Lonnie's Warrior Sword

  It wasn’t until Lonnie blinked and the girl in the mirror blinked, too, that Lonnie was actually able to convince herself it was her.

  “Wow,” Lonnie said, flabbergasted.

  “Thank you,” Jordan said, beaming. “It is pretty wicked, isn’t it?”

  “It’s unbelievable,” Lonnie said. “I look so much older.”

  “No one is ever going to recognize you.”

  “I don’t even recognize me!” Lonnie said with a giggle.

  “Let me take a picture,” Jordan said, holding up her phone and angling it toward Lonnie’s face.

  “Okay, but you can’t show it to anyone,” Lonnie reminded her. “You’re sworn to secrecy, remember?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jordan said and snapped the photo.

  It was then that Lonnie noticed she and Jordan had the exact same fuchsia phone case. “Hey!” Lonnie said, pulling out her own phone. “We have matching phones!”

  Jordan grinned. “I’m not surprised. We both have awesome taste!”

  Lonnie giggled and continued to examine her new look in the mirror. She could hardly contain her excitement. She was going to the Imperial City! To compete in the Auradon Warrior Challenge! After all her relentless training with Jay this week, she was feeling more and more confident that she might actually be able to win this thing. Jay certainly thought she had what it took. Soon enough, she’d prove to the council that she was worthy. And her mother’s sword, with all its history and magnificence, would soon be hers!

  “Okay,” Jordan said, “so now, the important question. What are you going to wear?”

  Lonnie glanced down at her outfit. “Um, this?” She was dressed in black pants, a black jacket, and a black belt with gold clasps. She couldn’t wear her traditional R.O.A.R outfit, because she might be recognized in it. This felt like a good disguise.

  Jordan took a step back to study Lonnie’s black pants, jacket, and belt. “Hmmm. Are you sure you don’t want to go with something a bit bolder?”

  “I need to be comfortable,” Lonnie argued. “And I’m comfortable in this.”

  Jordan shrugged and picked up her duffel bag. “Okay. Whatevs. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Lonnie put down the mirror and glanced at Jordan. She was wearing what she usually wore, but Lonnie couldn’t help noticing how stylish and put together she looked. Then again, Jordan always looked good. Lonnie supposed she had to, considering Jordan was the host of one of the most famous web shows in Auradon. It was her sense of style and personality that made the web show so popular. Jordan was really skilled in the production side of things, too. She was a wiz at editing together compelling storylines and flashy montages. Which was why it was too bad she hadn’t had time to produce the documentary for King Ben. Lonnie knew it would have been amazing. Jordan could probably film corn growing and make it look interesting. Lonnie had always wanted to ask Jordan to help her film a hip-hop video, but lately she’d become so preoccupied with the R.O.A.R. team, her hip-hop dancing had taken a back seat. Plus, if Jordan didn’t have time to make that documentary, she definitely wouldn’t have time to do a video for Lonnie.

  “Are you ready?” Jordan asked. She removed her magic genie lamp from her shimmery gold purse and held it out to Lonnie. Lonnie took it, feeling kind of giddy at the weight of it in her hands.

  It felt different from how she’d always imagined. Heavier, yes, but not just from the metal. It felt more significant somehow. Like all those past wishes were giving it shape and weight and a feeling of hopefulness.

  “Go ahead,” Jordan said. “Give it a rub and then”—she bowed—“your wish is my command.”

  “Actually,” Lonnie said, glancing toward the door. “I’m just waiting for one more person.”

  “What?” Jordan’s eyes grew wide. “Who?”

  Then, as if in answer to Jordan’s question, there was a knock on the door and in walked Jay. Actually, Jay hardly just walked. It was really more of a strut.

  Jay was looking cool as usual in his black pants, black lace-up boots, yellow and maroon vest, and red knit hat. He had a single backpack slung casually over his shoulder.

  Jay raised his hands in the air. “What’s up, ladies? The party can finally begin. Jay is here.” Then Jay must have noticed Lonnie’s new look, because he stopped and his mouth fell open. “Lonnie? Is that you?”

  Jordan let out a loud groan, which she did absolutely nothing to hide from Jay. “What is he doing here?”

  “Nice to see you, too, my sweet genie girl,” Jay said with a smug grin.

  “I am not your genie girl,” Jordan said, then flashed an accusing look at Lonnie. “You didn’t tell me he was coming.”

  “Oh,” Lonnie said, surprised by Jordan’s reaction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “Well, I mind,” Jordan snapped.

  Lonnie blinked in confusion. What was that about? She thought Jordan and Jay got along well. Or as well as the son of Jafar and the daughter of the Genie could get along. But now Jordan was acting like Lonnie had just announced she was bringing Jafar himself on the trip.

  “Jay’s my trainer. He has to come,” Lonnie explained, although she still didn’t know why she even had to explain.

  Jordan crossed her arms. “I’m sorry. I’m not going if he’s going.”

  “What?” Lonnie asked, shocked. “Why?”

  Lonnie knew Jay could be a little full of himself. And she could see how that might come off as annoying to some people. But Jordan had never seemed to mind it before. In fact, they had become friends after Jay had come to Auradon Prep. Plus, ever since joining the R.O.A.R. team, Lonnie had seen a different side of him. A softer side. A friendlier side. That was the Jay she had become such good friends with.

  “Because,” Jordan said, still refusing to even make eye contact with Jay, “I thought this was going to be a girls’ trip.”

  “It is,” Jay said, stepping between Lonnie and Jordan and putting his arms around both of them. “Just think of me as one of the girls.”

  Jordan scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

  “C’mon,” Jay said, joking with Jordan. “It could be really romantic. You and me on a trip together. The daughter of the Genie and the son of Jafar. Star-crossed lovers. I could steal a magic carpet and fly us into the sunset. Show you a whole new world.”

  Jordan’s nose crinkled as though she smelled something rotten. She pushed Jay away. “Ugh, no.”

  Jay pretended to stumble from Jordan’s shove. “Whoa. You got some muscles on you, genie girl. Maybe we should be entering you in the competition.”

  “Stop calling me genie girl,” Jordan said.

  “Why?” Jay asked. “You’re a genie…and you’re a girl. It’s an accurate description.”

  “Please come, Jordan,” Lonnie pleaded. “I really want you there. Not only because you’re my genie, but because you’re my friend.”

  Jordan scoffed and uncrossed her arms. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

  Lonnie sighed with relief. Maybe Jordan was just in a bad mood this morning and was taking it out on Jay. Lonnie hoped that whatever disdain Jordan had toward Jay would wear off sooner rather than later; otherwise this would be a very long weekend.

  Jordan nodded toward the lamp still clutched in Lonnie’s hand. “Make your wish already.”

  Lonnie glanced down at the golden object in her hand and felt her heart start to hammer with anticipation. She knew that the lamp granted three wishes. She’d planned to use one to get them to the Imperial City without being caught and the other for getting Jordan out of her commitment to Ben. Which meant there was still one wish left. She decided she was going to save that one in case of an emergency.

  Lonnie closed her eyes and rubbed the lamp in her hand.

  “I wish for us all to go to the Imperial City,” she whispered aloud, before quickly adding, “without getting caught.”

  Then she waited. At first, nothing happened. And Lonnie worried tha
t she had done something wrong. Said the wrong words. Rubbed the wrong part of the lamp. Making wishes on genie lamps wasn’t a subject they taught at Auradon Prep.

  But a few seconds later, a strange thing started to happen. Lonnie felt the lamp tingle between her fingers. She opened her eyes to see glittery pink smoke floating out of the lamp’s spout. It started as a small stream—barely even as wide as her pinky finger—but then it began to grow and puff and expand. Like it was alive and breathing. The smoke got wider and wider until it encompassed all three of them and she could no longer see Jay or Jordan.

  “Uh,” she heard Jay say with a cough. “Is this supposed to happen?”

  “Yes,” Jordan snapped. “Be quiet. I’m concentrating.”

  Lonnie was about to ask another question but quickly closed her mouth, partly because she didn’t want to disrupt Jordan’s concentration, but also because she didn’t want to inhale too much of the pink smoke. For a moment, she wondered if maybe this wish was too big for Jordan. Maybe she wasn’t quite skilled enough as a genie to grant it.

  But then, in the blink of an eye, the smoke vanished as though it had never been there to begin with, and Lonnie glanced at her new surroundings. They were no longer standing in Lonnie’s dorm room. They were standing next to a babbling brook surrounded by lush, rolling green grass and beautiful vibrant pink peony flowers. Lonnie immediately recognized it as the gardens near the Imperial Palace, where she used to train and practice with her mother when she was a little girl. She could see the sloped wooden framework of the palace peeking out over the hill and the tall buildings of the Imperial City just beyond that.

  And it wasn’t just the sights that were familiar. It was the smells, too. The sweet aroma of cherry blossoms in the air. The faint scent of jasmine in the breeze. The whole thing brought back so many warm and happy memories of Lonnie’s childhood: sword fighting with her mother in the gardens, running laps around the palace with her father, watching the golden sun set behind the majestic pagoda that stood tall in the center of the city, baking cookies in the kitchen with her mom when she was feeling sad.

  Lonnie breathed in everything and smiled a huge, blissful smile.

  She was home.

  I’m here! Time to go to battle! Not the real kind, of course…the reality TV kind.

  “I’ll just take that,” Jordan said, easing the lamp from Lonnie’s grip. She then placed the lamp back in her bag and gave it a pat. “Better that I hold on to it. For safekeeping.” Then she spun in a slow circle, taking in her surroundings. “So, where is this warrior festival thing?”

  “It’s in the center of the city,” Lonnie said, pointing over the hill. “That way.”

  Jordan made a tsk tsk sound with her tongue. “See, this is why it’s important to be super specific with your wishes. Otherwise you wind up in the middle of nowhere and have to walk.” She gathered up her duffel bag and heaved it over her shoulder. “Geez, this thing is heavy.”

  “I’ll carry it for you.” Jay practically pushed Lonnie aside to offer his assistance to Jordan. “As you can see, I have very impressive muscles.” Jay shoved up the sleeve of his shirt and began flexing his arms this way and that. Lonnie almost laughed aloud at how ridiculous he looked.

  Jordan just snorted and stepped around him. “I can carry my own bag, thank you very much.”

  As the three of them walked toward the city, Lonnie noticed that Jay was acting very strange. He kept doing crazy jumps off garden walls or leaping up to catch high branches on trees, then backflipping off them. It almost seemed like he’d eaten too much sugar for breakfast.

  “What are you doing?” Jordan asked, sounding annoyed after Jay had picked up three apples from under a tree and started to juggle them.

  Jordan rolled her eyes at him. But Jay seemed determined to amuse her.

  He spotted a small bridge running over a stream, and his eyes seemed to light up. He dropped the apples and leaped onto the handrail of the bridge, attempting to glide across it. Except the handrail must have been sticky or something, because his shoes skipped on the surface, and before he could stop himself, Jay went tumbling into the creek below.

  Lonnie and Jordan both burst out laughing. Jay stood up and grudgingly wrung the water out of his long hair.

  “I guess it’s a good thing you’re not the one entering the challenge today,” Jordan commented.

  Jay just scoffed in response. Meanwhile, Lonnie was wondering what all this absurd behavior was about. Why was Jay acting so foolish? She’d seen him trying to impress girls before, but never with this much eagerness.

  When they finally arrived in the heart of the Imperial City, Lonnie was amazed to see how it had been transformed for the competition. There were banners strung across almost every building, welcoming the competitors; hundreds of little stands and kiosks had popped up along the street, selling souvenirs and T-shirts and good-luck charms for the challengers; and TV crews and reporters were arriving in droves, hauling equipment out of trucks and vans. Lonnie was definitely grateful for her disguise. In the center of everything, a huge red dome had been constructed: the Auradon Warrior Challenge Arena. That’s where all the action would take place that day and the next.

  “Um, what are you planning to do about your parents?” Jordan asked, stepping up next to Lonnie and staring at the arena. “Aren’t you worried about them finding out you’re here and then telling the school?”

  Lonnie waved this concern away. “Nah. First of all, they live pretty far outside of town. And second, they hate reality TV, so there’s no chance they’ll be watching.”

  The three headed over to a registration table that had been set up under a tent just outside the entrance to the dome.

  “Name?” a lady asked from behind a tablet.

  “Um.” Lonnie hesitated, trying to come up with a good fake name to give. She finally settled on her grandmother’s name. “Li.”

  The lady typed the name into the tablet. “You’ll be competitor 178,” she said. “What’s your helmet size?”

  “Um,” Lonnie said again.

  “She’s a small,” Jay put in. Lonnie turned to him with a questioning look. “I had to order your helmet for R.O.A.R.,” he explained.

  The woman handed her an official Auradon Warrior Challenge helmet. It reminded Lonnie of the helmets ancient warriors used to wear to battle. It was gold, with ornate wings carved into the sides.

  Lonnie fell in love with it the moment she slipped it over her blond wig. It made her feel like a real warrior. “How do I look?” she asked Jordan.

  “Like someone I wouldn’t want to mess with,” Jordan replied.

  “Perfect,” Lonnie said.

  “Do not lose your helmet,” the woman said in a warning tone. “It’s mandatory for the obstacle course. They won’t let you on any of the equipment without a helmet. It’s a legal issue.” Then, in a high-pitched voice, the woman chirped, “Safety first!”

  Lonnie nodded. “Got it.”

  “The elimination round starts in two hours. If you make it into the final round, you’ll be given a royal suite in the Imperial Palace for the night.”

  “A suite in the palace?” Jay echoed excitedly. “SWEET!” He nudged Jordan. “Get it? Sweet? Suite?” He snickered at his own joke.

  “I get it,” Jordan deadpanned. “It’s not that funny.”

  Jay feigned offense. “It’s really funny.” He turned to Lonnie. “That was funny, right?”

  But Lonnie didn’t want to get involved in whatever weird thing was going on between Jordan and Jay, so she stayed silent.

  “Lonnie,” Jay urged. “Funny, right? Suite. Sweet.”

  “Not that funny,” the registration lady declared.

  Jay snorted. “Whatever.”

  The registration lady turned back to Lonnie. “You can warm up in the Training Center.” She pointed to a large open area that had been set up next to the dome. Then she shot a glance at Jordan and Jay. “But I’m afraid the Training Center is open to competitor
s and trainers only.”

  Jordan shrugged. “No matter. I have some shopping I want to do. I’ll be in the arena to watch you crush everyone in the first round, though!” She turned and swaggered away from the table.

  “I’ll miss you, genie girl!” Jay called after her.

  “No, you won’t!” Jordan called without turning around.

  “Good luck, Li!” the lady at the registration table said and then directed her attention at the next person in line.

  Jay and Lonnie headed to the Training Center to warm up with the other competitors. There were several obstacles set up around the large outdoor area, and about a hundred competitors were all taking turns on them. There was an equal number of men and women, but every competitor in the room seemed older than Lonnie and looked ten times stronger and more experienced. She’d never seen so many muscles in one place before. Lonnie’s whole body seemed to freeze in place.

  She suddenly felt very foolish. What was she thinking, believing she could win this thing?

  “This was a mistake,” Lonnie whispered to Jay. She turned and tried to bolt, but Jay caught her by the arm.

  “Oh, no, you don’t. We didn’t work this hard for you to quit before you even try.”

  “B-b-but,” Lonnie stammered, watching a young man in blue armor and a matching blue jacket leap over a moving fence like he had springs in his boots.

  “But nothing,” Jay said, walking to stand in front of Lonnie so he could look into her eyes. “You are good. You can do this. Just ignore everyone else and focus on everything we’ve been working on.”

  Lonnie tried to take Jay’s advice, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the guy in blue. Now he had moved on to lifting giant kettle bells over his head as though they weighed nothing.

  Jay turned to follow Lonnie’s fearful gaze. “Oh,” he said knowingly. “Yeah, that’s Chen. He’s won the past four years.”

  “Four years?” Lonnie croaked. “You didn’t tell me I was going up against a four-time champion!”

  Jay waved this away as though it were an annoying fly. “I’m not worried.”

  “I am!”