So my lovelies, this is not my usual EPOV. This is a story that I was shocked into when I went to California in February but is loosely based off of my July trip last year. This is a wonderful trip to Disneyland and it's all about Miss Bella and her dream come true. My trip was beyond magical and I will show you some funnier parts of it, but that's not really important. This story is just for fun and kicks and giggles. I don't think I want it to get too serious because Edward's Longest Night took so much energy from me to write. I just want to have fun! Oh and I am a super descriptive writer so this isn't as long as it seems. It's mostly dialog and descriptions.
Warning: Two of the extra characters kinda pick on each other with semi racial jokes and I just want to let everyone know that I am not racist. It's just the dynamic between these two. I really really really really don't mean to offend anyone. I am toning it down a whole hell of a lot from the situation that I am modeling it after. But I can't show their bond unless I have them pick on each other a little.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT NOR DO I OWN ANYTHING DISNEY®. IF I OFFEND PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
It was 7:40 am on a Monday in July and I was sitting in SeaTac at gate C11 waiting for flight 511 to get in for my 8:45 flight to John Wayne International Airport in Orange County, California. Next to me waiting for this two hour flight with Alaska Airways was my partner in crime, Rosalie Hale and her older brother, by six minutes, Jasper Hale. We had woken up extra early on an abysmally cloudy and slightly damp Seattle day to fly down to Southern California. But the three of us weren't going to any sunny beaches or big cities with underpaid and overworked clerks.
We were going to…
The One.
The Only.
The Everlasting.
Disneyland.
It was one month before we each packed boxes and shipped ourselves a few miles to our various colleges in the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Each of us was 18, and freshly graduated from high school and we were on our way to the Happiest Place on Earth.
We got the idea to go to Anaheim while intoxicated at a party watching Disney princess movies. In total and complete honesty the three of us were beyond excited, it's just that it was 7:41 in the morning on our summer vacation. There wasn't anywhere that we would have rather been, except our somewhat luscious beds. Then again, Jasper expressed the interest to go to a beach instead at one point and his loving, almost pleasant, lady of a sister locked him in her bathroom until he promised to stay in the parks with us. He smelled like Paris Hilton for a week after his five hours in the bathroom. It didn't help that we forgot he was in there, but all the same he learned his lesson.
There was a reason I learned to stop fighting with Rosalie Hale shortly after her sixth birthday. I actually still have a faint teeth mark from her digging in those pearly whites to my shoulder. I shouldn't have insulted Tommy Pickles, that was my mistake and I said sorry for it. I can only imagine what would have happened had I said anything about her silly hairdo the one time her mother let her do it herself. I shivered at the thought.
"Spazing again Bella?" asked Jasper in a sarcastic tone.
"No I was just remembering the one time when we were six and your mom let Rosalie do her own hair and that one girl made fun of it."
He started laughing and Rosalie just rolled her eyes over her Glamour magazine. I raised my eyebrow at her and she looked up at me laughing.
"Flight 511 is now at the Gate and has begun unloading. We ask that all people going to John Wayne International Airport gather their belongings before boarding," the stiff female voice said.
"She is less that ten feet from us and yet she needs to use speaker?" Jasper wondered.
I watched as the lady at the desk glanced his way and winked at him. I started laughing and Rosalie rolled her eyes again.
"Clearly in an attempt to attract your leonine eye, Fuzzy Brother." Rosalie and her brother had gorgeous blonde hair that made my brown waves even more boring. They really were the most attractive people I knew. Jasper's ear length hair sometimes made it look like he had a mane just like a lion. We called him Simba for the longest of time because he got a bad haircut and made it look even worse. Their mother tried to stop us, but we were a force to be reckoned with. Now he was simply 'Fuzzy Brother', at least early in the morning.
"Are you sure it wasn't for you, Goldilocks?" If I hadn't known these two my entire life I would be under the extreme impression that they hated each other.
"And don't you forget it, fuzzy Lumpkin's," Rosalie cooed the end. She hated being called Goldilocks and he knew it.
Several boys tried to pick on her when we were in middle school while Jasper was away and that was when the world learned that Rosalie could hold her own in a fight. What was even more amazing was that just two years later those same boys had to come to her with car trouble. Everyone in the school knew that Rosalie could rip down a carburetor and put one back together in one night. They don't even put carburetors on cars anymore and she can still tackle one.
Jasper was the one who was gifted with all things history and politics. He had aspirations to teach history at Cambridge or one of the other top colleges. He could even handle being a politician; he had the cool demeanor for it. He really helped when it came to U.S. History. The subject just bored me to death and he brought life and humor to it.
We watched the slow trickle of people exit the plane all looking extremely exhausted from their red eye flight. I felt bad because here I was complaining about how early I had to get up when these people had to get up even earlier.
I looked around at the other people who would be boarding the flight with me. Everyone looked just as half dead as we did except for a strange family of four. It was the parents and two girls, and one of them was not blood related being that she was Mexican with a white family. The two teenage girls looked a year younger than me and were bouncing around with excitement. Normally I wouldn't have guessed that they were going to go to Disneyland, expect for the sturdy walking shoes and the clothes one of them wore. The redhead daughter wore a pirate Mickey jacket that I hadn't seen on sale anywhere in Seattle. I wondered if these would be those embarrassing people that would chase the characters all over the park.
In all honest truth the last time I was there I was the little girl who would tackle a character in a hug. I had the fanny pack and the matching sunglasses. I had the insanely painful princess shoes and I begged for the princess dress. I was the girl who dragged her mother trying to get the signature of a character that I wasn't sure if I had ever seen before. I was seven the last time I went. Can't you tell?
I hoped for the sake of the parents that those girls had the right attitude for it. I hoped those parents got some time to themselves to be adults. It's unfair how adults lose the Disney luster, but I guess it's all part of growing up.
"How often do you think we will run into those two?" Jasper asked me.
"I have no idea, but they will probably be worn out and complaining after their second day," I laughed back. I was more prepared for this than anyone could have suspected. Rose and I had taken to going on long walks everyday to build up the tendons in our feet. Pain would not be tolerated on this trip.
"Flight 511 is now boarding from the back of the plane. Will rows 15 to 25 please begin boarding," said the female once again winking at Jasper. He looked a little uncomfortable and I just snickered at him.
Our seats were almost in the back of the plane, row 22. This was one of those weird flights where the seats in the back cost less and we were trying to save cash wherever we could even though our parents were paying for flight and hotel. We had the three seats on the left side of the plane. Knowing that I would be the least likely to sleep on the plane I took the window seat while Rose sat in the middle and Jasper on the edge. He kindly threw our carry on luggage up in the overhead compartment and grabbed the three of us pillows. I rested back in my seat watching the ground crew wandering around.
"Finally," Rose sighed. I watched as she closed her Glamour magazine.
"Done already?" Jasper asked.
"Hardly, next is Cosmo," she said pulling her next magazine out of her purse. I chuckled at Jasper's naivety. I thought he knew his sister better than that.
As we were taking off I looked around the plane and noticed four sets of arms in the air like it was a ride. I noticed the sleeves from the family of four and wondered if they really could handle this trip properly. They were clearly already pumped for the rides.
Once we were airborne and were allowed to take out electronics the three of us pulled out our iPods. I knew my two best friends well enough to know exactly what they were playing. Jasper made a mix of Rise Against and the villain songs from all the best Disney movies. Rosalie had hip-hop songs with the princess songs. I had some calming classical music with Shiny Toy Guns mixed in and the comical songs from the Disney classics. I cracked Pride and Prejudice to Eliza Bennett verbally attacking Mr. Darcy and settled in for the two-hour ride.
*o* *o* *o*
"Come on Bella, Prince Charming is waiting for you," I heard a voice whisper in my ear, waking me up.
"He better have six figures and Starbucks if he wants my heart," I replied groggily.
"Ain't that the truth," Rose replied.
I had slept all through landing and taxiing. People were shuffling around getting their things together. Being that we were in the very back of the plane we waited for people to start moving before we considered getting our luggage.
John Wayne Airport was nice and clean on the inside. There weren't too many people, which was nice. It was very spacious which was refreshing after being cramped in the plane for two hours.
We followed the other passengers down to luggage claim and waited for the carousel to start moving. I looked out the glass doors and saw that the sun wasn't shinning in the classic Californian way.
"If that sun doesn't shine properly, I'm going to kick its ass and the ass of every weatherman from here to Anaheim," Rosalie threatened. Jasper and I nodded as people looked at her strangely and stepped a few inches away.
Soon enough our luggage showed up, Rose's being the larges because she had to pack every pair of shorts she owned along with all the tank tops. We walked over to the car rental kiosks. Rosalie took command and did her damnest to get us the best car they had in the garage. Jasper and I stood back watching her try to seduce the poor boy at the counter. Surprisingly the women around him just laughed, instead of the usual scowl. That amazing busty woman got us a Dodge Charger and she was proud.
"I feel that this will be a successful trip for all of us," she stated as we walked to the elevator that would take us to the underground garage with the rental cars.
"Is that so?" I asked.
"It is! We have a decent car, the sun is beginning to understand me, and we all have our luggage. All I need is a Mickey ice cream head and a tiara and I'm good." No one on the outside would understand that this girl could flat back the biggest man on her best day and squeal for a stuffed animal the next.
I pushed all our luggage into the trunk as Jasper and Rosalie fought over who would get to drive the car.
"I flirted for it therefore I get to drive it!"
"Just because you throw your boobs at other guys does not mean I will give in like them!"
"I did the hard part!"
"I could have gotten this car just as easily. All I would have had to have done was ask instead of degrade myself."
"Which is exactly why I should get to drive it! You don't even know how to drive a normal car. You drive a motorcycle for Jiminy's sake."
"A, I don't drive a bike, I ride it and B, nice cover up there. I like that you are in the mood. Now give me the keys."
"Rose, just give him the keys. I want to get to the Happiest Place on Earth and I want to get there now! You can drive on the way back to the airport at the end of the week."
"What! You're my best friend. Side with me now!" demanded the blonde firecracker. I was a little scared what she would do to me but I knew that Jasper was least likely to get us pulled over by the cops.
"She is both of our best friend, now get your ass in the passenger seat," Jasper's calm attitude finally ended the battle. Rose narrowed her eyes at him and I worried what her revenge would be. She was crafty and we wouldn't know that she was getting even until the very second it happens. Some days I wondered how these twins survived without me to settle their fights. There were several occasions that they were sent to the principals office on the days I missed school. Mrs. Hale was ever grateful to me for keeping them from getting suspended with each other.
But they didn't fight all the time. Jasper was the best big brother to her and she was the best sister to him. When a boy would break her heart he was always there to hold her as she cried while I tracked the idiot down to distract him before Jasper got his hands on him. He and I formed a great tag team when the time came. And in reverse when a girl would hurt Jasper, Rosalie was always there first trying to get the story out of him before she plotted the poor girls revenge.
I smiled at my two best friends in the front seat of the car as I remembered the time that a boy had broken my heart, at least at the time. The moron broke up with me downtown while we were with a bunch of our friends. When I disappeared from the group and he was there Rosalie and Jasper went into overdrive to try and find me. I was sitting on a cement wall at the end of Pike Place Market crying when they found me. When they left me to get him, they brought him back via Rose pulling his ear and Jasper with his arm in a half nelson. They made Mike apologize for being an unworthy slime from the bottom of the Puget Sound that even the giant octopi avoided; we had just come from the aquarium. Rosalie made me slap him and then we were on our way.
"Grannies are passing you Jazz," pestered Rose.
"Rose, be patient. We are almost there. Enjoy being the passenger for once. Stop to look at the world around you…"
"I SEE THE MATTERHORN!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
I looked out the window and saw it for myself. I screamed in unison with her as she turned back to look at me then her brother. He was laughing at out excited reactions.
"What's going to happen if you two see an attractive guy?" he asked while laughing.
"He better be wearing tights and calling me his princess," I replied giving Rose a high five.
Jasper pulled off the freeway and drove through the streets looking for our hotel. We were staying at a Marriot a few blocks from the park. We could have stayed at a Disney resort, but their pools didn't stay open late enough. We might be acting like kids during the day, but we were going to be unsupervised teenagers at night.
It was 11:30 in the morning by the time we pulled up into the main driveway of our hotel. I got out of the car and ran into the lobby to get out room key and park stuff. The people who have the room before us hadn't checked out fully and our check in time wasn't until 4 pm.
"Don't worry. You can park your car here and leave your luggage in it or with us and you can come back later in the day and move into your suite. Our best customers do it that way," the lady behind the desk winked at me.
"Thank you. I think we will leave our luggage with you and then head over to Disneyland and come back later for it." She nodded at me and signaled for the bellhop to follow me outside.
When I got out there Rose and Jasper had their backs to each other. I knew that they must have gotten into another fight while I was gone, for five minutes.
"If you two insist on fighting then I am going to take your park tickets with me and you can stay here with the luggage until you calm down and settle your differences." I felt astoundingly like our mothers, but they had a point when they reacted with this angle. "Now hug and make up or I seriously will leave you here. You aren't going to bum me out!"
They reluctantly turned towards each other and hugged like they were never going to see each other again. I knew that was their 'honest' hug. When they wanted to fake it to our mothers they would barely touch, but when they really meant sorry, they hugged until their arms turned white.
With our bags locked away, we were running the two enormously long blocks to Disneyland. Neither one of us was quite prepared for the pollution in the air so we didn't make it the whole way without huffing and puffing. But we kept screaming and calling out to the park to wait for us. We were beyond ecstatic. We rounded down the path that led to the bus drop off zone and ultimately the park entrance. With every jog closer my heart pounded louder and louder calling out for the magic of Disneyland. Other people were looking at me funny but I couldn't have cared less. I zoomed through the bag check without my purse. Everything was packed into a pocket of my shorts. I ran straight into the entrance line and danced through that with my park pass. I turned around to latch onto my friends to find that they weren't behind me. I squinted looking through the crowds and saw that they were still back at the bag check. They got behind the stroller. I thought we had discussed strategies and number one on that list was don't get behind a stroller.
I decided to wait at the entrance for them. Walking into the park without them felt like a horrible sin. I turned around and sat on a little brick wall resting my pulsing leg muscles. I looked around at all the people who were coming through. They all looked so happy, especially the couples. I don't know what it is, but the boys in Seattle don't seem to be into me. I was jealous of all the teenage couples that came in wearing matching Minnie and Mickey hats. I wanted that happiness and didn't know how in the world I would get it.
"Bella! You're holding us up!" yelled Jasper, brining me out of my reverie. I could tell that he was finally in the mood.
I stood up and ran over to them crashing them into a big hug. I might not have romantic love in my life, but I do have love in other forms.
We grabbed hands and started running under the bronze sign that read "Here you leave Today and enter a world of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy." Truer words have never been spoken.
Immediately we saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy all with crowds around them. The sun was shinning bright and the air was warm with a slight breeze. Rose and I started laugh and jumping in circles around Jasper. We ran to the very center of Main Street under the flagpole and stared at the Castle. It shimmered in the full sun. I was in pure and complete heaven.
Main Street was lined with buildings that looked like they were pulled from the early 1920's. There was decoration and character everywhere. The little gardens were exploding with blossoming summer flowers and there were trees everywhere. It was like I never left Washington, Disneyland just came to me. There was so much color around me that it was making my eyes water.
"Alright soldiers gather in," Jasper said sounding like a general in the military, stepping in front of us. Rose and I stood up straighter with our arms down at our sides. "I suggest we attack from the West to the East. Hitting the major rides first then going back and clearing out the smaller ones. We will not stop, we will not get behind strollers, and most important, we won't shop. They are tricky when they dump you into a shop, but we will overcome and go back later and clear out our bank accounts. Do you understand?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" we shouted back at him. He held out his arms and we hooked with him beginning our laughing pace down Main Street.
I had to stop and look in the windows at all the interesting things inside. Jasper was always there to pull me on. I had a week in this wonderful place; I guess my credit card could wait.
The music playing through the street pulled me in as my feet tried to dance to it. Unfortunately I am uncoordinated to the extreme. I tried a skip hop and tripped on the trolley tracks in the middle of the road. Luckily by the graces of Walt Disney, Jasper caught me before my face met the asphalt.
"Oh General Jasper, you're my hero!" I laughed as he set me up right.
"We have been in the park for a grand total of twenty minutes and you are already trying to kiss the ground?" Rosalie laughed. I shot her a disparaging look as we continued on.
We passed a large board that had all the major rides listed and the wait times. It was one of the most magnificent things I have seen in the park. Jasper and I were looking at it while Rosalie was freaking out because Alice and the Mad Hatter were playing with people. She had the brightest smile on her face and started drifting away from us.
"No, we have a mission Rose. They will be there later. We need action. We have been sitting on a plane for far too long," I reminded her. She was about to protest when Jasper busted in.
"Okay privates, new plan. Bella, I am trusting you with the fate of three people. The Indiana Jones wait is 45 min. We don't have time for that. Splash Mountain is only 25 minutes. This is a sign from God. You mission, is to take our tickets and Fastpass Indiana Jones while we run ahead and get in line for Splash. Can you handle this?"
The person manning the board and I laughed at his seriousness. "If I run I can make it." I grabbed his and Rose's park tickets.
"Bella, take this seriously. That is one of my favourite movies. In your hand…."
I didn't let him finish before I ran off to get the Fastpasses. I heard Rose start laughing and Jasper continued to scream about the importance of this mission. I ran into Adventureland and stopped in my tracks. It looked so different from Main Street. There were jungle trees and the shops looked like they came from the middle of the desert. I could hear jungle animals calling through the air and I could smell delicious food. I saw the break in the trees where Indiana Jones was waiting for me. I jogged over to it doing my best not to trip and not to get stuck behind a stroller.
I strolled up to the entrance trying to figure out where to get the passes. Even the cast members were in costume. They were dressed like Indiana with the hats and everything. God this place is amazing!
"Fastpasses?" I asked a guy wearing a tag that read Matt.
He smiled and pointed off to the side behind me. "In the bottom of that building. Just push your ticket into the machine and pull your pass out."
I gave him a slight wave and ran off. I saw two open machines and walked to one of them. First I pushed my park pass into it and the little green light lit to tell me that it was accepted. A little piece of paper was pushed out below. It was green a the top and had a design that read Indiana Jones. The rest said:
Disney FASTPASS
Return Between
3:30
&
4:30
I looked down at my watch and saw that it was 12:30. We had three hours to kill. I think we can handle it I laughed to myself.
During my musing I missed the ferociously sized man come up next to me to use the open machine. Normally he wouldn't have fazed me, but he was having issues and it felt wrong to just let him suffer. I quickly pushed Rose and Jasper's tickets in and got their passes.
"Do you want some help?" I asked the large man. When he turned to smile at me I noticed that he was about the same age as me.
"It would be much appreciated," he smiled back at me with a big doofy grin. To say this guy was ripped would be an understatement. He could easily be the captain and star of his football and wrestling team at the same time.
I took the card in his hand and put it into my machine noticing that he was putting it in upside down when he did it.
"Putting it in right side up does help a little," I joked to him with a bright smile.
"Hey! It was my friend getting these, but he decided that he was hungry instead. But thank you for your help…."
"Uh Bella. And it's no problem, we just got here and my friends decided that this was to be my mission."
"How many of you are there?" he asked a little too curious for a bystander.
"Three, Jasper and Rosalie went ahead to Splash Mountain as our first ride," I said as I pushed the next ticket in for him. When I mentioned Rosalie his eyes perked up a little. What a boy I thought. He hasn't even seen her and he is in love with her. Color me jealous. "What about you…?"
"Oh, I'm Emmett," he said proudly pushing his thumb into his chest. "It's just Alice, Edward and I. We got here yesterday. A word to the wise, whoever you want to get the most wet, put them in the front or in the back of the log." He winked at me like he was letting me in on some big Disney secret.
"Interesting, I think I will use that to my advantage." I pushed the passes into my pocket and was about to say goodbye when he stopped me.
"You are really going to want to put those in something waterproof. Since you just got here I'm betting that you didn't get a lanyard, you're probably going to want to get one. Plus you can put fun little pins in them!" He said gesturing to the one around his neck that I seemed to have missed. I laughed seeing that his pins were of the larger Disney characters, Genie, Balu, Goofy, and Sully. "But until then you can have this," he said handing me a Ziploc back.
"Thanks, and thanks for the advice. I'll see you around 3:30 and 4:30 in line," I smiled at him handing back his Fastpasses and taking the plastic bag.
Then the inevitable happened. As I was stepping out of the little building, I tripped on the change in the flooring from smooth cement to stone. I was preparing to kiss the ground again when a large arm grabbed me and pulled me upright. I blushed sheepishly as I looked back at Emmett. He started laughing at me as if he knew that I was the world's biggest klutz. I laughed back with him and then started on my way.
*o* *o* *o*
I was weaving and bobbing through the crowd trying my best not to fall on my face now that I didn't have Jasper and Emmett to pick me back up. It was shortly after running away from him that I remembered that I was here so long ago that I didn't know how to get to Splash Mountain. I ran under Tarzan's Treehouse and over Pirates of the Caribbean into what looked like New Orleans. I had to stop to take it all in. The ground had changed to cobblestone and there was a huge river flowing around a little island. The stores looked drastically different from that on Main Street. I could faintly hear a Jazz band playing in the distance. It was so cool.
"Bella! Bella!" I saw Rosalie waving her arms over her head trying to get my attention. Normally I would have run over to her but I didn't trust my feet on this ground. I walked at a quick pace over to her and Jasper. They were standing on the waterfront.
"What are you doing waiting here? Come on let's go!" I shouted at them grabbing their hands and running around the water to the tall tree stump that I remember housing Splash Mountain.
We ran past the rest of Louisiana and past a Mansion that looked haunted to the beginning of the line. Luckily for us the wait was still 25 minutes. We ran in and followed the stone path and wood railings around the outside and into a building only to be led out of it and partway up a stone staircase. I turned around to look at my friends.
"What took you so long Bella?" Jasper asked?
"Cool your jets, there was a guy there who needed my help and he and I got to talking. Don't worry I got the passes so the sanctity of our trip is still safe," I laughed at him.
"My Bella met a boy! Safe sweet innocent Bella met a California boy!" said a shocked Rose.
"Har har, you're amazingly funny. It was nothing. He was big and muscly and not my type at all. We just exchanged pleasantries and insults, that's all. Plus I can't even be certain that he is from California." I saw Rosalie's interest peak when I described him. "Emmett is here with some of his friends. I told him we would see him in line, that's it."
"Oh Bella you sly fox," joked Rose. I smiled back at her and winked.
"Not that this conversation isn't interesting but…" Jasper pulled out his iPhone. You could clearly tell that he was from Seattle.
"No Jasper, you promised that you wouldn't take it out. We are in this together. Come one we can't be that boring," Rosalie protested.
"You clearly have never spent and afternoon with you two," he mumbled back.
"No dad, not you too! Just because someone else pulls out their iPhone does not give you the permission to pull yours out! 'Family vacation' mean anything to you?" complained a girl in line behind us. I wasn't even paying attention to the people around me. It was then that I noticed that it was that family from the airport. The other girl with them looked surprised and a little confused as the mother was rolling her eyes.
"Do men even know when to disconnect?" asked Rosalie to the girl.
"My father doesn't. The ridiculous thing never leaves his hip! Give it five minutes and he will be laughing about something and expecting us to laugh along with him," she answered. The other girl raised her eyebrow at her. "No, Ces, you don't even know. All he does is stare at FARK all day."
"I do not," he defended with a smile.
"That's true you also spend hours on LOLCATS," she countered.
Rose and I looked at each other and at Jazz and busted out laughing. This family was so hilarious.
"Lets not even begin with the videos. I swear you just watch them so you have something to lecture about."
"Ah, yeah, what about the ones that I show you that you actually like?"
"That is completely besides the point dad. Those actually have meaning and purpose."
"Oh yeah that's what I thought," he started laughing at his daughter.
"Don't make me drag mom into this battle! You know I will." The mother and the friend were laughing as hard as the rest of us. I noticed between fits that the people behind them were also trying to hold back giggles.
"What apps do you have?" Jasper asked to our amazement. Everyone grew really quiet looking between him, the redhead, and her father.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the redhead started belting. "Man, people from Seattle are their own special breed," she said wiping tears from her eyes.
"How did you know we were from Seattle?" I asked.
"I could tell by the type of dirt on your shoes," she said completely straight faced.
"Lisa, you're so full of it," the mother laughed.
"Full of delicious Disneyland churros!" the other girl laughed. I smiled at them, but still a little confused as to what was going on around me.
"Shh, don't tell them that. I had them really going for a second there," Lisa laughed to her mother. She looked back at me with a calming knowing smile. "No actually I noticed you noticing me at the airport this morning. And I'm pretty good at picking non-Californians out."
I could tell that Rose was really considering all this information. She was on overload not knowing what to think and I worried about what she would think about this weird family. I was quite amused by them, but Rosalie was a little harder to please.
"I really like your tank top," the other girl said to Rosalie. She processed this information for a moment. I looked at it. It was a white tank with and orange stripe lining it and buttons partway down the front with an almost floral design in the center bottom.
Rose's smile lit her face up. "Thanks! I got it at that small store down on Alki. They didn't have it in my size at first, but I made sure they got it quick enough. And then I went shopping like a month later and I found these shoes that matched the blue perfectly and I just had to have them!" she answered excitedly. They best way to get on Rosalie's good side was to complement her on anything that was hers.
We all looked down at her shoes in slight entertainment. They were sandal heels that were a few inches high in the back and had patent leather straps and a big flower on the front. The straps and flower were the same sky blue and the shoe itself was like a basket weave.
"My God I would probably beat someone with those if I had to wear them all day in Disneyland. But then again I do ride hard when I'm here so they would probably break the first day," Lisa laughed.
"Lisa. How could you break something so cute? You seriously have no respect for shoes do you?" her friend accused.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Lets take a step back and look at who has to constantly fix her purses…Celia" she accused.
"Girls, keep the peace, I don't want to have to explain to the person who is kicking us out of line that this is your normal behavior. You're in Disneyland, lighten up," the mother rolled her eyes.
"Well I like your yellow tube top. It's my favourite color and the blue flowers with the white make it look really cool. The grungy shorts and Converse complete it perfectly. I like that they match my Chucks," Lisa said to me with a sociable smile. I thanked her because I was never very good at receiving complements. That was more of Hale territory than Swan.
I looked up and noticed that we were almost to the front of the line. I walked through the turnstile and noticed that Lisa and Celia had started jumping up and down in excitement and their mother looked to be in about the same position.
"I'm Rosalie by the way. And this is my best friend for life Bella and my moronic brother Jasper," Rose introduced us. I was frankly surprised that she would go through that. Usually she isn't so trusting of strangers, but there was something about this family that was just too comfortable.
"This is my sister from another mister Celia, but you can call her Cesi, I'm Lisa, and this is my mom Patti and my dad Bob," she chuckled when she said Bob. I knew right away that it was some sort of an inside joke and that I wasn't mean to understand.
"Why don't you go by your name?" I asked her.
"Being an ethnic name, not everyone can pronounce it properly and I just get really tired of people saying it wrong. I'm really astonished that this white girl can say it right along with all my other nicknames." Normally I would have thought that she was insulting Lisa, but I saw the endearing smile that passed between them.
"Only because I have to hear you pronounce it properly to all the non-Mexicans in the world. God only knows what I will be calling you by the end of this trip."
"How long will you be down here for?" Rose asked.
"One week," the mother said. "My wonderful perfect daughter here paid for her parents, best friend, and herself to come down here in honor of her birthday." She beamed brightly at her daughter and gave her a hug.
"Seriously?" Jasper asked surprising all of us. "You must be loaded."
She smiled brightly at him. "I was actually going to use the money to study abroad this summer but that fell through and I would rather be in the Happiest Place on Earth with my three favourite people on Earth. How long are you guys here for?"
"A week also," I answered. "We are all off to colleges as soon as we get back so we wanted to come here before we had to grow up. I haven't been here since I was seven and they haven't been here since they were five. It was about time we came back."
"That's far too long. I don't even like to think how long that is. But more importantly, what's your game plan now that your here?" the mom asked.
Jasper looked up from Bob's iPhone that was now cradled safely in his hands. "We are going for a west to east attack. Majoring on all the big rides then coming back to sweep up the smaller rides. We have already gotten Fastpasses for Indiana Jones." He looked back down and continued talking tech with Bob. We watched them for a moment before they started laughing at something.
"There needs to be a 12 step program for those things and the people who are addicted," the mother commented.
"Anyway… That is a good plan. Be sure to use the parade and fireworks times to your advantage. Go ahead and watch them today and tomorrow but then use those times to rock the shorter lines. And just move on from the lines that are longer than 45 minutes. They shouldn't be too long since it isn't the weekend, but Nemo we noticed is not getting any smaller, so your just going to have to have someone in line waiting with the other two go off and shop or what have you," Lisa advised.
"How many times have you been here?" I asked extremely curious.
"Enough times to know this place better than my own house. Plus I have a really good memory and I'm a good strategy thinker. You just have to have your priorities in the right place. Oh and never buy anything on the first day. You need to look at all the shops and all the thingies to know that you are making the right choice."
"Out of curiosity, how wet are we going to get?" Rosalie asked looking at a sign that was full of warnings advising pregnant mothers and imperfect people that they shouldn't ride.
"Not at all," Patti answered
"No more than usual," Celia answered.
"A light misting," Bob answered.
"If you have to ask you aren't ready for it," Lisa answered.
They looked at each other and started cracking up. The two girls were doubled over in laughter and Patti was turning bright read while Bob was smiling at his family. We looked at each other in fear. It's not that we weren't excited, it's just that between Rose's white top and my yellow one, we weren't in the best clothing to get drenched. Lisa reached behind her mother and pulled the bag off her shoulder.
"Give me your park passes and phones and cameras."
We looked at her like deer in oncoming headlights. "Why?"
She laughed a little more. "I don't want to steal them. I'm already in the park and I already have a phone and camera. You don't have a lanyard and I don't want your things getting so wet that they won't work. You might think that you will be able to protect them, but you seriously won't be able too. Not until you know the ride better. Now can I please have them so your trip isn't ruined on your first ride?"
Jasper put his iPhone back in his holder and Rose pulled out her camera and phone and I pulled out my phone and the passes and we all handed them to her.
"Now Celia grab the bag and run!"
"You only say that because I'm Mexican! Whatever you white people. When I'm downtown I only ever get pick pocketed by the crackers," she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I never get pick pocketed so suck it," Lisa countered.
Patti looked at us, "I can't do anything with these two. All they do is pick on each other or scream over cute boys."
"We also shout Beatles songs through the school hallways and watch endless hours of Doctor Who," Celia clarified.
Just then a lady dressed in frontier clothing asked me how many people in my party. Without thinking I said three. I turned back to look at our four new friends with an apologetic look on my face.
"Don't worry. They can't fit seven people in a log anyway," Lisa answered. "We will just meet you on that ramp at the end to give you back your stuff. We better hear you scream good and loud or mum and I are going to push you into the river," she winked. The three of us smiled back at them before sitting in the first three seats of the log.
I was instantly wet because I sat in a puddle of water. I looked around and noticed that the whole thing was wet and that I was likely going to look the same when I got out. The seating was linear so we had to sit one in front of the other. Jasper wanted to be in the very front and I was behind him and Rose was behind me. Another group of three people was put behind us, but I didn't pay too much attention to them. I was also astutely aware that there were no safety belts. All of these facts added up to a very nervous Bella.
Without warning the log was thrust forward and dropped down into the river of water. Then we were hoisted up a hill and went down a little drop. The view was so cool. I could see half the park from this high and we hadn't even made it to the top. Then we were pulled around the very front and pulled up another hill. I think I could even hear Lisa and Celia screaming in the log behind us. This hill was in what looked like an old shack and they were playing the famous Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah song. I started humming to it and Jasper started dancing and Rosalie laughed at us. We were then pushed over the top and went down a four-foot drop. I screamed really loud expecting it to be a lot more and the others all laughed at me. Then it was around and we looked off to the right just as another log was dropped down a really big drop. We were going to be dropped down that same drop. I got even more intimidated by everything. But hey, the view was still really nice. You could see straight past the Matterhorn to a strange shaped white building. We rounded the corner to the drop we had just seen and they were behind us a bit and waving and giving us the thumbs up from the little bridge that we went over. I was beginning to regret not asking them where to sit. I could tell that they wanted us to put our hands up but that was not something I was about to do. Through all my contemplating I didn't notice the initial plunge and screamed louder than everyone when I realized what was happening. Jasper of course had his arms up full. When the wave of water passed over the edge and drenched us, Rose and I screamed even louder. He shook his head smattering me with even more water.
"Thank God I put on waterproof today," Rose said behind me and I started laughing hysterically.
We then floated into the main part of the ride with all the characters and the song that played over and over. But it was a happy calming sight. It was really setting in that I was finally here with my best friends. I would dare someone to find another person happier than I was, but then again I knew that this might mean even more to a little kid who thought that all this was still physically real without the need of imagination. There was another little drop that only got drops on us. Then there was the one that we didn't expect. No, not at all. There was no warning whatsoever. We saw the bear's butt hanging out of a hole in a tree and then we dropped down to the Laughing Place. It was pitch black and went up and down and up and down and up again and down for the final time. Then the wave of water passed over us getting us even more wet than we were before. It seemed that this one was aimed directly at shoes. The black light was fun, but the insane amount of cold water was not. Just when I was done wiping my face off we fell down another small drop and got just a little bit wetter. This new room was every acid trips nightmare. There were bright colors and spinning animals all over the place. The fake plants even looked a little trippier. We rounded a few bends and went into another room and the mood was much more sullen. Apparently the evil bear and fox finally caught the rabbit. I heard Jasper sniffle at this point.
"Why do they always have to pick on the cute curious one?" he asked no one in particular.
I smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "We haven't seen the end yet Simba, don't worry this is a Disney movie it will be okay." Rosalie snickered behind me.
What we all dreaded, or would have if we weren't so wet already, was just before us. Now was when we were being hoisted up the biggest of the hills just to be dropped down the other side. This was the climax and we were ready for it. God, I felt like I was finally in the real Disney spirit. Jasper was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement. Rosalie was taking deep breaths preparing for the big drop. I was just reveling in the amazing feeling. Then we were at the top. It was an astonishing view. We could see everything to the other side of the park. And when I looked down I could see giant cartoon-like sticker bushes. Then we dropped.
Screaming was all I could hear and I shut my eyes tight in fear of what was before me. I grabbed onto the metal handles at my side and held on as tight as I could praying that I wouldn't fly out because of my light weight. We finally reached the bottom and the mist and water once again crashed over the sides. I had lost all my will to talk I had done so much screaming, and this was the first ride. I laughed and laughed with my best friends as we evaluated who had gotten the wettest. We went back into the ride and saw all the singing creatures and the evil fox getting attacked by a crocodile and that the curious rabbit had in fact survived the Laughing Place. There was a screen the displayed the pictures they had evidently taken of us on the big drop. We looked picturesque. Jasper had pure excitement and happiness on his face. I looked terrified out of my mind and Rose had a brilliant laughing smile on her face. My two best friends were braver than me and that's okay. When we got back to the main room we climbed out of the log and tried to shake some of the water off. We walked over to the side to wait for Lisa, Celia, Patti and Bob to get off their log. Rose was ringing her hair out and I was squishing in my shoes and Jasper was shaking out his shirt.
"I don't know mum, do you think they got wet enough?" Lisa joked. They were as wet as we were if not even worse. Celia had sat in the front and was as wet as Jasper and was shooting glares at Lisa.
"What?" Jasper asked.
"Someone told me that that first drop was going to be the biggest one. Someone didn't warn me like a best friend should. Someone is going to seriously get wet while she isn't watching." I could tell now that Celia took surprises as well as I did. We started walking up the ramp into the rest of the building where they were showing the pictures.
Lisa looked at her sheepishly. "Aww come on Cielo. I said that would be the worst one for a while, not that it was the worst one. You misunderstood me. Please don't hate me. You know I would never lie to you." I would have thought that she was being sarcastic had I not seen the look in her eyes. She really didn't mean to hurt her best friend, even if it was a small pain. These two had to be the weirdest best friends in the hemisphere. They insulted each other like enemies and yet begged for forgiveness when the slightest thing upset the other.
"Churro and a root beer and I'll forgive you."
"That's my girl. You work the system. I'd love to see what you would do to a boy," laughed Rose.
"Perhaps that is another story for another line. Mum and dad went on to buy our picture; did you guys want to buy yours? Commemorate your first drenching?" Lisa asked.
"No, we could use the money for clothes or something. But if you give me my camera back then we can all get a picture and won't have to deal with Bella's stupid face she made," Rose chuckled.
"Oh I was scared and so were you! I heard you freaking out as we were being hoisted up the hill. Don't lie to me Rosalie Lillian Hale!" We were sort of laughing at each other.
"Oh snap. She just grabbed you by the middle name," said Lisa with a false worried look on her face.
"That's why I'm glad I don't have one. Otherwise I would never hear the end of it from her," chuckled Celia.
Lisa pulled the camera out of her mother's purse and stared at it for a moment. Then she expertly pushed all the right buttons to turn it on. The three of us ran over to a wall with a lot of character and started posing. Jasper's navy blue shirt was the only thing that wasn't see-through so we hid behind him with shocked faces. Next they lifted me into the air and held me sideways and I threw my arms out in the air with a laugh on my face. Rosalie jumped onto Jasper's back and I kneeled in front of them acting like we were still in the log. Patti and Bob walked back over giving us more advice for funny photos.
"Wait, wait! Cesi, Lisa come get in here. Our first friends on our awesome trip!" laughed Rose as she grabbed them by the arm. They must have made an impression on her if she was being this forward and nice to them. Usually she shot girls dirty looks and when they tried to suck up to her she would shoot them down and lock them out. People always said there was a price for being pretty and my Rosalie knew it better than anyone.
We took several pictures with them, each one sillier than the one before. Lisa even jumped onto Jasper's hip and did a jazz pose. For once it looked like he didn't mind the attention. I think fifteen minutes and somewhere near thirty photos on all our cameras must have passed before we declared ourselves catalogued.
"Will we see you guys later?" I asked.
Lisa gave a weird smile, "It's a small park to us so I'm sure that we will cross paths again. Plus we will be here for a week each. It might actually be statistically impossible for us not to cross at least once. Plus we are loud and obnoxious, you'll hear us laughing from across the way I'm sure."
I gave kind of a sad smile. For one reason or another I was enjoying their company. But we were two different groups on two different trips. They gave us back the rest of our stuff and we gave them one final wave and ran on.
Well wasn't that just etremely delightful.
In all honest truth I had SO much more written but through the guidance of xomrscullenxo I just left it at that. The way this will roll mad deep is that each chapter will be half a day. That adds up to 14 chapters plus an epilogue at the end.
I have amazing plans for this story so do please alert it and leave me some love!!
The fans of ELN might have noticed that if you comment my story I will go and comment yours. Like full out read it and leave the most amazing comment in the world.
ANNNNDDD Outfits are on the profile.
Love you for reading!!
~Jingles for the Storm