The Class Of Classics

The Class of Classics

An original graphic novel

Author	Leigh Dragon

Publisher	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date	20th June 2017.

The Class of Classics is a graphic novel by Leigh Dragon and illustrated by Jessi Sheron.

Blurb[]

It’s reunion weekend for the Class of Classics, and thanks to a magical spell gone awry in the Legacy Orchard, today’s Ever After High students have a hexclusive sneak peek into their parents’ stories. Raven Queen, Apple White, Cerise Hood, Madeline Hatter, and more go on a thrilling adventure through the past that reveals what their parents were really like in high school. These six spelltacular stories, together exclusively in this full-color graphic novel, will change everything you thought you knew about the Class of Classics!

Summary[]

Story 1: The Spell[]

The Class of Classics reunion is fast approaching. The parents of many students will be returning to their beloved school, Ever After High. Some students are very hexcited, while others aren't so thrilled. Cerise tries to avoid the topic of whether they'll get to meet her dad. Meanwhile, Dexter and Darling are worried that they don't have anything in common with their dad. Daring doesn't understand why his siblings are so worried. He, on the other hand, has always gotten along hexcellently with their father. Melody is having doubts about her and her dad. She likes funky, modern beats, while her dad likes classical music. Perhaps they aren't as in sync as she thought. That night, Apple and Raven are lounging on the same bed in their pajamas. Apple gushes how much she and her mom are alike. Raven never had that same connection with her mom, since the two of them are so different. Then Raven points out that Snow White played in the Dragon Games, which wasn't typical of princesses back then. Apple is curious how her mother got involved in dragon-sport in the first place. Determined to find answers, she and Raven break into the Legacy Orchard to read their parents' yearbook stories. But Raven's spell goes out of control, and they are transported inside the yearbooks . . .

Story 2: Pied Piper[]

Apple and Raven are surprised to see Kitty and Melody. The four girls find themselves in the music classroom at Ever After High. A young male student is there, and Raven tries to get his attention, but he can neither see or hear her, and Raven's hand passes right through him. That's because the four girls are only there to witness the scene. They can't interact with the people. At that moment, the music teacher peers in through the doorway and calls the male student "Pied." Melody realizes that the student must be her dad! The Pied Piper is trying to choose and instrument that excites him. After a failed attempt with a trombone, he tests out a flute. Beautiful music fills the room . . . as well as several rats! Later, Pied complains to Goldilocks and Charming that the rats won't go away. He was going to ask Rose Red out, but now with the rats around, he is sure that Rose would say no. Goldilocks says she may know someone who can help, and points to where the Cheshire Cat is relaxing in a nearby tree. The Cheshire Cat easily scares away the rodents, but in return, Pied must do one favor for her. It takes a while for her to decide, but the Cheshire Cat finally knows what to ask for. She wants to name the Pied Piper's firstborn child! She thinks about choosing a traditional Wonderlandian name, such as "Gree" or "Frumious." Kitty cheers for her mom, while Melody is in disbelief over what she's hearing. Upon seeing the piper's expression, the Cheshire Cat tells him that she's just teasing, and that she would pick a musical name such as "Melody." After all, she likes names that end in "Y." Melody realizes that she and her dad both love her name. They must be in sync after all! Story over, Kitty and Melody disappear.

Story 3: Mad Hatter[]

Apple, Raven and Maddie appear in a wonderlandiful place, with talking flowers, strange creatures and giant objects. Ever After students were bored and tired of studying, so the Mad Hatter planned a big tea party in the castleteria. Maddie tries to talk to him, but realizes that he can not hear her. Headmaster Grimm intervenes and orders all students to return to their classes. He leads the Mad Hatter to his office, and then he has a talk about the Hatter's behavior, since that same month he had already switched the Bookball team helmets for tea pots, turned Saturday into "Hatterday", and swapped writing desks for ravens. They have a nonsensical talk, and then come to an agreement, where the Hatter must notify the Headmaster before organizing tea parties. The Headmaster finally asks what the point is of replacing writing desks with ravens, and the Hatter responds that he wanted to see how a raven is like a writing desk. The Hatter warns that he will throw a party the next day and then he leaves, leaving the Headmaster puzzled about the answer to the raven riddle. Maddie starts to vanish and says goodbye to Apple and Raven, so they both think about who will be the next to appear.

Story 4: Red Riding Hood[]

Cerise appears in front of Raven. Apple, on the other hand, has disappeared. She is transported back to the Legacy Orchard and is incapable of walking. Raven and Cerise are thankful for this, because the next yearbook tells the story of Cerise’s parents! They see Red Riding Hood eating in the Castle-teria. Badwolf is there too, performing a trick while standing on top of a chair. Red is unamused by his class-clown antics. Suddenly, Badwolf stumbles and falls. Seeing Red’s disapproving expression, he dejectedly walks off. Later, in Theater Class, the students are assigned to put together a short play. They are to work in pairs, and the teacher has chosen the pairings for them. As fate would have it, Red and Badwolf are paired together! Red isn’t too thrilled, meanwhile, Badwolf could not be happier with his partner. After classes end for the day, they start working on their project. Red has several ideas already and tells them all to Badwolf. He laughs and tells her to slow down. He thinks it’s great that she has so many ideas, and laments that he wishes he could express his own thoughts as easily. Badwolf says that visuals help him organize his thoughts. The more they work together, the more they get to know each other, and Red begins to see that there is a lot more to Badwolf than just goofing around. She helps Badwolf create a storyboard for their play, so he can see their ideas on display. Finally, the day has come for them to perform their play, and everything goes well. Red initially thought that Badwolf was nothing more than a class-clown, but during their time spent working on the project, they have begun to form a close bond. Cerise is very moved, and grateful to have witnessed this. Apple returns, and Cerise disappears.

Story 5: King Charming[]

Next, Darling and Dexter appear. They are about to enter their dad’s yearbook! They see a young King Charming playing bookball. Apple, Raven, Darling, and Dexter are all shocked when he trips and lands flat on his face. Dexter and Darling realize that maybe their dad wasn’t always good at everything, after all. Later, in the Castle-teria, Goldilocks announces that due to an incident with Little-Bo Peep, she is in need of some help working on the school newspaper. Pinocchio encourages King Charming to volunteer, knowing that he has a crush on Goldilocks. But King Charming is rather tongue-tied, and nervous to speak up, so Pinocchio speaks for him. He tells Goldilocks that his buddy, Charming, would be happy to help out. Dexter sees that he and his dad have something in common. They both get nervous around girls! While Goldilocks and Charming are working on the newspaper, the computer crashes, and Charming thinks it’s his fault. But Goldilocks laughs, saying that it is a very old computer and they were prepared in case it malfunctioned. Eventually, Charming finally works up enough courage to ask Goldilocks to the school dance, and she says yes! Darling and Dexter were originally puzzled over why Daring wasn’t there with them witnessing their dad’s yearbook story. But they now realize that it’s because Daring already feels connected to their dad. This story was meant to help Dexter and Darling feel closer to their dad. In the next instant, the twins disappear.

Story 6: The Evil Queen[]

Apple and Raven are transported into the final yearbook story. Finally, they get to see what their mothers were like in school! Snow White is the perfect student, meanwhile, the Evil Queen is bored out of her mind. She casts a spell to liven things up, and causes everyone in the classroom to levitate. Their teacher, Mrs. Her Majesty the White Queen, is most displeased. After classes, the Evil Queen notices Snow looking up at piece of parchment on the wall. It's a poster for dragon-riding tryouts. The Evil Queen laughs to herself, seeing that Snow is too afraid to try out. Suddenly, the young Evil Queen gets an idea. She puts a courage-spell on Snow that makes her try out for the Dragon Games! Everyone is shocked when Snow white signs up for dragon-riding. At the arena, Snow is on a dragon and ready to take off. The other princesses are in such disbelief that one of them actually faints. The Evil Queen is watching eagerly, because any moment, the courage spell will wear off and Snow will snap like an apple stem. But Snow is tougher than everyone thinks. The dragon takes off and Snow hoists the reigns with determination. When she and her dragon land, everyone cheers. Everyone, that is, except the Evil Queen.

Epilogue[]

Apple and Raven walk back to school, side-by-side. On the day of the reunion, the students have much to discuss with their parents. Dexter asks his dad for advice on talking to this girl he likes. Melody wants to record some of her Dad's classical music so that she can mix it with her modern music. Maddie asks her dad for tea-party tips. Raven's mother is there too, peering out from behind the mirror, which was moved to the celebration location. Raven reminds her mom that she once did something good in school. The Evil Queen stresses the importance of caution when casting evil spells, as they can backfire like they did with Snow White and the dragon tryouts. Raven says she won't forget what her mother did. Maybe there's a bit of her mom in her after all.