The School for Good and Evil #2: A World without Princes by Soman Chainani Page B

away—
    â€œVIOLATION,” the crabby voice blared. “NO SLAPPING. VIOLATION. NO SLAPPING.”
    The lizards and frogs atop their track skittered down the green-flowered vines and started tugging at Sophie’s clothes. Aghast, Sophie smacked at them, sending lizards and flowers flying. Agatha inhaled the pollen and sneezed.
    â€œVIOLATION. NO SNEEZING. VIOLATION.” Birds, lizards, and frogs from other lines descended to denude both girls as punishment—
    â€œWe need to get off!” Agatha cried.
    â€œI know! I only have two buttons left!” Sophie shrieked, slapping the frog away.
    â€œNo! We need to get off now !”
    Agatha pointed at the red hoods swinging onto their track—
    â€œFollow me!” she cried to Sophie, shaking off a rainbow of lizards, and swung to the next strap. She glanced back to see Sophie still grappling a canary on her collar. “Shoo! This is handmade!”
    â€œNOW!” Agatha screamed—
    Sophie gasped and swung for the next vine. She missed and plunged screaming towards a gnashing flytrap. Agatha blanched in horror—
    Sophie belly-flopped onto the blue HIBISCUS LINE below, running parallel at high speed. Hands and legs wrapped around the glowing trunk, she looked up at Agatha, who heaved with relief.
    â€œAggie, watch out!” Sophie screamed—
    Agatha wheeled to a hood on her vine. He grabbed herthroat.
    Hearing Agatha’s choked gurgles above her, Sophie tried to stand on her trunk, then saw a thorn tunnel ahead about to decapitate her and plastered down just as her train whooshed through. Suddenly she heard a twinkly sound and swerved her head down the tunnel to see the glowing blue butterfly, hovering in place above the track.
    â€œHelp us!” Sophie screamed—
    The butterfly beat its wings and whizzed forward. As her train came out of the tunnel, Sophie scooted down the tree trunk to follow it, shadows of the hood strangling Agatha darkening the track ahead. Frantic, Sophie tried to keep up with the butterfly, but two red hoods landed in front of her, bows and arrows in hand. Just as they aimed, she looked back with terror and saw the hood about to snap Agatha’s neck—
    The butterfly dove and yanked the vine under Sophie’s hand. In an instant, the vine snared Sophie’s wrist, ripped her off the track, and lassoed Agatha’s hand on the way up. The hoods whirled in shock, spewing their knives and arrows at them, but the vine coiled like a whip and launched both girls upwards into a blue windwheel of light. The rush of air sucked them towards the light portal in a storm of loose petals, pulling up, up, up—
    And into a lush field.
    Kneeling in a bed of tall red and yellow lilies, Agatha and Sophie heaved for breath, faces scratched, petals in hair, and dresses barely still on. Both looked down at thedirt-plugged hole they’d just spouted from, broiled with arrows from below.
    â€œWhere are we?” Sophie said, searching for the blue butterfly.
    Agatha shook her head. “I don’t—”
    Then she saw a red lily and a yellow lily whispering to each other, giving her strange looks.
    She’d seen flowers talking about her once before, she thought. In a field just like this, until they’d tugged her by the wrist and yanked her up to . . .
    Agatha lurched to her feet.
    The School for Good soared above them, shimmering in red-orange sunrise over the crystal-clear side of Halfway Bay. Its four glass towers, once divided between pink and blue, were now only blue, with flags bearing butterflies of the same color billowing from sharp minarets.
    â€œWe’re back,” Sophie gasped.
    Agatha went white as snow.
    Back to the one place she’d tried to forget. Back to the one place that could ruin everything.
    Ahead, the closed doors to the Good castle lay atop a hill. Golden spiked gates barred the path up the Great Lawn, mirrored words arching over them:
    T HE S