Carlos

“Jane! Jane, hey. Hey!” I waved, trying to catch her attention before she left the gym

She turned, . “Hey, Carlos, what’s up?”

I shuffled nervously, trying to find the right words. “Uh… not much. You?”

She sighed, exasperation practically dripping from her. “Way too much. We were gonna go with the blue and gold banners for Cotillion, but now we can't find the right shade of blue.”

“Yeah, no, that’s a— that’s a bummer,” I mumbled. “Speaking of Cotillion—”

“I know, right? It's all anybody is talking about. Cotillion 24/7,” she cut me off, shaking her head.

“I—”

“It's like they've never been to one before,” Jane continued without missing a beat.

“I haven’t, actually.” I confessed, which caught her off guard for a second.

“Oh.” She blinked. “Lucky. I always end up serving punch with my mom anyway. This year, I got stuck on the decorating committee because Ari went off to a spa vacation with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.”

I tried to speak again. “Jane, maybe we should—”

“Skip the whole thing?” she interrupted again, sighing dreamily. “I really, really wish I could. It's so nice to have a friend who's on the same wavelength.”

I half-smiled, my heart sinking a little. Friend. That was exactly what I was trying to avoid talking about. “Yeah, you got me.”

She smiled at me one last time before glancing at her phone. “I got to go. Great practice, though.”

“Yeah, see ya,” I replied weakly, watching her leave. My chance to tell her was gone. Again.

She waved as she left, already dialing her mom. “Hey, Mom.”

I stared after her, feeling utterly defeated and saw dude looking at me

“It wasn’t the right time, all right?” I said.

Back in mine and jay's dorm, I sat on my bed, staring at the computer screen. “How to get out of the friend zone,” I read quietly to myself. I could feel dudes eyes on me, reading over my shoulder.

On the TV in the background, a reporter’s voice droned on, “… dined with Aladdin and Jasmine. Six months ago, no one thought the wrong side of the bridge would last. Mal must be counting the days until the Royal Cotillion, when she will officially become a Lady of the Court.”

I leaned back, frustrated, Mal came in all frazzled and tense with her eyes glowing green. “Whoa. Easy, girl,” I said

“What? You think this is so easy?! You don’t have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say boo! I mean, not that I could even say ‘boo,’ but you know what I—”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly, feeling bad for her.

She sighed, clearly frustrated with everything. “Carlos, don’t you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?”

I couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “You’re thinking of my mother. I was usually on the other end of that, so… not really. No.” I paused, remembering something. “Oh, hey! Did you bring it?”

Before Mal could answer, Chad strolled in. “Hi. Just came to use your 3D printer. Won’t be a sec.”

I blinked at him in confusion. “How’d you get a key to my room?”

Chad grinned, holding up a key. “Oh, I printed it off last time I was in here. Uh… you guys were sleeping. Look, I just— Your printer’s so much better than mine, and you install these hacks, and everything runs so much smoother than mine and—”

“Out! Now!” I snapped, pointing to the door.

Chad raised his hands defensively. “Fine. Fine.” He turned to leave but stopped, grinning. “What? Hmm?”

“Leave the key,” I growled.

Chad huffed and tossed the key on the table before leaving. Finally.

“Mal?” I asked, turning back to her. “My potion?”

Mal fumbled around in her bag before pulling out a small gummy. “Yeah, um, here.”

I eyed the gummy nervously. “So, this thing will make me say what I really feel to Jane?”

“Yeah,” Mal confirmed, handing me the vial. “I mean, this is a truth gummy, so take it or leave it.”

I nodded, staring at the small gummy in my hand. “Perfect.”

Mal suddenly hesitated, her brow furrowing. “Hold on, though. Are you sure you want to be taking this? Because this is gonna make you say the truth all the time, no matter what. And the only reason I’m asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I’d get myself sent back to the Isle.” She paused, biting her lip. “Which, it’s not that that sounds super unappealing, but, you know…”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll take my chances, I guess.”

“Okay,” she replied, stepping back. “Ohh! Bad dog!”

I jumped, startled, as Dude suddenly started talking. “Man, that thing was nasty! And you— you just gotta man up. And while you’re at it, scratch my butt.”

I stared in disbelief at the dog. “You heard him,” Mal said, smirking. “Scratch his butt.”

“You’re just gonna leave me with him?” I asked incredulously as Mal left.

Dude rolled his eyes. “Come on, you scratch your own all the time.”

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “What have I gotten myself into?”