Chapter 7: Couples
Britney woke up with all the girls at the orphanage rushing about. They were all getting cleaned up, dressed up, doing their hair, and the older ones were even working on their make-up. While everyone clamored about the day's activities, Britney slipped into the washroom to brush her teeth. While Britney was in the washroom, Annie came upstairs and told the girls to be down in 30 minutes. Annie was anxious already but when Britney came out still in her pajamas, Annie freaked out about her not being ready and left the girls to finish up.
Britney was now hiding behind Emma on the verge of tears. "Emma…ma, what did I do wrong? Why is Annie sooo….ma…mad at me?" Emma felt bad for the little girl; she had never been here for this. So Emma pulled her hair back and told Britney, "It's ok. You didn't do anything; Annie is just stressed out today. But I need you to hurry up and get your dress on, so we can do your hair and get downstairs." Britney just looked away so Emma repeated herself slowly but with a little more sternness causing Britney to pout, "Emma….ma, I….I don't…. don't have a dress." While Emma had not seen Britney in a dress, she did not expect this.
After a moment, Emma thought that they could borrow one of the other girls' dresses. Of course all of the other girls were busy and those that Emma asked didn't have a spare that was clean and would fit Britney. She was just so tiny; she was one of the youngest at the orphanage. So after 10 minutes of asking the others, Emma decided to dig through her chest of belongings to find an old dress for Britney. While Emma didn't have a lot, it still took a moment to find an appropriate dress.
Emma picked out a little blue one but it was still a little too big on Britney. One of the other girls, Elizabeth, stopped to help since she was ready to go downstairs. Elizabeth noticed Emma trying to adjust the dress for Britney and recommended, "Emma, why don't you go get the emergency sewing kit from the supply closet. I can take it in a bit if you don't mind Britney keeping it." Emma ran down the hall and came back to finish Britney's hair while Elizabeth fixed her dress.
When the girls finally made it downstairs, the orphanage was buzzing with people. There were all sorts of men and women roaming around talking amongst themselves. Britney hid behind Emma and looked up to ask, "Emma…ma, what's going on?" Emma knelt down to eye level with Britney to explain, "It's 'Couples Day' and all of the families interested in fostering or adopting children come to the orphanage to meet with us a week or two before its finalized. So when the adults come up to talk to you, be polite and try not to stutter. There's nothing to be afraid of and Annie doesn't like it because stuttering looks bad for you and her as well."
Britney just looked down at her feet for a minute, causing Emma concern; "It will be alright, Britney. I will be right here with you." After another moment, Britney looked up and said, "Thank you. I will try my best for you, EM…MA."
Chapter 8: Disney World
The next morning the girls were told to back a bag because they were going on an overnight trip. Annie said that a gentleman had donated strands of gold and requested that the children between ages 7 and 15 go to Disney World for a day so they could experience fairy tales and believe in magic. Britney giggled and at "Mr. Gold's" tactics but packed a bag to go with Emma and the other girls. That afternoon they caught their flight to Orlando, Florida and had checked into a 'princess palace' for the even festivities. After checking in and unpacking the girls watched the parade and received their passes for games and rides to use the following day. Dinner was an extravagant buffet with the girls running around and trying to pick out their favorite dishes to eat. At nightfall, the girls sat in the gardens and watched the fireworks light up the sky.
With screams of excitement from the other beds in the room, Emma and Britney woke up to go on a fantasy tour of Disney World after breakfast. Two hours later, Emma, Britney, Elizabeth and Christina were making plans for what rides to go on and attractions they wanted to see and in what order to minimize their wait time and travel distances. Once they were ready they grabbed a small quick bite to eat and set out for the water rides and attractions. Britney was right at home and loved the water causing Emma to laugh, "my little mermaid" as she watched the excited girl run around.
When Christina suggested that they dress up as their favorite Disney princess, Elizabeth responded, "well, it seems that Britney will be Ariel but who is your favorite princess, Emma?" Emma just mumbled, "I don't really have one" and proceeded to tell Britney, "come on my little mermaid, get out of the water. There is much more to see." Britney climbed out and asked "so what princess will you be Christina? Elizabeth?" While Christina said she felt like Cinderella because of all the work she usually gets stuck doing, Elizabeth said, "My favorite's Belle. What about you Emma?" Emma sighed, "alright who's left?" Britney giggled, "Well there's the classics: Snow White, Cinderella, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Ariel (Little Mermaid)." Christina said, "since Liz is Belle, Brit is Ariel and I'm Cinderella, I would say you should be Aurora" but Britney disagreed, "While Aurora is really nice and I may be biased but I think Emma…ma should be grand… Snow White. It's perfect"
With the girls in their Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White costumes, they roamed about and finished their list of rides and attractions to see before having to report back to the 'princess palace'. Everyone was already back when they got there, so they had to grab a quick dinner and get ready.
Author's Note: sorry chapter 8 is short. I had meant to do more with it but I don't know any actual attractions or rides so I didn't get into much detail. I hope you are enjoying the story.
I didn't know if I should say ready to go home or for bed since I don't think many would go to Disney for a day if they came from New York. But didn't want the time to drag on more than I'm already making it.
