And now a brand new episode of Lori Disney? (Not Likely!)
XXX
The older man from the dig, the one who Steven betrayed, sits in his motel room. He is currently shouting into his cell phone- vein pulsing in his forehead.
"I don't care if you can't find him," he growls menacingly. "His credit card clearly says he bought a ticket for Sydney. The woman who sold the ticket even identified a picture. He's there. Now you find him and get that information out of him. The boss wants the book now." He listens to the other person for a brief moment. "If it's already opened then obviously the plan won't work. I have no clue about the person he would send it too! That's why we need to find him!" He hangs up angrily.
XXX
Lori Fitzgerald is sitting in her English class, tapping her pencil on her notebook. She looks almost more sullen than normal. With a thump Charlie Prescott lands in the seat next to her. He gives her a large smile and passes a familiar Disney Encyclopedia to her possession. She tucks it in the bag under the desk at her sneakered feet.
"So how'd the research go?" she asks as he gets ready for class.
"I learned that I have a lot more to learn about in the World of Disney." He looks at her eyes wide, "Did you know they made a Pirates of the Caribbean movie?"
Lori just looks at him. "Charlie, they made four."
"We should watch them at my place sometime." Lori just shrugs. Charlie is instantly concerned. "What's wrong?"
She shrugs. "I'm fine."
"Lori, you let me hit on you. You almost just agreed to a date with me. Something's wrong."
"I'm… just… family stuff. It's nothing for you to worry about."
"Well… it's worrying you. Thus logically it would worry me."
"Drop it," she says in that final tone. He scoots away from her, but keeps looking over in her direction as class starts.
"So this week we are going to discuss the essays we worked on." The teacher continues to ramble when Lori notices her bag is beginning to vibrate. She tries to hold it down with her foot. A glow starts to emit as Charlie catches on. The bag jumps up and hits the desk. "Ms. Fitzgerald?"
"Sorry," she calls, diving under the desk and holding down the bag with her weight. She peeks her head up. "My phone's going off." It stops and she returns to her seat. "Sorry about the interruption. Please… continue." The bag gives one last sputter. "Please…"
XXX
So follow me down
(Lori stands with the book)
Where to?
Outta this town
(Charlie is sketching furiously)
With you
Girl, you're movin way
Too slow
So follow me down
Which way?
Down, down, down
I'll show you around
Okay
There's a place we gotta go
(The Disney Encyclopedia begins to glow. Lori sighs)
Follow me, follow me
(Lori and Charlie are running through the preserve, freezing once on each of their faces)
Fa la la la la
Follow me, follow me
Fa la la la la
(Lori comes to a halt and Charlie crashes into her, sending them both to the ground)
Lori Disney? (Definitely Not!)
Episode 4: Is it One Lump or Two?
XXX
Lori storms out of class and glances at her phone. She lets out a deep sigh and continues walking. Charlie is right behind her. "Lori-"
"English class! English class! This book officially hates me! There's no other explanation!" She pulls it out and throws it to the ground. Charlie sees she is about at the end of her rope. He pulls her into their library alcove, grabbing the book too. "It's out to get me!"
"Lori, it's a book. It-"
"It's a magical book! How do we know it's not… alive."She looks about ready to break down but reins it in. "Come on. We have History. We'll worry about… that tonight."He nods and follows her.
"We should check the library before the preserve since that's where Pluto was. It would save us so much time. My map's coming along nicely though."
"Can… can you just give me some space? I need to breathe." He obligingly backs off a few paces and continues behind her. He then notices her glare at the poster on the board for Parents' Day this upcoming weekend. He watches Lori and nods knowingly.
XXX
Lori goes to her room but Hannah stops her from the inside in the entryway. She has a huge smile on her face. "I have an enormous surprise! I figured it would help us out."Lori enters the room to see now atop her filing cabinet by the window there is a fish-tank with a Beta swimming inside it. She buries her surprise.
"You… got a fish…" she remarks deadpan.
"I got us a fish! He's our new room pet! I figured we could come up with a name together and then we'd alternate feeding it each day." She looks to Lori for approval but she just goes for her bed. "I know it's not the most exciting pet in the world- personally I'd prefer a puppy- but it's all we're allowed to have." She's becoming a little frustrated. "Lori…"
"I'm really sorry. I know I'm being a royal pain right now, but I'm just… I'm having a really bad day."
"So your phone went off in English class? There's no reason to treat it like the end of the world."Lori doesn't answer. Hannah takes a seat next to her. "There's something else bothering you… isn't there?"
"I'm fine. Trust me, I can handle it."
"I don't doubt you can handle it. I'm just letting you know I can help you handle it if you need me. That's what I'm here for. That's what I'm trying to do."There is a pause. "Do you want to get dinner together?"Lori sits up and nods, giving a small hint of a smile.
XXX
Lori and Hannah are sitting silently at dinner in a way that's pretty awkward. Charlie comes up and takes the spot between them. "Excuse me, but-"Hannah begins angry.
"He's fine." Hannah looks a little shocked. The three eat in awkward silence. Finally, she rises.
"I'm going to grab some more to drink." She walks off. Once she's gone, Charlie moves closer.
"So I checked and there's nothing unusual going on at the library. So it looks like we're back to the preserve tonight. Be sure to dress warm. According to the- you're not listening to a word I say…"She nods. "So are your parents coming this weekend?"She glares at him. "I mean Canada is pretty far away. It has been a month… maybe you miss them and had really hoped they would come."
She can't help but smirk. "I honestly can say I'm impressed. Like I said, I can handle it though."
"Are you the only child? Because I was for a really long time too. I know how hard it is to just be pulled away from them. You want to be all tough and independent, but it's okay if you're not." Lori doesn't answer for a long time and checks her phone.
"Are your parents coming?"
Charlie rolls his eyes. "Yes, unfortunately both of them are stopping by to check up on me. That means I have to spend a whole day hanging out with Ben."
"Just saying… if I had a brother, even a step-brother, I would love it. At least it's someone- even if he is quite possibly the most judgmental person on the planet."Hannah is across the cafeteria at the drink station watching. She looks as if she just figured something out. Suddenly, a scream causes her to drop her cup. Victoria is pointing and shrieking from her table. Hannah goes to her and Tyler.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"That- it- it just moved!" She points towards the back. "It went through the door to the kitchen! I saw it!"
"Victoria, we don't see anything," Tyler answers in a calming tone.
"There- it hopped to the back! It moved! It can't move!"
"Okay, you need to calm down. What moved?" Hannah asks, hands out.
"Ask her!" she shouts desperately and points to where Lori is observing the scene from her table. Lori just shrugs at Hannah confused. "She has to have something to do with this! She has to!"Lori notices the cafeteria is now staring at her, including Ben. She points her head his way.
"Great. As if his opinion of me could be tarnished anymore." Charlie just rolls his eyes. "It looks like we're investigating here first tonight." Charlie's eyes widen.
"But… how are we going to get in? They obviously lock this place up pretty tight at night."She just looks at him. "We're seriously going to break into the cafeteria tonight?"
"We don't really have any other option, do we? I'm not going to make you come though. In fact, I hope you walk away from this."
"Just make Ben doesn't find out."
"With my luck these days, let's not count on it. Come on, they've stopped staring so we should be able to just slip out." They rise and head for the door. "Wait!" She slips her ID in the window and closes it. "Okay, out we go."
"You realize up until Victoria got hysterical we were actually having a normal conversation?"
"Yeah, we actually were," she genuinely smiles.
XXX
Victoria is sitting in the boy's lounge with a worried Tyler. "That's what I saw and I know that I saw it."
"But way to lose your cool in front of the entire cafeteria."
"You try keeping a calm head! This year has been anything but normal and it's all her fault. It has to be."
"But we need proof. I'm starting to think you're blowing this whole thing way out of proportion."
"I'm not!"
XXX
It is night back at the dorm. Lori is sitting on her bed reading a recreational book. Periodically she keeps checking her phone. Hannah is observing and then feeds the fish.
"So… you seem to be doing better since dinner."
"Yeah. I figured some stuff out. Have you thought of a name yet?"
"No. I'm not really that good with that sort of thing. So when did you and Charlie officially become friends?" she starts casually.
"We're not," Lori answers simply.
"You two seemed to be having a nice conversation when I left the table- a conversation that didn't occur until I left the table."
"He likes me and he likes the pursuit. That's all there is to it."
Hannah is becoming frustrated again. "That's not true. I can see it. I wish I could sooner so I wouldn't have been so hard on the kid. The reason he pesters you so much is because you want him to."
"Trust me; it is not my desire to be stalked."
"But… it's not stalking, is it?"Lori looks at the time on the clock next to her and rises)
"I'd love to continue this debate, but I have to run to the library real fast before it closes."She heads for the door.
"Tell Charlie I said hi," Hannah remarks off-hand as she folds her clothes.
"I'm- I'm not-"
"For a self-proclaimed ice queen you have a terrible poker face."She's out the door. "See if he has any ideas of what to name the fish!"
XXX
Lori and Charlie both meet outside the cafeteria with their flashlights. They shut them off and Lori shows off the book from under her arm. "We're really going to do this?" Charlie asks.
"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Just stick towards the shadows." She pushes one of the windows open and retrieves her ID from off the floor.
"That's why you slipped your ID there!"She quiets him and they climb in. "Do you have any clue who Victoria saw?"
"No. I didn't ask her after she tried to publically out it as my fault."
"But it is your fault," Charlie remarks completely genuine.
"That's the type of thing that we keep secret though. We need to be careful of her and Tyler." They creep to the back avoiding the camera. "I can't believe this has become my life."
"I don't mind it so much."They enter the kitchen. Lori heads one way and gestures for him to head the other. He starts creeping cautiously around the counter. "Hello? Is anyone here? I'm not going to hurt you. We're here to help." He hears clinking noises that stop in front of him. He looks around wildly and scared. "Hello?
"Down here dear."He lets out a scream and hits the floor. Lori comes running up annoyed.
"Charlie! We need to be quiet."
"I'm sorry. It seems I gave him quite the fright."She looks at the table and sees Mrs. Potts looking at Charlie concerned. "Maybe a spot of tea will cheer him up?" Lori can't help but take a few steps back before reining it in mentally.
"Well… I can see why Victoria freaked."She pulls Charlie up roughly. "Get up. It's fine. It's not a character to be scared of."He looks at Mrs. Potts and smiles. "That's-"
"Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. Even I've seen that one Lori." He pokes her and she giggles. "She's real."Lori starts flipping through the book.
"I thought you knew nothing about Disney?"
"One year I decided to watch all the Oscar nominees for Best Picture- well the ones under PG-13. So basically a lot of older movies," he explains. He pokes Mrs. Potts again. "Wow, this is so cool!" Lori is still flipping when they hear the kitchen door slam. "That didn't sound good."Lori closes the book and picks Mrs. Potts up.
"Sorry about this. It might get a little rough."She shoves the book in her bag and tosses her to a shocked Charlie. "Let's go."They run and duck the long way around the kitchen counter. They hear footsteps but manage to make it out back into the cafeteria. "I think we're safe."
"Safe would be in your dorm right now." They both jump and whirl around to see Ben standing over them with his arms folded. Charlie shifts Mrs. Potts behind his back.
"It isn't what it looks like, Ben," he begins.
"So you two didn't break into school property in the dead of night? It sure looks like it. What if I was Security? You could be expelled for this Charlie!"
Lori steps in front of him. "Don't blame him. He's here because of me."
"Yes. Yes he is. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you were bad news. Now I am taking my step-brother back to his room. And this weekend Mom and Dad are going to have a long retelling of some of your recent behavior." Charlie pushes out from behind her.
"You wouldn't." He stares down with his brother.
"I can and I am."
"I hate you! You're just going to ruin my life!"He takes off out the window and Ben goes to follow but stops in front of Lori.
"You stay away from him. He has a life and career ahead of him," he threatens. Lori becomes insulted.
"And what does that make me?"
"The garbage they take out every morning." She slaps him, absolutely furious.
"You know nothing about me," she growls. She exits through the window and he watches he go- hand on his cheek. He almost looks… impressed.
XXX
Victoria is exiting the lounge and sees Charlie rushing towards his room. She manages to get a glimpse of what he has in his hand. A large smile appears on her face.
"I knew it."
XXX
Charlie enters his room and gently places Mrs. Potts on his desk. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything?" he asks, pulling up his chair and sitting in front of her.
"If I might be honest, I really wish to go home to my son. I imagine he needs me. That and the whole castle is probably falling apart- Lumiere and Cogsworth at each other's throats. You see this girl just arrived-"
"And you think she could break the spell," Charlie smiles. Mrs. Potts looks at him confused.
"How-?"
"I'm just a good guesser." He looks at the time and yawns, rising and climbing into his bed. He reflects for a moment before chiming in quietly, "I don't have a mom. She died when I was just a baby."
"Well, I'm frightfully sorry to hear that. But I'm sure she's still with you in a lot of ways. Just like even though I'm… here, I'm really back in the cupboard with Chip."
"Don't worry. My friend Lori will get you sent back home as soon as she can. You have to teach her something first though."
"I can't imagine what that would be."
"Well… right now she really misses her parents. You see, this weekend they come visit. Hers live pretty far away and can't make it. She's been pretty upset about it. I'm worried about her."
Mrs. Potts smiles. "You seem like a very good friend."
"She says we're not friends."
"Many moments Cogsworth tells me the same thing about Lumiere. But when the moment matters the truth comes shining through very clearly."
"I hope so, because she's the only real friend I have."He looks at the picture of him and his mom, clicking out the light. "Goodnight Mrs. Potts."
"Goodnight dear." He closes his eyes and quickly drifts off.
XXX
Charlie opens his door the next morning after a series of pounding to find Lori standing outside impatiently with the book. "Let's get this done," she huffs.
"She's on my desk."Lori walks in to Mrs. Potts. "So I finally have you in my room…"
Lori gives him a look. "Stop making this creepy right now!" she says in her icy tone. She starts flipping through pages. "I'm not getting anything."
"Well… you haven't learned anything yet," he offers.
"I learned if I see your step-brother again I'm going to punch him in the face." He beams at this. She finally puts the book down and sighs, taking a seat. "Alright… pot… what have you got for me?" she asks impatient and awkward.
"I'm not quite sure."
"It's just a suggestion… but maybe you could talk to her about what's bothering you. You know the whole thing with Parents' Day." Lori suddenly rises and heads for the door.
"I told you- I have that under control. It's just… this stupid book is defective or something!"She throws it on the ground. "I hate this so much." She storms off and Charlie goes after her- leaving the door slightly open.
"Lori!" he shouts after her. Mrs. Potts sighs. A moment later the door opens again. Victoria spots Mrs. Potts- who has the instinct to freeze.
"Well, what do we have here? You look awfully realistic."She picks her up and trips over the book trying to sneak out. She grabs that too.
XXX
Lori is still storming from the boys' dorm as Charlie manages to catch up to her, nearly tripping in the process. She doesn't even acknowledge him. "Get lost before I snap and say things that I really don't want to say."
"Lori, the book is going to make you face things you won't want to. That's just how this will work. You can either suck it up and figure things out or I have a teapot that misses her son locked up in my dorm for the rest of eternity." This manages to make her halt. She looks down.
"Why me though?"
"Because you opened the book!" he finally snaps at her.
She snaps back just as quickly. "But why did the book pick me, huh? There are six billion people on this entire planet, yet I'm the one who gets stuck with this? That's not fair at all!"
Charlie takes a moment to cool down and speaks to her in a soothing tone. "Lori, you were doing so well. Don't let the first real challenge ruin that. You need to talk to her."She sighs. He takes a moment before continuing. "I don't have the answers either. I don't know why you're the one out of six billion. But you need to get it through your head… it's two out of six billion." They start walking back towards his room. He opens his door and walks in. "Mrs.-"He notices the book is gone and so is she. "Lori, she's gone."
This snaps her out of whatever funk she was having. "What?"
"She's not in my room and neither is the book either," he says frantically. The two start tearing the room apart but it's clear neither are there. They look at one another and it hits them both at the same time.
"You don't think-"Lori asks incredulous.
"Come on. His room's just down the hall." They take off only to come to a stop by Ben appearing in front of them.
"God, why now?" Lori mutters. Ben makes the conscious decision to ignore her, putting his full attention on his step-brother.
"I just came here to collect you. Our parents arrived early and are taking us out to lunch."
Charlie sputters. "Just… give me ten minutes. This one kid borrowed a book that now I'm lending to Lori… since I read it all already. I'll meet you in the lobby."
"I thought I made-"
"He said he'll meet you in the lobby!" Lori shouts. Ben backs off and exits the hallway as she glares after him. Charlie runs up to and pounds on Tyler's door. He opens it with Victoria. "Give the kid his stuff back."
She starts to close the door. "I don't know what-"Charlie puts his foot in the way.
"You took my book and the teapot from my desk."
"Don't you mean the teapot hopping around the cafeteria yesterday? Don't you mean Mrs. Potts?" She points to her picture in the book. Lori does her best not to react as Charlie looks panicked. Tyler is just looking at this whole conversation in disbelief.
"How-how much of that did you read?" Lori lets slip out.
"I read it cover to cover. It's a fascinating read." Charlie notices how Tyler is viewing the situation and talks in a calm, soothing voice.
"Tyler… she's obviously stressing out. It's just a teapot. Don't you think she's going off the deep end just a little bit?"
"You bring Disney characters to our world!" Victoria shouts, pointing at the two.
"I mean… just listen to her. That front poem… it's a complete joke," Charlie continues.
"What front poem?" Tyler asks. Victoria shakes her head.
"I don't know. There's not a single poem in this entire book."Lori and Charlie look confused. "Now get the teapot to talk! Get her to talk!"
"She logically needs some sort of help," Lori appeals to Tyler. He makes up his mind.
"They're right Victoria."He grabs the book from her and gives it back to Lori. "I know there's still something fishy about you. But this is taking it too far."He goes in and comes back a second with Mrs. Potts.
"But- but I saw it!"
"We've had it and nothing's happened. You're just tired or something." The two back off as Victoria begins arguing. She seems to have gone off the deep end. Charlie nods towards Lori as he goes to his brother. She takes the items and heads for her dorm.
XXX
Lori pulls up and twists her desk chair so that her elbows rest on the backrest. She roughly places Mrs. Potts on her desk. The book is perched in her lap. "Alright… I'm just going to talk until one of these poems starts glowing." She taps the book and flips it open to a random page.
"Whatever you need to send me home." Lori clearly has no idea where to begin. She checks her phone and sits for a moment, looking around the room. Finally her eyes fall to the tank in the corner.
"So… I have a fish. We don't know what to name him," she begins awkwardly.
"Well… what's your favorite name? Is there anybody special?" Mrs. Potts asks in a whisper, smiling to herself.
XXX
Charlie and Ben are sitting with their parents at the Olive Garden. Charlie is next to his dad, a large man with a dark mustache. Ben is next to his mom, a small woman with a bright smile. They are all eating and Ben chooses the moment to make his move.
"So… Charlie met this girl," he begins. Charlie drops his fork, but his parents beam at him.
"Really? Oh, tell up all about her," his step-mom coos.
"She's a terrible influence on-"
"Don't listen to him," he interrupts. "He doesn't like her."
"With good reason. She's turning-"
"She isn't doing anything!"
XXX
We are back with Lori and Mrs. Potts. "I already used up my favorite name on someone a long time ago. My parents let me name my brother. I picked out one from this movie I was just obsessed with." She gives a nostalgic smile.
"Oh. Were you hoping he'd come to this Parents' Day too?" Her face falls with a snap.
"Oh no. It'd… it'd be pretty impossible. He's not around. He left." She looks at her phone again. "My mom adored him just like you adore Chip. I was never jealous though- he was too… adorable to be jealous of. So it hit her and my dad really hard. I had to step up as the prodigal child- academically, physically, emotionally. It was exhausting. They leaned on me. I was their crutch."
"So you thought they wouldn't be able to function with you gone? I understand from Charlie you haven't seen them in a while."
"In a way… I guess I kind of hoped that. It's really selfish, but I think I wanted to feel like they still needed me. It's not like they didn't want to come. Work just got in the way- something completely normal. It's like… like they're completely normal. She usually talks to me- calls me every day. She hasn't called this week yet."
XXX
Ben and Charlie are now leaning over the table glaring at one another as their parents observe helplessly. "She's a bad influence! She's bringing you down!"
Charlie turns to his dad. "I am averaging a GPA of 4.51 that I compound daily. I have my homework done a week in advance. But guess what, I watched a movie this week," he smiles. "I had someone visit my room. I had a normal conversation with someone who isn't at this table for once in my life. Lori Fitzgerald may be difficult and impossible but she is the first person who cares about me outside of you. You may not believe it- she doesn't believe it- but she cares. And I'm through of you trying to split us up. The only thing that has changed about me is that I'm happier. Dad… Mom… I'm happy." Both his step-mom and dad are completely enthralled.
"When do I get to meet her?" his dad chuckles. Ben grimaces in defeat as the family returns to dinner.
XXX
Lori is staring at Mrs. Potts as she begins. "That doesn't mean they care about you any less. I can promise you from the bottom of my bubbles that your parents still need you. But they have to learn since you're here. I imagine you want a life too and that means they have to move on. It's like this girl that's at the castle-"
"Belle," Lori interjects. Mrs. Potts again looks amazed and confused.
"How does everyone know that? Anyway, she's trapped but hopes her dad gets along without her. It's the only way to move on and come to grips with where you are now and where you want to be. You are never truly alone. What if you tried to talk to her? It's okay if you need her instead of the other way around. In fact, it's more than okay." Lori smiles and a poem starts glowing.
"I imagine you want to be with your son."Mrs. Potts nods. "Then I think it's about time we sent you home."She goes to read but stops. "Thank you… for everything."
"Anytime, darling."
Lori begins to sing a little more confidently to the tune of Be Our Guest. "'Mrs. Potts, we're thankful you were our guest You left your company thoroughly impressed'" Mrs. Potts vanishes in a burst of light. Lori immediately picks up her phone and dials. "Hey Mom, it's me. Oh, not much. I just haven't heard from you. You don't have to apologize. Just… tell me how your day's going. I miss you too."
XXX
Lori sees Charlie and Ben sitting with their parents at a table on the lawn behind the dorms. She gives a smile. Charlie sees and waves her over. She shakes her head and Ben smirks. She sees Charlie frown, takes a deep breath, and joins them.
"Hi, I'm Lori Fitzgerald," she says cheerfully- offering her hand. Both parents shake it.
"Lori, we've heard an awful lot about you from both of my kids." Lori gives Ben a look.
"I'd imagine they were conflicting accounts so if you'd allow me to join you I could set everything straight."
"I'd like that," his step-mom says. Lori takes a seat next to Charlie. Ben frowns at how well this seems to be going. "Where are your parents?"
"They live in Canada so it was just too far for one day. It's okay though. I'm never alone since your son insists on keeping me company."She hits Charlie's shoulder and he smiles. "Sometimes I might get him in trouble though if I'm being perfectly honest. One time I got caught in this net…"
XXX
Lori enters the dorm to find Hannah feeding the fish. "So… I saw you talking up Charlie's parents as I came home."
"I was just shoving it in Ben's stupid face that I can be something other than garbage."
"And so that Charlie could keep hanging out with you," Hannah counters with a sly smile.
Lori scowls. "Oh, if I knew that was a side effect I wouldn't have done it."
Hannah laughs. "You don't fool me Lori." There is a comfortable pause as they watch the fish swim. "I just like watching him swim sometimes. He doesn't have a care in the world."
"Yeah. Say, how does Cody sound?"
Hannah looks at her puzzled. "Cody?"
"For our fish. What do you think of the name Cody?"
"Cody… "Hannah tries. She beams at her. "I think it really suits him!" Lori touches the glass. "He seems to like it too. Where'd you come up with that?"
"Ah, just someone I knew."
"Knew?" Hannah blurts, instantly regretting her needling. Lori just keeps staring at the fish before finally speaking.
"He passed away when I was eleven. It was… sudden. He drowned when we visited this local pool. We were… really close." Hannah looks at her sadly.
"Are you sure-"
"It's fine. I like to be reminded of him. I thought he was perfect. And this time he can't drown," she remarks with a sad smirk. Hannah puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you for telling me that. It must have been hard." Lori takes a deep breath.
"You… have no idea. I'll feed him tomorrow."She heads into the bathroom. Hannah takes a permanent marker and writes CODY on the fish bowl, smiling.
XXX
Lori locks the bathroom door before she breaks down crying silently. She pulls out her phone and begins texting her mom.
XXX
Next time consequences come back to haunt Lori and she is forced to make a tough call that changes the entire adventure when a helpless creature ends up trapped in a tree. Tune in next week for Lori Disney? (Not Likely!)