Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

4: ...But Not Everything Has To

"GET THE DOOR!" Mom yells. 

"You'll explain what that means later, right?" I ask Dad when he moves to stand up. he smiles and nods, then moves to the huge doors and opens them up. 

"Ben?" I ask, standing and joining Dad in the entryway.  "Ben! What are you doing here?"

He smiles, though it looks a little forced. "I'm here on behalf of Auradon Prep." He says. 

I groan. "Let me guess. I'm expelled for good?"

"Not for good." Dad corrects. "If they did that, I would make sure they...ah... meet a quick, sudden, and painful death."

"Dad!" I scold. "You're being such a dad!"

"WONDERFUL JOB, DEAR!" Mom yells. 

Ben cracks a smile. "Yeah, you're not fully expelled." He says. "But they came as close as they could. Like, really close. You're not allowed to come within five miles of Auradon Prep until they have a 100% guarantee that you can control your powers. Or until you agree to let---"

"Fairy Godmother take my powers?" I ask, sighing.  "Been there, done that."

"Wait. Take her powers?" Dad seethes, his hair bursting into flames. 

Ben grimaces. "Yeah. That. But don't worry, if they do that---or if someone tries to force it like last time----I'll make sure they're on the Isle faster than you can say...well, any word, really."

I smile. "Thanks, Ben."

Dad, still burning, growls, "If they do that, they won't just be going to the Isle. They'll have a one-way ticket to the Fields of Punishment."

I can hear Mom laughing down the hall. 

Ben cracks a smile. "I also came to give you this," he holds his hand out and I take a small silver disc with a blue gem in the center. 

"Uh, thanks." I say uncertainly. "What is it?"

"Endora made it." Ben explains. "Brit said you started saying something weird in your sleep, so we're guessing it was a dream that me you freak out. Endora said that this was to help keep your dreams under control, whatever that means."

Dad grunts. "Smart girl."

"Um, thanks?" I say, spinning it in my fingers. "What do I do with it?"

"Here," Ben takes it and holds it an inch from my forehead. After a few seconds, it makes a whirring sound and jumps forward, sticking to my skin. A cool sensation starts coming from it, making my skin tingle. 

"Okay, that's awesome." I admit. I take it off again and it stops whirring. "Tell Dora thanks."

"Will do." Ben says. "But, Ellie, heads up. I would recommend staying away from public places for now. News of your...uh...power-thing has spread pretty fast. I'd also stay off any social media stuff for now."

I groan. "Great. Thanks, Ben."

"See you around, Ellie." he says, then turns to leave. Dad closes the door and sighs. 

"Welp. Not like I expected anything but total destruction from my daughter."

"Gee, I feel so fuzzy inside."

"Oh, don't get soft on me now."

"Ellie?" mom appears in the doorway again. "Er... since you'll be staying, would you maybe want to do a movie night like we used to?"

I smile. Only my mom could turn a conversation from total destruction to geeking over animated movies. "Sure, mom. After Dad explains that cryptic sentence from before."