{Sorry for the wait, everyone, but since you've all been so patient, I'm uploading TWO-you heard it-TWO new chapters as a gift from me to you. Without further ado…}
Chapter Five
"Oh shit!" I squeaked. (Yes, I'm man enough to admit I squeaked like a scared little mouse; commence the mockery.)
Gaston was striding forward, flanked by LeFou and the three blonde groupies from English class.
I quickly turned around and ran as courageously as I could in the opposite direction, as far away from him as I could muster before what was left of my pride kicked in, and I slumped over, breathing hard next to some benches beneath a grove of palm trees.
"What are you running from?" asked a familiar melodic voice.
I saw Ariel and Alice standing there, along with a scrawny dark-skinned boy who looked to be about their age. Even though it was just the first day of school, his clothes were stained and dirty.
"Who, me?" I asked. "I'm not running from anything. Just trying to get to some shade is all. Just trying to quickly get to some shade."
"You looked like you were running from something," said Ariel, crossing her arms.
"I get paranoid too sometimes," Alice said to me with a knowing gaze. "You just gotta tell yourself, nobody is following me. Nobody is chasing me. Nobody has any reason to do that. Stalking me would simply be illogical."
"Yeah, I'm not stoned," I said, "but thank you."
"Well that's your loss then."
Ariel shook her head and then gestured at the boy. "Shane, this is our friend Mowgli. Mowgli, meet Shane, the newest senior at Disney High."
Mowgli grunted at me and started munching on a banana. He didn't seem particularly excited to become acquainted with me, the dirty little jungle rat.
"Nice to meet you too," I said. "Hey, Ariel, do you know where Belle usually kicks it?"
Ariel's spirits seemed to dampen slightly at the mention of Belle. "Uh, maybe…"
Alice snickered. "Ooh, first she stole Eric from you, and now Shane. When will she stop?"
"Shut up, Alice!" Ariel snapped, pushing her. Alice stumbled into Mowgli, who tripped over a trashcan and nearly fell flat on his face.
"Is he stoned too?" I asked.
"No!" he protested through a mouthful of banana.
Alice shrugged. "I can never tell anymore."
"How much do you guys know about all the little high school cliques here?" I asked.
Ariel, of course, was the only one to answer. "Well, I know my sister's crowd. She's popular because she's a cheerleader. Her boyfriend is Phillip, and he's all right, I guess. Kind of boring, though. All the people in her group are mostly jocks and other cheerleaders. Eric, Gaston, Charlotte, Snow, and Jasmine…our school has a lot of good athletes but the best ones are Herc and Tarzan. Tarzan's kind of a loner, though; he doesn't usually hang out with the other jocks that much. But Herc is, like, the king of the school. He's everything Gaston wants to be. Have you seen Gaston? He's Eric's cousin and he's super hot, but, like, a total douchebag."
"Yeah, I've managed to cross paths with him already," I said. "He's a real charmer."
"I dunno about charming…he's kind of a jerk…"
"That's called sarcasm, Ariel," said Alice. I nodded at the stoner blonde, grateful that she at least was aware of the concept.
"Oh," said Ariel. She flipped her hair imperviously. "Whatever."
I spent the rest of the break bumming around with the little freshmen like a loser, and spying on the popular kids. They sat in the center of a cluster of benches on the grass. Herc stood out from the rest. He was red-haired, boisterous, and even bigger than Gaston, at probably 6'5" and 225 lbs. The only guys bigger than him that I could see were three dudes who I assumed were offensive linemen. One was a huge, fat Chinese fellow and the second was a mountainous black guy. They both had shaved heads. I was pretty sure their names were Po and Joshua Sweet, from the movies "Mulan" and "Atlantis." The third big guy looked like he might be Kronk from "The Emperor's New Groove" and he seemed even dumber than Gaston. (I watched him open a soda that exploded fizz into his face and caused him to tumble off of his seat.) The presence of these three meant that were at least a few fringe, supporting characters from the Disney films who existed here along with the iconic ones.
When the bell rang, I asked Ariel, "Do you guys know what 'Ethics' is? I don't think we had that class at my old school."
Ariel grinned and ducked her head, as though she felt guilty about laughing at my misfortune. "Ooh, my sister has been dreading that class. It's a special class for seniors Mr. Frollo teaches. It's supposed to be positively miserable."
"Great," I grumbled. "Something else to look forward to here."
I thought about just how alone and out of place I was out here, with no real knowledge of the current events or political climate of this world, not to mention the fact that I had almost no money, no extra clothes, and no place to stay. In fact, I wasn't even sure if the little money I had would be valid here. For all I knew, they accepted clams or gold coins as currency. I let out a long sigh.
Ariel grinned giddily at me.
"Isn't high school the best?"
{Oh, the angst. The angsty angsty angst. Don't forget to review, and thank you!}