Cheers and shouts of excitement coming from the athletics field could be heard all the way to inside the locker rooms. It was the first tourney game of the academic year, and the first one with the transfer students from the Isle of the Lost. Like the rest of the student body, Meredith was stoked. She heard how good of a player Jay was, and of course, she would be supporting Ben, Chad, and even Carlos — after all, he was the one she interacted with the most so far from those who came from the Isle, even more so than Evie and Mal, whom she encountered many times due to their rooms being so near each other in the dorm. She also couldn't deny that it would be a highly interesting game now that the Isle of the Lost students were added into the mix of athletes in their team.

Meredith was originally one of the people who were most skeptical about Ben's first official proclamation to give a chance to the new generation from the Isle of the Lost. However, she had started to get used to them just a bit. There was still some doubts within her, but coincidentally, she knew that team sports were one of most effective ways to show a person's true character. If Jay and Carlos played by the rules and as a team later, she knew she'd end up trusting them for the most part. If they played dirty, that might just be the sign that gave away that they were still rotten to the core, but Meredith wasn't so sure that she wanted to see that happen anymore.

On the other hand, many students had already warmed up to the four very quickly. Evie surprisingly related to many girls and had a knack for fashion, Mal earned the favor of many students by doing their hair, Jay was extremely athletic and a ladies' man, and Carlos, though also into sports, seemed to also have a talent for technology from what Meredith had overheard. He performed well in classes, too, and the most interesting thing to her was that he now had a soft spot for Dude. The two of them were becoming inseparable, and while it would have annoyed Meredith if if were another person who stole Dude's heart, she found herself not really minding that it was Carlos.

Tightening her ponytail one last time, Meredith was ready to go. Some girls were still prepping in the girls' locker room, but majority had already left, so she supposed it was about time she headed to the field, too. She walked out and into the hall separating the girls' and boys' locker room and ended up bumping into the one and only Prince Ben.

"Whoa — oh, hey Ben," Meredith greeted, stepping away from him. "How are you feeling?"

"Really excited, Mer," he replied. "It's our first time playing with Jay and Carlos."

"Are they as good as I've heard?"

"They are. Although, Coach doesn't know if they're ready to actually go against the Sherwood Forest Falcons. They are our biggest rivals, and after all, they're still new."

Meredith sighed but had to agree.

"That's a shame," she said. "I was actually looking forward to seeing them play. I'm sure it would be much different from when it's just you guys from the old team."

"I know," Ben agreed. "I'm worried, though. Sherwood has been stepping up their game."

"I bet you'll all do great as always," Meredith reassured. "Now, are you ready for the match? If you win, I'll do whatever you want — after all, I made you my slave when I won that bet we had last time. You know, the one where I made you go on a date with Chad?"

Ben chuckled at the memory, but upon hearing those last few words, a dazed look suddenly took over his face.

"All I want is to go on a date with Mal," he said with a goofy smile.

There were a hundred ways he could have replied to Meredith's bet, but that certainly wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"Whoa, what?" said Meredith, clearly shocked. "Mal? Don't you mean Audrey? She is your girlfriend."

"But there's just something about Mal," Ben explained dreamily. "We just... connected. She's smart, funny, and a little bit mischievous, but I like it. I want to go out with her."

Meredith narrowed her eyes. "Since when?"

"Since... since... I don't know exactly. Perhaps when she first stepped out of that limo. Maybe it's when we had class together and I saw her sketching some insanely good drawings. Or maybe it's when she gave me those double chocolate chip cookies earlier."

"Cookies?" Was he talking about the ones Mal and the other three were making just last night? Meredith wondered.

"They had walnuts, too."

"And you love walnuts," Meredith muttered distractedly. Maybe Mal did like Ben and went through all the trouble to give him something homemade and heartfelt. He could have ended up falling for her after that, because it really was a sweet gesture, but it seemed way too fast. Ben still had a girlfriend — albeit, one Meredith didn't like that much — but to fall for someone else while still in a relationship just didn't sit right with her, especially for a person as gentlemanly and well-mannered as Ben.

"I'm planning to ask her out after we win."

"What?" Meredith gasped. The least he should do is give Audrey a proper breakup.

"Anyway, I'll see you after the game. Bye, Mer!"

"Wait, Ben!" But he was already jogging down the corridor, ignoring her pleas. With a sigh, Meredith stepped back in frustration, only to come in contact with someone else. The person's hands made their way to her shoulders, almost as if stopping her from stepping back any further and crashing into him completely.

"What is it with me and bumping into people today," she mumbled to herself as the person behind her gently spun her around to face him. "Sorry about that — oh, hey Carlos."

The boy let go of her shoulders when they came face to face with one another.

"Hey."

There he stood, this time clad in Auradon Prep's tourney uniform instead of his usual red, black, and white combo. He sent her a tight-lipped smile, one that indicated that he was still not used to talking to her so casually and that he was nervous for the game, too.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered way too quickly. Meredith grinned in amusement, quickly sensing his anxiousness.

"Sure, you are," she said teasingly.

"I am," Carlos insisted, not liking the feeling of being so nervous. Back in the Isle, he was always so confident. He and his friends were the group of teenagers that kids looked up to because in their eyes, they were truly evil. Here in Auradon, he was always so uneasy because he felt vulnerable — it was as if this was where he could actually show another honest side of him, when it should have been that way in the Isle. It just didn't seem right.

"It's okay, everybody feels anxious before a game," Meredith told him. "Even Ben gets that way sometimes, and he's been playing for a long time."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," she said, popping the 'p.' "It's normal. But after a game, especially if it's a good one, you're gonna feel like you can do anything."

"I can already do everything," he said playfully. Meredith couldn't help but laugh lightly, glad that he looked to be feeling a bit better than earlier.

"Let's see about that."

She began walking, but upon realizing that Carlos hadn't moved from his spot, she halted and gestured for him to follow her.

"Come on," she urged. "Let's go to the field."

Carlos gulped. This was it: his first game as an Auradon Prep student, his first game with a team, his first tourney game in general — at the same time, these may all be his lasts. This was going to be one to remember for sure, but knowing that Mal had already put Ben under a love spell and they were a step closer to stealing Fairy Godmother's wand, he knew their stay here was getting shorter by the minute. He couldn't ignore the feeling of an uneasy tug at his stomach. Was this guilt? Was he actually feeling bad about doing something he grew up doing in the Isle all the time? Was he really going to miss this place?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he met the gaze of an expectant Meredith. Not letting her wait any longer, he nodded and followed her out of the locker rooms like a lost and confused puppy.