An Awfully Big Adventure

Hour Eleven: Princess Week

11. Write a chapter in which "Princess Week" occurs.(Princess week is where you watch a Disney Princess movie every night of the week.)

While getting there approximately an hour before the theme park opens guarantees a relatively good parking spot-- one close to the entrance and under the shade of a large tree-- it also means that the trio has to wait in front of the locked gates with quite a few other hopefuls. Tourists chatter around them, already a flood of different tongues and dialects slipping through the air. Some rocked strollers back and forth, shushing babbling babies.

Others hold the hands of larger children, capable of standing on their own, but small enough that they needed to be protected from the multiplying mass of people. And while the group is excited, the threesome stands out, a beacon guiding the rest of the travelling sailors.

"All right, we're going on every roller coaster," Dale starts, pulling up a map of the park on his phone. He begins figuring out the best route to take in order to hit up all the rides. It is a combination, an algorithm of both distance and priority. There are, of course, some roller coasters that need to be ridden and some he is okay with passing over. He sets their course for the back first, in order to beat off some of the crowd. As long as 75% of the thrill rides are ridden, he will consider it a success.

"We're taking a picture with every Disney character we see," Chip pipes in. When he was younger, he had found the costumes scary and alien, and his parents would have to force him to stand beside them. Now, he sees them in a different light. Chip's features set comfortably into those of a child. It is more than his eyes that light up, the enchantment is more than two irises can hold- and the gates have not even opened yet.

"But we have to find Peter Pan," Wendy says, a part of her always aching to be taken to Neverland- where things are simple.

"Wendy and her Peter, huh?" Chip says, eyes flitting excitedly to Wendy and Dale and the space between the two. Dale is too busy analyzing the map on his phone to notice, but Wendy notices. She notices and can't help but think that Dale is better than any Pan. Wendy feels foolish- chasing Neverland and Peter and chasing Dale- impossible things she can never attain.

She is thinking all this, and while she is attempting to glare at Chip to tell him to knock it off, her thoughts also cause spots of color to emerge on her cheeks. seeing that his look has had its intended effect, Chip drops the suggestive glance.

Wendy fans herself with her hands, hoping to shoo away the blush, "Whew! It's hot out. Don't you guys feel hot?" but really, she thinks she isn't the hot one- not with two fine male specimen by her side.

Dale shrugs, "I'm fine." And Wendy silently agrees, which does nothing to help subside the redness on her face.

Dale frowns down at his phone, partly because he is struggling to remember the path he was routing and partly because the time his phone is displaying can't possibly be correct, can it?"

"There's still half an hour before opening?" he groans. There is no way he'll be able to store the trail in his memory for so long, so he pulls his concentration away from the painfully small map on his phone.

"Don't worry. It'll go by in a flash." Chip tells him, bouncing on the balls of his feet like the youngsters around him.

"Besides, aren't you a writer? Shouldn't you have entertainment stored up in our brain or something?" Wendy asks him, tapping her temple.

He gives her a look, "There are so many people. It's loud. I'm excited. I'm distracted. I couldn't possibly grasp onto something worth writing. Maybe I'm entertained right now."

"But you basically said you were bored a few seconds ago," Wendy says, frowning a bit in confusion.

Dale shrugs, "I was. Still am. Feelings are confusing things." Wendy's heart flutters in agreement.

Dale shifts his weight from foot to foot, so at times he is leaning towards Wendy and sometimes he is leaning away. He has yet to decide which position is more comfortable. He has never someone who enjoys sticking around in one place. Everything changes. Everything is temporary, so why should he remain anchored to one spot as if he is superior to the tides?

"You look pretty ADHD right now," Wendy remarks. It gets rather distracting, seeing someone, out of the corner of one's eye, hop from foot to foot.

"I feel kind of ADHD," Dale admits. "My parents used to talk about getting me diagnosed, but it never happened." It is hard to describe the antsiness rooting in his brain. It thrives in the way one first notices a bug bite. First, it is simply itchy, and soon one can't stop scratching at it. There is just so much to be done today, and when the possibilities are only manifested in imaginings, it is easy to go mad. Shifting from foot to foot does little to appease his soul, but there is no other outlet for energy, Dale feels that his head might explode.

Chip, on the other hand, has remained relatively still and quiet, as per usual. Although he, like Wendy, has been watching Dale toy with his center of gravity, Chip is considerably less distracted. But perhaps, Chip isn't a good comparison to Wendy, because she would be distracted by Dale regardless. 

Chip's mind had temporarily gotten away from him, but somehow he is pulled out of subconscious. "What day is it today?" he asks them.

Wendy struggles to recall how many days they've been off from school. Vacations always seemed to brainwash her of basic knowledge. "Tuesday? I think?" She turns her head ever so slightly towards Dale, hoping that he will clarify for her.

However, Dale does little to confirm her sentiments, "Sounds about right," he shrugs.

Chip nods his head, "Tuesday is... The Little Mermaid if I remember correctly."

Dale stops his fidgeting to turn and look at Chip, blinking at him slowly. Dale shakes his head, "What the hell is that supposed to mean."

Chip scratches the back of his head, forgetting that they haven't access to his memory. "My sister. Every spring break, she has a Disney princess marathon. She's very particular of the order she watches the movies. Tuesday is The Little Mermaid."

"Princess Week," Wendy interjects. "I've always wanted to do that, but I don't own any of the movies. Plus, how lame would it be to have a movie marathon by yourself?"

Perhaps it is the Disney spirit that catches Chip off guard, because before he realizes what he's doing he begins posing an offer. "You could come over later, if you want." He turns to look at Dale, "You, too." He doesn't want to appear as competition to him. Though as far as potential boyfriends go, Chip feels that he is a lousy competitor anyways. He finds it rather obvious how smitten Wendy is with Dale.

"I mean, we would have to double up with the movies if we wanted to watch all of them," Chip continues.

Wendy tilts her head, trying to recall if her schedule is clear enough to fit in a string of Disney movies. "Oh. I can't. I have plans for the rest of the week."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Plans? And you think it's okay to flit off to Disneyland? Are we going to get back in time?" Dale asks, her declaration puncturing holes in his scheduling. He needs every second of today.

Wendy smiles wryly, "Relax. By plans, I mean, I'll be busy being, you know, grounded and all. So, if it's all right, I'll take a rain check on those movies."

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soz 4 the w8. lol.

Hopefully, there will be more updates over the course of the month, seeing how I'm OUT OF SCHOOL AND ALL. I'm a SENIOR now, so basically, that means you're mah peasants. (jk omg 4give me por favor)