Greg patted Doug's shoulder and Fern squeezed her nephew. She noticed the genuine grin on Doug's face, his body language exhibiting excitement and happiness .
A lump was beginning to grow in her throat, Evie gesturing to the escort that she was ready to continue walking. Evie crossed her arms, wrapping her knit sweater around her body a little more to maintain heat. Once they arrived, Evie with haste, ran up to the dorm she shared with Mal, glad not to find her roommate there yet. She slammed the door and flopped on her bed.
Tending to her few messages from Mal, Jay and Carlos, she saw one from Audrey about InstaRoyal's new makeup trend and one from Lonnie asking to borrow a facial serum. Scrolling through her contacts, she came across Doug. The gut-wrenching pain returned to her heart and she drew in a heavy breath.
doug, i rlly enjoy hanging at the blend with you. i truly appreciate your tutoring. i actually kind of like being smart lol. mrs. hobbs was right. you're rlly sweet.
Erasing and rewriting the message about fifty times, she finally got around to pressing send. A small weight had been lifted from the guilt she still felt about going along with the entire plan. She knew the message was sincere, that it was actually what she felt inside. At least she could sleep tonight knowing that he was aware of how she felt about him, even if she took away his happiness on Saturday. Swiping his individual contact to 'do not disturb', she felt that it would only hurt more to see his response. And she had known that part of herself well.
Hi, Evie. I enjoy studying with you too and I'm glad to hear that. You're way smarter than you give yourself credit for. You're more than just a pretty face.