ARTtastic – Thanks for reviewing! I'm pretty Disney obsessed myself (if that wasn't obvious), and I looked for something like this forever, too, but had no luck. So I decided I had to stop being my incredibly lazy self – hold me to it!
Pearl Bramble of Willowbottom – Thank you so much, and I would like to continue it, yes. It's a matter of if my poor time management skills allow it. Essentially, I have had this entire story (and its sequel) planned for quite some time now and have only just started writing it down. Therefore, I have no excuses. I hope you'll keep me on top of things!
Author's Note/Disclaimer:
So, not much action in this one, people. It ended up taking a while to introduce everyone properly, and I always try to stop myself at around 2,000 words. So this, basically, is a character chapter (none of which I own, besides Jaimie), but I hope you'll enjoy it anyways. More adventure in the next one.
Also, Spring Break is coming up for me in about…thirteen days? Oh, wow, is that all? I'm hoping to get a lot of writing on this story done then, so it definitely won't be a whole month before the next chapter again. I am sincerely sorry about that!
As a reader, I loathe introductions.
Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation,…
…they frustrate curiosity.
Wednesday of the first week of school, and already Jaimie had gotten her fair share of embarrassment for the year.
Mortified, she reached for her tray, which had skidded a few feet back towards the lunch line.
Usually, she wouldn't even be in the cafeteria for lunch, opting to tutor kids down at the middle school instead, but her usual sixth-grader was at home, sick with the flu.
She had been feeling increasingly tired all morning…almost as if the energy were being sucked out of her. She had felt dizzy for a moment, too – just a split second where it seemed the world was spinning beyond her control.
Maybe she was coming down with it, too.
More than likely, she would hear the story in study hall later when people would be talking about it, unaware that she was in the same room. She would piece their whispering together quietly in a corner while she studied for algebra, hoping they wouldn't notice her and make things awkward.
Now, she stared forlornly at the peas dribbling down her new uniform skirt – peas she had only taken to avoid the disapproving gaze of the lunch lady who always told her she didn't eat enough. The rest of the vile things dotted the floor around her like a constellation of little failures.
She swiped a few napkins from a nearby table and started cleaning them up, telling herself it all wasn't as bad as it seemed – a tactic that never worked, really, because if you have to tell yourself it's not that bad, it probably is.
Her apple seemed to agree with her as it rolled its way through the cafeteria – like the rival shade of red on her face had offended it deeply – until it came to a little halt on somebody's shoe.
A few moments later, those shoes were in front of her.
Jaimie stopped scrubbing abruptly as her eyes worked their way up the scuffed-up sneakers – a rarity in the private-school halls of Riverdale – to an extended hand, and from there to a dazzling smile.
"Need some help?" the boy asked.
He was an Arab boy, tall and skinny, with a shock of dark black hair. He had a kind smile, and Jaimie found herself taking his hand gratefully.
"Thank you," she said fervently, taking her apple back when he offered it.
"Awww, I wouldn't take that, Jaimie," someone called suddenly from the next table over, "He's a scholarship student. Who knows where those shoes have been?"
Jaimie frowned, but the boy turned to the others good-naturedly, hands in his pockets.
"Ruining your chances for an undefeated season, Riley, that's where," he retorted, wiggling a sneakered foot cheekily in his direction.
"Oh, you're full of it, Al."
"Al?" Jaimie repeated as the boy turned back to her amidst jeers and catcalls.
"Aladdin," he told her, handing her more napkins, "but my friends call me Al."
"Aladdin?" she repeated incredulously, her grip tightening around the napkins in her hand.
The boy laughed over his shoulder as he began wiping up the mess.
"Yeah, my parents must have been pretty sadistic, you know? Naming their kid something as ridiculous as 'Aladdin' and then putting him up for adoption – I mean, come on, right?"
Jaimie stared silently at his back for a long while, stunned. Then,
"…Is this some kind of joke?"
She stood there quietly, frowning, waiting for the moment when he'd realize the jig was up and admit it was all a joke – that they knew she'd fall for it.
He and Riley would have a good laugh about it later.
Nobody really knew Jaimie at this school, but everyone – everyone – knew that she loved Disney.
Her parents were gone often on business trips and had been since she was a little girl. Someone else always had to take care of her when they were gone: neighbors, relatives, babysitters – coming and going, never staying for long. It always changed...except Disney.
Disney had always stayed the same.
Jaimie knew people didn't understand…and it broke her heart that that, of all things, was usually the object of their ridicule.
"You okay?" Aladdin asked suddenly, looking at her with serious, brown eyes.
Jaimie jumped as if she were afraid he would hear the things she had been thinking. He looked concerned, and she found herself feeling ashamed for thinking he would have a cheap laugh at her expense.
Realizing she had just been standing there (while someone else was cleaning up her mess, no less), Jaimie mumbled a quick 'yes' and furiously started to scrub the floors, much to Al's amusement.
When they were finished, he took the dirty napkins and threw them away before asking her if she wanted to sit with them. When he said 'them', he brandished an arm at a table at the far side of the cafeteria, full of people. ("We're a weird bunch, but we're nice enough.")
Jaimie was unsure at first, considering, but eventually she decided that even if it was a joke – even if he was pulling one over on her – he had been truly nice to her, and she appreciated it.
Besides, it wasn't as if she weren't used to it by now.
So she walked with him to the table, new tray in hand.
But, as they neared the others, Jaimie nearly dropped her tray for a second time that day.
This has to be a joke.
Jaimie slid into the only open seat available and tried not to stare at everyone. It was shocking – how very familiar they all were, how very real.
They were perfect, all of them, as if they had come right out of the book she carried with her – a comfort item of sorts – her first Disney book.
Jaimie glanced at the boy sitting across from her.
He was the only other one there who didn't seem entirely comfortable with the situation.
His blue eyes were fixed on the tabletop, working furiously from side to side as his food sat beside him, untouched. The others chattered light-heartedly around him, but he didn't take any notice until, suddenly, he looked up at her.
Jaimie swallowed her bite of apple awkwardly and looked away, opting to stare at the others after all. She was uncomfortably aware of those blue eyes, narrowed in her direction from between two curtains of long, black curls.
Al sat next to her, a scholarship student, as the other boy had mentioned earlier. She could see it in his uniform now, which was shabby and obviously a hand-me-down on loan from the school.
Across from him sat a boy with a short buzz – so short Jaimie wasn't sure what color it was. He wore a purple sock hat and sat rigidly straight, his expression a picture of discipline and focus, made even more so by his strong, firm chin.
Then there was a boy with dark, brown hair which framed his face and ended in a braid at the base of his neck. His ears were pierced, and his uniform, Jaimie noticed, broke several of school's strict dress code rules.
Across from him was a sweet girl with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and bright, red hair, pulled back neatly into two yellow ribbons. She beamed at Jaimie in welcome, and had she checked under the table, she would have seen a pair of well-worn – and well-loved – cowboy boots.
The girl next to her seemed far less interested in the newcomer, however. Hair pulled back in a messy bun by a black ribbon, she picked moodily at her food. Her mouth was petulant, and she glared down the table at the boy next to her, blue fire in her eyes.
If the boy was aware of said look, he didn't show it, though Jaimie guessed that he was, judging by the cheeky smile he wore. Some gold teeth glinted in the corner of his mouth, matching the string of interesting little baubles that were dangling by a string in his hair.
A redhead sat across the table from him, whose ears were slightly pointed. He wrinkled his nose in distaste – whether at the disappointing school lunch or the mundane conversation, Jaimie wasn't sure – and struggled to loosen the tie done up at his neck as if it were suffocating him.
A girl with curly brown hair leaned over to help him with a smile that reached her lovely blue eyes, brought out by the matching bow placed just-so at the back of her head. The boy resisted at first, but gave in reluctantly to her soothing words.
Then there was a boy with big, round glasses, perched at the end of a long, thin nose. He had brown hair, matched with a pair of soft, brown eyes. He looked up from his papers (which seemed to be written in another language) briefly when Jaimie said her name, and he smiled politely as her gaze met his.
Across from him was a black girl with big, dark eyes. At the moment, they were fixed angrily on the two boys next to her, who were laughing uncontrollably. Her mouth was pressed in a thin line of disapproval, her expression as severe as the tight bun atop her head.
One of the two boys was Latino, and he returned the girl's gaze with a cocky smile. His uniform was in sharp contrast to hers – brand new and sloppily done, while hers was clearly old, yet done up with care. Two blue plate earrings dangled amongst his perfectly straight, black hair.
The other boy, at least, had the grace to look ashamed. He was Native American, with a prominent nose and dark eyes that glinted with good-natured humor. Jaimie only just caught sight of a little carved bear that hung around his neck as he turned to wave to someone.
Across from him was an incredibly pale boy with dark rings under his even darker eyes. He was bald and sickly-looking, yet he had a joyful disposition as his crooked teeth pressed together in a haunting grin.
Beside him sat a girl with large brown eyes and matching brown hair done up in a blue ribbon. After a quick hello, she brushed a loose strand out of her face and buried her nose further into the book in front of her, smiling at something the others couldn't see.
A wild-looking girl with choppy bleach blonde hair sat next to her, attempting to steal a glance at the story with some interest. She absent-mindedly toyed with a little blue crystal dangling by a string against the dark skin of her neck, which she craned to get a better view.
On the other side of the table was a Romani girl with brilliant green eyes and thick black hair wrapped up in a pink scarf. Her uniform was old and clearly used, but the gold bangles on her arms jangled as she waved at Jaimie.
She went back to talking animatedly with the girl next to her. She had long, black hair and blue eyes that drifted every now and then as if her mind were somewhere else entirely. Her hand fell to the sea shell locket around her neck, which she clasped tightly in her hand.
Across from her was an incredibly short boy with a patch of red, messy hair and dark-rimmed eyes. He was missing a few teeth, but he had a big, crooked smile that seemed to light up his whole face when he smiled at Jaimie.
Beside him was another red-head – a girl. Her face was a bit plain, but framed by lovely red curls, pulled back by a comb. Her expression was a bit moody, but she was trying to put her best face forward for the newcomer, and that was all that really mattered, after all.
Next there was a girl with short, brown hair and blue eyes. She had a button nose, which was inches above the beat-up, old notepad she was scrawling on. She wore an old military jacket over her uniform, the sleeves of which were far too long for her. She kept rolling them up impatiently to keep them out of the way of her writing, but it seemed as if she seldom ever took it off.
An Asian boy sat across from her and offered suggestions to her every now and then, pointing out where she had missed something. His expression was militant and severe, though his hair was long and old-fashioned, tied up in a knot at the back of his head.
Next to him was a Hawaiian girl with soft, brown eyes and a round nose. Her hair was black and wavy and she was wearing brown hiking boots. Jaimie could just make out a waitress uniform hanging out the side of her backpack and thought she looked incredibly tired for a student.
Then there was an Arabian girl with very long, black hair pulled back with a blue headband. Golden earrings dangled from her ears and her uniform was obviously brand new, but she didn't look entirely happy. She doodled absent-mindedly on her notebook.
Across from her was a boy with haunting blue eyes and messy, brown hair. When he smiled, his canines were a bit exaggerated, giving him a wolfish look, and his lunch (or what was left of it) looked as if it had been destroyed rather than just eaten. His uniform, while brand new, was incredibly unkempt and had a few small rips here and there.
In contrast, the girl next to him was quiet and her smile gentle. She had large, brown eyes and short, dark hair that hung around her face in a little bob. It was pulled back from her beautiful pale face with a bright red ribbon.
Beside her was a girl with green eyes and long, red hair which she blew out of her face every now and then. She stared dreamily out the window, her expression distant and a smile on her face. She had barely even touched her food.
The last person at the table was a boy. Or at least, that's what Jaimie thought from what she could see. He sat hunched over the table, a hoodie under his uniform with the hood pulled over his head. Still, Jaimie could just make out a bit of red hair sticking out from under it.
Just as she craned her head to catch a better glimpse of the boy, Aladdin downed the rest of his pop and put a hand on her shoulder.
He got the others' attention, much to her embarrassment, and started to introduce her.
"Guys," he started, pulling Jaimie up despite her weak resistance, "this is…"
He trailed off all at once, brown eyes looking at her expectantly. She realized she hadn't told him her name.
"Jaimie," she said quickly, turning a little red as all eyes turned to her, "Jaimie Freeman."
The boy across from them listened intently, a frown on his face. He watched Jaimie as if he were struggling to remember something – as if she were as familiar to him as they were to her.
It was there in the back of his mind if he could only just remember it…
Aladdin started to introduce Jaimie to the person next to him, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes locked on the blue-eyed boy's as they scanned her own, and they stared at one another intently for a moment – as if they were in on a little secret.
What that secret was, though, neither of them were sure, and it would be quite some time before they realized just how dangerous a secret it was.
"Jaimie, this is—"
"I know," she interrupted quietly.
Aladdin turned back to her, taken aback.
"I'm sorry?"
"I know," she repeated. "I know who you are…All of you."
Chatter broke out at the table instantly and there were demands made to identify one another, but cries of 'me first!' and 'oh yeah?' were lost on Jaimie as a spark of recognition flashed across the blue-eyed boy's expression.
Having watched the entire scene from behind the lockers, Dr. Facilier laughed openly.
Ursula would be horrified.
CONTEST:
I am insanely curious to know who can guess that characters by their descriptions. Some are far more obvious than others, but I like to know who my readers are. I would love it if you would PM me your guesses.
Also! Suggestions! I love suggestions and audience/reader participation. Does anyone have any lovely pairings or characters they would like me to include? Like I said, anything goes. There is no such thing as a stupid pairing. Hahaha, trust me.
