Lexa hadn't slept through the night since her Dad had died. Her nights usually consisted of unbearable nightmares recounting every memory she had of that horrible day. However, her overwhelming first day had exhausted her enough for her to sleep soundly enough to dream. She lied peacefully on the bottom bunk with her braided brunette hair tracing her official cast member pillow. Lincoln had lost the coin toss the night before and consequently his feet were now spilling off the end of the bed above her. It was a simple dream; there were no people to protect and no problems to solve. It was peaceful, just her alone looking up at the stars. A loud sound erupted through the dream as Lexa's eyes shot open and she instinctively jumped to her feet. After a swift glance around the room, she recognized the sound as Lincoln's phone alarm and her nerves slowly started to settle. It was time to get ready for their first day of work.
Lincoln let out a loud yawn as he stretched his impressive wingspan and made his way to their communal bathroom wiping the sleep from his eyes. Lexa now wide awake, began rummaging through her uniform that was delivered to her dorm the night before. She slid into her khaki cargo pants which hung loose around her hips, and fastened the toy whip with the provided buckle. Then she pulled the white collared shirt over her head and put on the brown leather vest. This isn't practical at all. I'm going to sweat right through this, thought Lexa and she counted the amount of layers she was wearing and plunked the classic Indiana Jones hat on top of her already braided hair. Lincoln walked out of the bathroom already changed into a black t-shirt and jeans he had brought with him from Washington. He didn't get a costume delivered to the dorm like the others did. He instantly noticed Lexa's costume and broke out a large grin thinking about how much Lexa was sweat in the hot Californian sun. "Come on Indy, let's hit the lobby for breakfast before any big boulders start chasing us." Lexa chuckled, and followed him out the door locking it behind them.
Lexa and Lincoln were the first cast members to hit the breakfast line, they each grabbed a banana, a muffin, and a cup of hot coffee and sat at one of the twenty open tables. More and more cast members began to file in and after fifteen minutes, Lexa spotted Clarke coming down the stairs. She was joined by Raven, Octavia, and Bellamy who were all sporting their colourful new uniforms. "Nice eyepatch bro." said Lincoln teasing Bellamy about his Pirates of the Caribbean uniform. "Too bad it didn't come with a peg leg too. Then you could have practiced your home runs during your breaks." Bellamy laughed knowing that this would not be the last pirate joke he heard today. As Bellamy and Raven went to go join the back of the breakfast line, Lexa and her new uniform were brought into Clarke's sight. Oh. My. God. Clarke thought to herself trying to remember to take in oxygen. "Looking good Lexa!" Octavia said as she nudged Clarke hard in the ribs. Clarke nodded furiously not knowing if words could leave her mouth.
Bellamy and Raven returned from the breakfast line bearing fruits and yogurts for everybody to share. "Come on guys, if you want to make the bus we have to head out now!" Raven said impatiently tapping on her phone's lock screen. The six eager cast members walked outside to find two buses parked under small white signs with Mickey Mouse ears on them. "That's us." Raven added gesturing towards the long grey bus similar to the one that picked them up from the airport. "And that one behind it is for California Adventure." Raven said motioning to Octavia and Lincoln. "Okay, well … I guess we'll see you guys back here after work." Octavia said, still visually upset that she was being isolated from most of the group. At least Lincoln is coming with me, Octavia thought to herself as she boarded the bus.
Clarke waved goodbye to Octavia and Lincoln and then stepped on to her own bus to the main park. Lexa followed her and sat beside the blonde girl who was wearing a bright red polo shirt covered by a painter's smock. After only a few minutes, the bus driver began the 15 minute trip into Disneyland. Lexa watched Clarke stare out the window of the bus and gaze upon the sea of tourists. She mustered up the courage to speak, "Hey, so about last night." Lexa said as Clarke slowly turned and faced the brunette. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you if front of everybody, loud noises just make me a bit jumpy." Clarke laughed thinking that this was the most adorable conversation she had ever heard. "Don't worry. It takes much more than that to rattle me." Clarke smiled softly. Lexa's eyes shifted and a wave of sadness splashed across her face. "Hey, are you okay?" Clarke asked concernedly. "I'm sorry, I hate getting emotional. I was just thinking about my Dad." Lexa paused trying to control her emotions, "He died last year." Clarke's shoulders drooped and she put her hand on Lexa's left shoulder. Why am I telling her all this, now she is going to think that I'm damaged or something, Lexa thought to herself. "Anyways, yeah. He died in a hunting accident which is why sometimes loud noises startle me." Clarke could tell that this conversation was making Lexa very uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, if I knew I never would have suggested we go to the fireworks." Clarke couldn't stand knowing that she had been part of the reason why Lexa was hurting. "No, No." Lexa interjected, "It is not your fault. You didn't know." Clarke moved her hand across Lexa's neck and around to her opposite shoulder and pulled her closer. "Next time, we can just go watch tv or something. Besides, how many times can you really listen to 'When You Wish upon a Star'?" Lexa let out a small laugh and placed her head on Clarke's shoulder. "Thanks." replied Lexa. The two girls sat in effortless silence, Clarke holding Lexa in her arms until the bus pulled into the entranceway.
The bus pulled up to where Marcus had been waiting for them the day before. Slowly, the eager new cast members began exiting the front of bus. Clarke reluctantly removed her arm from Lexa's shoulders and allowed the brunette stand up and make her way down the aisle. Clarke followed Lexa as she exited the bus. Outside, the two girls exchanged a knowing smile and without words began to walk in opposite directions to their first day of work. Clarke's assignment was in Cinderella's castle which was only a short distance from the main gates. She dodged her way through the crowds of strollers and families with matching shirts who were trying to get the perfect picture of the towering landmark. Finally she made it over the drawbridge and in the castle where she found a helpful sign that read: "Learn to draw your favourite Disney character this way! Today's character … Pluto!" Clarke entered the room which resembled the university lecture halls Raven had audited the previous summer. At the bottom of the room on a small stage stood a tall, older gentleman with short black hair. He looked up and noticing Clarke, smiled, and waved her down to come and meet him. "Hi." he said in a friendly voice, "I'm Colonius. You must be the new cast member Clarke I've been hearing about." Clarke smiled and extended her hand. "Yes. Hi. That's me." Clarke responded as Colonius' firm grip shook her hand. "This place is so cool. It reminds me of the lecture halls at the university in Vancouver." Colonius began shuffling with his stack of drawings and bent down to plug in the light projector. "How did you get started in all of this?" Clarke asked trying to get to know the man she would be working with for the summer. Colonius looked up at her as if to tell a story he's told a hundred times over. "I used a big shot for this company. I ran the entire animation department for six good years. I wanted to make the best animated feature films that you'd ever see. Films that could change the world. But the executives on the board didn't see things the same way. They wanted to continue to make sequels of sequels of films that once were popular." Clarke looked up at Colonius with awe, just underneath the crazy old man façade that he portrayed, there was real pain. "Picture this, a utopia. The most beautiful world that you can imagine. A world free from pain and suffering. A world that inspires and gives hope to those who need it. I was starting to build some traction and some of the other animators were joining me. But the executives blackballed me from all working projects and now I'm here teaching snotty little brats how to draw Pluto." Just as Colonius finished his speech, the doors opened and two hundred tourists started to fill in the lecture hall seats. "Go on, and give them all a pencil." Colonius instructed Clarke gesturing towards the large bucket of pencils to his left, "Time for another day in hell."
Thanks for the love everybody. Next chapter is going to be mostly Linctavia. And you get to see which Disney character Lincoln picks. I appreciate all of the reviews and suggestions. Stay tuned!
