I walk outside from my dorm and give a huge yawn. I'd had to stay up a while longer quizzing Lonnie, then I'd had to go find someone to take me to my Mom's castle for a new pair of gloves. When I told her about my old ones shattering, she'd gone a grayish color. 

"Oh, please. No. Anything but that." She'd whispered. But when I asked her what she meant, she'd forced a smile and waved the worry away. She'd found me another pair of gloves, but these are a deep midnight blue that only barely reach past my wrists. I sigh and tug on them. At least they match my cheer outfit better. 

I cross the courtyard, tugging on my limp hair to try and hide my face better. Word of my Audrey and Jane's encounter with me spread like wildfire. I can see people hiding their mouths behind their hands as I walk. I feel like a dead weight has been shoved onto my shoulders. It wasn't my fault! 

I drop down at a table and observe people by their lockers. I recognize Mal, and Jay when he comes over. He stands by her and says something that makes her very mad. She yells at him then snaps in his face. But he grins and walks away again. Weird. I don't think I'll ever get these kids. Then I notice Audrey talking to Ben, gesturing to the girls crowding around Jay's outstretched hands and yelling thanks at Mal. Ben says something that Audrey interrupts. She pecks his cheek and walks away again. Mal slams her locker shut and says something that makes Ben laugh. Mal holds up a baggie with what looks like a cookie inside. She and Ben exchange a few words before she takes the cookie out of the bag and starts to eat it. He snatches it away and takes a huge bite. Ouch. He's going to regret that during the game. 

Then I notice the other VK's crowding up to him. I get up to take a closer look. I stand just underneath the locker area. 

"...Warm, sweet...Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?" he asks. I cover my mouth to stop a laugh. That's a little forward!

"How ya feeling, bro?" Jay asks. 

"I feel...I feel... I feel like... Like singing your name! MAAL! MA--" The 'Mal's' are cut off and muffled all of the sudden. Jay and Carlos lead Ben away to the game and I swing myself up over the bars. 

"Evie! Mal! What did you do to Ben?" I ask. They both look guilty. 

"Um...You heard that?" Evie asks. 

"Um, cha. I'm pretty sure the whole school heard the MAL'S!" I snicker. "How did you get him to do that? It was hilarious! I mean, I feel kinda bad for Ben. But still!"

They both look relieved. "You're not mad?"

"Of course not! Give me whatever you used so I can use it on Chad! Except maybe I'll make him sing somebody else's name." I shudder. "He's not exactly nice to me."

Evie looks solemn. Crud, I forgot about her crush! "Hey Evie, maybe we could make Chad like you!" I suggest.

She brightens a tiny bit. "I suppose. But we only made the one batch of cookies, and your tear was hard enough---ow!" She complains when Mal elbows her.

I roll my eyes. "Come on, guys. I figured you used the tear for a potion or something. Normal people don't flick tears into cookie bowls."

"You knew?" They both exclaim. 

"Cha! But don't worry... Even if I did tell someone, they wouldn't exactly believe me right now." I try to make it a joke, but Evie reaches over and hugs me anyway.

"I heard about last night. Don't worry, Mal was scheming last night. She'll come up with something eventually!"

"E!" Mal says. "I'm not scheming, we've got better stuff to do! Not that I won't get them back," she promises. "I'm just more focused on other stuff right now."

"That's fine." I assure her. "You don't have to. Really."

"Is that her?" I hear behind me. I turn ever so much to see Poppy and Petra Pan staring at me and whispering behind their bright red hair. I sigh and start to walk away. To my surprise, Mal and Evie join me on either side of me and walk next to me all the way to the field. I take one look at the cheer squad's warning faces and decide I don't want to cheer today. And I don't regret that decision once throughout the game, watching them dance around in a springy jump. 

"They're not putting Jay or Carlos in!" I yell in dismay near the end of the game. "We're tied! They might never get to even play!"

"I know!" Evie yells. "Look! Chad's going in---again!"

I watch Jay say something to Chad. Chad in turn hits Jay lightly with his wood spoon. Coach says something to Jay and Jay pulls Carlos off the bench. Carlos sits back down and Jay pulls him up again.

"Look!" I point at them. "I think they're going in!"

"WHOO!!" Evie screams with me as Jay and Carlos run in. Mal smiles but doesn't cheer with us. Jane dances around in her knight costume. The game starts up again and the ball goes back and forth, but I only see Carlos doing some weird crouching-down motion to trip some player up. I crack up and point out to Evie and Mal when he starts dancing around in front of the fallen player. 

"GET OUT OF THE KILL ZONE, JAY!" I yell. But he dodges everything with ease. And they're close... close... 

"AWW!!!!" the whole crowd screams on our side. The Falcons blocked it! But the game keeps going, with 23 seconds left and Jay passing the ball to Ben, then Carlos going down and Jay dragging Carlos along with him, literally using Carlos as a shield in the kill zone.

"I THINK THEY MIGHT DO IT!" I yell in Evie's ear. She grins ear to ear at me and nods. Jay gets the ball again and Carlos yells at him in front of the goal, bouncing the ball into the air then crouching down to let Jay jump over him. Jay passes the ball to Ben, and Ben rockets it towards the goal, and---

"HE SCORES!!!!" the announcer screams over all our excited shrieks. I look over at Mal, who's covering her ears at the loud noise, not even bothering to stop Evie from hugging her. The announcer keeps going on and on, until---

"Excuse me? Excuse me, can I have your attention please?" All of us go silent. Mal looks worried.

I nudge her. "Hey. What could he possibly be wanting to say? 'Ey, oh, nice job guys.'" I say, dropping my voice down. Evie laughs. 

Ben hops up on the pedestal. "There's something I'd like to say!" Ben looks around and Audrey smiles up at him. 

"Give me an 'M'!" Ben shouts, moving his arms to form it. 

"M!" We all shout. Mal looks horrified. 

"Give me an 'A'!"

"A!"

"Give me an 'L'!"

"L!"

All of us are still spelling, but Mal is frozen. She's gaping at Ben. I elbow her. "You brought this upon yourself." I mutter. She stays frozen. 

"WHAT'S THAT SPELL?" Ben asks. 

"Mal!" Everyone shouts, Mal looks annoyed now. Evie shakes her in glee. 

"Come on, I can't hear you!" Ben encourages.

"MAL!"

"I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?" Ben asks. 

Audrey makes a whining noise and runs off. Serves you right.

"Give me a beat!" Ben points to Doug, who instantly shouts "UNO DOS TRES QUATRO!"

"Oh, my God!" Evie says. "Cookie!"

"What was in that cookie?" Mal asks in dismay.

"Ben's crazy love for you!" I squeal. I hug her and for once I don't leave a hint of cold. 

♫ Did I mention ♫
♫ That I'm in love with you? ♫
♫ Did I mention ♫
♫ There's nothing I can do ♫
♫ And did I happen to say ♫
♫ I dream of you everyday ♫
♫ But let me shout it out loud ♫
♫ If that's okay-ay-ay (Hey!) ♫
♫ If that's okay (Hey!) ♫

Carlos and Jay look way  too happy for Mal's comfort. I don't think they'll ever let her live this down.

♫ I met this girl that rocked my worldv
♫ Like it's never been rocked ♫
♫ And now I'm living just for her ♫
♫ And I won't ever stop ♫
♫ I never thought it can happen to a guy like me ♫
♫ But now look at what you've done ♫
♫ You got down on my knees ♫

Ben rolls on the ground like a dog, and I crack up. This is too much. This is Prince Ben!

♫ Because my love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ Because my love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ I never knew (Who knew?) ♫
♫ That it can be like this ♫
♫ My love for you is ridiculous ♫

Evie shakes Mal along with the music, and Mal offers a small smile. 

♫ My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S! (R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!) ♫
♫ It's (RIDICULOUS!) ♫
♫ Just (RIDICULOUS!) ♫
♫ And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss ♫

♫ Well, did I mention... ♫
♫ That I'm in love with you ♫
♫ And did I mention ♫
♫ There's nothing I can do ♫
And did I happen to say? ♫
♫ I dream of you everyday ♫
♫ ♫ But let me shout it out ♫
♫ If that's okay-ay-ay (Yeah!) ♫
♫ If that's okay ♫

♫ I gotta know which way to go ♫
♫ C'mon gimme a sign ♫
You gotta show me that ♫
♫ You're only ever gonna be mine ♫
♫ Don't want to go another minute ♫
♫ Even without you ♫
♫ That's if your heart just isn't in it ♫
♫ I don't know what I'd do. ♫

Ben catapults forward from a group of people like those trust falls, and Mal covers her mouth. 

♫ Because my love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ I never knew (Who knew?) ♫
♫ That it can be like this ♫
♫ My love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S! (R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!) ♫
♫ It's (RIDICULOUS!) ♫
♫ Just (RIDICULOUS!) ♫
♫ And I would give my kingdom ♫
♫ For just one kiss ♫
♫ C'mon now! ♫

Ben takes off his jersey and throws it at Mal, who actually catches it. A bunch of girls look sullen and try to steal it, but I rip my gloves off and glare at them. Ben rides the two-person horse over to Mal's bleachers and hops off in trust-fall again. 

♫ Because my love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ I never knew (Who knew?) ♫
♫ That it can be like this ♫
♫ My love for you is ridiculous ♫
♫ My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S! (R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!) ♫
♫ It's (RIDICULOUS!) ♫
♫ Just (RIDICULOUS!) ♫

Ben gets catapulted cheerleader-style up to the bleachers and body-surfs to Mal. I squeeze away so he can be next to her. 

♫ And I would give my kingdom ♫
♫ For just one kiss ♫
♫ C'mon now! ♫

Ben comes to a stop in front of a now grinning Mal and actually tries to kiss her! She yelps and kind of laughs it off, but Evie's giving Ben a happy smile now. Ben puts his arm around Mal. 

"I love you Mal! Did I mention that?"

Audrey fights her way up the bleachers but noticeably goes around me. She jerks the mic away. "Chad's my boyfriend now!"

"Hey hey hey!" Chad puts it, fist-pumping the air. 

"And I'm going to the coronation with him." Audrey continues. "So I don't need your pity date." then she kisses Chad! Evie looks crestfallen, but before I can get to her, Ben grabs the mic again.

"MAL! Will you go to the coronation with me?"

She grabs the mic too. "YES!"

"She said yes!" Ben cheers to the crowd. Everyone starts clapping but Jay comes up. 

"Come on Ben! The whole team is waiting for ya!"

"Bye!" Mal calls after him. Evie pretends not to care, but a tear slips down her cheek and I squeeze my way over to her. 

"I feel really sorry for Audrey." I tell her. 

"You do?" Evie asks. 

Mal breaks in. "Yeah. I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew, and knew beauty tips that she wouldn't need a prince to make her feel better about herself." Evie smiles and laughs. She looks up at both of us. 

"I guess I am kind of talented." She admits. 

"And humble, too!" I add. They both laugh. 

"You are definitely gifted." Mal tells her. 

"Thanks, M. And you, too, Ellie." Evie says. 

"And there he is! Jay, the most valuable player! How do you like that?" the announcer says as the team lifts Jay and the gigantic trophy up on their shoulders. 

I think I like that just fine. These kids deserve this. More than anyone, I should think. 

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