Second Date

Chapter 25: Date Rape

Chapter 25: Date Rape

Well.

Saturday left and Sunday came. The Florida sun shown brilliantly as an orange, welcoming visitors to the happiest place on earth.

However, Disney World had turned into Zombie Land. Figuratively, of course. The music was skipping. The balloons were wilting. The ice cream was melting. The "grey stuff" from Beauty and the Beast tasted like hairspray (not delicious). The rides were malfunctioning. And the Disney characters were exhausted!

The Magic Kingdom's sparkle had completely dulled. But, no one knew why.

No one, that is, except the villains.

Unbeknownst to the heroines and heroes, Disney World was infected with Maleficent's curse. Although the curse had served its original purpose to make the Disney characters forget their dates, it still lingered. Curses were like that - they left a sour aftertaste.

The villains were incredibly amused. Maleficent's curse had caused so much unhappiness there was a record number of children whining "I wanna go home!" to frustrated parents. See? Incredibly amusing!

But when the sobbing children became too boring, the villains picked on their favorite targets: the good guys.

Oh it was Heaven! From Jiminy Cricket to Mickey Mouse, none of the Disney heroes remembered! They did not remember their dates or the previous night's events at all!

But that wasn't the best part.

The Disney heroes were exhausted. Midnight is a late bedtime for a character that sings, dances, and takes cheesy photos with tourists from dawn to dusk, seven-days a week, 365 days a year.

So, the Disney characters staggered about half-asleep and zonked like zombies. Although they were exhausted and did resemble the living dead, the characters were infinitely more frustrated that they did not know why...and that the villains seemed to know, or acted like they did.

"Wake up! Open those eyes! Goodness, my dear. Tell me. What did you do last night?"

Wendy jumped. Embarrassed that Captain Hook caught her dozing - again - she turned away.

"I went to bed." she replied testily. "Straight to bed."

It was a small lie. Wendy did remember going straight to bed. But she could not account for the rest of the evening at all.

And the pirates seemed irritatingly aware.

"Straight to bed!" Captain Hook and Mr. Smee snickered into each other's arms.

"Straight to bed!" Mr. Smee clutched his belly. It jiggled with laughter. "She went straight to bed Capn! Dear me - it never gets old!"

"Indeed!" Captain Hook pretended to wipe a tear. "Indeed it does not!"

Wendy glared. This was the hundredth time they had asked her that question. Wendy knew they were teasing her, and she was bothered. Clearly it was a secret joke between the pirates that became funnier with repetition.

Wendy rose. Unamused, she stalked away.

"Eh, eh, eh. Not so fast." Captain Hook intercepted. "Where do we think we are going, Little Miss Cotton Tail? To find Peter?"

Mr. Smee chuckled. Heartily he slapped his knee. "Good one, Capn! Merry ho!"

"Thank you Smee."

Wendy tried to pass. "You know I can't see Peter with your hideous contract."