Insanely Sane

1: 10

The next day, everyone gathered outside in the courtyard for a spring luncheon. Ben called everyone's attention. "Ma cherie Mademoiselle, It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents -- your dinner!"

[Be Our Guest]

Jay and Carlos made their way to the chocolate fountain and drank from it. Jay said, "Oh. Wa... mm."

Edward stood back and rolled his eyes. "You two are embarrassing."

Ben announced to his parents that Mal was his girlfriend.

Mal returned a couple minutes later to get us. "Come on, Dude," Carlos said.

Carlos suddenly cried out, "Hey, get them! Hey, get them!"

"Nice!" Jay exclaimed.

An older woman in pink walked up to Catherine, Kiara and Mal. "Hello there."

Mal smiled. "Hi."

"Now, have we met?"

Mal shook her head. "No, I don't think so. We're new. We're sort of like a... transfer student. Well, transfer students."

She nodded. "Oh, yes."

Audrey walked up. "Grammy."

The woman smiled. "Oh, Audrey! Give Grammy a kiss, dear."

Mal and Catherine exchanged a look. ""Grammy"?"

Audrey shot Mal a sarcastic smile. "Sleeping Beauty's mother. Grammy, I don't think you want to be talking to these girls. Unless you feel like taking another hundred-year nap or people thinking you're insane."

The queen's eyes widened. "What? You! And you! How are you here? And how have you two stayed so young?"

Ben picked the right moment to intervene. "Queen Leah, it's okay. Maleficent, Chester and the Hatter are still on the island. These are their daughters, Mal, Kiara and Catherine. Don't you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?"

Queen Leah narrowed her eyes. "A chance to what, Ben? Destroy us? Come on. You remember, don't you? The poison apples. And the spells. Spells. My daughter... was raised by fairies because of your mother's curse. So her first words, her first steps, I missed it all! You mustn't trust her. You can't trust the insane."

"My father is not insane!" Kiara yelled. "If you'd only give him a chance, you'd know!"

Mal's eyes widened slightly. "I'm so, so..."

"Go away!" Chad cried. "Stay away from her!"

Ben shook his head. "Don't do this, Chad."

Chad frowned. "What? They were raised by their parents, Ben. What do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair play? No way, okay? Uh-uh. You stole another girl's boyfriend."

"Hey, hey!"

"Oh. You enjoy hurting people," Chad said before turning to me. "You take what you want." He turned to Evie. "And you, you're nothing but a gold digger and a cheater."

Evie glared at him. "Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who's the biggest jerk in the land?"

Chad scoffed, seeing himself in the mirror. "What? Come on!"

"Back off, Chad," Jay and Edward demanded. "All right? Back off!"

Evie sprayed him with the bottle of perfume Mal had given her.

"Chad!" Audrey cried, seeing him fall to the ground. "Chad? Chad! Evie did something to Chad!"

Lonnie walked over. "Wake up. Check if he's okay."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Relax. He's just sleeping."

Audrey returned her glare and before she could do or say anything else, she was pulled away by Evie and Kiara.

"Come on, Mal, Cat," Evie said softly.

They began walking away and Ben called after them. "Guys!"

Jay punched someone and Mal cried, "Jay!"

They made their way to the picnic area and sat at a table together. Ben walked up to them and smiled. "Hey, guys. How is everyone? Yeah? Hey, listen. Forget about it. All right? It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go. Tomorrow, after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay. I have to go. I'll see you guys later."

Doug appeared. "Listen, Evie, I wanna talk about earlier today. I just..."

"Doug!" Chad called.

Evie sighed. "It's my fault, Doug. I'm so sorry."

Doug shook his head. "No, it's mine."

"Doug!" Chad called again.

"What?"

"Doug..." Evie called softly.

Doug avoided her eyes. "Sorry, I can't."

"Okay."

Audrey glared and said loud enough for them to hear, "How long does she think that's gonna last? Mal is just the bad girl infatuation. Catherine and Kiara aren't much better. They're fathers are crazy."

"My father isn't crazy!" Kiara yelled. "Stop calling him crazy!"

Jane nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he's never gonna make a villain a queen."

Mal flipped through her spellbook and lifted a finger. "Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair."

Jane's hair returned to the short bob and Chad grimaced. "Ew!"

Mal glared at them. "There's a lot more where that came from."

Audrey narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me, who do you think you are?"

Mal's glare deepened as looked at her book. "Do I look like I'm kidding? I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." The VKs walked away. "Let's grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand."

Kiara grabbed Edward's hand, seeking his comfort, and he gently squeezed it.