Apple shook her head to clear it. She pushed aside her diary, which was wedged under her arm, fished her quill out from under the fluffy comforter, and sat up.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Suddenly, Apple realized the chirping sound was coming from her MirrorPhone. It was the special tone she’d set for her incoming hexts. She reached over to her bedside table and glanced at the screen.
FAYBELLE: meet me @ mice closet
Apple considered this. Why in ever after did Faybelle want her to go back there? Fairy, fairy strange.
Then she noticed she’d slept through a bunch of other hexts. She scrolled to read them.
LIZZIE: r u coming?
FAYBELLE: did u get my hext????? mice closet, k?
RAVEN: storage closet by Castleteria—Royally Important.
FAYBELLE: hello? u there?
KITTY: where r u?????
LIZZIE: Answer us! Or off with your head!
RAVEN: need u @ storage closet!
FAYBELLE: all teachers r in the Grimmnasium/sneak out—now
LIZZIE:???
RAVEN: Royal Roomie Request!
Apple scrambled off her bed. “Royal Roomie Request” was their new secret code to let the other know that they needed the other right away. It meant hocus focus! No diddle-dawdling allowed.
What was wrong? Apple started to hext Raven back, then stopped.
Her friend needed her—and that was all she needed to know.
Apple raced out the door, not bothering to change her clothes or throw a robe over her silly pj’s. Her bare feet padded down the empty halls. Apple kept her eyes peeled for roaming teachers in search of any wayward students. Faybelle had been right. She had the halls to herself.
Apple spotted the storage closet. It was funny that she’d never noticed it before, yet today she’d been here twice. The first time hadn’t brought a happy ending. She hoped this visit wouldn’t send her to Headmaster Grimm’s office again.
Checking the deserted halls one last time, Apple reached for the doorknob. Her hand shook slightly. She paused and listened, hexpecting to hear the squeak of the mice. Or the chatter of her friends.
Silence greeted her.
She swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves. Why did Raven, Faybelle, Kitty, and Lizzie need her so desperately? What was waiting on the other side?
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Apple jumped at the sound. She quickly pulled her MirrorPhone from her pajama pocket and pressed MUTE, hoping it hadn’t alerted any teachers. She read the new hext.
RAVEN: r u ok???? worried bc you’re not hexting back
How topsy-turvy, thought Apple. I’m worried about her and now she’s worried about me!
APPLE: I’m here.
Then she tucked her MirrorPhone into her pocket, turned the knob, and pulled open the door.
The closet was dark. Apple blinked, unable to see anything.
“Raven?” she called in a loud whisper.
No answer.
Apple took a tentative step inside, her bare toes cold on the stone floor. Her fingers fumbled to find the light switch. Suddenly, brightness flooded the room and—
“Surprise!”
Apple nearly tumbled backward in shock.
Oh my fairy godmother!
She was no longer in the storage closet. She was standing in the most magnificent ballroom ever after! And her friends were there, clapping and cheering.
“Where in Ever After are we?” Apple felt as if she’d detoured into the wrong story. “What happened to the closet?”
Farrah stepped forward. She wore a beautiful pale-blue gown encrusted with tiny crystals, and her silver wings poked out the back. “The closet was too small and too drab, so I enchanted it. I was going for elegant. Do you like the ballroom?”
Apple spun about, taking in the glamour. A cascading staircase led into an enormous pale-pink-and-gold ballroom. Twelve crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sending dapples of light onto one of the largest dance floors she had ever seen. Chiffon drapes covered the walls, and gold tables with glowing tea lights bordered the room. The tables and chairs had been made out of playing cards, and Apple knew that was the work of Lizzie.
“I love it!” Apple turned back to Farrah. “But why did you do it? What’s this party for?”
“It’s for you.” Faybelle stepped up. She wore her ice-blue dress with the black velvet trim.
“Me?” Apple still couldn’t piece the plot together.
Raven jostled her way forward. A big smile covered her face. “Don’t you hear everyone cheering? Everyone wanted to celebrate what a good friend you are.”
Apple suddenly did hear it. Her friends were clapping and saying her name. She took in the happy faces that surrounded her—Briar; Maddie; Lizzie; Kitty; Hunter; Daring, Dexter, and Darling Charming; and so many others.
Melody Piper was out on the dance floor DJing. The Three Blind Mice led Kitty, Jillian Beanstalk, and Cedar in a line dance. Ginger Breadhouse and Rosabella sipped tall, frosty milk-and-cookies shakes. Ashlynn sat at a table and tapped her toe to the beat, afraid she’d lose a shoe if she kicked up her heels. Blondie circled the room, filming the action.
It felt as if the whole school were there.
“Wait. What about the dance in the Grimmnasium?”
“That’s still happening, but how could we enjoy it without you?” said Raven.
“You worked so hard to bring back the dance, so we decided to bring a secret dance to you,” finished Faybelle.
“You two?” Apple looked back and forth between Raven and Faybelle. They weren’t known for getting along. In fact, last month Mr. Badwolf had ended up assigning them different partners when they couldn’t complete a General Villainy project together.
“It was Faybelle’s idea,” Raven said with a smile.
Faybelle threaded her arm through Apple’s. “I owe you an apology. It was wrong of me to pretend that you were part of our prank. I’m actually surprised that Headmaster Grimm believed me—I’m not hexactly known for my trustworthiness. But I should have told him the truth.”
“Thanks.” Apple gave a sweet-as-pie smile. It was nice to hear the apology spoken out loud.
“But you know what? I’m glad I didn’t tell the truth,” said Faybelle.
Raven groaned. “Oh for fairy’s sake! What kind of apology is that?”
“Relax, Raven. What I meant was, I got to know Apple today. I saw how much she cares about everyone, not just her friends. She put our happiness before her own—mine, too, and I wasn’t even nice to her. And she’s fun. Who knew?”
“I knew,” said Raven.
“Me too,” said Briar.
“Me seven,” added Maddie.
“Count off!” cried Lizzie. “Me nineteen!”
“Me, um… twenty? Or should I say five?” said Rosabella.
Apple wasn’t sure what was more incredible—this enchanted ballroom in the storage closet, or the fact that Faybelle and Raven had cooked it up together for her. “Thank you, everyone.”
“The spell ends at midnight, and the ballroom turns back into a storage closet,” Farrah informed everyone. “So let’s get this party started!”
Melody Piper turned up the muse-ic’s volume. Farrah’s spell had soundproofed the ballroom, so their secret was safe.
Apple twirled on the crowded dance floor. She had never-ever-after thought she’d be dancing in an enchanted storage closet surrounded by friends new and old.
Then the closet door banged open, loud enough to be heard over the pumping bass of the muse-ic. Duchess stood in the doorway with her arms folded and let out a disapproving honk. “Whatever-after is going on in here?”
Melody turned down the volume.
The Three Blind Mice stopped their routine mid–slide-to-the-left.
All eyes turned to Duchess.
“I am royally honked off that you are all in a closet instead of in the Grimmnasium. How dare you have a party and not invite me!” She ruffled h
er feathers. “I demand to know what this party is about.”
“This is a party that Apple can come to,” Raven hexplained.
“We created it so she could be included, too,” said Faybelle.
“You’re all at this party just for Apple?” Duchess appeared both surprised and hurt. “But look at her! She’s in pajamas and bare feet. She isn’t wearing a party dress. At the dance in the Grimmnasium, everyone looks spelltacular. She didn’t even care enough to get dressed!”
Apple gazed down at her childish pajamas and felt a blush creep up her neck. She hadn’t even realized she was still wearing them. She’d spent hours searching for the most perfect party outfit and now she was dancing in old sleepwear! What would everyone think?
Her bottom lip trembled as she waited for the laughter.
It never came. No one seemed to care what she wore—hexcept Duchess.
“Frou-frou-whoop-dee-do dresses and décor don’t make a party, Duchess,” Maddie pointed out. “Fun absotootly comes from friends. And radishes.”
“We don’t care about the clothes on the outside, we care about the person on the inside,” added Raven.
“And Apple is fairy wonderlandiful on the inside!” Kitty declared.
“Well, if that’s the way it is.” Duchess arched her neck and began to glide away.
“Don’t fly off just yet.” Farrah touched Duchess’s shoulder.
Duchess looked around. She had to admit that this enchanted ballroom-in-a-closet party was rocking. Everyone had their hands in the air as Melody blasted the beat.
Duchess felt her feathers flutter and her toes point. She couldn’t help it. She wanted to dance, too. She gulped, swallowing her pride.
“Can I join the party?” she asked Faybelle in a small voice.
“If it were up to me, I’d tell you to fly the coop. You’ve been really wicked to Apple,” Faybelle pointed out.
“I say, off with your feathered head!” cried Lizzie.
“But lucky for you, it’s not my choice—or Lizzie’s,” said Faybelle.
“Hrrumph!” Lizzie stomped her foot.
“Who is it up to?” asked Duchess.
“It’s up to Apple.”
Everyone waited quietly to hear what Apple would say.
Diary Entry
The.
Best.
Time.
Ever-After!!!!!!!!
I’m back in my room and cozy under my covers. I didn’t even have to get changed to go to bed—a definite perk to wearing pj’s to a surprise dance. Maybe our next school dance should be a pajama party! What do you think?
Raven is already asleep, but I’m still too hexcited to close my eyes. The dance was truly something out of a fairytale.
Okay, I know, I know… you want to know what I said to Duchess.
What do you think I said?
The more the merrier, of course!
I do not believe in hexcluding anyone.
I opened the door wide and let in Duchess and her friends.
Then I went back to the dance floor. Melody had started a freeze dance game. When Melody stopped the muse-ic, we each had to freeze in place. If you moved, you were out. Cedar was by far the best at it. She stood as still as a plank of wood every single time!
And soon enough, it was time for a thronecake break. All that dancing can work up an appetite!
I’d gone to the dessert table when I noticed Duchess standing by herself in a corner.
I realized everyone was sitting in pairs or groups. No one had invited her to join them.
So I invited her to sit with me, and we shared my thronecakes. Turns out, Duchess really shows her soft side when you share your dessert. She was surprised I was being nice to her after everything that had happened that day. I told her that being nice is actually really easy—plus, it makes you feel good. And then Duchess apologized to me!
Wow!
Duchess hexplained that she’s always wanted to be as popular as she thinks I am. She wanted to be Top Princess.
I told her there’s no Top Princess at Ever After High. No one is higher or better or more important than anyone else.
But Duchess said that sometimes it doesn’t feel like that’s true.
Then she told me something that really opened my eyes as to why she’s not so nice most of the time. She said she wished she had a more popular fairytale… and a Happily Ever After. She told me that sometimes she gets really jealous and frustrated that I am practically guaranteed a Happily Ever After, and that she has no way of ever finding one for herself.
Can you imagine what that must feel like, Diary? I can, and it feels TERRIBLE.
Good leaders put themselves in the shoes of others. (Not literally, of course!) When I thought about it, I realized how it could seem really unfair to Duchess to be stuck with a story that doesn’t have a Happily Ever After when so many of us here at Ever After High have that to look forward to. No wonder she’s so grumpy all the time.
But then I reminded Duchess of just how special her story is. She can turn into a beautiful swan whenever she’d like. Not to mention, she’s one of the fairy best dancers in the whole school, and I bet one day she’ll be one of the best in all of Ever After. She’s talented and unique. That’s just as important as having a fairytale Happily Ever After.
So I dragged Duchess out to the dance floor to show off just how talented she is. And, oh my fairy godmother, could she dance! We were having the time of our storybook lives when we heard—knock, knock.
You know how this story goes by now, right?
Every time I’ve opened that closet door today, something MAJOR has happened. I didn’t need my house blown down three times to get the message. I was NOT opening that door by myself.
I gathered Raven, Maddie, Faybelle, Lizzie, Kitty, and Duchess around me.
Knock, knock.
The door opened, and there stood Headmaster Grimm. His forehead creased as he surveyed the enchanted ballroom.
My stomach dropped. For the third time today, I was going to get in trouble! Me, Apple White! What was the kingdom coming to?
But you know what? Headmaster Grimm didn’t stop our party. He liked that everyone had put friendship first. He was impressed we’d worked together and were getting along, even with no teachers on hand to keep the peace. He invited the students in the Grimmnasium to join us in the closet, and we all danced until the clock was ready to strike twelve.
Don’t get me wrong. He still gave out a punishment for breaking the rules. I mean, he is the headmaster after all. This time it wasn’t cleaning. He took dessert away for a whole week. No thronecakes or plum pudding or apple dumplings.
But it wasn’t only my dessert that went poof! Everyone’s treats disappeared. We were all in this one together. And that was sweet enough to make up for the lost sweets.
Night-night, Diary.
This mixed-up, moused-up, cleaned-up, magic-closet day turned out to be even more fableous than I’d ever after imagined.
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!
Charm you later!
Apple White
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Raven’s diary entry
I don’t know how this diary-writing thing is supposed to work. I’ve never kept a diary before. I royally hope I’m doing it right. Apple White seems to love writing in hers. Every night, Apple sits cross-legged on her bed in our room at Ever After High and scribbles happy thoughts in her diary. (Wait a spell. Apple would never scribble. She has be
autiful handwriting. Me, not so much, but I’m working on that. Is this legible?) I always wonder what she’s writing, but whenever I ask, she just gives me a smile and says, “Diaries are secret, Raven!” I know she’s right, but I can’t help but feel just a little bit curious! Apple says writing her thoughts down lets her make sense of her story. But every time I try to rewrite my story, everything goes so wrong. And that’s why I’m trying this diary thing—maybe it will help me make sense of my story, what-ever-after that may be.
This is how it all started, Diary.…
Yesterday, Baba Yaga assigned our Magicology class homework to do over Spring Break. Our assignment is to write down all the spells we do, and when we get back to Ever After High, we’ll look at the results and learn how to make the spells better or stronger. Baba Yaga floated down the aisles of our classroom on her magic pillow, passing out diaries to the rest of the class, but when she got to me, she dropped two journals on my desk. Everyone else got one journal.
Assuming she’d made a mistake, I told Baba Yaga that she had given me two journals. I tried to give one back, but she just stared at me. “You’re going home today, aren’t you, Miss Queen? As the daughter of the Evil Queen, I hope that you will do so many evil spells this Spring Break that you will easily fill two journals.”
Two journals? Hex no! I won’t fill even one journal. I will not be doing that many spells over Spring Break, and definitely no evil spells! I’d like to cast no spells at all, but I’ll have to do some so I don’t fail my assignment. What I really want to do over the break is have a fairy relaxing time. But I couldn’t say that to Baba Yaga. She definitely wouldn’t want to hear about those plans.
My BFFAs and I have been looking forward to this break forever after. I’m so used to talking to my best friends every day here at Ever After High that it will be a little weird to not have someone to share all my thoughts and ideas with. That’s when I got a fableous idea. I’d turn the second journal into a diary! I can “talk” to you, Diary, and share all my thoughts and experiences. You’ll understand what it’s like to be the daughter of the Evil Queen—to be the girl who refuses to be evil and wants to write her own ever after.
Ever After High--The Secret Diary of Apple White Page 5