#fromblondie

Welcome to Just Right, with me, Blondie Lockes! This week I'm reviewing the Beanstalk Bakery. Is the food here just right? Or is that just a tall tale?

First I ordered a porridge hocus latte, but it was too hot. Then it got too cold. You know what it wasn't? Just right.

Word is the Pinocci-donuts are all the page. Tell a lie and they grow! Cool trick, but not too much fun when your mouth is full and you don't want to share a secret. My jaw still hurts.

I had to try a piece of Dark Forest Cake. It's so dense and chocolaty. Too bad nobody warned me that it also makes your nightmares come true. If I never see a bear again, it will be too soon.

Usually I'm royally confident about my hair. But believe it or not, when it came to how to style my hair for Thronecoming, I was lost in the woods. It had to match my bear-inspired outfit, yet still scream "Thronecoming Queen". So I put my hair in the hands of the only fairytale I could trust... the hottest hair stylist ever after, Poppy O'Hair.

The first hair style was too "Rebel". I know my outfit has cute bows, but a bowtied hairstyle? Really?

Poppy had an idea... since my outfit was all about bears, what about two honey buns. But when she wrapped them, they just felt too 1977. Help me, Poppy O'Hair, you're my only hope!

Nobody had seen Cerise for hours. Just as I was about to give up looking for her, I overheard Cedar, "—I know where Cerise is, but the only way to get to her is through the wishing well." Cedar, Raven Queen and Madeline Hatter snuck outside of school to the wishing well. If they knew where Cerise was, I had to follow them.

Inside the wishing well, a winding tunnel glittered with sparkling coins of promised wishes. I reached into my pocket for two coins—one so I could find Cerise, and the other so she could find it in herself to forgive me.

Raven, Maddie and Cedar's voice travelled up, followed by a loud SLAM. Suddenly a force whisked me up a tunnel, when my head bonked against something hard—a locked door. Again with the locking! It opened right in the middle of the Grimmnasium. Cerise cried to her friends, "I don't even care about the dance! Why would Blondie tell the whole school I want to ruin it?"

My heart broke into three pieces—one filled with guilt, one filled with sadness, but the third filled with hope, and that's just right, "Because I got carried away." I explained the entire story. About how I thought someone was going to ruin our Legacy Day dance. How I thought Cerise acted suspiciously. The fact is I never had all the facts. I tried to make the pieces fit because I wanted my hunch to be just right, "But I was wrong. I never meant to hurt you, Cerise. I'm so sorry."

Cerise wiped her eyes, and, for the first time ever, smiled, "My Blondie, what a big heart you have."

I just love the sound of a MirrorCast in the morning. My next episode of Just Right was finally ready. After a last look to make sure my blonde curls looked just right, I went live:

"Who's not ready for Legacy Day? If you want my opinion, I can't wait for everyone to hex out my Legacy Day outfit, not to mention the book-slamming dance afterwards. Am I just right, or am I just right? But, there's one person who doesn't feel like spellebrating. You're probably wondering, 'Who is this... rebel?' Someone with a grudge against a certain big bad Head of General Villainy, that's who. The daughter of Red Riding Hood, Cerise Hood—"

Briar burst through the room, "STOP THE MIRRORCAST!"

I didn't. "Just in time! As you know, Briar, Cerise is hiding a secret! It's Mr. Badwolf. First she unlocked his office before the headmaster's speech. Then she mysteriously vanished to Book End. Next I caught Cerise breaking into Mr. Badwolf's office and then she flipped her hood when asked if she hates the Big Bad Wolf! Why? Because Mr. Badwolf is The Big Bad Wolf... the villain in her story. Cerise wanted to make it look like he ruined our dance, so he would get fired! It just makes so much sense! Well, mostly makes sense, but that's not the point—"

"Blondie, forget the dance!" Briar flipped the switch on the MirrorCast, "The other day, Headmaster Grimm said he's worried about someone not pledging their destiny on Legacy Day! That's what you overheard! When people hear your MirrorCast—"

"BLONDIE LOCKES," a booming voice shattered my MirrorPad. "REPORT TO HEADMASTER GRIMM'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!"

They didn't make me wait. They shuffled me straight to Headmaster Grimm, "This is unacceptable, Ms. Lockes. Using your MirrorCast to spread fables. If you must know, Cerise Hood was excused from Orientation to get school supplies for Mr. Badwolf. You have detention for a week, and, as much as I enjoy your program, if you cause any more trouble, I am closing the book on your MirrorCast forever. Do you read me?"

During breakfast, I asked Briar what happened at Book End, but she really didn't want to talk about it. In fact, she and Apple weren't talking at all. Usually they're both so royally ready to embrace the day, but they couldn't even look at each other. All seemed lost. Without the "Briar at Book End" interview, there could be no MirrorCast. My reputation as a journalist who's always just right was on the line!

Then something novel happened... Holly O'Hair joined with Cerise. Not only is Holly the next Rapunzel, she's also the new princess at school. She also doesn't really understand the unwritten rules of the Castleteria. If she did, she wouldn't have sat with the lone wolf daughter of Red Riding Hood. You could tell something big and bad was brewing. Suddenly Cerise growled, "JUST DROP IT!"

Strangely, Mr. Badwolf's door was locked. I never understood this. Doors exist so people can walk through them! It's like mom always says, a lock just prevents a door from fulfilling its destiny. Certainly Mr. Badwolf just accidentally locked the door, so I fixed it open with a hairpin and let myself into his empty office. Knowing he wouldn't mind if I made myself at home, I sat in the first chair in front of his desk, but it was just too big. The second chair was just too small. The chair behind his desk was just right... In fact, it must have been really just right because I dozed off...

If Cerise planned to spoil the Legacy Day dance, Cedar was the first step in stopping her. That's because Cedar's the daughter of Pinocchio, but unlike her father, she can't tell a lie... at least not until she graduates. I arrived in the Charmitorium at just the right time! There was an open chair right next to her. I fished through my bookpack for my MirrorPad and hit record. A good journalist knows to get every word. "Cedar, have you seen Cerise?"

"Yeah, earlier when she left Mr. Badwolf's office for the village of Book End," then she suspiciously whittled, "Why do you want to know?"