'I'm not a stranger though. We've met before.'
Ferdinand was seven, Snow White six. It was a birthday party, whose exactly Ferdinand had no idea, but he remembered his mother fixing him up in a star covered tie and dress pants which he got dirty in the first five minutes at the party. It was stars that connected the children. Snow White was dolled up in a pink dress with bright yellow stars splattered across the material. Upon seeing their matching attire, she ran over and demanded to know why he was wearing the same thing as her. Apparently she didn't like to be copied.
After a brief explanation, she decided she liked him enough to want to duet with him. Ferdinand had just started voice lessons, so he wasn't stellar by any means, but she was good enough to carry him through most of it. They departed on good terms, or so he thought. When a week went by and she didn't call like she promised, he forced himself to forget about her. And it worked, mostly, until his sophomore year started and he saw stars again, this time dangling from her ears.
Despite his overflowing confidence, Ferdinand was shy around the other gender, at least those he had a crush on. He got along fine with Rapunzel and other girls in his grade, but Snow was different. He couldn't explain it, but she was and he wanted to know her, but it seemed she had other ideas.
Throughout his busy weekend of "Charlotte's Web" practice, teaching grades 1-2 acting class, and helping his dad write the script for his upcoming success "These Walls Tell Lies", Ferdinand was consumed with thoughts of Snow White. It was pure luck that he was in the theatre at the same time as her, but he liked to think it was Fate finally taking an interest in him. The only problem was that, come Monday, he couldn't find her anywhere. Well he saw her, but she disappeared in the crowd before he could go over and say hello.
By the time lunch rolled around, Ferdinand was discouraged and without appetite. Eric, his best friend for a decade, gladly took his muffins and homemade lemonade as they sat beside their friends Thomas and Rapunzel. The other two were currently locked in a friendly arm wrestling match, and while Ferdinand had his doubts of who would win, he went along with Eric's betting and kept his mouth shut as recollections of Snow's performance flittered through his head.
'Radiant. Such emotion! If she had a little more training, she could be a star,' he thought, not even feeling his onyx haired friend nudge him. The dark eyed boy looked towards the fellow senior with a raised eyebrow.
"What's up man, you haven't eaten a thing! Not that I'm complaining, because your dad's muffins are the shit, but you need your energy for practice this afternoon!" The nice thing about Eric was he was completely supportive of Ferdinand's acting. Unlike most who thought it was a little strange for a man to be so focused on acting, Eric believed his friend would make it big time.
"And I'll be right there, making sure you don't trip on that damn red carpet."
Ferdinand shrugged, not inclined to talk about it at the moment. Because of his commitment to acting, the young man had the afternoon off so he could go to practice. That day though, practice was cancelled so he had no reason to rush. He was putting a lot of stock in finding Snow White that afternoon, but since he had no idea what classes she had, he'd need that afternoon to find her.
Thomas chuckled from his position beside Ferdinand, his hazel locks obscuring one of his golden eyes. He and Ferdinand met at a community center two years ago that was doing an acting seminar. Ferdinand was teaching but he recognized Thomas and after seeing what an exceptional singer he was, he sponsored the young man to come to "Minnie's Academy" for singing. Although the lower class lad wasn't likely to make a career out of it, he appreciated Ferdinand's generosity, starting their road to a long standing friendship.
"C'mon Eric, even you gotta recognize love," Thomas stated as his arm quivered. The blonde girl held surprising strength in those tiny limbs. Then again, he knew that from the moment they met freshman year when she was practicing gymnastics in the school gym. He already knew her from the academy, but she dropped out the year before to focus more on her art. The two remained friends though.
As Ferdinand fought off the flaming blush, Eric stared at the bulkier youth in surprise. Thomas was quite perceptive in the areas of love, except concerning a certain heiress that is. The boys, and Rapunzel, loved bothering him about it, but he usually ignored them.
"Wait, wait, wait, Ferd is in love?" Eric exclaimed.
"You don't need to shout!" Ferdinand whined, clamping a hand over Eric's mouth.
Rapunzel giggled and tossed back her pin-straight locks. She hadn't had a hair cut in years, so by now the golden hairs reached past her hips. A flower headband kept the locks out of her eyes, but one could only do so much to control the unruly tresses.
"I knew it! Thomas, you owe me two bucks," Rapunzel stated.
The gentleman pouted as he tried to gain the upper ground in their arm wrestling. "I was the one that told you!"
"But you said he wouldn't admit it, and he just did!" She pointed out.
As Ferdinand was about to jump in to settle the misconceptions, the young man spotted three juniors making their way to the table. He inwardly groaned. The last thing he needed was to be smothered by the Bimbette sisters at a time like this.
Sure enough though, in minutes they were draped across the boys, mainly Eric and Ferdinand. Claudia, the cheerleader with an affiliation for the colour red, squeezed in between Eric and Rapunzel and began playing with the collar of his father's Marine jacket.
"Eric, there you are, I've been looking all over for you," she purred. Ferdinand swore if her skirt was any shorter she'd get splinters in her rear. That would be comical, at least the reaction to it. Meanwhile though, he had his own problems with Laura, the middle sister who was obsessed with yellow. She snuggled in close to the actor, giving her the signature doe eyes.
"Yeah Ferd, where were you this morning?" She asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. He shifted so he was nearly falling off the bench, but at least she wasn't pressed against him. Honestly, he had no clue why the sisters (well two of the three) decided the boys were worthy of their constant affection, but Ferdinand could do without it.
Paula, the youngest of the triplet set, wasn't following her sisters' lead though. She leaned against the table and observed the arm wrestling.
"Who's winning?" She inquired.
Both participants said "me" at the same time, causing the group to momentarily forget the awkwardness draped across them and laugh. The green girl giggled and placed a hand on Thomas' arm. "Well, I hope you win Thomas," she admitted quietly. "No offense Punzie," she added.
Rapunzel shrugged. "None taken Paulie," with that, she slammed Thomas' arm on the table with a triumphant grin.
Eric smirked and extended his hand to Ferdinand, ignoring Claudia as she tried to hold his free hand. "Pay up buddy."
As Ferdinand reached into his pocket for the few bucks he owed Eric, the cheerleading sisters spotted something and took their leave. The group didn't know what scared the girls away, but Eric and Ferdinand were exceptionally glad for it. At least until they spotted what terrified the ladies.
Ms. Grimhilde, the biology teacher, towered over the adolescents, her pointed stare turning the group to stone.
"Really Mr. Shuttleford, gambling? I expected better from the both of you," she tsked. "That will cost you both a detention," she threatened. Her black hair was pulled back in a bun, heightening her high cheek bones and giving off a more intimidating appearance.
"He owed me for lunch yesterday Ms. Grim, honest!" Ferdinand and the others nodded along. She suspiciously gazed at the seniors then huffed under her breath. She couldn't prove or disprove it unfortunately, so she had to let it go. "But don't think I won't be watching! Gambling is nothing to make light of Mr. Shuttleford." With that, the woman was gone.
The group let out a collective sigh as soon as she was far enough away.
"Well, at least she got rid of the girls," Ferdinand commented.
Eric nodded along, "No kidding. I'll never understand 'em," he muttered. "And I definitely won't understand why they don't act like this to you Thom. Why are you the lucky one?"
Thomas chuckled and rolled down his sleeves, smoothing out the navy blue sweater that concealed his bright orange button-up shirt below.
"Probably because I know their dad, and he's often asked me to give them rides to school. I'm like their brother or something," he shrugged. "Not that I want to know the guy. He's not a faithful guy. I've had to kick him off my doorstep for trying to break down my mother's door. She doesn't need a guy like him causing trouble, and neither do those girls.
Ferdinand briefly took pity on the triplets. They didn't deserve a father who couldn't keep his hands to himself, not by any means. It did explain their behaviour though, causing the senior the inwardly shudder. Rapunzel nodded along with Thomas.
"Paula's stayed at my house a couple of times when their mom would get angry, but besides that I don't know the situation too well. Thom lives closer to them."
Suddenly, the bell rang, signally the end of lunch. The students with classes let out a disgruntled sigh. Eric complained about math with Jafar, as he swore the man had it out for him. Thomas was more than happy to escape to shop where he could forget his troubles amongst the sawdust and sparks. Rapunzel, as always, had art all afternoon with Ms. Abigail and Ms. Amelia Gabble. Although the ladies could hardly agree on anything some days, the provided an entertaining afternoon.
As the group said their goodbyes, promising rides to some and meeting the following day to others, Ferdinand noticed something odd in the distance. Someone with hair as black and night and skin white as snow was running full tilt out of the school's west wing to the opposite end.
'Snow White!'
Ferdinand took off at a sprint, hoping to catch her before the crowds swallowed her up, but it was too late. He himself was surrounded by hundreds of students pushing to get inside. He lost sight of her in minutes, but he didn't give up. No one ran that fast unless they were running from something terrifying, and he couldn't imagine what would scare her that much on school grounds.
He swore ten full minutes dwindled as he shoved his way through the mass of people. Finally though, he broke through and ran to where he last saw her. The young man, seeing her nowhere, stopped and looked around more carefully. Something glistened in the grass, and when he bent to get a closer look, he noticed it was a necklace with an apple pendant attached to it. He remembered Snow White wearing it at the party when he was seven. Ferdinand picked it up then headed towards the side doors where rows of old lockers were stored. That had to be where she was. With a determined expression, the young man straightened his star studded suspenders then headed inside, hoping Snow was alright.
