Author's Note; This story is loosely based on a series of dreams I had… I say loosely, because if I were to put in everything that happened, Sherlock Holmes would be wearing a dress and living in an apartment, and there would be WAAAY too many characters to manage. Sooo… yeah. Leora and Toby are the only characters I own. I do not own Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Axel, Kingdom Hearts, or Disney World. Or Florida, for that matter. XD And yes, I took the title from one of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban songs. I don't own that, either. Poor me who doesn't own anything. D:
Leora tapped her pencil on the desk, bored. Only one more hour to sit through, and then she would be free... free for three sweet months to be spent wherever she so pleased, which would most likely be somewhere warm and sandy. She loved living in Florida, except during the school year. School was such a waste of her time, which could be better spent at places like the Florida Keys, Disney World, or Cape Cod. Her deep green eyes darted once more toward the clock, gauging the time.
Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang. Without waiting for the teacher to dismiss them, the thirty-three students scrambled to their feet and rushed out the door, Leora in their midst. The door to the outside world was flung open, and the students, Leora included, flowed out and into the thousands of other high school students like a river joining the ocean. There were shouts of joy coming from every direction, mingled with the more reprimanding tones of the teachers, counselors, and security guards attempting to get the tide under control. Leora rolled her eyes. It was a wasted effort, through and through. There would be no containing these high school students, not today.
"Hey Leora! How's it feel to be a fish?" came a voice to the left of Leora. She glanced over, grinning toothily.
"Ask yourself, Toby! You're just as much a fish as I am!" she shouted to her friend over the noise.
"Come over here and say that to my face!" Toby replied, sticking his tongue out at her. He was lanky, with dark brown, medium-length curly hair. Despite the almost constant Florida sun, he was quite pale. His full name was Tobias, but almost everybody just called him Toby. It fit him better.
"Alright, I will!" Leora responded, beginning to shove her way sideways through the crowd. She was slightly taller than he was, with waist-length dyed red hair. In contrast to Toby, she was quite tan. Finally she stood next to him, matching her pace with his. "You're a fish. Fish-face."
"You're just jealous," he replied, sucking his cheeks in to make fish-lips. Leora shoved him in response, nearly causing a pile-up. "Hey! Watch the merchandise! I got some valuable stuff in this backpack!" he whined, jolting it up and down. "Hey, are you gonna drive me home or am I gonna have to ride the stupid bus?"
Leora sighed. Toby could never seem to stay on one subject for more than two seconds. "Yeah sure, I'll drive you home. You gotta behave, though. I'll throw you out of my car without a second thought."
"I know. Can I at least play my new CD?"
"You know the rules."
"Yup. No rap, no country, and no scream-o. Nothin' to worry about, honest. You'll like this one."
A flood of students later, Leora sat in the driver's seat of her pearly white VW Beetle. It was her pride and joy, with a red and black dragon traveling down both sides and a deep maroon convertible top. Toby leaned forward, popping the CD in without letting Leora see the title. She rolled her eyes as she put the car into reverse, looking behind her. Because of their detour to the vending machines, by the time the two reached the parking lot most other students were long gone. Leora cautiously backed the car up, wary of any aggressive stragglers. She sighed in contentment. "Finally, summer is here!" she said as the music began to play. It wasn't anything she had heard before, but it wasn't bad. She found herself tapping her fingers on the steering wheel along with the beat.
"Is that trip to Disney World still on?" Toby asked suddenly, glancing sideways at Leora.
"Come on! It's tradition! Of course it's still on!" Leora replied, pretending to be indignant.
"Good. I heard they're doing this really cool thing this year, and I was thinking of booking us a couple of character dinners..."
"Do you think they ever get tired of us? I mean, a group of rowdy high school teenagers, most of who somehow manage to be taller than even Goofy, asking for the autograph of some random guy in a costume?"
"You know they get a laugh out of it. Plus, it's kinda fun to watch them stumble around in those crazy costumes. I heard you could get a ride in the front of the monorails!" Leora was used to the Toby's habit of hopping rapidly from one subject to the next, and it didn't bother her nearly as much as it had when she had first met him. By now, she could almost keep up with his speeding train of thought. Almost.
"Really? That would be pretty cool... almost like driving the whole train..." Leora let the thought trail as the two contented themselves with listening to the CD.
