V. Aladdin, September 10 to 11

The last class of the day on a Friday was of course, inevitably, the most boring class of the entire week. Of course, it didn't help that Aladdin's last class was Theology with Mr. Frollo. He tapped his pencil on his desk impatiently, watching the hands on the clock move ever-so-slowly. At one point he was almost positive they weren't even moving at all. Aladdin had a bad case of senioritis and it was only the first week of classes.

When the clock read only ten minutes left until the bell, everyone started gathering their things, packing their books away and zipping up their bags. Mr. Frollo looked irritated, but even he knew there was nothing that could be done. The lure of the weekend was much too strong. Finally, the bell rang. Aladdin threw his backpack over his shoulder and was the first person out the door. He spotted Alice, a girl he'd met on Wednesday, and caught up with her. Her long blonde hair that reached midway down her back made her instantly recognizable. He tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped a little, looking up at him in surprise.

"Oh—hello!" she said. "Aladdin, isn't it?"

"Yep," he said. "You don't look so sad anymore."

"Well, I was only sad because I was in trouble," she said.

"Things must've gone alright—I mean, you're alive, so…" Aladdin saw her surprised expression and added, "I'm joking, of course."

"Oh… of course," Alice smiled, nodding.

"Hey, uh, what are you doing this weekend?" Aladdin asked.

"N-nothing," Alice said, surprised at the question. "Why?"

"Well, there's going to be this big party to celebrate the start of the school year tomorrow—well, people will take any opportunity to party, of course," Aladdin said. "Anyway, you should come if you aren't busy!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Alice said quietly, but Aladdin was already scribbling down the address on a piece of paper.

"Well, in case you change your mind," Aladdin handed her the piece of paper and she looked at it warily. "Jas and I will both be there, so you could always hang out with us if you don't know anybody else—and I'll introduce you to some people."

"Jas?" Alice asked.

"Oh, that's my girlfriend—Jasmine?" Aladdin said. "You'll meet her eventually. Hopefully tomorrow!"

"Probably not," she said, crumpling it a little and sticking it in her bag, presumably never to be seen again. "But thanks anyway."

"Well, I've got to go—the parking lot gets crazy right after school—hope you change your mind!" Aladdin said, waving goodbye.

Alice gave him a forced-looking smile and waved back. He made his way out to his fifteen-year-old Honda Civic and saw that Jasmine was already waiting, standing by the passenger side and looking slightly annoyed.

"Hey!" Aladdin said. "Sorry about that."

"What took you so long?" Jasmine asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"Oh, I just ran into this girl I met the other day," Aladdin said as he unlocked the car. "A freshman—I invited her to the party tomorrow."

"Oh, great," Jasmine said, rolling her eyes.

Aladdin decided not to comment as they both climbed into the car. Jasmine's father was going away for the weekend on business and the party was being held at her gigantic mansion. Honestly, what did she care if there was one guest that she didn't particularly approve of? Alice seemed like a nice girl, anyway—Aladdin was sure she and Jasmine would get along if Jasmine would give her a chance. Aladdin pulled the car to the back of the haphazard queue waiting to turn onto the road. Jasmine smiled and waved to someone. Aladdin didn't see who.

"Who was that?" he asked, curious.

"No one," Jasmine said rather quickly, sounding defensive. "Just a friend."

Aladdin shrugged it off. He leaned back and turned up the radio.

Aladdin dug through a drawer, looking for something suitable to wear to Jasmine's party. The selection was pretty limited. While his girlfriend came from a wealthy, well-known family and lived in a huge house in a nice neighborhood with her rich father, Aladdin's life was somewhat of the opposite. He lived in a somewhat dingy apartment by himself. Of course, most people didn't know about the fact that he was on his own. Obviously he would have been put into some kind of foster care program long ago if that were the case, but he and Jasmine managed to keep it a secret. Aladdin honestly didn't mind his lifestyle. And neither did Jasmine, as long as the two spent their time at her place and not at his. As Aladdin was trying to decide between two t-shirts he had narrowed his selection down to, his crappy old flip cell phone started ringing its midi tune and vibrating violently against the dresser. He checked to see who was calling—it was his manager from work.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi Aladdin, um, I need you to come in tonight," the voice on the other line said.

"Are you joking?" Aladdin asked, balancing the phone on his shoulder as he folded up the t-shirt he had decided against.

"'Fraid not," his manager replied. "The person who was scheduled didn't show up and no one else is available."

Aladdin groaned. The manager knew Aladdin couldn't say no to extra hours. He needed the money—badly. Undoubtedly he'd need to go in now, and he wouldn't be able to make Jasmine's party. He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

"Fine," he finally said.

"Great," the manager said. "Can you come in right now?"

"Fine," Aladdin grumbled.

He changed quickly into his uniform for work—a dark red polo shirt, khaki pants, and all-black sneakers. As he got into the car, he dialed Jasmine.

"Hello?" she said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Hey Jas," Aladdin said as sweetly as possible. "Um, I just got called in to work so I don't think I'll be able to make it to your party tonight. I'm really sorry, babe, I—"

"Oh, that's alright," Jasmine said, not sounding at all upset—Aladdin had been hoping she would take it well, but he hadn't expected her to take it that well. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Uh… yeah," Aladdin said. "I'll call you."

"Great," Jasmine said. "Love! Bye!"

"Um, I love you… too?" Aladdin said, but Jasmine had already hung up.

Aladdin looked at the phone for a moment, then tossed it in the glove compartment and headed to work. Aladdin worked at the photo department in one of those chain drug stores you see on practically every single corner. It obviously wasn't the best job, but it was a job. And working in photo certainly beat being a cashier—he got paid about a dollar more an hour and the work was at least mildly more interesting. Of course, the only people who went to drug stores to get their photos developed anymore were those still living in the stone age, using disposable cameras on their vacations. But when he wasn't developing photos, he did whatever odd jobs were needed of him. It kept things interesting, at least. As it got later, the traffic in the store thinned out and soon Aladdin was left with nothing to do but to lean on his counter flipping through a magazine he'd grabbed off the newsstand.

"Hey, if you want to leave now, you can," his manager said, stepping up to the counter. "It doesn't seem like we'll be needing you any longer."

"Great," Aladdin said, smiling and tidying up the area to get ready to leave.

The two exchanged a few words, then Aladdin went to the break things to grab his things and go. He checked the time on his phone as he headed to the car. It wasn't even eleven yet—Jasmine's party will have just been getting started. He hopped in the car with excitement, flipping open his phone to call her. His finger hesitated on the "send" button. He closed the phone. He would surprise her. He smiled at the idea. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when he walked in. She would be so excited. He looked down at what he was wearing—it would have to do. He didn't want to waste time going home and changing.

Jasmine's house was all lit up. From the outside, it looked like the lights were on in every room, and Aladdin could feel the bass even from outside. He straightened out his shirt and walked to the door with confidence, ringing the doorbell. He hoped Jasmine would answer. She didn't. Instead, the one who opened the door was a girl in a short purple dress whose brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She had a hand on her hip as she looked at him expectantly, chewing her gum.

"Uh, hi, I, uh…"

A look of surprise suddenly washed over the girl's face, "Oh! You must be Aladdin. I'd heard you weren't coming."

"Uh, yeah, that's me," Aladdin said, smiling. "I got off work early, so I figured I'd show up, as a surprise."

The girl nodded, giving Aladdin a strange look, "You seem like a nice guy. And that means a lot, coming from me."

"Uh, thanks?" Aladdin said unsurely as he stepped inside and past the girl. What was that all about?

He looked around for Jasmine for a minute. The place was pretty packed, and most everyone was drunk. Fed up, he stopped a tall, square-chinned blonde man who appeared at least relatively sober. He said he heard Jasmine had gone up to her room, and shrugged. Aladdin thanked him and made his way up the stairs. The house was huge, but of course he knew exactly where Jasmine's bedroom was.

He made his way to the door, turned the knob, and—well, that certainly wasn't Jasmine. Aladdin was greeted by the sight of a bright red head of hair—or the back of it, at least. Some guy had apparently decided to occupy this bedroom for his escapades, probably not knowing it was the hostess's and not some guest bedroom. Aladdin decided he should leave him and whoever he was making out with to it and continue his search for his girlfriend.

"Sorry, I'll just—"

The red-head looked up, startled, and Aladdin recognized him as a junior named Thomas Bale. He was surprised—he'd always been under the impression that Thomas was a bit socially inept and had never kissed a girl in his life. Suddenly, Aladdin felt as if something had caught in his throat. Wasn't that—? No, it couldn't be. Aladdin reached over shakily and turned on the light. It was.

"Jasmine?" Aladdin shouted.

Thomas leapt up, buttoned his jeans and scurried out of the room before Aladdin could fully react. For a few seconds he just stood in the doorway gaping, opening and closing his mouth, unsure of what to say and also completely unable to form any words.

"What—I—how—?" he finally managed.

"I—I can… hey!" Jasmine said. "You said you weren't coming! You said you had to work!"

"Are you kidding?" Aladdin said. "I just caught you cheating on me with—with Thomas of all people, and you're going to get mad at me for showing up to surprise you at your party when I got off work early? I don't think so!"

Jasmine looked a bit scared. Aladdin never got angry. Never lost his temper. He couldn't recall ever yelling at her before, and even he didn't know what he was going to do or say next. This was unfamiliar territory.

"You—you—I can't believe this," Aladdin said, looking away from Jasmine—how could he look at her?—and rubbing his forehead. "Is this… How long has this been going on for?"

"This—this was the first time," Jasmine mumbled.

Aladdin stared at her for a few moments. "You're lying. I can't believe you're lying to me. I—I just—I've got to get out of here."

"Aladdin, wait—I can explain," Jasmine said, scrambling to get up off the bed.

"No," Aladdin said sternly, throwing a hand up to emphasize his point. "I don't want to hear it. There's no explanation you could give that could possibly excuse this. We're done."

"We—what?" Jasmine stammered.

"You heard me," Aladdin said, not even able to bring himself to look at her. "Don't try to call me. Just… don't."

He walked down the hallway and down the stairs. She didn't follow him. He walked through the front room and people stopped to look at him. They pointed. They knew. They all knew. And nobody had the decency to tell him. Not that he could blame them. Aladdin wondered, if he had been in their situations, if he would have had the courage to break a person's heart like that. When he finally got outside, the crisp night air felt good compared to the sweaty humidity of the mansion. He sat down on the stoop—just for a few minutes to collect himself. He wouldn't want to drive in that state of mind. He put his hands on the back of his head, elbows on his knees, leaned forward and closed his eyes. He heard the door open, someone shuffle over and sit next to him. He prayed it wasn't Jasmine—anyone but Jasmine. After a minute's silence, he looked up. It was Alice.

"You came."

"Yeah," she said, smiling shyly and looking down at the ground. "I don't know why. I shouldn't have. This isn't my thing."

"You know, I don't really think it's mine either," Aladdin gave her the best smile he could manage before he let his face fall again. They sat in silence for another minute.

"What happened in there?" Alice asked.

"You don't know?" Aladdin asked, and Alice shook her head. "You must be the only one. Jasmine's been cheating on me—I don't know for how long. Long enough. Apparently everyone knew. Everyone but… me."

"I'm sorry," Alice said, looking genuinely sad.

"Wow," Aladdin said, soaking in everything that had happened. "Wow… I… really can't believe this. We've been dating for so long. I thought… Well I'd assumed we'd always be together, I guess. Kind of a silly thing to think."

"I think everyone likes to think they're with 'the one,'" Alice said, looking up at the sky. "It gives relationships meaning or something."

Aladdin looked at her appreciatively, "You're pretty smart for a freshman. I'm glad I met you."

Alice looked at him, "I'm glad I met you too. And I truly am sorry about your girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend," Aladdin corrected.

"Already?" Alice looked surprised.

Aladdin nodded, "I can't possibly stay with her. The fact that she would do that to me… I'll never be able to trust her again. And what's a relationship without trust?"

Alice didn't answer. Of course, she didn't have the answer. No one could. It was a rhetorical question, anyway. The two sat quietly staring out into the night for a while. Aladdin thought about the past few years. He and Jasmine had been inseparable—or so he thought. It seemed they had done everything together. Almost all of his free time had been spent on Jasmine. He shook his head. Being single would be an interesting adventure. And what about the plans he and Jasmine had had for the upcoming year? Jasmine had every intention of snagging the crown at prom, even though Snow White had been the favorite since freshman year. Aladdin smiled at the thought of Jasmine's disappointment when she didn't win.

No, he thought. Don't think like that. That's the way she'd think—revenge. Don't sink down to her level.

He looked over at Alice. He found himself letting out a small laugh.

"What?" Alice tilted her head.

"I was just thinking—Homecoming's coming up," Aladdin said. "I guess this means I don't have a date. Want to go—as friends?"

Alice smiled, "That sounds lovely."

Aladdin smiled back. It was a genuine smile this time. He had spent so much time on Jasmine these past years that he hadn't had much time for cultivating other friendships. Alice was a sweet girl. He hardly knew her, and he already felt a kind of brotherly love for her. He wanted to protect her and make sure she never experienced anything like what he had experienced tonight. He could already tell this was the start of what was sure to be a great friendship.

"How'd you get here?" Aladdin asked.

"I walked," Alice said sheepishly. "I didn't have anyone to give me a ride, and I'm only fourteen… But my house isn't too far."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride," Aladdin said, standing up and holding a hand out for Alice.

She hesitated, "You haven't been drinking, have you?"

"No," Aladdin smiled, but she still paused.

"Let me smell your breath," she demanded, and he obliged with a laugh.

"Good girl," Aladdin said. "You can never be too careful."

Alice shrugged, looking somewhat embarrassed. Aladdin drove her home and then drove himself home. As he lay in bed that night, he wasn't dwelling on the past anymore—he was thinking about the future. And he was thinking maybe, just maybe being single wouldn't be quite so bad.