A Pirate's Life for Me

Chapter 11: Save Me

It was an awful idea.

Levi donned his wig and hat, nerves building in the pit of his stomach. He'd never been a floater before. Jack Sparrow was purposefully a stagnant meet and greet character with his own little Instagram worthy spot right outside Pirates of the Caribbean, right across the stage where he did his little mini shows. That was it. That was all that should be required of him.

But a walking character that went as they pleased? Sure, Disneyland did that all the time. Guests went specifically to find their characters. It usually helped with crowd flow. Disney World was its own beast of perfect schedules to keep, of guests who came once in their lifetime instead of the Annual Passholders of Cali who went all the time. And it was also really, really hot, especially for Captain Jack Sparrow to go parading around. And to only stay in Adventureland? Adventureland was rather small (though not as small as Disneyland's) and there really wasn't much to explore. Not much for him to do with traffic, and even with a handler, he still wasn't sure how to avoid getting swarmed.

Which is exactly what started happening, considering it was a Saturday afternoon and some high school cheerleading convention was taking place at the All Sports arena on property and hundreds of them had decided to visit the Magic Kingdom.

And he was stuck with Sarah, who had promptly abandoned him with a gaggle of giggly high school girls.

"Make way!" he yelled in as captain-y of a voice as he could muster, walking as fast as he dared in Captain Jack fashion. At least his worried, baffled expression fit the part.

"Wait, Jack!" a girl called after him. One of many. He didn't have to act out his terrified Jack expression.

The one fortunate thing about these girls was that they must have been new to Disney and didn't know Adventureland like he did.

He whirled, gesturing to the Pirates of the Caribbean store. "I'll tell you what, lass. I've been in search of a ruby. Heard it's been sequestered in that rather large shop, along with all the pictures of me that fortunately aren't wanted posters, as flattering as all that is. Find it, bring it to me, and I'll make sure to share the secrets of old Jack to your heart's content. Savvy?"

Every girl came to a halt, their eyes darting over to the gift shop before screaming at one another that they would be the first to find it.

Levi propped himself up against a pillar momentarily as the rest of the girls checked to make sure he would wait for them, the smarter ones, before following after. As soon as the last one turned their back, he went back the way they'd come from, passing Jungle Cruise, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, and hurling himself up the stairs of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, grateful that the only guests that were there were a couple of parents with their toddlers, none of which seemed to have any interest in him except for gaping.

He gave a sly smile and tilted his head to the side. "Pirates. You never know when they might come to plunder, aye?" He pretended to stroke his mustache. "Not a word of this to anyone. I'm after me treasure." A pause. "You can join me, if you wish."

"Jack."

He looked down, finding a little boy he recognized. "Ah! Dylan. Back for more adventures, are you?"

Dylan beamed, obviously glad to be remembered. "This is my favorite land."

"Is that right? Smart boy." Levi glanced around, finding Dylan's parents resting nearby. He raised his voice a bit. "Mind if I take the lad up for a bit of exploring?"

They nodded their approval, Dylan bouncing up and down in his Jolly Roger shirt.

And this was why he loved Disneyland floaters. This was why he loved being Jack Sparrow. Dylan was that perfect age where Levi didn't even have to act because he wanted to do Dylan the best favor he could—and that was to live and breathe as Jack Sparrow. So he did. They went up all the steps, explored the treehouse, and Levi hid a piece of treasure for Dylan to find after a dramatic story about how he'd heard there was treasure here.