“It’s not what you think,” said Mal.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Maddy with a shrug. “It’s what everyone thinks.”

“Well, they’re wrong.” Mal kicked an overturned chair.

Maddy startled. “Wait, what? You mean it really wasn’t you? You didn’t do it?”

“No, I mean, I guess I did, but it was her fault she had so little love in her heart, which is why she turned into a lizard,” explained Mal, blushing to use the word love in front of Maddy. They’d both grown up thinking love was for fools, morons, and imbeciles, after all.

“Hmm,” said Maddy, studying Mal closely.

“What?” asked Mal.

“Nothing,” said Maddy. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

They still had ample time before the meeting, so when Carlos mentioned that he was hungry, Evie suggested they walk back into town to the Slop Shop to get something to eat. After refusing to tell them any more about what they knew about Cruella’s whereabouts, Harry and Jace had run off, giggling mysteriously to themselves, and she was glad to be rid of their company.

“You think they were telling us the truth? That they don’t know where my mother is?” asked Carlos.

“Who knows, between those two I’ll be surprised if they remember their names,” said Evie, once again cursing herself for forgetting to change into comfortable footwear.

“Where do you think they are, then?” asked Carlos, playing with the zipper on his jacket. “Our parents, I mean.”

“My guess is they’ll be at the meeting later,” said Evie. “Don’t you think?”

“What are we going to do when they tell us what their evil plan is?” said Carlos. “I’m not sure I can stand up to Cruella the same way Mal stood up to Maleficent, you know?”

“We’ll figure it out when it comes down to that,” said Evie. “Don’t worry, I’m not looking forward to seeing my mother either. I know she’ll hate the way I’m doing my hair now.”

When they reached the goblin-run café, they noticed Mal in the window, laughing with a girl Evie didn’t recognize. The two of them were giggling together while sharing one of the Slop specials—stale bread pudding topped with rancid banana syrup, a popular dessert on the Isle of the Lost, where extracts from rotten fruit were their only source of sugar.

“Who’s that girl?” Evie asked.

“Oh, that’s Mad Maddy,” said Carlos. “She and Mal used to be tight.”

“I don’t remember her from Dragon Hall,” said Evie.

“Yeah, she transferred to an all-witches school on the other side of the island in ninth grade,” said Carlos. “Witches. Even if you can’t practice magic on the island, they still think they should teach their kids about it.”

He led them to the counter and ordered snacks. The goblin grunted and shoved two steaming-hot cakes on paper plates their way.

“Ah,” said Carlos, making a face as he bit into a hard, sour scone. “Just like I remembered.” He spit it out. “Although I think I’ll pass. I don’t think I can eat this anymore.”

Evie nodded, and put hers back on its plate, untouched.

“Oh, hey, guys, come and join us,” Mal called from her table.

Evie took a seat next to Mal while Carlos pulled up a chair next to Maddy. Mal was digging into her pudding. “Want some?”

Carlos nodded. He found a clean spoon and took a bite. “I forgot how much I used to like these things,” he said, and took another heaping spoonful.

“You did?” Evie blanched.

“You didn’t?” said Maddy, looking her over with a sardonic smile. “Wasn’t this an intrinsic part of your childhood?”

Evie returned the girl’s up-and-down gaze. “Not mine,” she said coolly. “My mother and I hardly came into town. Actually, make that never.”

“Sorry, don’t you guys know each other?” Mal asked, to make up for the awkward silence that ensued. “Maddy, this is my friend Evie, and Evie, this is Maddy. We grew up together.”

“Yeah, Carlos told me,” Evie said.

“We liked to hex our dolls together,” said Maddy. She smiled sweetly at Carlos. “Hey, Mal, remember when we covered Hell Hall in fake spiders?” she asked. “Or were they real?”

“They were real and real dead,” said Mal, laughing at the memory. “It took forever to collect so many!”

Carlos squirmed in his seat. “Yeah, that was fun, not really,” he muttered.

“Carlos screamed so loud when he saw them, I thought he would wake up Cruella,” Maddy cackled, and put up her hand for a high five, which Mal slapped with gusto.

Mal and Maddy were still laughing over their past exploits, which Evie found highly annoying. They hadn’t returned to the island to gossip with old prank-mates. Plus, they shouldn’t be making fun of Carlos. Evie realized she wasn’t looking at Auradon Mal. This was Dragon-Hall Mal, the sneering, scary girl who used to stomp through the island with a scowl and a can of spray paint. Evie cleared her throat to get their attention. “So, Maddy, do you guys have any idea where my mom is? Or Carlos’s? We just went home and they were nowhere to be found.”

Maddy crumpled her napkin and pushed her bowl away just as a goblin came by and grumpily reminded them that there was no lingering at the tables.

“You really don’t know?” she asked coyly.

“No, we really don’t,” said Evie, who had had it with this girl’s snickering innuendo. Maddy was acting as if she knew a wicked secret and wouldn’t share.

“Do you know anything?” Mal asked Maddy.

Maddy shrugged. “No one knows anything about anything.” She continued to eat her pudding, a sly smile on her face.

Evie didn’t like the girl, but even if she did, she knew Maddy was lying. She knew something about where Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella de Vil had gone, that was for sure. Was she in cahoots with them and this Anti-Heroes club? Evie wouldn’t put it past her.

It was almost time to head over to the Anti-Heroes meeting, and Evie felt herself break out in a cold sweat, imagining what was in store for them. Evil Schemes was only a class taught at Dragon Hall, but Cruella de Vil, Evil Queen, and Jafar could spin an evil scheme in their sleep. They lived and breathed for malice and revenge. Who knew what kind of terrible surprise their parents had cooked up for their return?