Chapter 2: A New Look and A New Friend
Jehan let out a little scream as she fell from the portal, and she closed her eyes, awaiting the hard impact. She landed on something soft, though; she opened her eyes and saw that she had landed on sand. Jehan let out a breath and suddenly, a voice said from above her, "Are you alright?"
She looked up and saw a girl looking down at her, worry outlining her face. The girl was very pretty; she had long strawberry blond hair, a kind face and light green eyes.
Jehan took the girl's outstretched hand and let her help her up, and she brushed herself off and said, "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." The girl then said, "I'm Irene O'Donnell. What's your name?" Jehan smiled and said, "I'm Jehan." She then looked around and noticed that she and Irene were surrounded by trees, and there was a strange contraption not to far from them.
It had a ladder, some dangling hoops, a pole and a long and winding metal chute attached to it. She then turned back to Irene and she asked her, "Would you please tell me where we are?" and Irene, looking incredulous, said, "We're in Central Park." Jehan looked around again, and she muttered, "Central Park." Then, Irene said, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from Jehan?" Jehan then took a deep breath, and she said, "I'm from Arabia, year 1750." Irene gaped at her, and she said, "1750??" She said, "That's not possible!"
Jehan then sat down with Irene and told her the story about how she was a princess who had to escape from her timeline because of an evil plot. She told her about how her timeline existed in a parallel dimension. When she was done, Irene was sitting there with her mouth hanging open. Then, she snapped out of it and said, "Well, as crazy as this all sounds, I believe you." She then looked at her and studied her, finally saying, "Well, Jehan, if you're going to be hanging out in this time period, you'll need to blend in and get some new clothes." Jehan looked politely puzzled, and Irene smiled and said, "It's time to do some shopping!"
She then led her out of Central Park, while people stared at her the whole time and Irene told them off with some very choice words. Irene hailed a taxi, and she told him, "Soho, please" and the driver sped off. All the while, Jehan looked out of the window excitedly; she had never seen buildings that looked like this, or ones this tall, and it all amazed her.
Finally, they arrived in Soho, and Irene and Jehan climbed out of the taxi and Irene led Jehan over to one of the many clothing stores that lined the bustling streets of Manhattan. She walked in, Jehan following behind her, and a salesperson named Rebecca strode over to her and said, "Irene! Hi, how are you?" Irene smiled and hugged Rebecca, saying, "Hi, Becca! I'm fine. Actually, I'm here with my new friend, Jehan."
Jehan stepped forward and said shyly, "Hello. It's nice to meet you." Rebecca said, "Hi! I'm Rebecca. Now, what is it that you need?" and Irene cut in, saying, "She needs a whole new wardrobe. New pants, skirts, shoes….the works." Rebecca studied Jehan for a minute, making her slightly uncomfortable, and then she said, "I think I have the perfect outfits for you! Follow me." Jehan and Irene followed Becca over to the girls section of the store, and Irene and Becca immediately began searching through the racks and shelves for things that would suit Jehan.
Once Jehan had enough items of clothing shoved into her arms, Becca led her to the fitting rooms and Irene followed her in, helping her with whatever she needed help putting on. Once Jehan was dressed in one outfit, she exited the fitting room to show Becca, who clapped excitedly and said, "You look amazing!"
Jehan had on a tight, white halter top that said, in navy blue letters, "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" and a matching navy blue jean mini-skirt with navy blue flip-flops. Once both Irene and Becca approved of that outfit, she went back into the fitting rooms to try on the next outfit. She came out again, and Becca said, "That is too cute!"
This time she had on a red tube top that had the Coca-Cola™ logo on it in white and a matching pair of red shorts with white stripes going up the sides. On her feet were a cute pair of white chunky-heeled flip flops, and there were red and white plastic bangles hanging from her right wrist.
Jehan smiled and said, "I like this one. It's nice." She then went back and changed again, and this time, when she came out, she was wearing a maroon spaghetti strap sundress, with a pair of matching sandals. Becca nodded and said, "Very cute." Jehan then tried on some bathing suits, the first one being a cute one piece, dark green with brown and white flowers on it. The next one was a peach-colored bikini with gold accents, and the last one was a tankini, with different shades of blue on it, fading from light to dark blue.
Once Irene had paid for all of Jehan's new clothes, they said goodbye to Becca and left for a department store, where they picked out some décor for Jehan's room, such as comforters, huge throw pillows, a beanbag and some other odds and ends. After, they left and grabbed a bite to eat, then they headed for Irene's place in Soho, which was only a couple of blocks from all the stores.
They got to Irene's place, and she opened the door and said, "Welcome to your new home, Jehan." Jehan stepped inside and her jaw dropped. She had never seen a place more spacious and beautiful; the walls were a nice, deep red and the furniture was a caramel color, as was the rug on the living room floor. Irene then led her down the hall to the bedrooms, and she said, as she opened the closest door on the left, "This is going to be your room." Jehan walked in and instantly fell in love with it. The walls were a sandy brown, reminding her of her home in Arabia. The room itself was huge, and the bed was a circular one with plain white sheets and comforter. Against the opposite wall was a desk the same color as the walls, and there was also a DVD/CD rack, to hold any movies and CD's, and a bookshelf for any books that Jehan might want to pick up later on.
Irene then brought in all of Jehan's new things, and together, they set up her new room. Once they were done, Jehan and Irene stepped back to admire their work. The bedspread was now a deep red with deep purple throw pillows. She now had deep red and purple tapestries hanging on her walls, as well as a sitting area that housed the deep red beanbag, and large, deep purple and red cushions for sitting. Around the sitting area were deep purple and red sheets hanging from the ceiling, so it resembled a tent, almost. She even had one of those chairs that hang from the ceiling, in a deep red color. All in all, her new room greatly resembled her old room back in the palace.
After they were done, they hung out around the house, talking and getting to know each other better. They both found out that they loved animals, and Irene found out that Jehan loved to sing, and in turn, Jehan found out that Irene loved to dance. Later, when it was time for them to go to bed, they bade each other good night and went to their separate rooms. Jehan changed into pajamas and snuggled under her covers in her new bed, happy that she had found a great friend in Irene.