Ugh. Why are Tuesdays slower than Mondays? Meg was sitting in physics with Flynn and Aladdin, her head on her desk since the teacher couldn't find their worksheets and everyone's chattering was grating on her nerves. After a moment, she decided to touch up her makeup, which ended up taking the rest of the period.
The class right before lunch was even slower. Their history teacher, Mr. Frollo, was insufferable and boring, and creepy to boot. His gaunt, scowling face and hooked nose lent him the profile of a wicked witch. And Meg had to stay vigilant in his class purely to keep him from picking on Esme- who was stubbornly vocal practically to a fault- or any other student that he clearly viewed as subhuman. Meg's ego could take a hit, but letting an old man bully outcasted students was something she couldn't allow for.
While Mr. Frollo droned on, Meg and her friends just talked in the back of the room. Meg knew she could just copy someone's notes, and then her friends would copy what she'd jotted down.
"Dude, give up on Rapunzel! She's obviously not into you." Aladdin was telling Flynn while Phoebus patted the disturbed brunet on the shoulder and Esmeralda giggled.
"That's easy for you to say! Jasmine's one of the hottest girls in school!" Flynn whined.
"Yeah, but she actually likes me." Aladdin smiled triumphantly.
"One of the greatest unsolved mysteries of our time." Phoebus muttered.
"I'm not quitting. I'm gonna fight for this one!" Flynn's determination was almost believable. If this wasn't Flynn we were talking about...
"What is up with you? Since when do you care about some girl?" Esmeralda asked with a devious grin.
"I dunno...This one's just...different." Flynn replied, flustered.
Esmeralda nodded with a knowing smile, leaning back in her chair. Flynn gave her a weird look before turning his attention to Phoebus, who was sighing.
"Guess all you can do now is wait it out, buddy."
Flynn rolled his eyes and groaned in response.
Don't take Phoebus's advice! Meg thought while she pretended to absently play with her thick ponytail. After another two minutes of Flynn's aggravation, the bell rang and they all jumped up and headed toward the door. They had to walk by Mr. Frollo's desk to get out, and each carefully avoided his sneer of disapproval for their…what, existing?
"Hey, Meg, we were all planning to grab dinner tonight. Wanna come?" Esme asked as they strolled toward their lockers.
Meg rolled her eyes. "Can't. Mom's making me go out with her and her boyfriend tonight. She wants me to meet him finally."
"Since when does your mom have a boyfriend?" Flynn asked in confusion.
"Since, like, summer." Meg sighed. "Some art dealer, or whatever… I dunno, when she described him and his business to me, he sounded kinda sketchy."
"Hey, Meg!" Hercules greeted her as he jogged up to the group.
She smirked at him, coolly saluting to hide the fact that her heart had skipped a beat. "Heya, Herc."
"Hey, Hercules!" Everyone else sang.
"I was wondering if I could join you guys for lunch?"
"Of course, man! You're always welcome!" Flynn grinned.
Meg made a show of rolling her eyes, but Esme caught the smile that played at the left corner of her mouth.
After school that same day, Arthur was drumming his fingertips against a checkout counter. Tuesdays were slow at work... Well, really, every day was a slow day at Merlin's Magic Book Shop.
No, not a literal magic book shop… Well, in a way. Truthfully, you would have to know Merlin to understand. The books were for everyone, but Archimedes had told Merlin that the store needed a hook to succeed. So, Merlin cleverly installed sections of magic tricks and gags to attract the children in town. It still didn't help much, but they made enough money to survive each pay period. Arthur had set himself to saving all of his money, much to his adoptive father's discontent.
You leave me and your poor brother to work the museum alone, and you don't even use the money to help us!
These had been Ector's words. Sure, the museum was struggling just as much as Merlin's shop was. (Probably even more so; The museum was poorly run, despite Ector's valiant efforts.) And sure, Ector had adopted him, so he and his son, Kay, were "family". But it was no secret that they mistreated Arthur, not necessarily because they disliked him, but because he was the twerp; Just another extra mouth to feed. And he wasn't incredibly useful; There wasn't much he could do. But he always gave any task everything he had.
This was why Merlin liked him so much. Arthur may have lacked direction, but he was eager to learn and be guided. And he actually enjoyed reading; Most of his time working in the empty shop was spent reading the older books.
Arthur had known the old man since he was 11. They'd met by chance. Arthur had been dared to go into the shop and take a look at the crazy "wizard" who worked there. Arthur had walked into the empty, tiny store and wound his way through the labyrinthine shelves of books, acting casual. After a moment or two and no sign of the old man, he started to find his way back out of the store, feeling kind of disappointed.
The screech of a bird had made him jump and cry out, nearly slamming into the fiction section. He turned to see an owl perched on the railing of a staircase above his head. He frowned at the bird, too distracted by it to notice someone creeping up behind him.
"Hello, dear boy!"
Arthur jumped and whirled around, gaping at the old man. The rumors about him being a wizard were now completely justified; He wore a long blue coat with a matching hat of a strange design, and he had an epic white beard that reached his knees.
The man's kindly eyes gleamed down at Arthur. "How can I help you?"
"I, uh... I was just looking for my friend... But he's obviously not here, so... I have to go!"
With that, Arthur scurried away, unaware of Merlin's knowing smirk. Merlin peered up at the owl, feigning disapproval.
"You shouldn't scare the customers like that, Archimedes." Merlin joked.
The owl huffed and drifted down to the carpet, stopping next to a book. "I was trying to prevent the child from stepping on this periodical!"
"Ah..." Merlin slowly bent down to pick up the book, inspecting the worn cover. The title made his eyebrows pop up. "What is this doing out here? This should be in my office..." Merlin continued mumbling as he climbed up the staircase and to said office, leaving the door cracked open. Archimedes returned to his perch and clucked in derision, shaking his feathery head at the idle wizard.
Of course, the way that Arthur had come running out of the shop awarded him with non-stop teasing. After about a week of being asked if the evil wizard had scared him, Arthur answered to himself, Actually, he didn't...
He couldn't get the old man out of his head. Eventually, his curiosity won out and he hesitantly returned to the store. He was greeted with another one of the owl's screeches, but he didn't falter. He proceeded further into the store until he found the old man sitting at the register, reading a paper and mumbling nonsense. Arthur nervously pretended to look through the poetry books, feeling foolish.
"Hello, lad."
The old man's sudden presence beside him made him jump. Arthur stared up at Merlin's face, unable to think of how to respond. The old wizard smirked and fixed his glasses so they sat higher up on his crooked nose.
"Looking for anything in particular? Or can I recommend something?"
"Uh..."
"Here." The old man pulled out an old book with a tattered cover and faded letters, holding it out to Arthur. "This one's good."
Arthur stared at the book as if he'd never seen one before. Then he fixed his attention on his shoes. "I can't."
"Why not, son?"
"I don't have any money..."
"Oh, well... Money's not really an issue here, boy..."
"And I can't read."
"What?!"
Arthur stared up at the shocked old man. "Okay, that's kind of an exaggeration… I guess I meant I can't read well. I didn't… Well I wasn't taught like-"
"Oh! Well, this will never do! Come here, boy." He led Arthur to the register and popped it open, pulling out a five-dollar bill. "Take the book- for practice- and this money. Buy yourself a sandwich, you need it. And bring the book back when you've got the time and we will go over it together."
"Are you serious?" Arthur gaped, then shook his head. "I mean, I can't..."
"Of course, you can, you just don't want to. Here." The old man held the bill and the book out to him, smiling.
Arthur stared at them for a moment, then tentatively reached out and allowed the old man to place the book in his hand. Arthur gripped the book and the money as if they were the most precious things in the world, then looked up at the old man shyly, smiling uncertainly.
"Thank you so much."
"Be seeing you?"
"Of course!" Arthur said excitedly. "Can I come back tomorrow?"
"But tomorrow's Monday! You have school..."
Arthur looked down again, obviously uncomfortable. Merlin sighed, offering the boy a smile.
"You aren't in school, are you?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Well. Then you will definitely be seeing me tomorrow."
"Thank you, sir!" Arthur smiled before heading out.
"Hey!" The old man called out, making Arthur turn around. "What's your name, boy?"
"Arthur, sir. But everyone calls me Wart."
"Well, in this shop you shall be called Arthur. And enough of this 'sir' nonsense! You may call me Merlin."
After that, Arthur came back every day at precisely noon and usually left around 3:00. In the beginning, it was difficult. But Arthur was stubborn and fought for the education he deserved. Merlin even started coming to the museum for extra tutoring. Two years later, Merlin convinced a testy Ector to enroll Arthur in the nearest public school. Of course, nothing the school offered would suffice, so Merlin never went away like Ector had hoped he would.
Throughout Arthur's troublesome 8th grade year, Merlin's belief in knowledge and free thinking over mindless labor became firmly rooted in Arthur. And the boy's endless thirst for education fueled the fire that was Arthur's need to break away from Ector and the museum. During that summer, Arthur and Merlin convinced Ector to allow Arthur to work in the shop. Ector fought them for nearly two months.
But, about three weeks before Arthur would be beginning high school, Ector gave in. Now if Arthur wasn't at school, he was in the shop. Normally, there was more studying and tutoring happening than work. Arthur honestly didn't know how Merlin could pay him every month; How did Merlin even live?
But Merlin didn't care about the money. All that mattered to him was that, right now, Arthur was the brightest kid in all of his classes; Probably his whole grade! Because Arthur had worked for it; because Arthur cared so much. Arthur's capacity for compassion and knowledge never ceased to amaze Merlin. Just a few years ago, Arthur could barely read or write. Now both were the boy's favorite pastimes! Merlin considered it a blessing to know this boy, because in this big modern mess of a world, no one cared for dusty old books or the best education they could get. But Arthur did.
Right now, Merlin was laughing to himself while Archimedes and Arthur argued over a math problem. The argument eventually became more about personal flaws than equations, and the frustration of both parties was mounting. The owl's rude squawking was proving to be a serious distraction for poor Arthur.
When Arthur heard the bell dinging as the store's front door opened, and a group of voices approaching, he shooed Archimedes away and hissed, "Be quiet!"
Archimedes glided off and landed on his perch, grumbling. Arthur rolled his eyes at the bird and turned to grin at the "customers".
"Hey, guys!" Arthur called as his friends approached the counter.
"Were you talking to someone?" Mowgli frowned as his lightly accented words drifted toward Arthur.
"Oh. Uh..."
"We were just debating over how to solve number 21 in the geometry textbook." Merlin said with a smirk before disappearing into his office.
"Oh. I can help with that." Andy said. While Andy and Mowgli went behind the counter to assist Arthur, Pinocchio and Taran hopped up onto the counter. Lilo and Alice wandered around the shop, and every once in a while you could hear them giggle. Penny took a seat at a cramped little desk near the counter and whipped out a tiny copy of Of Mice and Men, which she was reading in her English class.
After about ten minutes, Arthur looked up and frowned. "Where's Lonnie?"
"Practicing for the try-outs tomorrow." Taran sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair.
"Is she really nervous?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah." Alice answered as she and Lilo approached the counter. "She's flipping out."
"I told her to save herself the dramatics, but nooo! She just has to be a cheerleader!" Lilo grumped, crossing her arms.
Pinocchio laughed. "Well, it's not like anything can ever stand between Eilonwy and what she wants."
Lilo nodded, but didn't seem soothed. "I just don't see why she feels the need to-"
"Why do you dance?" Penny asked suddenly.
Lilo stared at Penny for a moment, then said, "Well, hula dancing started me out..."
"And why did you ever hula dance?" Penny continued.
"Well, I was forced into it when I was, like, five... Nani said I needed an outlet. And… I dunno, at some point I just couldn't imagine life without it."
"Well, there you go." Penny said resolutely, going back to her book.
Lilo frowned. Taran laughed as he explained, "Eilonwy feels obligated to do this. And, hopefully, it'll open a few doors for her."
Lilo slowly nodded.
Seriously, though? Cheerleading?
Meg was fixing her hair in the cramped bathroom of her apartment when her mother's voice rang from the living room.
"Meg! Jafar just parked!"
Meg rolled her eyes before slipping on her sandals and going to meet her mom and Jafar at the door.
Why do I have to go with them to dinner? Why?
When her mother saw her, she gave her a quick hug. "Thank you for making yourself presentable, dear."
Meg had done her best with what she had. She just hoped no one would recognize her...
Or worse, recognize mom...
Before that terrifying thought could develop, the doorbell rang. Her mother answered after sharing a look with Meg. When the door swung up, Meg locked eyes with a tall, wiry man with tanned skin and dark eyes. His long face was framed by a thin, carefully styled goatee. He was dressed sharp, wearing black from head-to-toe, with subtle accents of red and gold that glittered when the light hit them as he turned.
Jafar grinned down at Meg's mother before enveloping her in a kiss. Meg stood by awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling and trying to block it out. After a moment, she cleared her throat and looked down at her feet.
"Oh!" Her mother gasped, looking at Meg as if she'd forgotten her daughter was standing there. Then she gazed up at Jafar and unleashed this fake ditzy giggle, acting love-struck. Of course, he fell for it.
"Is this your lovely daughter?" Jafar asked, his dark eyes suddenly fixed on Meg. His voice was smooth, almost regal. His gaze was practically hypnotic…
Meg felt her skin crawl.
"Yes, yes, that's Meg… Should we get going?" Her mother replied, running her lithe hands over the lapel of his black jacket. "Plenty of time for you to get to know each other at dinner."
He nodded and led her out the door, with Meg following and locking the door shut behind them. Meg tried to hide her shock at seeing the sleek, black sports car in the driveway. It was a model she'd never be able to guess, and looked laughable parked in their dingy little neighborhood.
She climbed into the back of Jafar's car. He was opening the front passenger door so her mother could take a seat. He shut the door after her before walking around the front of the car and climbing into the driver's seat.
"Where are we going, my dear?" Her mother cooed at Jafar.
He grinned, making Meg sink down in her seat. "The best restaurant in town, lovely. Only the best for my girls." He purred.
Meg somehow contained her shiver.
"Are you sure it won't be too expensive?" Her mother feigned concern.
"Mallory, for you, I would pay anything."
Meg rolled her eyes.
The next day went by too quickly for Aurora. She sighed as she gazed up at the gymnasium, preparing her fake smile. When a good 30 seconds had passed, she shrugged to herself and pushed through the doors.
She was immediately greeted by Lottie's excited shriek. "Rorie's here!"
Aurora glanced around the room. Aside from Lottie, there was Giselle, and Ariel (who wasn't on the team but came to help anyway), Tiana, (who was always a part of any school-related decision making as the vice president of student council), and, to Aurora's unpleasant surprise and the obvious discomfort of the others, a very smug Vanessa. Aurora narrowed her eyes at the brunette.
"What are you doing here? You know you're not allowed back on the team."
"I just wanted to see what pathetic brats you plan to replace me with."
Lottie scowled at Vanessa. "You really have nothing better to do with your time?"
Vanessa shrugged, smirking. "I figured it would be funny."
Tiana crossed her arms. "Well, you can't be on the court. You have to go sit in the bleachers."
Vanessa rolled her eyes before climbing to sit at the very top, where she could have a perfect view of the entire court. Lottie and Tiana shared a look while Aurora rolled her eyes and went to join Giselle and Ariel (who had been standing by uncomfortably) in setting up the judging table where Aurora, Giselle and Lottie would sit.
"Is Jasmine on her way?" Aurora asked her two redheads.
Ariel shrugged before Giselle answered. "Yes. She texted me saying that she would be here in five minutes, and she's bringing Esmeralda."
Esmeralda and Jasmine were on the dance team, and thanks to Giselle (Who was on both dance team and cheer… Where did she find the time?), the two teams collaborated on a lot of shows and routines, and even worked fundraisers together.
Giselle continued. "They're also bringing a freshman girl who wants to try out for dance. You know, just to give her a feel for everything."
"Oh, and Snow's on her way to help out. And Cindy will be here, 'cause her stepsisters are trying for both teams. Again." Ariel rolled her eyes.
"Ugh! Can't those girls take a hint?" Lottie groaned.
Tiana sighed. "Obviously not."
"I mean, every year! Every year they try out for both teams and every year they don't get on!" Lottie continued. Obviously, her previous question was rhetorical.
Tiana rolled her eyes and began to help Ariel unfold the plastic table. After the table was placed, Aurora and Giselle brought over some chairs and set those up behind it. Tiana shuffled through the sign-up papers before setting them in a neat stack at the right-hand corner of the table for the newbies to pick up. She smiled to herself at the set-up, satisfied by the organization. Whatever will they do without me next year? She mused.
She turned when she heard Giselle shriek excitedly. Giselle was running to the door to greet Snow, who had just come in. The two girls giggled and screeched as they jumped around together. Tiana couldn't keep her eyebrow from quirking up. Lottie had tried that kind of thing with her once, and it had not worked out at all. She glanced up to see that even Vanessa was rolling her eyes.
Snow and Giselle re-joined the group and Snow hugged everyone. She wasn't even trying out, but she was absolutely ecstatic.
Melina also came in. She was a senior, who'd been on cheer all four years. She was the prime candidate for team captain last year, but turned the role down because she didn't want her focus taken away from her classes. (She was known as the Academy's over-achiever.) So, Lottie was made cheer captain, and she chose Aurora as her co-captain, and the rest is history. Melina had volunteered to come help with crowd control, but mostly wanted to take the opportunity to chat with Tiana about their first big project. Of course, they were partners. Usually in classes, Melina and Tiana gravitated to one another.
About ten minutes later, Rapunzel walked in, accompanied by a reluctant Merida and a morbid Jim. Aurora grinned and went to meet them.
"You're early!" She said as she hugged the other blonde. When they pulled away from each other, Aurora exchanged nods with the other two.
Rapunzel looked scared. "Oh, is that dorky?"
Aurora chuckled. "No, it's fine. Come here, I'll get you acquainted..."
Before she'd even finished her sentence, Rapunzel had giggled and skipped ahead of Aurora in excitement. Aurora grinned as she watched her friends embrace the spritely girl. She turned to Merida and Jim with a sympathetic smirk. "There are plenty of good seats in the bleachers for you guys."
Merida stared at her blankly. "Thanks." She deadpanned.
Aurora nodded slightly before walking away. Well, that was awkward...
While Jim and Merida climbed to their chosen seats on the left side of the bleachers, Rapunzel threw herself deep into conversation with the other girls. Aurora was happy to see that they all really liked her; She was adorable and funny, and incredibly sweet.
Aurora kept catching herself glancing up to see Vanessa watching over them all with a disgusted sneer. She couldn't for the life of her figure out how Vanessa felt any right to be offended over being kicked from the team. If she didn't want to miss out on cheer, then she shouldn't have gotten caught drinking at the last pep rally.
Wendy was sitting on her bed, studying hard for an Algebra test she had on Friday, when her mother called her name from downstairs. Wendy sighed and hurried down to find her mother holding the telephone out to her.
"It's a friend from school."
Wendy furrowed her brow as she took the phone. Her mother smiled and walked away, disappearing into the living room.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Wendy!"
"Tink? What's up?"
"Me and my friends are gonna go try out for cheerleading right now!"
"Oh, how wonderful! Good luck to you all."
"You don't want to come?"
"Oh, do you want me to?"
"Well, I just thought that you would want to try out, too!"
"Oh, I really don't think-"
"Come on, you'll be great! And you'll have friends on the team: Me and Eilonwy, and Lilo's going for dance..."
"I just don't know if I can..."
"You know... Peter's coming to try-outs to cheer us on."
Wendy paused. "Really?"
"Yeah. In fact, we're gonna go meet him right now..."
Wendy covered the receiver with her dainty fingers and turned toward the living room, calling out, "Mother? Can you drive me back to school?"
"Why, dear?"
"I want to try out for cheerleading!"
Her mother was suddenly in the doorway, obviously interested. "Really?"
Wendy blushed. "Yeah..."
Her mom grinned. "Well, alright, dear. Just let me get the car keys..." She wandered away.
Wendy smiled and spoke into the phone again. "I'm on my way, Tink."
"Great! See you in a few!"
"Yes, you will! Bye!"
"Bye."
Wendy hung up and ran upstairs to check her hair and get some shoes on, squealing excitedly.
On the other end, Tink hung up with a smirk while her friends giggled all around her. "She makes it too easy… This is gonna be hilarious."
Meg groaned as Esmeralda and Hercules dragged her to the gymnasium. "Why do I have to go?"
While Hercules laughed, Esmeralda rolled her eyes at Meg. "Because I have to, and you're my ride."
"But surely I can occupy myself some other way until try-outs are done?" Meg looked hopefully at Hercules.
He shook his head. "Sorry. If I skip another practice, Coach Phil will kill me."
Meg grunted. "Lame."
Hercules playfully poked her while Esmeralda smirked and led them through the doors of the gym.
"Hey, guys!" She grinned.
"Heya, Esme!" Lottie greeted, waving with both hands. The other girls waved and grinned at the new arrivals.
Meg rolled her eyes and immediately walked past everyone and found a nice spot on the right side of the bleachers, which was uninhabited, and ignored Vanessa's vicious gaze. Hercules looked at the others apologetically before waving goodbye to Meg and heading back out. Esmeralda shared a look with the girls and shrugged.
Meanwhile, Merida snickered and murmured to Jim, "She's got the right idea..."
"Who, Meg?" Jim smirked. "She's so damn stubborn."
Merida asked carefully, "You two are close?"
"Yeah. She's kinda acted like a big sister to me since junior high."
"Ah."
"Why? Are you jealous?" He sounded a little too serious, but his gaze was playful and a smile played on his thin lips.
She snorted, giving him a little push. "As if."
He watched her for a moment in amusement before turning to see who had just walked in. Eilonwy and Lilo had just arrived, accompanied by a silent Penny, who would obviously rather be anywhere else but had nothing better to do than support her friends. Penny smiled shyly before going to join Merida and Jim. Meanwhile, Merida was watching Rapunzel run to greet Eilonwy with an icy glare.
"Lonnie!" Rapunzel cheered, wrapping the shorter blonde in a hug.
"Ellie!" Eilonwy cried excitedly in response, hugging Rapunzel back.
Merida crossed her arms and huffed. Damn freshman. Who does she think she is? When Eilonwy grinned at her and waved, Merida rolled her eyes and looked away in response. Eilonwy shrugged and followed Rapunzel to where the cheerleaders were gathered. Lilo was already chatting with Esmeralda.
"Just sit anywhere, I guess." Esmeralda was telling her.
"Okay, cool..." Lilo followed Penny to join Jim and an angry-looking Merida. Penny was playing some game on her phone that involved mice, Jim was absent-mindedly bobbing his head to the song playing through his headphones, and Merida was sitting with her arms crossed, glaring at someone on the court. Lilo sighed and pulled out her homework, figuring she could get it nearly done before try-outs started.
Two minutes later, Tink and her friends came crashing into the room in moronic fits of giggles and shoving, with Peter leading them. Merida grinned at Peter and waved him over, and he immediately started making his way to her little group. The other three gave Merida weird looks.
"Since when do you hang out with Peter?" Jim asked.
"He's my partner in World History. He's pretty funny, so we get along fine. Hey, Pete!" Merida suddenly grinned at the approaching redhead. Peter took a seat in front of them with his feet elevated on his bench, forcing Lilo to scoot over a bit. He grinned back, his eyes ever full of mischief. "Hey, Mer."
"What's up?"
"Came to support Tink and her stupid friends."
"Is that why Tink is glaring at us like that?" Merida asked him while she responded to Tink with a bored expression. Peter turned around as Tink was rolling her eyes and turning away. He shook his head as he turned back to Merida. "I dunno... I think she's just kinda...like that." He shrugged.
Merida snickered. "Why do you hang out with her?"
"Well, I've known her since kindergarten... We've always gotten along fine. She's actually pretty fun, you know, once you get to know her. She's just..."
"A brat?" Jim smirked.
Peter laughed. "Yeah. Kinda. Anyway, why are you guys here?"
Merida pointed toward Rapunzel. "Ellie's trying out for cheer."
"Oh, sweet! Well, she's a shoe-in."
Merida nodded, before speaking less enthusiastically, "Yeah. Eilonwy's trying out, too..."
"Cool. She's pretty good also. She'll probably get on... I mean look at her competition..."
The Tremaine sisters had just arrived, trying to act like they owned the place. Cindy had come with them, and was currently telling her group about how she'd had to help them with their homework before coming. While Cindy's friends scowled at the twins, the Bimbettes were arriving and climbing up the bleachers to sit with Vanessa.
Pitiful. Peter shook his head, then turned to Lilo.
"You here to support Eilonwy?"
She looked up at him in surprise, shaking her head. "Nah. I'm trying for dance next week. But the two teams are kinda connected, so Esmeralda asked me to come today... You know, get a feel for everything..."
He nodded. "That's cool... I think Tink and her friends wanna try for dance if they don't make cheer. But, I'll tell you right now, if they don't make cheer, they definitely won't make dance. They aren't always the best team players. At least, not when they're altogether." He laughed.
Lilo couldn't help laughing with him; He was being kind enough to start a conversation and seemed to be trying to give her confidence in her upcoming try-outs. She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes gleamed when he heard her laugh. She looked down, blushing. When she spoke again, she was still focusing on her textbook.
"I'm trying to get Alice to try out with me, but I don't think there's any way to convince her at this point."
"Yeah... Alice doesn't seem like the dancing type."
She looked up at him again. "You know Alice?"
"Sure. She and Wendy are, like, sisters."
Lilo laughed shortly. "Well, she doesn't hang with us so much anymore..."
"Sorry about that." He chuckled nervously. "I don't mean to steal her away so much... If it helps, she's been acting kinda weird lately."
Before they could continue, the floor was being cleared of people and Aurora and Lottie were calling for everyone's attention.
"Hey! Listen up!" Lottie screeched.
Everyone was silent as they turned their attention to the blondes. Lottie sent her friend a comforting look, seeming a little too relaxed up there, excited even. Aurora was obviously uneasy, though. And she was trying hard to cover it up. Vanessa snickered and the Bimbettes giggled around her. Lottie sent them a nice glare, then turned a sweet smile on Aurora.
Aurora grinned at the newbies in a way that seemed stressed. "Hey, guys! Welcome! Um, I'm assuming that you have the school's routine prepared, as well as an original routine of your own. Basically, we'll play the music and you start up on the cue..."
She was interrupted by the doors opening behind her. Everyone looked at Wendy as she rushed in. Wendy froze when she saw everyone staring at her. Aurora frowned as she handed Wendy a sign-up paper. Wendy awkwardly accepted the paper before running to sit with Tink, who was shushing her giggling friends. Peter frowned at this but didn't say anything. Wendy turned and waved at him with a sweet smile. He smirked and waved back. Aurora cleared her throat to regain everyone's attention.
"Uh... Okay! So... Has everyone filled out their form?"
A good amount of the group answered in the affirmative. Wendy was writing on her own form at a furious pace.
"Great! Uh, Giselle and Melina will be coming to collect them from you. We'll just call you up when we get to your paper. Cool?" No one was really paying her any attention, so she answered herself, "Cool..." Aurora walked with Lottie to sit at the table. Esmeralda and Jasmine were sitting with Ariel, Snow, Cindy and Tiana on a bench nearby. All the girls trying out sat in a cluster in the first few center seats of the bleachers. As Giselle passed Wendy, she smiled easily and said, "Just bring your form up whenever you're ready."
Wendy smiled shyly back. "Thank you so much."
Giselle nodded and continued on her way.
Meg came to sit with Merida's group. As she sat down, she whispered to the others, "And what exactly is her problem?", casting a glance toward the top of the bleachers.
They all followed her gaze to see Vanessa staring Aurora down, (Boy, if looks could kill...), while the Bimbettes gossiped and giggled around her. The blondes were forced to sit with the other newbies when Lottie called them harshly to attention. As the girls crawled away from her, Vanessa seemed to take no notice of them. She was too focused on Aurora. And Aurora, in return, seemed to know that Vanessa was watching her, and was obviously ignoring the brunette.
"Maybe that's why Aurora seems so tense..." Jim murmured.
Meg shook her head. "Nah. Aurora could care less about Vanessa."
"But haven't you heard the rumors going around? Apparently, Vanessa's pretty pissed about…what Gaston did. No one can tell if she's more mad at him, or Aurora…" Merida muttered. "Doesn't make much sense to me, but…"
"If Vanessa tries to do anything to Aurora, I'll scalp her myself." Meg said flatly in response.
"You excited?" Tink asked Wendy with a grin.
Wendy nodded. "Oh, yes! You know, I've never really done anything like this before..."
"Well, I'm sure you'll do great."
"If you say so!" Wendy laughed.
Tink turned back to her group with a smirk.
After Giselle and Melina handed the collected forms to Aurora, the blonde turned to the group. "Okay! First up are the Tremaine sisters! You guys go ahead and warm up for a couple minutes while we prepare the stereo."
The twins jumped up and flounced to the gym floor. They began an embarrassing bout of warm-up stretches, issuing a few giggles from the crowd. Peter openly gagged, making his group laugh. At some point, Anastasia stepped on Drizella's foot, making the dark-haired girl screech and throw a good punch at the oblivious redhead. The two girls shrieked as they began to wrestle, sending the group into shock. Well, a few laughed; Peter, Tink and her friends, Merida, and Ariel. Meg and Jim even smirked a little. Cindy was hiding her face in her hands while Snow patted her back.
It didn't last long. After about ten seconds, the horrified Aurora let out a halting whistle that made the battling girls jump to attention. They'd managed to rough each other up quite a bit, though. Giselle crossed her arms at the girls while Aurora shook her head.
"We don't tolerate fighting on this team, girls." Giselle said. While Giselle was usually kind to everyone, she'd learned to take her work very seriously. It was a skill she'd been trying to instill in Edward for a while, but to no avail.
"Ha!" Vanessa yelled from her seat. She was ignored by everyone except the Bimbettes, who giggled.
The twins grumbled for a few seconds, then just crossed their arms and huffed as they turned away from each other. Giselle and Aurora shared a look while Lottie sighed. Aurora turned back to the sisters and asked, "You guys ready?" The two girls glared at each other for a moment, then grumbled in unison, "Yeah."
"Great." Aurora sighed as she, Giselle, and Lottie took their seats at the table. Lottie motioned to Jasmine to man the stereo. As the sisters took their spots in the middle of the court (and stood in awkward poses), Jasmine walked to the stereo and waited for the "okay" to press play. Cindy discretely groaned and said, "Here we go..."
"Is it that bad?" Snow asked.
Cindy nodded. "Who do you think had to watch them practice over and over again and keep telling them it was good?"
"It can't be worse than last year...right?" Ariel hissed as the music started up.
Cindy gave her a long, tired look before the three turned back to watch the performance. And, boy, was it a performance…
When Jasmine started the music, the twins didn't move. After about twenty seconds, when the crowd was starting to exchange looks, the girls leapt into position. Cindy was already shielding her face, but everyone else's eyes were glued to the sisters. When their actual routine started, Aurora was already wishing it was over. Lottie was trying her best not to laugh. But Giselle seemed determined to wait it out, patiently watching and pretending to seriously be judging. But the three judges already knew the answer. Aurora sent a quick apologetic look to Jasmine, who relayed the look to Esmeralda, who was so uncomfortable that she had sunk down in her seat and was looking anywhere but at the performance.
The sisters were barely halfway through the routine when Anastasia stepped out a little too far and stomped on Drizella's ankle, making the audience collectively groan. Cindy peeked through her fingers in time to watch Drizella's outraged screeching develop into her chasing her frantic twin around the gym. While Anastasia cried and fled from the murderous Drizella, most of the crowd started laughing. Aurora was hiding her face and shaking her head, as if she had any reason to be ashamed. Giselle patted her back sympathetically. Meanwhile, Esmeralda and Lottie were wrangling the crazed twins. Out of frustration, Esmeralda tackled Drizella while Lottie let out her well-known war cry and gripped the frantic Anastasia by her hair, wrenching her back toward the table. Esmeralda had a hard time dragging Drizella over, and Tiana had to jump in to help. The whole spectacle was so hilarious that the patrons in the bleachers all felt like their sides were about to split. Even Wendy was giggling. Cindy, however, just hung her head in shame. Snow wrapped an arm around Cindy, but couldn't control her own giggles. Ariel was completely incapacitated; She was laughing so hard she'd nearly fallen over.
The crowd tried to pull itself together while the twins were scolded.
"What did I just say about fighting?" Giselle asked, as if she honestly expected an answer.
The twins started babbling at the same time, placing the blame on each other.
"Shut up!" Lottie shrieked. "God, could the pair of you grow up?! Do you honestly think we'll let you on the team after this? In fact, did you ever really think you stood a chance at all?! Quit wasting our time!"
"Yeah. And don't even bother trying for dance, either." Esmeralda added firmly, crossing her arms.
Anastasia gasped while Drizella glared at Cindy.
"God, Cinderella. Why are you friends with these bitches? I swear, you are so dumb!" Drizella grouched.
Cindy seemed aghast at the sound of that terrible nickname being used in front of the whole gym. But truthfully, she was fuming. She bit the inside of her cheek and tightened her crossed arms around her ribcage.
"Yeah! You're such an idiot, Cinderella!" Anastasia whined.
"Now, come drive us home, Cinderella! There are chores that need doing!" Drizella ordered before briskly turning to leave, her nose stuck in the air. Anastasia followed in the same fashion.
As Cindy obediently trailed behind, Aurora stopped her. "I'm sorry, Cind."
Cindy shrugged, smiling softly. "It's nothing new. See you guys tomorrow."
"CINDERELLA!" The twins screeched from outside, making the entire room cringe. Cindy sighed and waved shortly before hurrying after them.
Lottie groaned while Giselle said, "Oh, now I feel terrible."
"She's gonna have so much crap to deal with now..." Aurora muttered.
"You can't blame yourselves for her step-family's craziness." Esmeralda told them.
"It's true; Someone needed to be honest with them. And they don't have any real reason to punish Cindy." Jasmine chimed in.
"At least after this year, she won't have to deal with the twins as much." Lottie perked up. "And her step-mama's gotta start acting nice to her soon, because once Cindy's 18, the house and everything in it is hers!"
Aurora nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah... Yeah, it'll be fine."
"Okay! Next up is Tinkerbell and her group!" Giselle cheered as the judges all re-took their seats.
"Whoo! Go, Tink!" Peter cheered and whooped obnoxiously, making Lottie send him a quick glare. He didn't seem to care, though.
Aurora vaguely recognized Tink's friends: Rosetta, Fawn and Iridessa were in the environmentalist club, Silvermist had just joined swim team, and Vidia was...some rude goth girl. Aurora made a quick note of everyone's names before smiling at the group.
"You guys ready?"
"We were born ready!" Iridessa grinned, sending the group into a fit of giggles and playful shoving. Except for Vidia, who stood there with her arms crossed and rolled her eyes. The group quickly got into position before Aurora gave Jasmine her cue. Not two seconds after the music started, the group was moving. Aurora was amazed by how they moved; They were quick, their motions were fluid and in perfect sync. The entire group moved as if it were one body; They were light on their feet, and their expressions were lit up with energy. Well, Vidia was still dour, but that was probably just her face.
And at the end of the routine, they weren't even out of breath. They moved easily right into the school's cheer, and totally nailed it. When it ended, the gym erupted into cheers and applause. Even Meg and Jim were clapping. The group had captured the attention of the entire room. The girls waved at their adoring audience, grinning and congratulating each other. Tink was the most proud; She brazenly turned to the stunned Peter and winked at him, even went so far as to blow him a kiss. Peter pretended to catch the kiss with a grin, returning the wink.
Wendy saw this, and her face fell a little. But she managed to put on a smile as Tink and her group re-took their seats. Tink grinned excitedly at Wendy.
"How'd we do?"
"Oh, you guys were splendid! Probably the best group all day!"
"Oh, please! I'm sure we'll be nothing compared to you!"
Wendy blushed and looked down at her lap. Fawn giggled next to Tink and Tink gave her a quick, sharp elbow to the ribs.
"Great job, you guys!" Aurora grinned.
"I woulda never expected that from a bunch of freshmen!" Lottie congratulated, obviously shocked.
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Giselle cheered.
"Any way, the next person up is Eilonwy." Aurora announced.
Eilonwy jumped up and walked over to the center of the gym.
"Good luck!" Wendy called, waving at Eilonwy.
Eilonwy grinned and waved back. She stood in a neutral position until Jasmine started the music. It was the average try-out; Simple, but with a lot of smiles. Eilonwy was obviously nervous, and it was affecting her pep level. But she fought through it, keeping up a smile the whole time. She had good timing, but there wasn't anything particularly spectacular about the performance; No flips or splits or even cartwheels. And then, in the school cheer, she stumbled in the middle of the routine and then was off for the rest of it. She hit the ending pose a good two seconds after the music ended. Her flushed cheeks and heaving chest betrayed her; She was terrified and exhausted.
She probably practiced every second she could before trying out... Big mistake. Aurora thought sadly. But Eilonwy somewhat reminded Aurora of herself trying out last year, and Aurora had come a long way since then. Maybe Eilonwy still had a chance.
Lottie cleared her throat. "Yeah. Uh, thank you...very much."
"Yes, good job." Giselle grinned comfortingly.
Eilonwy's face fell.
Ouch. Aurora kept her face pleasant as Eilonwy passed her to sit back down. Giselle shuffled through the forms uncomfortably before calling up the Bimbettes.
"Did they just pass her up?" Lilo growled.
"Poor Lonnie... She worked so hard." Penny whispered.
"She wasn't even bad!" Lilo almost yelled, making some people look at her. Lilo crossed her arms, her displeasure plain on her face. "See, this is what's wrong with cheerleading..."
"I hear ya'." Merida muttered, giving Lottie a good glare.
Wendy went to sit next to Eilonwy, who was hanging her head in shame.
"It's not so bad... Everyone stumbles, you know. You think all those judges have performed a routine perfectly every time? Not likely."
Eilonwy smiled sadly at Wendy. "Yeah... But that doesn't matter. They're the judges..."
Wendy smiled shyly. "Wanna hug it out?"
Eilonwy nodded guiltily. "Yeah."
As they hugged, Wendy whispered, "Sorry I've been ditching you for Peter."
"It's okay... Sorry I've been so mean about it. I shouldn't be a jerk just because you wanna be close to the boy you like."
Wendy pulled away, sighing. "I think I'm going to give up on that... He seems to be really into Tink."
Eilonwy smiled. "Well, here's your chance to make him change his mind."
Wendy grinned excitedly and the two girls giggled.
"Quiet, please!" Lottie yelled at them.
The blonde triplets were in position. Aurora inwardly sighed before smiling encouragingly at them. "You guys ready?"
The three girls giggled in unison, as if it were an automatic response. Aurora took that as a yes and gave Jasmine the cue. The music started and the triplets jumped right into their routine. They moved perfectly in sync, smiles plastered on their faces. Their moves were near perfection, and although there weren't any big flips or anything like that, their own dance moves were interesting enough to watch. They ended with perfect splits, then bounced right back up and dove into the school cheer, moving and speaking as one.
They're like robots... Aurora thought in awe. But there was no debating that the triplets were awesome. Where had they been last year?
When they were done, the girls ran into a group hug, squealing and giggling while the mesmerized audience erupted the stunned silence with applause and cheers. Lottie shrieked in excitement while Giselle clapped. Aurora grinned as the triplets took their seats, incessantly giggling.
"That was amazing!" Lottie screeched.
"Great job!" Giselle cheered.
"That was awesome, guys. Thank you." Aurora smiled before calling up Rapunzel.
"Go Ellie!" Merida and Eilonwy both cheered at the same time. There was an awkward moment where the two stared at each other. When Eilonwy tried to smile, Merida coldly turned away to watch Rapunzel.
"You've got this, Rapunzel." Aurora grinned.
The dainty blonde bounced excitedly in her spot on the floor. She was nervous, but it was a good kind of nervous. She was too excited to be scared, and she was absolutely bursting with energy. When the music started, she threw herself into her routine without a second thought. Her movements were fluid and peaceful, but as the music's pace changed, she moved more and more quickly. When her movements became unbelievably fast, she started into a series of cartwheels and flips that made the audience cheer. She seemed to be gaining energy rather than losing it. It was as if her own nerves and excitement, mixed with the audience's encouragement, fueled her already boundless energy. As the audience's cheering reached a crescendo, her routine ended and she jumped right into the school cheer. She seemed to make it better.
She could be a team all on her own. Aurora thought with a proud grin. She looked over at Lottie's shocked expression; Lottie had been doubting Rapunzel up until now.
The music ended with Rapunzel hitting the final mark perfectly. And she wasn't even tired. The crowd didn't hesitate to applaud and cheer deafeningly. Aurora jumped up and hugged Rapunzel.
"You did great!" Aurora cheered, leading Rapunzel back to her seat.
"Thanks! That was so much fun!" Rapunzel grinned.
Aurora gave her a thumbs-up before taking a seat at the table. Lottie smiled at Aurora and mouthed the words: "She's in!" Aurora grinned triumphantly and picked up the last paper.
"Okay, Wendy! You're up!" Aurora called.
Wendy stood up, nervously fiddling with her curly hair. Eilonwy smiled at her. "Good luck! You'll do great!"
As Wendy passed Tink, the smug blonde murmured, "Break a leg." This made all of Tink's friends laugh.
"Yeah! Go, Wendy!" Peter cheered.
"Whoop, whoop!" Lilo called, fist-pumping.
Wendy blushed as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the gym, all eyes on her. Giselle smiled at her and asked, "You ready?"
Wendy nodded shyly. But once the music started, she realized how unprepared she was. She didn't start moving until five seconds after her cue, and then she kept mixing up the moves and she was completely off-beat. Her movements were jerky and nervous; She was so scared, she was shaking. And her audience wasn't helping. Lottie looked disgusted, Giselle's smile was forced too tight, and Aurora was squirming in her seat and looking down.
Wendy was almost done with her try-out when Vanessa started cackling. And, since she was laughing, the Bimbettes started laughing too. A couple of Tink's friends couldn't hold in their giggles. Eilonwy, Lilo and Penny were watching in horror, like Wendy was some terrible car accident on the freeway. It was when Wendy looked at Tink that she finally fumbled; Tink's evil smirk was so startling that Wendy lost her footing on the slick gym floor. She slipped and toppled over, landing right on her rear end.
Jasmine panicked and shut off the music. There was a heavy silence while Wendy sat there, in front of everyone, completely stunned and unable to move. It was only when Vanessa started laughing again that the silence was broken. Along with Vanessa, the triplets, Tink, and Tink's group of friends began to cackle and giggle, shrieking with disturbing laughter. Then another voice added to the tormenting cacophony. Wendy looked up to see Peter laughing gleefully and slapping his knee, warranting a glare from Lilo, Penny, Jim and Meg. Merida had her hands cupped over her nose and mouth to hide her snort.
Wendy's face was bright red, and her eyes stung with threatening tears. She jumped up and ran out of the gym, sobbing. Eilonwy, Lilo and Penny all jumped up and followed her. Peter and the others were still laughing.
"Dude! Seriously?" Jim scowled at Peter.
Peter fought through his laughter to speak. "What? It was funny! She'll get over it."
Meg shook her head, looking at the door that Wendy had just fled through. "Poor kid..."
Esmeralda stormed up to the shocked Aurora. Giselle stood nearby, her brain seeming to have snapped a little due to the awkwardness. Her fake smile was stuck on her face.
"We have to get everyone to leave. We only have 'til Friday morning to make decisions."
Aurora nodded firmly, snapping out of her stupor. She stepped in front of the bleachers and whistled so loud that the silence of the crowd was almost immediate.
"Okay! Time to leave, people!" She called, her voice retaining some of its old commanding qualities. "Get out! Show's over!"
"You heard the lady! Move, move, move! Shoo!" Lottie yelled as she and Esmeralda herded people out.
As she was passing Aurora, Vanessa stopped and smirked at the blonde, her purple eyes filled with pride and triumph. "Thanks for this. It was even more entertaining than I thought it would be." Vanessa grinned a feline grin before sauntering away, followed by the giggling Bimbettes. Aurora shook her head in anger before Ariel clapped her on the shoulder. When Aurora looked at her, the crimson-haired girl was staring icily after Vanessa. Ariel then turned a soft smile on Aurora.
"Wanna help us fix Giselle's brain?"
Aurora looked at where Snow, Jasmine and Melina were trying to talk Giselle back into reality. Lottie and Esmeralda were standing nearby, bitching at each other. Tiana eventually led Lottie away to calm her down while Esme stomped away to talk to Meg. Aurora sighed and rubbed at her tired eyes.
About an hour later, Aurora, Snow, Ariel and Jasmine were walking out to Aurora's car. Aurora spotted a tall, familiar brunet standing by his own car nearby, his back turned to them. She bit her lip, fighting the urge to walk over and try to talk to Phillip. She understood him needing space. But then, a dainty hand with a purple manicure slid over his bicep. Aurora stopped in her tracks as Phillip turned slightly to reveal Vanessa standing by his car with him, her violet irises gleaming, a coy smirk playing on her lips. She tossed her dark, glossy hair confidently, her hand now resting on his forearm. With one side of his face in her view, Aurora could see now that Phillip was smiling.
"Oh, no…" Ariel murmured, her eyes following Aurora's despondent gaze.
Jasmine gently took hold of Aurora's arm. "Come on, Rorie. Let's go."
Aurora let her friends lead her toward her car, her heart hammering in her chest.
Vanessa cast a quick glance behind Phillip when he wasn't paying attention, catching sight of Aurora following her friends away, seeming utterly dejected. Vanessa grinned up at him, withdrawing her hand to adjust the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
"Thanks for the help on that English prompt, Phil. I dunno what I'd do without you." She said demurely.
He chuckled and started to fish his car key out of his pocket. "No problem, Vanessa."
She folded her hands behind her back, pushing her chest toward him ever-so-slightly. "Did you think about my other question?"
Phillip sighed. "Yeah, uh… Now's really not a good time for me. I'm just…not up for dating right now. I guess."
"Who said anything about dating?"
"Vanessa—"
"No, don't worry, I get it. Just teasing." She playfully pushed him. Her hand lingered on his chest. "It's too bad, though…" She turned away. Her perfume wafted toward him and he was momentarily disoriented. She waved over her shoulder. "Later, Phil."
"I see, dear..." Meg's mother, Mallory, was saying into the phone. Meg had called to tell her about her day; Apparently the try-outs she'd been dragged to had gone interestingly, and now she would be stuck at the school with Esme later than expected. "Alright, dear. Thank you for letting me know… Okay. Bye-bye." Mallory hung up her cell phone and set it on the vanity, then focused her attention on the giant mirror she sat in front of. Behind her, her sister chuckled.
"How's little Meg doing?"
"Oh, you know. She's Meg." Mallory said as she re-applied her lipstick. "How are things coming along with the court, Urs?"
Ursula scoffed. "They still won't budge."
"Hm."
"Don't act like you care. It's insulting."
Mallory smirked silently.
Though they weren't related by blood, she and Ursula had been raised together, adopted by the same incredibly kind (regrettably foolish) couple. They'd been through all of life's trials and tribulations at one another's sides. Ursula had been the only constant in Mallory's life, before Meg was born.
Now, they co-owned this fine establishment.
And Ursula was fighting to regain custody of her own child, who didn't really seem to want her as a mother any way, but not for any reason that the justice system of Buena Vista thought mattered…
"Of course I care, dear." Mallory muttered.
"Is Esmeralda coming in tonight?" Ursula asked after a moment.
"No. She has some school thing..."
"Busy girl."
"Yes... I think she's starting to slip away from us."
"Well, that won't do. She makes us too much money." Ursula laughed shortly before standing up, adjusting her black dress. Mallory carefully eyed her buxom sibling in the mirror.
"Ready to get out there, Maleficent?" Ursula asked dramatically.
She smirked as she rose from her seat. "After you."
The following week was relatively peaceful. With it came the autumn chill that everyone had been longing for…and the most iconic football try-out the school had ever seen.
"This really is historic for Disney Academy, guys!" Milo was animatedly saying to the others as they took their seats in the bleachers. "I mean, aren't you excited? You should be excited!"
Kida lovingly patted his arm. "We are, Milo."
"But also a little nervous that Mulan's gonna get crushed out there." Flynn said, already chewing on his fingernails. "Look at those guys! Those huge guys! It's not natural, I tell you…"
"You need to have faith in her." Kida cut in, obviously disapproving of Flynn's tone.
"I do. I do!" Flynn replied. He didn't, though.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Right, Phoebus?" Esmeralda said.
Phoebus was silent.
"Pheebs?"
He looked at her helplessly.
"Oh, come on!"
He defensively raised his hands.
"She might be doomed." Aladdin whispered.
"I asked Wonder Boy to look after her out there. He'll make sure she doesn't get hurt." Meg said.
"And John's out there, too." Pocahontas pointed out.
On the field, Mulan was trying not to have a panic attack. Hercules was doing his best to be helpful, patting her on the back and whispering reassuring but cliché pep-talks to her. Then, the shadow of another person loomed over her. She looked up to see Shang, with his usual stern expression, looking down at her.
"You ready for this, Fa?" He asked. His expression was guarded, but his voice betrayed all his misgivings about this.
She breathed shallowly, and worried that would expose how nervous she was. She cast one last glance at the boys doing drills on the field, most of them twice her size, and briefly thought it over. Then, her expression became firm and she looked back up at Shang and nodded.
"Yeah."
Shang hesitated for a moment, then turned to Hercules. "You back her up out there, alright? I'm not here to babysit."
Hercules was slightly taken aback, but nodded any way. Shang turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Mulan staring after him in disbelief.
"He didn't mean that." Hercules meekly told her.
Her face twisted in anger and she stood up, pulling on her helmet. "Let's just do this, alright?"
The tone of her voice surprised him, but he felt strangely encouraged by it. "Yeah, let's go." As they jogged onto the field, Hercules put on his own helmet and gave her a subtle look. John and Shang waited for them to meet the group before they started barking out orders.
Meg saw them joining the larger group in their uniforms and pointed. "There they are!"
"Omigosh she's so tiny!" Flynn squeaked, covering his face with both hands. "I can't watch!"
Pocahontas and Kida each slapped one of his arms and he theatrically cried out in pain. Meg rolled her eyes and watched the football players carefully, vaguely hearing the directions that were being shouted.
"If Ling could make it, she can." Esmeralda said, crossing her arms in finality.
"Yeah, you know, Mulan's one of the most capable people we know. I bet this'll go fine." Merida agreed. Jim nodded along half-heartedly. Phoebus couldn't bring himself to look at the field. Aladdin was rapidly tapping his foot.
The players lined up across the field to run their drills, this time with Mulan in the mix. Hercules, who was next to her, turned and whispered, "It's no big deal, you just have to keep up." She nodded in understanding.
All her friends in the bleachers watched as Shang blew the whistle and the players took off in a sprint. Mulan outpaced most of the team, being much smaller than them and quick on her feet. When they lined up again to repeat the drill, this time there was a line of dummies facing them. They took off, barreling toward the dummies. Again, Mulan outran most of the team, to their chagrin. But her tackle left much to be desired. She sprung forward and smacked against the dummy without it so much as twitching. She leaned against it to keep from falling over while most of the guys toppled their dummies with minimal difficulty. She bounced back onto her feet, pulling herself together.
"Does she need to be able to tackle?" Milo asked, fidgeting. "I mean, is that mandatory, you know?"
Phoebus leaned forward in interest. "Don't get in your head, Mu…"
They watched as the trials continued. The team members were paired up, and stood opposite their partner to throw the ball to one another. Between every other throw- after each partner had a chance to catch the ball once- the pairs would take another step back from each other. Hercules stood about a yard away from Mulan, giving her an encouraging look.
As Shang and John walked by, Shang narrowed his eyes at Hercules and said, "Don't go easy. I want to see exactly what she can do." Hercules nodded shortly. Shang blew the whistle again, and the drill began. Hercules, in fact, did not hold back. And he had the best arm on the team. Still, Mulan held her own, carefully training her eyes on the ball as it sailed toward her, often having to jump for it. She only fumbled a handful of times. And her throw was pretty impressive, too.
Shang glanced at John, who smirked back at him. John had been just as skeptical as anyone in the beginning. Although he'd been the one to talk to Shang about Mulan joining, he'd mostly done it to win favor with Pocahontas. As athletic as Mulan was, he'd had no reason to believe she'd actually be on the field with them today.
Shang blew the whistle again, and they moved on to footwork. Again, Mulan's was admirable. She was quick, nimble, and not easily winded. Then they had everyone line up single-file to take turns at the goal kick. This was one Shang was expecting Mulan to knock out of the park, but her attempt turned out to be pitiful. She anxiously rubbed the back of her neck as she passed the captains to stand with the others who'd already tried, a few of whom were snickering.
"We can work on that." John quietly reminded Shang. Shang said nothing. When everyone had tried a kick, he blew the whistle and everyone grouped around him and John. They talked everyone through a basic play, and sent them out on the field to run it. Mulan could feel both captains' eyes trained on her and tried to stay focused, but she could hear her heart hammering and she was sweating profusely.
"Okay, show time." Meg muttered, leaning forward.
Flynn had gained some confidence again, now that the field goal kick was over with. "She can do this."
And he was right.
Though Shang remained as stoic as ever watching Mulan navigate the field, internally he was in awe of her, and really glad he'd changed his mind about her trying out. He'd never seen such deft movement. She was excellent at evading, her instincts were good, and she was fast. When she caught the ball and ran with it, he knew the guys who hadn't expected it couldn't hope to catch her. Yao dove toward her feet, but she avoided him with a swift jump, and he wound up eating grass. Ling and Chien Po, who'd both given up the chase already, laughed at him. Hercules and most of the team cheered Mulan on as she sprinted for the end zone and made her first touchdown. Her friends in the bleachers were losing their minds with excitement and pride. Shang turned away so Mulan wouldn't see his smile while John clapped next to him with a dumbfounded grin.
The football team had swarmed Mulan to hype her up, not noticing their two captains approaching them. When Shang once again blew the whistle, they immediately fell silent and into line. John and Shang stood before them. Shang managed to still look serious while John simply couldn't bring himself to; like many of the others, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Alright…" Shang said, uncrossing his arms to put his hands on his hips. "Coach Phil pretty much left this call up to me and John, and I think we're on the same page on this." He glanced at John for confirmation, and the blond nodded, still subtly smiling. Shang looked at Mulan now. Her face was red, her chest heaving. She'd given it her all. Or was just trying not to buckle under all the attention. "Everyone congratulate the newest member of the team."
The eruption of cheers was almost too much for Mulan to take. She already felt like she could keel over from the nerves. Before she knew it, the football team was hoisting her up off the ground to parade her around the field, chanting her name. John also cheered while Shang shook his head in barely concealed amusement. Mulan's friends were screaming and jumping around as they came onto the field to join the mayhem. Eventually, the blissfully dazed Mulan had her feet on the ground again, with everyone surrounding her to congratulate her.
"That was amazing!" Esmeralda cried, hugging her. Most of their friends joined in, turning it into a group hug.
"The first female football player in Disney Academy history!" Milo practically shrieked. "And we get to witness it! Incredible!"
"We knew you could do it!" Pocahontas told Mulan with a grin.
"Good luck telling your folks that you're gonna need more time away from the shop." Kida teased.
Oh, crap… Mulan suddenly realized, the giddiness lifting and reality setting back in. I have to tell my family.