Chapter Two
"I still cannot believe bạn told everyone I have Hello Kitty boxers." James groaned, hitting his head on the table. "Now they will all come over and laugh at me."
"Oh come on, bạn should be grateful I đã đưa ý kiến that." Amara responded. "Now when they come over I can get them off your back."
"Yes, bởi hopelessly flirting with them." James rolled his eyes.
"Hey, tough break about the boxers man." Jamal đã đưa ý kiến walking over to them. He pat James on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I've seen Genie in way thêm embarrassing stuff."
"Thank you, I feel so much better now." James muttered sarcastically.
"Oh I didn't come here to cheer bạn up." Jamal shook his head. He fixed his hat and turned to Amara with a smile. "Well hello there. Has anyone told bạn how hot bạn look standing in a cafeteria?"
Odd way to hit on someone, but ok.... "Um, thank you." Amara replied, not sure if this was a guy she'd willingly flirt with. Wasn't he also younger than her?
"Alright, alright, step away from the girl." James đã đưa ý kiến right away. He shooed Jamal away before turning to a suspicious Amara. "He was not your type." James shrugged his shoulders.
"Right, I'm sure that's the reason." she answered doubtfully.
"Hi!"
Angelina turned to hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn and gasped, shocked that she had come from out of nowhere. She even went so far as to back away a bit. Angelina may tổng thể be brave, but that didn't stop her from getting caught off guard hoặc her shyness from taking over.
"Do bạn wanna be roommates?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn asked. "I never had a sister before, I think it would be fun to have one. Maybe we can get bunkbeds and share them and share clothes and play games and pick flowers..."
"You talk alot." Angelina noticed.
"Talking makes people happy." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn responded.
"It does?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Talking makes people forget about problems. So the thêm I talk the thêm I get someone's mind off of something. Then they start talking and everything is all better." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn explained.
"If bạn say so..." Angelina replied slowly.
"So do bạn wanna share a room?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn asked.
"How old are you?" she wondered.
"Thirteen." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn answered. She looked down at her not-so curvy body. "My mom says girls in our family develop late so sometimes I get confused with being a nine năm old which is a lot of fun because I get free kẹo sometimes." She looked at Angelina's much curvier, slightly skinnier body. "You must either developed really early hoặc be older than thirteen."
"I'm fourteen." Angelina responded, not sure what to think of this hyper girl. "Did bạn eat a lot of kẹo today, bởi any chance...?"
"Just about five snack bags of candy, why?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn tilted her head.
Angelina thought for a minute. That was a lot of candy. And a lot of kẹo did soung awfully good. With a similar figure Angelina had to her mother Aurora, that didn't really mean a lot of candy. And kẹo was really good. "If we do get bunk beds...can I have the hàng đầu, đầu trang bunk?"
hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn squealed with happiness. "I'll take that as a yes. We can dance together and clean together and sing together...."
"We can do all three at the same time!" Angelina realized.
"Let's go right now!" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn exclaimed gathering all her things together before leaving with Angelina.
As the girls settled on that, River made his way over to Chris, who was just staring out one of the windows. "You know, bạn did a really good job at keeping everyone under control before. bạn much of a leader?" he wondered.
"Not yet." Chris shook his head. He turned to River. "We're all stuck here together and we don't know when we're gonna be able to go home. So instead of fighting with everyone the best thing to do is make the most out of this. If we're at each others' throats it's only going to get worse. One person isn't as strong as a lot of people, so if we stand together we can get through this. My mom taught me that."
"Sounds like she really knows what she was doing." River stated.
"All I know is that she would've never made it through if it weren't Những người bạn like Jaq and Gus. It was them and her dreams that made it all worth it. So that's what I'm gonna do, too. I'm gonna keep dreaming about going trang chủ and it'll happen before I know it. Your folks teach bạn anything like that?"
"Well they do listen to their dreams, too." River answered. "But they're thêm obvious about the outside world. They don't try to cover it up hoặc anything. The tribe we have may be small, but we stand together against anything that comes our way."
"They must know what they're doing too." Chris replied. "Think with all that nature experience bạn could tell where we are?"
"Not without going outside. All I can see from here is water." River answered.
"But we're not allowed to go outside. We were told to stay in here where we'd be safe. Only Sebastian and Genie are allowed to go out, and they know what they're doing a lot thêm than we do." he said.
"Aren't bạn the least bit curious where we are?" River asked.
"Of course." he nodded.
"Then you'll never know if bạn don't go outside." River said. "So what do bạn say to sneaking out tomorrow morning? Maybe we can get a good lay of the land."
"Think we'll be able to get around without getting caught?" Chris inquired. "We can't afford to get in trouble this early. Besides, who knows what kind of drama everyone else is gonna create."
"Don't worry. I've snuck around before. Consider it under control." River told him.
Chris didn't really feel too comfortable about disobeying orders. As far as he was concerned, not listening to someone of authority was like telling them he didn't trust them. He had a feeling River was the same way, but when he saw the gleam in River's eye, it didn't look like he was going to let that stop him. And as long as no one got hurt hoặc caused any fights hoặc got in trouble, there was probably nothing to even worry about. "Looks like we're going sneaking then."
Harmony watched as hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn and Angelina left the room together. She groaned. "Great, looks like I'm stuck with bạn as a roommate." she complained to Jenette.
"I can tell bởi your joy just how thrilled bạn are about that." Jenette replied safcastically.
"Attitude much?" Harmony folded her arms.
"Well your gabbing is making it kind of hard to read my book." she responded.
"Why can't bạn be like everyone else in the room? Like thêm normal?" Harmony questioned.
"Normal?" she raised an eyebrow. "Normal?"
The redhead nodded.
Jenette marked the page she was on before closing her book and gently placing it down. She pointed in the direction Angelina and hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn left, "Angelina has been được trao three gifts when she was born, each bởi one fairy." She then pointed to Jamal, "He spends his boring time scratching a monkey's head and was raised in a desert with a Genie and a magic flying carpet." Then she pointed to Amara and James, "They have a talking gator in their family's restaurant who spends his free time finding big sticks and playing jazz." Lastly, Jenette gestured to the girl before her, "And half of your family are Những nàng tiên cá that talk to fish, crabs, and stop derranged sea witches from taking over all the oceans. I hardly call any of us normal."
"Ok how do bạn know about all of us?" Harmony questioned.
"I heard my parents in a meeting one ngày and that there were other kingdoms in the same position as us. So I took the opportunity to research all those royal families and have an idea who we were siding with." she explained.
Harmony folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You have no life, bạn know that?"
"You live your life the way bạn want to, and I'll live my life the way I want to." Jenette responded.
"Good, cause I don't wanna spend any part of my life in the same room as you, let alone sharing a room at night with you." she replied.
"Good, I feel the same way." Jenette said.
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"You know..." The girls slowly turned their heads to see that Jamal had appeared before them, "One of bạn could always bunk with me."
"Not in a million years." Harmony answered right away.
"When pi is actually rounded to 3 from 3.141592653589793238462...." Jenette started, though it automatically got her confused looks from both Jamal and Harmony. "Um...that means never." she translated.
"Well why didn't bạn just say so?" Jamal comtplained.
"Let's get out of here." Harmony đã đưa ý kiến getting up.
"Right behind you." Jenette agreed, getting up and following her out.
"Oh c'mon! I didn't even get to use my best material yet!" Jamal complained.
James laughed and went over to him. "Nice try. But let's face it, bạn just do not have what it takes to be a ladies man."
"You're kidding." Jamal replied. "All girls tình yêu a good joke and they all tình yêu me."
"Ah, but that is all in your dreams, my friend." he said.
"I'd like to see bạn try to get a girl." Jamal responded.
James looked around the now almost empty room. "But the only girl left in here is my sister. I am not going to get her."
"Fine then I'll give her another go." Jamal đã đưa ý kiến ready to head over to her.
James quickly grabbed his áo sơ mi collar. "Nice try, but that is not going to happen. She will not give bạn the time of day."
"Yeah, well I bet I can get thêm girls than you." Jamal challenged.
"Hey wait a minute, that is an unfair advantage." James insisted. "There are five girls here, I would only be able to hit on four of them."
"Tough cinnamon sticks." Jamal replied.
James raised an eyebrow. "Cinnamon sticks?"
"Yeah, tough cinnamon sticks." Jamal nodded. "You know what else is tough cinnamon sticks?"
James thought for a moment. "A fly in your soup?"
"No. Being stuck with some little quiet boy for a roommate." he answered. "You got your hot sister, those two other dudes went, so I'm stuck with that other guy. What does he know about girls anyway?"
"Why don't bạn try to get to know him?" James offered.
"You sure bạn don't wanna trade roomies?" Jamal asked.
"Not a chance. So back off from my sister." James warned.
"Then bạn tell me how it's a good thing I'll have that Ping guy for a roommate." he replied.
"Actually it is quite simple," James shrugged his shoulders, "if bạn have a quiet roommate then that means bạn will have thêm không gian to yourself. bạn can both keep to yourselves and not care what the other does. Sure you'll have another guy in the room with you, but other than that bạn will be a free man. It is a good thing, is it not?"
Jamal rubbed his chin. "You do have a point."
"Yes, I know I do. I am gifted that way." James grinned. "Now I must go settle in the room with Amara and argue over who gets which giường and which side of the room." He was about to head out, but then turned to Jamal once more. "Oh and for the record, with those other four girls, I could so get thêm of them than bạn could." With that, he left.
Jamal smirked and tapped his fingers together. "I'll take that as a bet."
That was when Ping exited the bathroom and headed over to Jamal, seeing as how the remainder of the cafeteria was all but empty. "So, what'd I miss?"
-----
As Jaq made his way outside, he could see Sebastian staring out to the sea. Swalling the last piece of cheese he had left, the little chuột made his way over. "What's a matter, Cwabby?"
Sebastian sighed. "You know, a cua, con cua just can't help but worry about dese tings."
"What tings?" Jaq asked. "What stuffs, Cwabby?"
"All my life I've been stuck babysitting Ariel and her sisters. Well, mostly Ariel." the cua, con cua sighed. "Den after dat it was Melody. and after her, Harmony. And now, all dese kids here. And now I can't help but worry about dose girls."
"But Melody's coming isn't she, Cwabby?" Jaq asked. "You đã đưa ý kiến so."
"I know, I know." he sighed. "But it's so dangerous out dere even for someone like her. And it's only a matter of time before dat darkness spreads and finds its way here. I just hope dat everyone else is alright, and dat Melody gets here in one piece."
"I still cannot believe bạn told everyone I have Hello Kitty boxers." James groaned, hitting his head on the table. "Now they will all come over and laugh at me."
"Oh come on, bạn should be grateful I đã đưa ý kiến that." Amara responded. "Now when they come over I can get them off your back."
"Yes, bởi hopelessly flirting with them." James rolled his eyes.
"Hey, tough break about the boxers man." Jamal đã đưa ý kiến walking over to them. He pat James on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I've seen Genie in way thêm embarrassing stuff."
"Thank you, I feel so much better now." James muttered sarcastically.
"Oh I didn't come here to cheer bạn up." Jamal shook his head. He fixed his hat and turned to Amara with a smile. "Well hello there. Has anyone told bạn how hot bạn look standing in a cafeteria?"
Odd way to hit on someone, but ok.... "Um, thank you." Amara replied, not sure if this was a guy she'd willingly flirt with. Wasn't he also younger than her?
"Alright, alright, step away from the girl." James đã đưa ý kiến right away. He shooed Jamal away before turning to a suspicious Amara. "He was not your type." James shrugged his shoulders.
"Right, I'm sure that's the reason." she answered doubtfully.
"Hi!"
Angelina turned to hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn and gasped, shocked that she had come from out of nowhere. She even went so far as to back away a bit. Angelina may tổng thể be brave, but that didn't stop her from getting caught off guard hoặc her shyness from taking over.
"Do bạn wanna be roommates?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn asked. "I never had a sister before, I think it would be fun to have one. Maybe we can get bunkbeds and share them and share clothes and play games and pick flowers..."
"You talk alot." Angelina noticed.
"Talking makes people happy." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn responded.
"It does?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Talking makes people forget about problems. So the thêm I talk the thêm I get someone's mind off of something. Then they start talking and everything is all better." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn explained.
"If bạn say so..." Angelina replied slowly.
"So do bạn wanna share a room?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn asked.
"How old are you?" she wondered.
"Thirteen." hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn answered. She looked down at her not-so curvy body. "My mom says girls in our family develop late so sometimes I get confused with being a nine năm old which is a lot of fun because I get free kẹo sometimes." She looked at Angelina's much curvier, slightly skinnier body. "You must either developed really early hoặc be older than thirteen."
"I'm fourteen." Angelina responded, not sure what to think of this hyper girl. "Did bạn eat a lot of kẹo today, bởi any chance...?"
"Just about five snack bags of candy, why?" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn tilted her head.
Angelina thought for a minute. That was a lot of candy. And a lot of kẹo did soung awfully good. With a similar figure Angelina had to her mother Aurora, that didn't really mean a lot of candy. And kẹo was really good. "If we do get bunk beds...can I have the hàng đầu, đầu trang bunk?"
hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn squealed with happiness. "I'll take that as a yes. We can dance together and clean together and sing together...."
"We can do all three at the same time!" Angelina realized.
"Let's go right now!" hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn exclaimed gathering all her things together before leaving with Angelina.
As the girls settled on that, River made his way over to Chris, who was just staring out one of the windows. "You know, bạn did a really good job at keeping everyone under control before. bạn much of a leader?" he wondered.
"Not yet." Chris shook his head. He turned to River. "We're all stuck here together and we don't know when we're gonna be able to go home. So instead of fighting with everyone the best thing to do is make the most out of this. If we're at each others' throats it's only going to get worse. One person isn't as strong as a lot of people, so if we stand together we can get through this. My mom taught me that."
"Sounds like she really knows what she was doing." River stated.
"All I know is that she would've never made it through if it weren't Những người bạn like Jaq and Gus. It was them and her dreams that made it all worth it. So that's what I'm gonna do, too. I'm gonna keep dreaming about going trang chủ and it'll happen before I know it. Your folks teach bạn anything like that?"
"Well they do listen to their dreams, too." River answered. "But they're thêm obvious about the outside world. They don't try to cover it up hoặc anything. The tribe we have may be small, but we stand together against anything that comes our way."
"They must know what they're doing too." Chris replied. "Think with all that nature experience bạn could tell where we are?"
"Not without going outside. All I can see from here is water." River answered.
"But we're not allowed to go outside. We were told to stay in here where we'd be safe. Only Sebastian and Genie are allowed to go out, and they know what they're doing a lot thêm than we do." he said.
"Aren't bạn the least bit curious where we are?" River asked.
"Of course." he nodded.
"Then you'll never know if bạn don't go outside." River said. "So what do bạn say to sneaking out tomorrow morning? Maybe we can get a good lay of the land."
"Think we'll be able to get around without getting caught?" Chris inquired. "We can't afford to get in trouble this early. Besides, who knows what kind of drama everyone else is gonna create."
"Don't worry. I've snuck around before. Consider it under control." River told him.
Chris didn't really feel too comfortable about disobeying orders. As far as he was concerned, not listening to someone of authority was like telling them he didn't trust them. He had a feeling River was the same way, but when he saw the gleam in River's eye, it didn't look like he was going to let that stop him. And as long as no one got hurt hoặc caused any fights hoặc got in trouble, there was probably nothing to even worry about. "Looks like we're going sneaking then."
Harmony watched as hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn and Angelina left the room together. She groaned. "Great, looks like I'm stuck with bạn as a roommate." she complained to Jenette.
"I can tell bởi your joy just how thrilled bạn are about that." Jenette replied safcastically.
"Attitude much?" Harmony folded her arms.
"Well your gabbing is making it kind of hard to read my book." she responded.
"Why can't bạn be like everyone else in the room? Like thêm normal?" Harmony questioned.
"Normal?" she raised an eyebrow. "Normal?"
The redhead nodded.
Jenette marked the page she was on before closing her book and gently placing it down. She pointed in the direction Angelina and hươu con, nâu vàng, fawn left, "Angelina has been được trao three gifts when she was born, each bởi one fairy." She then pointed to Jamal, "He spends his boring time scratching a monkey's head and was raised in a desert with a Genie and a magic flying carpet." Then she pointed to Amara and James, "They have a talking gator in their family's restaurant who spends his free time finding big sticks and playing jazz." Lastly, Jenette gestured to the girl before her, "And half of your family are Những nàng tiên cá that talk to fish, crabs, and stop derranged sea witches from taking over all the oceans. I hardly call any of us normal."
"Ok how do bạn know about all of us?" Harmony questioned.
"I heard my parents in a meeting one ngày and that there were other kingdoms in the same position as us. So I took the opportunity to research all those royal families and have an idea who we were siding with." she explained.
Harmony folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You have no life, bạn know that?"
"You live your life the way bạn want to, and I'll live my life the way I want to." Jenette responded.
"Good, cause I don't wanna spend any part of my life in the same room as you, let alone sharing a room at night with you." she replied.
"Good, I feel the same way." Jenette said.
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"You know..." The girls slowly turned their heads to see that Jamal had appeared before them, "One of bạn could always bunk with me."
"Not in a million years." Harmony answered right away.
"When pi is actually rounded to 3 from 3.141592653589793238462...." Jenette started, though it automatically got her confused looks from both Jamal and Harmony. "Um...that means never." she translated.
"Well why didn't bạn just say so?" Jamal comtplained.
"Let's get out of here." Harmony đã đưa ý kiến getting up.
"Right behind you." Jenette agreed, getting up and following her out.
"Oh c'mon! I didn't even get to use my best material yet!" Jamal complained.
James laughed and went over to him. "Nice try. But let's face it, bạn just do not have what it takes to be a ladies man."
"You're kidding." Jamal replied. "All girls tình yêu a good joke and they all tình yêu me."
"Ah, but that is all in your dreams, my friend." he said.
"I'd like to see bạn try to get a girl." Jamal responded.
James looked around the now almost empty room. "But the only girl left in here is my sister. I am not going to get her."
"Fine then I'll give her another go." Jamal đã đưa ý kiến ready to head over to her.
James quickly grabbed his áo sơ mi collar. "Nice try, but that is not going to happen. She will not give bạn the time of day."
"Yeah, well I bet I can get thêm girls than you." Jamal challenged.
"Hey wait a minute, that is an unfair advantage." James insisted. "There are five girls here, I would only be able to hit on four of them."
"Tough cinnamon sticks." Jamal replied.
James raised an eyebrow. "Cinnamon sticks?"
"Yeah, tough cinnamon sticks." Jamal nodded. "You know what else is tough cinnamon sticks?"
James thought for a moment. "A fly in your soup?"
"No. Being stuck with some little quiet boy for a roommate." he answered. "You got your hot sister, those two other dudes went, so I'm stuck with that other guy. What does he know about girls anyway?"
"Why don't bạn try to get to know him?" James offered.
"You sure bạn don't wanna trade roomies?" Jamal asked.
"Not a chance. So back off from my sister." James warned.
"Then bạn tell me how it's a good thing I'll have that Ping guy for a roommate." he replied.
"Actually it is quite simple," James shrugged his shoulders, "if bạn have a quiet roommate then that means bạn will have thêm không gian to yourself. bạn can both keep to yourselves and not care what the other does. Sure you'll have another guy in the room with you, but other than that bạn will be a free man. It is a good thing, is it not?"
Jamal rubbed his chin. "You do have a point."
"Yes, I know I do. I am gifted that way." James grinned. "Now I must go settle in the room with Amara and argue over who gets which giường and which side of the room." He was about to head out, but then turned to Jamal once more. "Oh and for the record, with those other four girls, I could so get thêm of them than bạn could." With that, he left.
Jamal smirked and tapped his fingers together. "I'll take that as a bet."
That was when Ping exited the bathroom and headed over to Jamal, seeing as how the remainder of the cafeteria was all but empty. "So, what'd I miss?"
-----
As Jaq made his way outside, he could see Sebastian staring out to the sea. Swalling the last piece of cheese he had left, the little chuột made his way over. "What's a matter, Cwabby?"
Sebastian sighed. "You know, a cua, con cua just can't help but worry about dese tings."
"What tings?" Jaq asked. "What stuffs, Cwabby?"
"All my life I've been stuck babysitting Ariel and her sisters. Well, mostly Ariel." the cua, con cua sighed. "Den after dat it was Melody. and after her, Harmony. And now, all dese kids here. And now I can't help but worry about dose girls."
"But Melody's coming isn't she, Cwabby?" Jaq asked. "You đã đưa ý kiến so."
"I know, I know." he sighed. "But it's so dangerous out dere even for someone like her. And it's only a matter of time before dat darkness spreads and finds its way here. I just hope dat everyone else is alright, and dat Melody gets here in one piece."
