All his life, he’d had to use his fleet feet and lightning-quick reflexes to nab items to fill the shelves of his father’s junk shop, at the expense of others. But here at Auradon Prep, his talents got him a coveted varsity spot on the tourney team, and Jay was getting so used to riding his teammates’ shoulders at the end of every victory that the novelty had almost worn off. Aladdin’s son, Aziz, even teased that Jay should lay off the pumpkin juice a little or else he’d get too heavy to carry.

The cheerleaders practicing on the sidelines screamed Jay’s name in appreciation. He jumped up and doffed his helmet to them, causing the girls to giggle and shake their pom-poms even faster.

Jay was walking over to the sidelines to grab his water from his gym bag when he noticed a crumpled piece of notebook paper among his things. What was this? He opened it up. In purple ink, someone had scrawled, Run back to where you came from! Return to the Isle of the Lost by moon’s end!

What was that all about? And what about the moon? Huh?

“Hey, man, good play,” said Chad Charming. The golden-haired, pampered son of Cinderella usually wasn’t very nice to Jay, but maybe there was more to this handsome prince than a headful of carefully coiffed hair. Chad held out his hand. Jay took it, albeit suspiciously.

“Thanks, man,” he said, stuffing the strange note in the back of his pocket.

“Then again, anyone can score off Herkie.” Chad laughed, squeezing Jay’s palm and nodding toward Hercules’s son at the goal. “All brawn but flat feet, know what I’m saying?”

Herkie was as strong as his father and had the muscles to prove it, but he wasn’t the fastest on the field. Even so, Chad was lucky he wasn’t within earshot.

“You’re saying you could have done it?” asked Jay, his hand still clasped in Chad’s grip.

“Blindfolded,” said Chad, still shaking Jay’s hand forcefully up and down and smiling through his teeth. “See, the thing is, Jay, it’s easy to dodge a cannon, but in tourney, you’ve got to watch out for what you never see coming.” And with his trademark sneer, Chad twisted his wrist and flipped Jay over, sending him sprawling on the ground face-first. Oof.

“See what I mean?” Chad smiled. “Consider it a little coaching between friends.”

“Oh, Chad, you’re too hilarious for words!” Audrey, who had come up from the sidelines to coo at her boyfriend, tittered.

“Hilarious isn’t the word I’d use,” grumbled Jay, spitting out dirt. Did he say he was tired of being lifted on his team’s shoulders? Well, he much preferred that to being thrown on the ground at the feet of an annoying prince.

“Are you okay, Jay?” Audrey asked, concerned.

“He’s fine, babe,” said Chad, slinging an arm over her shoulders, the smile on his face as cloying as the pastel sweaters he usually wore. “Come on, there’s nothing to see here but garbage. Isn’t that what you guys used to eat on that island? Our leftovers?”

Audrey gasped. “The poor things, did they really? That’s disgusting.”

“On Charming’s honor,” said Chad, leading her away. “Let’s go, Princess, nothing to see here.”

Chad used to be one of the best players on the team, but not since Jay arrived. The prince wasn’t taking his displacement from the starting lineup very well.

Jay sighed, looking up at the blue sky. He had traded a life of skulking and thievery to play good guy at hero prep. Back on the Isle, Chad wouldn’t be laughing quite so smugly if he knew how easily Jay could have swiped his watch, wallet, and keys during that handshake. But Jay was in Auradon now, and they frowned on those things, so he’d left them alone, even though the temptation had been great. It would only get him and his fellow villain kids in trouble, which is what Chad really wanted.

“Are you planning on lying there forever? The dinner bell’s rung,” said a voice. He looked up to see Jordan standing above him, holding out a hand.

“You came out of nowhere.”

“Genie trick.” She winked, looking down at him with a hint of a smile. She wore her dark hair up in a swoop, and her blue pantaloons were striking with her yellow leather jacket. She was soon joined by two other girls, the three of them looking concerned over his fall.

Jay took Jordan’s hand and used it to help himself up. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about Chad, he’s like that to everyone. Isn’t that right, Allie?” Jordan said to the blond girl standing next to her.

The girl nodded. She wore a blue pinafore over a white blouse and had delicate features and a genteel manner. “He’s almost worse than Tweedledum and Tweedledee.”

“Definitely worse. My dad would have things to say about him, that’s for sure,” said Jordan, whose father, Genie, was a famously talkative fellow. “Are you sure you’re all right, dude?”

“Nothing bruised but my pride,” Jay told them, feeling better already.

“Then he did us a favor.” The third girl laughed, fixing the tiny hat she wore sideways on her head. Freddie Facilier was one of the newer Isle kids, who had transferred over as part of the ongoing program to assimilate the villains’ kids into the Auradon mainstream.

“Thanks a lot, Freddie,” grumbled Jay.

“You’re welcome,” said Freddie.

“We’re not all like Chad,” said Jordan. “Some of us know that without you guys, all of Auradon would be Maleficent’s minions right now.”

“Goblins,” said Jay. “Maleficent’s minions are goblins.”

“That would be awful,” said Allie. “Green is quite a horrendous color on me.”

The four of them walked companionably over to the dining hall, bumping into Ben, who was headed the other way. The girls swooned and curtsied at the sight of the young king.

“You missed practice,” said Jay, bumping fists with his teammate. He and Ben worked well together, Jay usually setting up the shots that Ben would send flying into the goal.

“I know, I know, next time, I promise,” said Ben, looking harried. “Coach is on my case.”

“Our defense is really hurting. Offense too.”

“Yeah.” Ben sighed, craning his neck at the tourney fields longingly.

“Well, you better be back on deck when we play the Lost Boys,” Jay said. They were up against a strong Neverland team that weekend.