"There is no passion! There is no vision! There is no aggression!" Bruno yells. Georgie jumps a little with every sentence. Bruno can be a little bit harsh sometimes, but to be fair, she's brought this on herself a bit. She didn't sleep well the night before so by the time morning fencing practice rolls around she isn't very awake. "If I was fighting you in real life, you would have been a shish kabob by now, skkt!" He makes a sound that Georgie presumes is her getting shish-kabobbed. At least he gets points for creativity. He sighs and his expression softens. "Listen, why don't we switch to something else since it's not clicking today, hm?"
Georgie nods. Her mind is too tired to think of any sort of footwork or strategy. Still, only the women's team practices on Friday mornings, meaning she's the only student out on the platforms since Lonnie went rogue. "Alright," says Bruno, "here's the deal, and I'll put your equipment away, you go change into your trainers and then you run five laps of the tourney field, got it?"
Georgie's shoulders drop and she lets out a strangled sigh. She hates running; that's why she likes fencing so much. She looks over to the tourney field that is filled with the players doing a warm-up before school and their game in the afternoon. Great.
Georgie changes into her trainers and breaks into a run, she can feel the gross dewiness of the grass tickling her ankles and soaking her shoes. Even worse, she feels the stares of the tourney team as she runs around their field.
Georgie does one lap, and then another. As she comes towards Bruno he begins to blow his whistle and yell, "Go Georgie, go, you're on a good pace. Keep it up!" If she didn't have the attention of the tourney team before, she does now. She wills her legs to move faster so that she might get this over with quicker.
Another lap goes by and she can see that a few of the tourney boys are jokingly cheering her on, and she swears she hears a cat whistle in there too. Four down, one to go. Bruno eggs her on as she goes for her last lap and she puts her last burst of energy into it. Finally, she rounds all four corners once again and comes to a halt at Bruno's feet. She hunches over, trying to catch her breath as he pats her on the back. "That was good work, my friend. You need to give as much effort in each fencing practice as you did running those laps. Come, let's get you some water."
"Ugh, I feel so hot and sweaty and gross now," Georgie manages out between pants. She needs a solution quickly before she looks like an out-of-shape mess in front of the Tourney team. Plus, now that she's all humid and gross and tired, she's definitely going to fall asleep in Remedial Goodness 101 if she doesn't find a fix quickly. She points to one of the to one of the water coolers that is out for the tourney team, "Hey, can I use that?"
Coach Jenkins nods politely. "Go ahead. The boys have already filled their bottles. We can get you—"
No one, maybe not even Georgie, expects her to pour the rest of the water cooler out over her head. Georgie gasps as she's doused in cold water. She stands there for a moment, dripping wet and blowing out the water that's falling into her mouth from her hair. Several of the boys on the tourney team, including Ben and Jay are pointing and laughing in shock at her now. She lets out a shaky exhale, "Much better. I'm awake for class now."
By the time Georgie manages to get the water out of her eyes, she can see that Bruno is still staring at her slack-jawed. Coach Jenkins turns to him, looking for an explanation, but Bruno only shrugs, "She's never done this before. This is...new."
Coach Jenkins nods politely back, and then turns to his own team. "Okay, tourney guys, you are free to go, I'll see you this afternoon and make sure to let your teachers know that you need to leave early to get lunch before the game."
Off to the side, Georgie is still drenched and not really sure what to do, standing there watching the tourney team pack up awkwardly. She figures once she gets to the locker room she can get her towel and dry herself off.
Chad runs up the bleachers to where his bag is set down and rummages through it. "Hey Georgie, I can get you my towel, it's somewhere here in my bag..." Georgie can't help but hope that the sweet Chad she knew as a kid is coming back a bit.
From behind her another voice calls over to Chad, "No worries man, mine's right here." Aziz takes his towel off of his shoulder and gives it to Georgie. If she weren't so cold from the freezing water, she's sure that her cheeks would be feeling red hot by now. She thanks him through chattering teeth and wraps it around herself, wiping her face off in the process.
"Your coach seems pretty tough," remarks Aziz. "That run looked brutal."
"He's not so bad." Georgie doesn't think Bruno is bad, just a little...eccentric. "He just likes to have some fun, plus I'm his only student this year so I get a bit more...attention. Fencing usually tires me out, but this though," she motions to her current state of being waterlogged, "this is a first."
She manages to make Aziz laugh, and he goes to continue the conversation but their attention is called to the two boys approaching them: Jay and Ben. "How is it that you beat me to pouring a giant bucket of water on your head? I've been wanting to do that for like, years now," Ben says sarcastically. Georgie is sure that her eyes can't roll back into her head any further, the pain from her conversation with Aziz being interrupted and Ben's terrible joke too great to handle.
"You're looking a little cold there Georgie," comments Jay mockingly, as if it isn't the most obvious thing in the world. Even though she's shivering, she narrows her eyes at Jay. Perhaps feeling a little bit bad for the girl, he goes into his bag and grabs his towel, throwing it into her face. She catches it as it falls from her face into her hands and wraps the second blue and gold towel around herself.
To her surprise, Aziz pulls her into his side and rubs her arm to try and warm her up, as if this isn't already one of the weirdest days of Georgie's life already. She is in a state of mild shock, frozen and unsure of what to do. She sees Ben and Jay glance at one another, also a little shocked. Ben clears his throat and points toward the main building, "I'm gonna go hit the showers."
"I'm gonna go too," says Aziz, patting Georgie on the back, leaving for the showers with Ben. Jay stays firmly in his spot, arms crossed and pursing his lips, trying not to laugh at his friend.
Georgie rolls her eyes and walks towards the main building and pulls her two towels closer to her body. "Oh, shut up." She purposely brushes into him as she trudges by. The two lock eyes with one another, each looking over their shoulders. Georgie sees the playful glint in Jay's eyes and starts to walk a little bit faster. Jay begins to walk after her, causing her to increase her pace. Not too long after both of them break into a run, laughing as they go. "Come on Jay I can't run right now, I'm too tired!"
+++
By lunchtime, Jay is feeling weird. The morning he had was fun: tourney practice with the boys, watching Georgie pour a bucket of water on her head, and the multitude of girls talking to him because of the big game coming up. This is something he likes, this is what he could get used to. But if they get the wand and free everyone on the Isle then life isn't going to be like this anymore. Not that Jay would admit it out loud, but he knows he'll miss this. He wishes that there's a way for the other VKs to come to the same spot he's at.
He finds Mal and leans against a locker next to her spray-painted one. Maybe he can convince Mal to not go through with all this. "Are you feeling kind of weird about this? I mean, it's not so bad here, you know."
Mal apparently is not feeling the same. "Are you insane? Long live evil! You're mean! You're awful! You're bad news! Snap out of it!"
Jay takes a moment to consider her words. She's right. Being somewhere for two weeks can't change what you are—who you are. He needs to remember where he came from. "Thanks, Mal. I needed that." There's a group of girls below the railing so Jay goes over to greet them as Mal goes to give the cookie to Ben. This is his element. He's a player and a flirt, just like he was back on the Isle. That part of Jay will never change. He grabs one of their hands as if they're an adoring fan. "Oh, hello. The name's Jay. You all going to the tourney game tonight?"
All of the girls below answer in unison with a giggle. "Yeah."
He points at one of the girls in the gaggle below him, hoping to score a date with her later. "Keep a lookout for number eight, all right? Scoring the winning goal." He clicks his tongue and continues to chat up the girls on the deck below him. Oh, yeah, I'm rotten to the core, he thinks to himself.
Meanwhile not too far across the locker way, Ben is having his own issues. It's been a full twenty-four hours now and Audrey still hasn't gotten the hint—the really big hint, so big that it wasn't even a hint, hint—that Ben has broken up with her. He doesn't know how else to tell her and it doesn't help that all she can talk about is Mal using magic to do some of the other student's hair. He is just so sick and tired of hearing all of this stuff that doesn't really matter in the long run. If he's going to be King, Ben realizes that he can't be worrying about little petty things like this. Ben's frustration only grows when Audrey brings up Jane's new haircut. "What's the harm?"
Audrey apparently sees the harm. "It's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then... where will I be?"
Ben loves Audrey, was in love with her even, but the constant focus on looks and appearances is too vain for his liking. It isn't very good to hope that everyone else around you doesn't look good so that you can stand out. Ben tries to gather his wits about him. He needs to tell Audrey that he needs to talk to her again and make sure that she understands he's being serious. "Listen, Audrey..."
But of course, Audrey being Audrey interrupts him. "I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?"
Ben responds with a simple, "Okay," not knowing what else to say in the moment. He'll have to try to do this later.
"Bye, Bennyboo."
Goodness gracious, Ben hates that nickname. He gives a small but still polite, "Bye."
"Hey, Bennyboo!" calls a voice from down the row of lockers. It's Mal.
Ben really hopes that she doesn't start calling him that regularly. It's a bit cuter when Mal says it than Audrey though, because Ben knows that Mal is at least joking when she says it. "Hey."
Mal holds up a plastic baggie with a cookie inside of it. "I just made a batch of cookies. Double chocolate chip, do you want one?"
First of all, Ben doesn't want to burst her bubble, because that is not a double chocolate chip cookie, it looks like a chocolate and...nuts cookie? But more importantly, Ben doesn't like to eat anything too unhealthy before a big game, nor does he eat a very big lunch. He tries to answer in a way that hopefully won't offend the Isle student. " Oh, I, uh, I've got a big game. I don't eat before a big game. But thank you so, so much. Thank you. Next time. Next time."
To Ben's dismay, Mal looks dejected. Oh no, thinks Ben. If Georgie were here giving him love advice he knows she would be unimpressed. "No, yeah. I completely understand. 'Be careful of treats offered by kids of villains'."
Ben does not want Mal to think that's the reason he won't eat the cookie. "No, no, no."
"No, I'm sure every kid in Auradon knows that." Ben begins to panic at those words even more. How could Mal think that he doesn't trust her? And he really, really wants Mal to trust him because he wants to ask her out on a date.
"No, that's not it. No, no, no, I... I really do..."
"No, I get it. You're cautious. That's smart. Oh, well, more for me, I guess." With finality, Mal goes to take a bite out of the cookie she's made.
Not even thinking, Ben snatches the cookie out of Mal's hand and takes a bite out of it. "They're good. They're great! They're amazing! They're, uh... I mean, they're chewy and, and you know, they... is that walnuts? I love walnuts." Ben may not be a baker, but he knows that there aren't supposed to be walnuts in double chocolate chip cookies.
Mal nods proudly at Ben's recognition of the ingredient. "I mean, uh, you know, the... The chocolate... The... the chocolate... The chocolate chips are... I'm sorry." Ben's vision suddenly feels like it becomes ultra clear. Mal's right in front of him, why can't he just say how he feels? "Um... Uh, they're... They're warm and soft. And they're sweet... Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?" Of course, he's always noticed at how pretty her eyes are, he's just never had the opportunity to look at them this deeply and this close. Woah.
All of the VKs crowd around him and Mal, for a reason Ben isn't so sure of. Jay puts his hands on Ben's shoulders. "How you feeling, bro?"
Ben doesn't know how to describe it, but he feels great. He feels confident, like he can do anything. "I feel... I feel... I feel like... Like singing your name. Mal!" he begins to sing. Mal throws the now bagged cookie to Jay and clasps her hand over Ben's mouth as he tries to burst into song again. "Mal!"
Behind him, Jay catches cookie and whistles, impressed at how well it worked. Maybe he could use a love potion cookie...Jay quickly corrects his thinking, he doesn't need a cookie, all he needs is his natural charm; works every time.
+++
Game days used to be fun for Georgie, and she would say used to because she hasn't had fun at a game since she became a part of the student council in her sophomore year. So really, she just didn't have fun last year and isn't having any fun now. She's had to arrange for the Sherwood Forest team to have extra snacks and an air-conditioned area made available to them in addition to the students they've brought along for cheering and filling the stands.
It doesn't help that Sherwood Forest High is the school many people think she should have gone to since it's the school closest to Andalasia where her mother is from. Georgie wouldn't be surprised if she recognized a few players from the visiting team because of her time visiting Uncle Edward and Aunt Nancy. But that doesn't mean anything to Georgie, in fact, knowing that the opposing team could have been her school fuels her competitiveness even more, she wants Auradon to crush their souls. Politely of course. The two schools are bitter rivals due to how close they are and therefore the frequency with which they play one another.
Luckily, the Sherwood players arrive without a hitch and once Georgie finally reaches the bleachers she knows she can finally take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the show. She wishes she could go sit up where Mal, Evie and Lonnie are, but as the student council president, she's expected to sit at the bottom of the stands in case she's needed for anything. To be fair though, it provides Georgie with a pretty good and unobstructed view of the field. The only thing blocking her view is the cheerleaders and Jane in the mascot uniform when they move in her direction.
The game goes by quickly. Soon there are only forty-seven seconds left on the clock and the score is tied 2-2. It's been a nail-biter so far, Auradon hasn't been on a winning streak with tourney for a while so this is a huge moment and the crowd is going wild.
On the opposite side, a sea of students in green and yellow does some sort of wave. "Eat dirt Sherwood!" yells Georgie passionately to the other side. Meanwhile, Audrey is doing a great job at getting the cheer squad and the crowd all riled up.
To her pleasant surprise, Georgie notices Jay and Chad having some sort of interaction that actually looks supportive. Good for them for realizing how to get along and be good teammates—and by that Georgie means mostly on Chad's part.
The announcer, who seems very invested in the game, narrates the game. "The teams get into their huddles and take up positions along the kill zone. Akiho! The dragoneers have been laying down a withering hail of fire. And now a substitution..." Georgie notices Jay stand up and off of the bench with his arm around Carlos. The crowd is too loud to hear what they're talking about though. "He's bringing that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos can barely hold a shield." Georgie can't help but feel like she's going to need to talk to someone about this announcer, calling Jay a hothead and Carlos a little guy who can barely hold a shield seems a bit much. Not that she thinks either boy would care, but still.
"When they break from their huddles, this is gonna be a big moment here. And the tipoff is ready. Here we go. Long pass goes to Jay. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. Nice little block by Carlos. He does a little dancing jig in his opponent's face." Georgie can't help but laugh at the little dance Carlos is doing in front of the fallen Sherwood player. She sincerely hopes she gets to see more of Carlos playing tourney because it is the most entertaining thing she's seen in a long time.
"And now Jay gets the ball back. Here comes Jay! Jay, hurdling maneuver at mid-field. Jay makes a nice pass to Prince Ben through the kill zone." Another thing that Georgie can't help but notice is Jay's cooperative attitude on the field. Not that she didn't expect him to be good, she just thought he would've been a ball hog. "Big block by Chad! Prince Ben moves over wide, gives it back to Jay. He's in the clear! Shot! Oh, what a save by Philip the Falcons' goalkeeper!"
Dang it, thinks Georgie. That could have been their last chance to score in the game without going into overtime or sudden death. "Come on guys you can do this! Take them out by the ankles if you have to!"
The announcer begins to talk into the sound system again as the plays start to regroup. "23 seconds left. You could cut the tension with a sword. The long ball is played into Jay. Jay, great jump, great leap. And a great move by Jay. Big block from Chad. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. And then Carlos with a big block, goes down. Jay through the kill zone, picks up Carlos. Oh, he's being hammered by dragon fire. Still, going on. Jay, hurdling maneuver at mid-field. He's in the clear. The ball goes back to Jay."
The boys are so close to the endzone now, if they can just get around the goalkeeper, they win. The only problem is the Falcon's goalkeeper has been playing great all game. It's going to take a lot to trip him up. Apparently, the boys are thinking the same way as Georgie, because they pull off some sort of trick where Carlos hits the ball into the air with his shield, and Jay passes it to Ben. "He passes to Prince Ben. He scores! Prince Ben has won it!"
The whole blue and yellow section erupts into cheers and jumps of excitement. Georgie runs up to the Auradon edge of the field and shouts at the now-defeated side, "Suck it Falcons!"
The announcer continues to marvel at the win by Auradon Prep as Sherwood High slinks out of the bleachers and towards their buses. "What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the win here. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever. Here they come, folks. The winners of the first tourn..."
Out of nowhere, Ben grabs the microphone out of the announcer's hands. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please? There's something I'd like to say. Give me an 'M'!" Ben moves to make an 'M' with his arms and the whole school follows along, shouting the letter back at him excitedly. "Give me an 'A'!" Not sure what he's trying to spell, Georgie follows along but isn't sure where he's going with it. "Give me an 'L'!" Along with everyone else, Georgie realizes what he's spelling. "What does that spell?"
"Mal!" shouts everyone in the crowds.
"Come on, I can't hear you!"
"Mal!"
Georgie's eyes search amongst the cheerleaders for Audrey, looking for her reaction. As much as Audrey should have listened to Ben and taken him seriously when he broke up with her, Georgie still feels bad for her. Ben should've waited to do something like this until after his and Audrey's break up was public. "I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?"
Wow, Georgie thinks to herself. This confident Ben is...new. Just yesterday he couldn't speak to her and now this? Solidifying her sympathies for Audrey, the cheerleader runs off of the field and towards the forest behind the bleachers. Georgie wants to go after her but is stopped when Ben bursts into song suddenly after being counted in by Doug of all people.
"Did I mention, that I'm in love with you? Did I mention, there's nothing I can do. And did I happen to say, I dream of you everyday. But let me shout it out loud. If that's okay-ay-ay. If that's okay." Ben jumps down from the dragoneer platform and Carlos joins in on his dance.
"I met this girl that rocked my world, like it's never been rocked. And now I'm living just for her , and I won't ever stop. I never thought it can happen to a guy like me. But now look at what you've done, you've got me down on my knees."
Georgie's eyes go wide as Ben drops onto his knees, pulling off a dance move that she's never seen him do before. That's new, she thinks to herself. At this point, Jay and the entire tourney team have joined in as Ben's backup dancers.
"Because my love for you is ridiculous. Because my love for you is ridiculous...I never knew. That it can be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!" Ben spells out the word with his body again and everyone else mirrors him like they did when spelling Mal's name. "It's—"
"RIDICULOUS!"
Just—"
"RIDICULOUS!" the audience sings back again.
"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss. Well, did I mention. That I'm in love with you. And did I mention, there's nothing I can do. And did I happen to say? I dream of you everyday. But let me shout it out. If that's okay-ay-ay. If that's okay."
"I gotta know which way to go. C'mon gimme a sign. You gotta show me that. You're only ever gonna be mine. Don't want to go another minute. Even without you, that's if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'd do."
"Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew that it can be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"
The crowd is absolutely loving Ben's serenade, and all the hype from the game is carrying over as well. "R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S."
"It's—"
"RIDICULOUS!"
"Just—"
"RIDICULOUS!"
"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss. C'mon now!" The cheerleaders in the background do a huge stunt and Ben takes off his jersey and throws it to Mal. If Georgie didn't know better, she would say that she's dreaming because she's never known Ben to be this bold. "Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew that it can be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"
"R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S."
Surprisingly, Ben starts crowd surfing of all things while still singing. "It's—"
"RIDICULOUS!"
"Just—"
"RIDICULOUS!"
"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss. C'mon now!" He arrives at where Mal is in the bleachers and goes in for a kiss which Mal pulls away from nervously. Ben instead wraps his arm around her and pulls her close into his side. "I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?"
Audrey steals the microphone out of Ben's hands and suddenly Georgie is wondering if she is going to end this man's whole career. "Chad's my boyfriend now!" Chad looks pleased with himself and holds up a hand in victory—well, dazed victory. Georgie isn't sure that he knows what's going on. She walks backwards towards the field so that she can get a better look at what's going on in the bleachers. That and so she has a head start if Audrey decides to charge at her. "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date."
Georgie's mouth falls agape when Audrey kisses Chad. That is going to take some getting used to. But Ben doesn't waste a moment and steals back the microphone. "Mal! Will you go to the coronation with me?"
When Ben flips the microphone to Mal she responds with a resounding, "Yes!"
"She said yes!" cheers Ben. Georgie is surprised that he isn't more hurt by Audrey kissing one of his oldest friends Chad—then again, he tried to kiss Mal so that's not any better. Georgie knows that she's going to have to talk to Ben about all this because even though it's Audrey, it's still mean of him to do this.
Audrey stomps off of the bleachers, pushing past Chad and then walks straight up to Georgie. For a moment she thinks Audrey is about to start slinging some choice words at her, but she simply brushes past and makes sure that their shoulders connect hard. Georgie winces and holds her left shoulder in pain. She often forgets that Audrey is stronger than she looks since she's a cheerleader; they have to be pretty strong to pull off the tricks they do.
The announcer is finally given back the microphone and the more formal celebrations resume. "What a victory. What a day for the Auradon knights, finally winning back the trophy after so many years." To Georgie's delight, the team quickly names their MVP and hoists him up into the air. "And there he is. Jay, the most valuable player. How do you like that?"
Needless to say, Georgie likes it very much. Jay really deserves that honour because, without him, their team would've lost to the Falcons for another year in a row. Fairy Godmother will be pleased when she learns that the Sherwood-Auradon Cup is placed back into their trophy cabinet, that is after the MVP gets to keep it for a month and then it goes in the cabinet.
From above his teammate's heads, Jay points to Georgie excitedly and then points to the trophy, showing it off to her. She gives him two thumbs up in return. She can't help but notice how happy he looks in the moment.
The rest of the students start to file out, and Georgie wants to speak to Ben but he takes off after Mal so she decides to just let him go. As she watches him disappear, she feels an arm slink her shoulder; she winces a little still quite sore from where Audrey hit her, but she tries to not let her face show anything. "Look at this cool trophy! They said I get to keep it in my room for a month too, isn't that awesome?"
Georgie turns her face to see Jay's and falters for just a millisecond. Something in her feels like it flickers on and then off. He just looks so...happy. He holds the trophy with his free hand up for her to get a closer look. "That's amazing!"
"The boys said I should take a drink out of it so we're going to put root beer in it tonight," says Jay excitedly.
Georgie so desperately wants to joke along, but she finds herself saying something else instead. "You look really happy." She doesn't know why but she's so moved that he is just so purely happy, she wants to make sure that he can continue to have moments like this because...he deserves it. Jay looks a little worried for a moment, so Georgie lightens the mood back up again. "But don't worry, it looks good on you."
"Oh, Georgie...everything looks good on me." And there is classic Jay back, sly and smugness hiding behind his happy smile. He ruffles her hair, messing it into a somewhat frizzier style than it was before and takes off with the trophy back towards his teammates to celebrate.
Ta-da! All done. A more serious chapter is next!
And here's the pain in Georgie's shoulder, Chad. Just kidding, it's the chapterly memes: