Meredith entered her dorm quite early in the evening after her training with the cheerleading team — it was only six o'clock. Usually, their practices ended much later than that, but today, Audrey and a few other girls had an appointment at a beauty salon. According to them, it was a very high standard one, so they didn't want to miss it. If that was the case, Meredith didn't actually have to worry about being late to practice when she was out training Carlos with Ben because Audrey didn't even care about the team that day. She could've just skipped it.

And so, the sun was actually still up when Meredith finished her shower. She changed into sweats and a comfortable shirt, ready to relax in bed after finishing a little more of her homework, of course. She didn't like homework just like any other student, but she did have to do it to get high marks. She only liked actually learning something in class, not being given unnecessary papers to fill out. She didn't slack off, though, knowing she needed to put in the work either way.

When Meredith reentered the room after freshening up, she saw Jane right away. The girl looked as if she was about to leave, but that wasn't the first thing Meredith noticed when she walked out of the bathroom. It was her longer, much thicker and gorgeous new hair that showed off how pretty she actually looked.

"Whoa," the redhead said in awe, shutting the door behind her. Jane smiled, pleased with the reaction. "When did this happen?"

"Mal offered to do my hair!" Jane told Meredith excitedly.

"Mal? As in, Maleficent's daughter?"

"Yeah, her! She wanted to be friends with me and she's actually super cool! I was hanging out in hers and Evie's dorm earlier and I'm heading there again now. Want to come?"

Meredith's first thought was that Mal must've had a secret or hidden reason why she chose to be friends with Jane. But Meredith already told herself earlier that she wouldn't judge them, and after learning more about Carlos and a little about what life was like on the Isle of the Lost, she decided to try her best and look past her preconceived notions of them.

"Well, I would," began Meredith. "But I look like a mess in these clothes I haven't really talked to them —"

"That's fine! I'm sure they wouldn't mind and you look fine as always anyways," Jane brushed her off.

"Oh, well, thanks —"

"Come on, just come with me! We're gonna talk more about fashion, and make up, hair, boys..."

"Ooh, how fun," Meredith muttered, and though Jane heard her, she failed to notice her sarcasm due to excitement.

"Great! Let's go!"

And that was how Meredith was whisked away by Jane and dragged along the halls of the dorm building just to go to Mal and Evie's room. Their room was on the opposite hallway, but it wasn't far away. Jane already knew where to go since she was there not too long ago. Both girls stopped in front of a door left ajar, but Jane knocked on it anyways before walking in.

"Mal? Evie?" the brunette called out.

When Meredith stepped into the room, she noticed how bright it was. It was such a stark contrast with the dark and bold outfits the purple and blue haired girls adorned everyday.

Mal was reading a schoolbook and scribbling on it on one of the pink beds while Evie was actually sewing a dress that looked pretty impressive from where Meredith stood.

"Oh, hello again, Jane," Mal replied distractedly, barely even looking up.

"Hi!" Jane chirped. "Guys, this is Meredith. Meredith, this is Mal and Evie."

Mal and Evie briefly stopped what they were doing to glance at the girl.

"We've met," Mal simply said.

Evie, on the other hand, looked more interested as she turned away from the sewing machine to look at Meredith.

"Ooh," she said. "How tall are you?"

Meredith was slightly taken aback. "Oh, uh, pretty short. Like, five two?"

"You're almost the exact same height as Mal and you look like the same size," Evie continued. "Do you like the color green? Or maybe a bluish green? Do you like red and yellow accents, too, maybe?"

"Actually, yeah —"

"I could make the perfect dress for you."

Meredith raised her eyebrows, shocked both from all the questions and Evie's offer to make something just for her. Was she serious? Making a dress didn't sound easy, and though Meredith preferred simple clothing, she didn't mind dressing up once in a while. The idea of Evie, someone who wore such unusual yet fashionable clothing, making a dress for her sounded tempting.

"Oh, wow. Really?"

"Really," Evie grinned. "I could make one for you for Ben's coronation! It would be perfect. I've been dying to make another dress."

Meredith was fine with buying just any nice dress when she found out when Ben's coronation would be. And even though she wasn't that into fashion as Evie was, she couldn't deny that she did like getting ready to look good for an event once in a while, so the idea of an original dress from her sounded great.

"I'd love that," Meredith finally said, a sincere smile on her face. "Thanks."

Evie smiled back, glad that someone actually wanted to have a dress made by her.

"So, Jane," Mal began. "What did your mom say about your amazing new hair?"

Jane rolled her eyes. That small action was enough to surprise Meredith a little bit seeing as the girl was never really... rude. It was so different from how she was acting earlier — her usual giddy yet shy self. Yet now, here she was, rolling her eyes. It didn't seem like a big deal, but it was just so unusual for Jane to do.

"She told me I shouldn't have to change how I look for boys," said Jane.

Mal scoffed at that. Meredith took a seat in the armchair next to Evie before Jane continued.

"Mom said if a boy can't see the beauty within then he's not worth it. Can you believe it? What world does she live in?" she complained.

"Auradon," Mal and Meredith said at the same time. Mal seemed to like the redhead's vibe and sent her a satisfied smirk.

"Mal," Evie interrupted, making the purple-haired girl avert her gaze from Meredith. "Do you like?" She removed the black and blue dress she was sewing out from the machine and held it up to show Mal.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's cute. Brings out your eyes."

Evie grinned in satisfaction. "I know."

"I'll never get a boyfriend," Jane went on.

"Boyfriends are overrated," said Mal.

"And how would you know, Mal?" Evie asked. "You never had one."

At any other situation, Meredith would've muttered a "burn." But, she actually agreed with Mal. Boyfriends weren't a necessity and never should be. They should come when the time is right snd you shouldn't dwell on having one all the time. It may also have to with the fact that she never had a boyfriend, either...

"It's 'cause I don't need one, E," Mal retorted

"Actually, I agree with her," Meredith finally spoke up. "Boyfriends aren't a priority."

Mal smiled, pleased that someone was on her side for once.

"Exactly," she said "They're a waste of time."

Suddenly, Evie gasped and shot up from her chair.

"I forgot to do Chad's homework," she panicked. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no."

Meredith perked up upon hearing one of her friends' name being mentioned. She sat up straighter and looked at Evie in confusion as the girl rushed to the side of the room.

"Why are you doing Chad's homework?" she asked. Although she knew how lazy Chad was in terms of homework, it still didn't sound right that he ordered someone else to do it for him.

Evie didn't reply immediayely as she grabbed what Meredith immediately recognized as Chad's backpack. It took her a while until she found what she was looking for before she answered, "He told me to so that we'd have time to hang out."

Meredith bit her lip, now in deep thought. Was Chad actually manipulating Evie? And did Evie not realize it right away? Meredith didn't know whether to further question the blue-haired girl or not. She decided she'd just confront Chad first when she got the chance before bringing it up with Evie. After all, she didn't know Evie or Mal very well yet, but she did know Chad, almost as long as she'd known Ben.

"And that is exactly what I mean," Mal said knowingly.

All of a sudden, there was a knock. All heads turned to the opened door to find another girl walking in. It was Lonnie, a girl Meredith talked to from time to time because of their many classes together.

"Hey guys," the girl greeted. "I'm Lonnie. My mom's Mulan."

When she was met with a dead silence because Jane was naturally quiet, Meredith didn't know what to say, Mal was uninterested, and Evie was busy beginning Chad's homework, Lonnie shook her head and continued.

"No? Anyways, I love what you've done with Jane's hair. And, I know you hate us and well, you're evil —"

"Way to make a good first impression, Lonnie," Meredith muttered sarcastically from her seat. Mal scoffed at that but Lonnie kept her smile plastered on her face.

"Anyways," she repeated, ignoring Meredith and touching her short black hair. "Do you think you could do mine?"

"Why would I do that for you?" asked Mal.

Lonnie shrugged and held up a pouch. "I'll pay you fifty dollars?" she suggested.

Upon hearing the sound of money, Evie shut close one of Chad's school books and stood up.

"Good answer," she said, snatching the pouch from Lonnie's hands. "I need to buy more material. Let's see, I'm thinking we lose the bangs. Maybe some layers and some highlights..."

"Yeah, yeah," Lonnie cut her off with a laugh. "I want it cool. Like Mal's."

"Really? The split ends, too?"

"You are on a roll today, Evie," Meredith couldn't help but say, noticing how many times she could've said "burn" at all of Evie's comebacks in the short time she's spent with her.

Evie shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal as Mal looked up at all of them. Jane and Meredith were watching curiously, Lonnie was staring at her expectantly, and Evie was shaking the pouch full of money that Lonnie brought. Eventually, Mal slammed the pen down and rolled out of bed with a groan. Nevertheless, Lonnie and Evie grinned triumphantly while Mal made her way to the side table, retrieving an old-looking brown and leather book. It looked suspicious to Meredith, but if it gave good results and no one got hurt, she shouldn't question it.

Mal walked back to her bed and sat on it as she flipped open the book. After landing on the right page, she pointed at a section on the paper and said, "Okay... Beware forswear, replace the old with cool hair."

Mal shut the book and raised a hand. She pointed her finger at Lonnie, whose head followed Mal's actions as she pointed from the right, left, down, then back up. Then, there was a little sparkle in Lonnie's black hair and right before her eyes, Meredith saw it grow past her shoulders in soft layers and gradually transform to a subtle, dark brown shade.

Lonnie looked like she was in awe. She slowly approached the full-length mirror to stare at her reflection, and without any words needed to be said, all the other girls made their way to her.

"I know, I know," started Evie. "It looks like a mop on your head. You know what? Let's cut it off, layer it —"

"No, no, no, no, no," Lonnie quickly said. "I love it."

Evie was still unimpressed. "You do?"

"It's just..." Instead of Lonnie adding anything else, she bent over and tore the side of her silk skirt. Meredith's eyes widened at the action, not expecting Lonnie to destroy that just to finish up her look.

"Now I'm cool," Lonnie said happily.

Mal nodded in agreement. "Like ice."

Then, Jane made her way in front of the full length mirror as well. She bent over and ripped one side of her dress as well, copying Lonnie. But, instead of being happy, she gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock.

"What did I just do?" she asked herself. "Mom's gonna kill me!"