Tiana sighed, quite frustrated with her teacher at the moment. Mr. Thatch was very brilliant, but struggled with being incredibly disorganized and a bit awkward. Due to his desk's current state of disarray (it was only the first day of school- how could it be so messy?), he was franticly searching for his lesson plan as the rest of the class utilized the time for gossip and goofing off. Tiana was a hard worker, and to her, free time was time wasted. She worked on reorganizing her already perfect binder and listened half-heartedly to her best friend's, Charlotte, description of all the cute new boys in the school.
"Oh, Tia, Tia, Tia! Are you even listening! Listen to these! I am totally in love here, and you go on ignoring me!" Charlotte cried dramatically. Tiana gave her a humorless laugh.
"Lottie, you fall for a new beau every week. I hardly think you have found your prince charming," Tiana said firmly, but not unkindly. Charlotte rolled her eyes
"I am certain this time! Oh he's just the most darling boy you've ever seen!" Tiana knew Charlotte could go on for hours, and was very happy to see Mr. Thatch emerge triumphant with a wrinkled lesson plan.
"Class! Let's begin our study on ancient empires," he said, as most of the class let out a groan. Charlotte pulled out an impossibly feathery pen and a glittery notebook before she began to doodle hearts instead of notes. Tiana rolled her eyes with a smile. Although Lottie's impossible expectations of love sometimes bothered her, she loved the overwhelming amount of joy and enthusiasm Charlotte brought into her life. Suddenly, she felt a small tap on her back. Tiana turned to come face-to-face with an incredibly handsome boy. He had a dark complexion, and a suave smile that she could tell had been used to bring many a girl under his spell.
"Excuse me," he said, in an adorably thick accent, "Would you happen to have an extra pencil I could borrow?" he asked. Tiana rolled her eyes. Who forgets a pencil on the first day of school. Wordlessly, she handed him one of her many spares.
"Thank you, so much," he said with a wink. Tiana rolled her eyes again, and turned away, but not before catching the look in Charlotte's eyes. The look that meant most of Tiana's lunch would be spent hearing about this new boy. Tiana sighed. This would be a long year indeed.
"Jane, dear! Don't forget, I have a meeting after school today, so it may be a while!" Mr. Porter, the old biology teacher called after her.
"Yes, Daddy, I know," she said, waving as she continued to her classes. Having a teacher for a dad was bad enough, but when he was as odd as her father, Jane found herself often in the most awkward situations. Luckily, Jane did not have him for any classes, and could avoid most of the ridicule that surrounded him calling her "lovey" or "dearest" during class. Jane sighed as she hurried to her English class. She found a chair towards the back. As much as she adored poetry, today her heart was not in it. Instead of her notebook, she pulled a sketchbook from her bag. Jane's favorite hobby was to people watch and record their images in her sketch book. Long bus rides, classes, or even unbearable weekends spent at biology expos became easier to bear as long as she could draw. Jane looked around the classroom for the perfect student to sketch. Just as the bell rang, she found the perfect subject. He was new, that she was certain of. He had exotic features, and, most extrodinarily, very long dredlocks. Her fingers itched with the desire to try to capture their coarse appearance onto paper. Whatever they learned that day, Jane would never know. Instead, she focused on the intense features of this boy. She was so enthralled in her art, she was not aware of the time. The lunch bell startled her out of her drawing trance, and she swept up her drawings into her arms. In her rush, one of her drawings fell to the ground. A large hand picked it up, and began to examine it. Jane pulled her eyes up to see the boy she had been sketching was now examining her drawing of him. She was absolutely mortified. The boy, however, was not angry or surprised. He simply examined it with a look of fascination, before meeting Jane's eyes.
"Oh, no I am dreadfully sorry. I didn't mean to upset or surprise you. Please, actually, I am quite normal. My name is Jane Porter, and well, the discussion was so very boring and you were very new, so I thought that…" Jane babbled anxiously, until he silenced her by handing back the paper.
"Your art is good," he said, seeming to trip over his simple words. Jane looked back at him. "I'm Tarzan," he said before smoothly scooping up his bag and gliding out the door. Jane looked at the drawing in her hand.
"Tarzan," she said, thoughtfully, before heading to lunch.
Eric smiled at his friends as he slid into his seat at their table. Thankfully, fall was being kind to Buena Vista this year, making it unseasonably warm, the perfect weather to sit outside. Eric took a deep breath of the clean air before biting into his sandwhich.
"I don't know why… she was just so… perfect," hercules said, smiling to himself. He had been hung up on some girl he had seen in the hallways earlier.
"You've never even spoken to her," pointed out Charm, as he crunched a chip.
"Yeah? What about the Halloween mystery girl? Have you even figured out who she is?" Hercules retorted. Charm sighed, a frown appearing on his face.
"I think you all need to stop being so girl crazy and focus on the more important things, like school and football," interjected the ever-practical Shang. John Smith grinned at him.
"Speak for yourself, man," he said, waving over his girlfriend, Pocahontas. Eric just smiled at his friends.
"What about you, E? Any girls catch your eye?" asked Charm. "I heard that senior chick, Vanessa, has a thing for you."
"Not really my type," Eric said, waving away the possibility. But from across the lawn, he spotted the red-head he had knocked over earlier. There was something about her. Even though she hadn't spoken a word, she had a certain spark that Eric liked. But maybe Shang was right. Maybe he should focus a bit more. "But what about you, Hercules? Who is this girl anyway?"
Hercules smiled again. "I don't even know her name," he said, sheepishly. The boys groaned. "But I plan to find out!" he insisted. Eric tuned out his friend's teasing, because something a bit more interesting caught his eye.
"Be back in a minute," he called, wanting to catch up with a certain red-head he saw weaving through the lunchtime crowd.
Belle glanced behind her, just to be sure that Ariel continued to follow her. She remembered just how awkward it was to feel so new and out of place. Ariel was glancing around, as though she were looking for something- or perhaps someone.
"This is where I usually sit," Belle said, nodding to the table under a shady tree. Ariel smiled gratefully and sat down.
"Thanks again for letting me join you. I feel like a fish out of water here," Ariel said with a nervous smile. Belle grinned at her.
"I'm just glad to have another person to sit with. Usually, I stick to the library," Belle said.
"Do you study a lot?" Ariel asked.
"No, I just really love books," Belle replied with a sheepish look. Most people found Belle odd. Her fascination with books and learning puzzled most teenagers her age. It was quite often that Belle would glance up from a fascinating narrative only to find hoards of students whispering about her. Such a funny girl, they would say. Belle tried not to mind. She inherieted her father's ability to weather all kinds of torment.
"That's great, really. The love of knowledge opens so many doors," Ariel said encouragingly. Belle unwrapped her lunch with a smile on her face.
"Ah, Belle," came a voice from behind her. Instantly, Belle's smile fell as she turned to see—
"Gaston," Belle said, already sounding exasperated. Gaston was a rude, crude, self-absorbed sexist; the exact opposite of the type of guy Belle wanted. However, her endless dodging and avoidance only made him want Belle more.
"What a lucky girl you are," he said, plopping next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Today is the day all your dreams come true."
Belle shrugged off his arm and scooted away. "What would you know about my dreams?" she asked. Gaston trailed her, until she reached the end of the bench, and leaned in closer. Belle leaned away, trying to avoid inhaling his repulsive stench of body odor and cheap cologne.
"Come, now Belle. Every girl wants me! So let's go out," he said, leaning closer still. "Or," he said, noticing Ariel for the first time. "Introduce me to your friend," he said moving towards Ariel. Her look of disgust and fear was unmistakable.
"That's enough, Gaston," said a firm voice from behind. It was Eric, a junior who Belle knew from tutoring. He was very polite, and quite respectful. Gaston pushed himself up from the table and gave Eric a wicked smile.
"Come on now, don't get tweaked over this, pal," he said, putting his meaty hand on Eric's shoulder. Eric slapped it off and crossed his arms, fixing Gaston with a steely gaze. Gaston snorted, but his expression was one of fear. "They're not even worth it," he scoffed, storming away. Eric glared at him, and Gaston speed away.
"What a jerk," Eric muttered.
"Thank you," said a very relieved Belle.
"No problem. You're alright aren't you?" he asked. Belle nodded, and Eric turned to Ariel.
"What about you, Red?" he asked, an adorable smile appearing. Those dimples and the display of chivalry left Ariel speechless again. "I'm Eric, remember? I kind of knocked you over this morning. Sorry again," he said, studying her face. Ariel opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a harsh looking girl appeared.
"Eric!" she cried, icy eyes fixed only on him. There was no denying the girl's beauty, but there was something sharp about her features. A coldness, almost. Behind her stood a very plump, very ugly girl as well as a fashionably dressed girl who looked like she was completely made of bones.
"Vanessa," Eric said, smile dimming a bit. "Hello. Hi Ursula, Cruella," he said, nodding to her friends. Vanessa moved forward and wrapped her arms around eric, glaring at Belle and Ariel from over his shoulder.
"Have you been hiding from me, you darling boy?" she asked with that wicked grin. "Come along, we have so much to discuss," she said, pulling him away without another word. Eric gave a feeble wave to them as he was dragged away. Belle made a disgusted noise and turned to her new friend. Ariel looked positively heartbroken, staring at the two as they weaved their way through the crowd. Belle frowned. Whatever had just happened, it was not good.
Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter, but I have had a lot going on, so I decided I should just post what I have. Let me know what length you guys like, whether my chapters are a bit overwhelming or don't have enough. As always, I appreciate any reviews, positive or constructive. I really hope y'all enjoy. Special thanks to my first reviewers. You guys are so sweet Keep them coming!