Faybelle nudged Kitty. “Check out Daring and Briar.”
Daring Charming and Briar Beauty stood on their chairs; Briar cringed at the sight of the mice while Daring let out high-pitched shrieks. They pointed in horror at a mouse doing the backstroke in a bowl of cereal. Raven gently plucked out the mouse by the base of its tail out of the milk, causing Daring to yelp even louder.
Under the same table, Maddie sat cross-legged, hosting a tiny tea party for her rodent friends. She served charmomile tea and teacakes cut into mouse-size bits. “The dormice in Wonderland thought berry tea was tearrific,” she told them.
“Daring, please stop screaming,” Rosabella Beauty pleaded. “Ashlynn and I can’t help if the mice can’t hear us.”
At the base of the large tree that grew in the center of the Castleteria, Ashlynn Ella and Rosabella fed thronecake crumbs to a group of mice who had gathered around them. Rosabella was always there to care for animals, big and small. And Ashlynn could communicate with animals, since she was the daughter of Cinderella. Together, they tried their best to calm the mice, but it wasn’t easy. The Castleteria was far, far away from calm.
“Whoa!” cried Dexter Charming as he slipped on a spilled hocus latte. His feet flew out from under him, sending the bowl of porridge that he’d been carrying into the air. The porridge landed with a splat on Sparrow Hood’s green fedora.
“That’s totally not cool, man!” Sparrow wiped thick globs of porridge from his forehead. Then Sparrow flung his fried egg like a Frisbee in Dexter’s direction. The egg missed Dexter, landing instead on Hunter Huntsman’s face. For a moment, Hunter froze, unable to see through the rubbery yolk.
“Now it’s on, Sparrow,” he called, tossing the egg to the floor. He tucked a mouse down the back of Sparrow’s studded leather jacket. Sparrow shimmied awkwardly as the mouse ran down his spine, into his pants, and right into his boot. He ripped off his shoe, and the mouse finally scampered out.
“New dance for the Merry Men?” Tucker teased Sparrow. Tucker and Sparrow were in the same rock band.
But Sparrow was too busy scooping the porridge from his hat to throw at Hunter. The Castleteria had erupted into an epic food fight—complete with one hundred and fifty mice!
“Clydesdale, come back! Don’t play with them!” Farrah Goodfairy, the daughter of the Fairy Godmother, chased after her pet mouse who’d joined the fray. She knocked over a pitcher of ice water, sending the ice cubes skittering across the floor.
“We deserve hextra hextra credit.” Faybelle rubbed her hands together with glee.
Lizzie pointed to the door. “Uh-oh! Here comes trouble.”
Headmaster Grimm stormed in, his blue coat flapping. His green eyes widened as he stared, momentarily speechless, at the royal mess and the mice running wild. Then he found his voice. “Everyone, halt!”
“Time to go,” Faybelle whispered to Kitty and Lizzie.
All the students stopped throwing food, but the mice kept munching. Breadcrumbs covered every surface.
“What is the meaning of this?” hexclaimed Headmaster Grimm as he scanned the Castleteria for the troublemakers. “Who’s responsible?”
Everyone shrugged, trying to recall who had thrown the first egg or spilled the first glass of milk.
“Honestly, Headmaster Grimm, it was the mice,” piped up Cedar Wood, the daughter of Pinocchio. “They came running in and ate our food and then things got a little wild.”
Headmaster Grimm stroked his mustache. Cedar always told the truth. “The mice had to come from somewhere. Who brought them in here?”
He was met with more shrugs. One mouse ran up the clock, even though it was hours away from one o’clock.
“I could ask them for you, Headmaster Grimm,” Ashlynn offered. The Castleteria grew silent as Ashlynn whispered with an important-looking mouse.
“He says three girls brought them here,” she finally announced.
“Which three girls?” Headmaster Grimm huffed.
Ashlynn had the mouse climb into the palm of her hand. Gently, she raised her arm above her head so he could view all the students. The mouse spoke into Ashlynn’s ear.
“He says the three girls aren’t here,” she reported.
“How can that be? Students shouldn’t be missing breakfast. No one move until Madam Baba Yaga deals with the mice,” grumbled Headmaster Grimm. “I’m going to check the halls.”
Baba Yaga floated into the Castleteria on her magic pillow. She waved her arms and chanted a spell that made all the mice scurry into a corner. Mr. Badwolf guarded them while Baba Yaga conferred with the other teachers.
“Psst,” Raven whispered under the table to Maddie. “Where’s Apple?”
Maddie peered out. “I don’t see her.”
“She must still be in our room trying to choose an outfit,” said Raven.
Raven and Maddie shared a concerned look. This wasn’t the best morning for Apple to start skipping breakfast.
Diary Entry
Mice update:
Bellies full. That emergency granola bar I keep in my room really did the trick! I broke it up and gave them all itty-bitty pieces. (Luckily, I also had an apple in my room… at the rate I’m going, I might not make it to breakfast after all!)
Happy. I sang their fairy favorite song four times. It goes: I think mice are nice. Oh, I think mice are nice! So fairy, fairy nice!
Nap time. After all that fun, eating, and singing, they snuggled against me and drifted off to dreamland.
Every creature—big and small—is spelltacular, but these little guys are the fairest of them all.
Good thing you’re with me, Diary. You always help me work through the stickiest problems. I could never-ever-after find it in my heart to put the mice back in their cage and imprison them for who knows how long! All creatures deserve to be free. But I can’t open the door and let them roam the halls, either. They’d be stepped on, for sure, not to mention all the chaos they could cause.
So what is a princess to do with fifty mice?
The answer is royally obvious: They could live in my room until their owner comes back. I’d feed them and keep them safe. Hexcept, what would Raven think? We are roomies after all. Would she want to adopt them, too? Most woodland creatures are scared of her because of the whole Evil Queen connection, even though Raven totally isn’t like her mom.
I need a plan to persuade her.
Maybe I could teach the mice to clean Raven’s side of the room.
Or they could bring her thronecakes whenever-after she wanted.
I’m sure I’ll find a way.
I promise to keep you safe, cute little sleeping mice!
Hold on—was that someone outside the door?
Wait a spell, Diary… someone is coming! I think the owner of the mice must be returning. Maybe I won’t miss breakfast ever after all!
Charm you later!
Apple White
Faybelle?” Apple scrambled to stand and smooth her flouncy skirt as fifty mice awoke with a start. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Faybelle shot back.
“Is that Lizzie? And Kitty?” Apple was sure she spotted Lizzie and Kitty lurking in the shadows behind Faybelle.
“You didn’t answer me.” Faybelle crossed her arms. “And why are the mice running free?”
Apple’s mind whirred, trying to fit all the pieces together. Did the mice belong to Faybelle?
“I found them… I mean, they were sad, so I—Wait, you know about the mice?” Apple fumbled for a response. In the distance, she heard shouting and footsteps.
“Uh-oh, I’m out of here. Spell you later,” Kitty said before disappearing until just her wide smile lingered, which then vanished along with the rest of her. Kitty had the ability to make herself invisible.
“Girls!” Headmaster Grimm’s voice echoed down the hall. His footsteps grew closer and closer.
Lizzie stepped into the closet. “Faybelle, we need to go. Now!”
; Faybelle moved to shut the door, when a mouse scurried out. Then another. And another.
“Oh no!” Apple lunged forward. She scooped up two mice, just as Headmaster Grimm appeared in the doorway. Mice scampered around his feet. One grabbed his shoelace and gave it a tug.
“What in Ever After is going on in here?” he shouted.
“We found Apple playing with the mice in this closet,” Faybelle replied quickly.
“Apple?” The headmaster looked perplexed. Apple White—the co-president of the Royal Student Council!—was standing in a closet surrounded by mice. Her red book bag lay on the floor, and next to it, mice licked the crumbs off a granola bar wrapper. Several more slept on her red quilted jacket.
“Are these your mice?” he asked Apple.
“Well… maybe… you could say that,” Apple said. “They’re kind of mine. I’m taking care of them right now, but I only just…”
Faybelle pointed to Apple. “See? It was all her idea. She did it.”
“Wait a spell. What was my idea?” Apple was confused. “Do you mean taking them out of the cage?”
“So you let the mice out?” Headmaster Grimm asked.
“Well, yes, because they were trapped,” Apple hexplained. She had no idea what had gone on in the Castleteria. “They are much happier out of the cage,” she added.
“Happy?” the headmaster sputtered, stepping out of the doorway. “Do you think that mess makes me happy?”
“What are—?” Before Apple could finish, the first period bell rang. The loud noise startled the mice, and they rushed through the open doorway and into the hallway.
Students streamed out of the Castleteria. The halls would be packed—Apple had to round up the mice before the students started rushing through the hallway. Apple knew that dozens of mice and hundreds of students would spell disaster!
“Come back!” Apple shouted as she hurried past Headmaster Grimm, Faybelle, and Lizzie. She raced after the mice.
“Ms. White!” called Headmaster Grimm. “I’m not done speaking with you.”
Apple knew she shouldn’t disobey the headmaster. But she’d promised the mice she would keep them safe, and there was no safe space in the crowded hallway. She had to rescue the mice. It was the fairest thing of all to do.
“I’m sorry,” Apple called over her shoulder as she ran after them. “Let me just get the mice and I’ll be right back!”
“Apple White, are you ignoring the rules now?” Headmaster Grimm called after her in shock. Apple never broke the rules.
“Oh for Queen’s sake! All the mice have escaped now,” Lizzie cried as the last mouse scurried down the hall.
“What in Ever After are you two doing here?” Headmaster Grimm eyed Faybelle and Lizzie suspiciously. “Why aren’t you at breakfast?”
“We were at breakfast. We left early to help find the culprit,” said Faybelle. “I thought that perhaps my special skills in Villainy could be of assistance in figuring out who did this.”
“So you have nothing to do with these mice?” he asked.
“Well—” began Lizzie. She kept trying to get a word in to defend Apple, or, at the fairy least, tell the truth.
But again, Faybelle cut her off. “Apple is the one chasing them. Actions speak loudest, don’t they?”
Headmaster Grimm let out a frustrated sigh, then stormed into the hallway after Apple.
Apple dodged Dexter and Hunter as she tried to keep the mice in sight. “Please, stop!” she cried.
The mice didn’t stop. They ran hither and thither and all aquiver. Apple wished she could talk to animals the way Ashlynn could. She wished she could run as fast as Cerise Hood. She wished she’d worn sneakers instead of her cute patent-leather heeled shoes. She royally wished these mice would just slow down!
“Where are you going, Apple?” called Humphrey Dumpty from the low wall by the water fountain.
Apple didn’t know the answer, but she made sure to wave as she ran by. Even a high-speed mouse chase was no hexcuse to be rude.
“This is Blondie Lockes, reporting live at Ever After High.” Blondie held up her Mirror-Phone, filming Apple’s hallway sprint for her MirrorCast. “We are witnessing Apple White in action. Is she late for class? Trying out for Track and Shield? Being chased by a big, bad wolf? Oh!” At that moment, several mice scurried past. “Apple is running with rodents. Smile, Apple!”
Apple smiled for the camera, then frowned.
Where did all the mice go? She could no longer see them in the crowded hallway. She spotted crowns, fairy wings, billy goats, trolls, and princes—but no mice.
“Mouse!” Briar’s high-pitched squeal vibrated down the hall. Mr. Badwolf clapped his ears in pain.
Apple wove her way toward Briar, with Blondie following close behind. “Hexcuse me, please. Let me through, please. Please!”
“Oh, Apple, help! There are mice in the Grimmnasium.” Briar held up her skirt and stood on tiptoes.
The DO NOT ENTER sign Apple had attached last night for the dance still hung on the Grimmnasium door, but now the door was slightly ajar. Familiar squeaking came from inside.
Oh curses! Apple’s stomach dropped as she stepped into the Grimmnasium.
Mice were everywhere—ripping the tissue-paper flowers, popping the balloons, gnawing on the rope swings, knocking over the fake trees, eating the chocolate eggs, tangling the little twinkling lights, and splashing water as they bobbed with the apples. The committee’s hard work had been destroyed in minutes.
“Please, don’t do that!” Apple called to the mice.
Nothing could calm the mouse frenzy. They trailed sticky caramel footprints across the once-shiny floor now littered with shredded decorations. Strings of tangled lights crashed to the floor, and felt leaves were ripped from the branches.
“Ms. White! Hexplain yourself immediately!” Headmaster Grimm marched over to her. His face was red from running, and he struggled to catch his breath.
Apple stared at the mouse-made disaster. She didn’t know why the mice had been in the closet or who’d put them there or why they had destroyed her beautiful Enchanted Forest dance. She shook her head silently. Apple couldn’t hexplain it.
“Report to my office. I will meet you there after I deal with the mice.” He straightened his tie and smoothed his vest.
“Deal with the mice? How?” Apple knew the mice shouldn’t be blamed. “They didn’t mean to make a mess. They were just being mice.”
“Baba Yaga will use magic to round up the mice and send them to the meadow to live Happily Ever After,” he informed her. “They will be treated with the utmost respect and care.”
After all, Headmaster Grimm was an animal lover, too.
Apple was pleased her mouse friends would have a nice place to live. The meadow was pretty when the spring flowers bloomed with silver bells and cockleshells. “Will you give them something delicious to eat, too?”
“Enough questions from you, Ms. White.” He shook his head in dismay. “You are in heaps of trouble. To my office. Now!”
Diary Entry
Detention.
I have detention. Me! How can this be? I’m co-president of the Royal Student Council. I serve on several committees to make Ever After High the most spelltacular place it can be. I make things happy and good. I help my fellow students—I don’t cause trouble.
What a fairy-fail!
And I still don’t understand hexactly what happened.
I did what Headmaster Grimm said and went over to his office. When I got there, Mrs. Trollworth thought I was there to collect another award or help organize the school cleanup. That’s how fairy strange it was for me to be in trouble! Of course, I told her the truth: Headmaster Grimm sent me there because I was in trouble. I had to repeat myself three times because she thought her built-up earwax was making her hear things. (Fairy gross, I know, but that’s what she said!) But then she finally told me to go sit with the others.
And, Diary, “the others” were Kitty, Faybelle,
and Lizzie. Faybelle told me that they orchestrated this whole prank to get hextra credit points for Mr. Badwolf’s class! But even after all that, he ended up sending them to the headmaster’s office anyway. I guess even General Villainy teachers have to draw the line somewhere.
I was relieved to see Lizzie there. We don’t always see crown-to-crown in Kingdom Management class, but Lizzie is still fairy nice. I was sure she would help me sort things out with Headmaster Grimm.
Finally, Headmaster Grimm entered. He sat down in his chair behind his heavy oak desk, and we lined up in front. My knees trembled. Have I mentioned that I’ve never been in trouble? I did not like this feeling at all.
Then he said, “Let’s talk about why the three of you are here.”
Three? I looked around and realized that Kitty had disappeared right before Headmaster Grimm had even noticed her. How tricky!
He told us that Mr. Badwolf informed him about “our” prank and that it had gone too far. It was more than a prank, he said. It was the destruction of school property. Students had been scared, and someone could have been injured. (Thank goodness no one was!) Food was wasted and contaminated.
I felt as if I’d started a book from the middle instead of the first page. Why was he talking about the Castleteria?
Then I found out: There was more than one batch of mice, and the first group made a mess in the Castleteria. Then the second batch of mice destroyed the Grimmnasium and all the dance decorations. Headmaster Grimm said he’s heard from “a hexcellent source” that three girls did it. I gulped as I realized that with Kitty gone, I looked like the third accomplice!
I didn’t want to get Kitty in trouble, but I had to defend myself! I protested that I wasn’t even in the Castleteria. But Faybelle just kept saying that my not being there proved I was involved! Lizzie tried to stand up for me and tell the truth, but Faybelle just talked over her. That girl is going to make a hexcellent Dark Fairy one day.
I’m not proud of this, but I got fairy frustrated and raised my voice and tried to talk louder than Faybelle. That made Faybelle get even louder, and then Lizzie got frustrated and started yelling, “Off with your heads!” and it got so bad that Headmaster Grimm slammed his hand down on his desk and boomed, “Enough!”
Ever After High--The Secret Diary of Apple White Page 2