I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but Cinderella's prince is named Henri. He has some other name but in this story, I'm going to use Henri.
Cinderella was at her locker, waiting for Aurora to show up so they could head to chemistry class. Using her time, Cinderella just kept on reading through the texts. She couldn't believe it when Aurora said Philip had broken up with her. He couldn't have, he was in love with Aurora! She had called, and Aurora told her the entire story, and they had to cancel date night. Instead, Cinderella and Henri went to the theatre to watch a play.
Cinderella looked up at the time and sighed. "I can't wait for her, it wouldn't be good for me to be late."
She headed in the direction of her chemistry class, only to bump into someone.
"Oh, Cinderella! Hi."
Cinderella glared right into the eyes of Philip. "How could you? In fact, how dare you?"
A hidden sadness was in Philip's eyes, and Cinderella softened her glare. Only a little. He heaved a heavy sigh and rushed past Cinderella as if he didn't even acknowledge her comment. Cinderella thought about going after him, but chemistry was in three minutes. If she didn't run, she was going to be late.
Later, she thought.
Cinderella slipped into her desk just before the bell to begin first period rang. The Caterpillar sat down and shoved his hookah inside his desk. Aurora came in almost a second after Cinderella and sat down next to her, out of breath.
"What happened?" Cinderella whispered.
Aurora shrugged. "I was a little behind at breakfast, sorry."
Cinderella took that for an answer and left Aurora alone for the rest of the class.
◈▣◈
"So, how was everybody's break?" Penny asked.
Wilbur grunted, Hiro shrugged, and Violet smiled.
"The best. I called and texted Tony throughout, and we arranged to watch a movie over the break, and I think it was really romantic."
"Wow. That's...great, Violet," Penny said, trying to be considerate of Wilbur's feelings.
"Yeah, great," Wilbur mumbled.
Violet frowned at their unenthusiastic response, and the group went silent again. Hiro murmured something under his breath.
"What was that?" Penny asked.
Hiro shrugged and refused to repeat his sentence.
"Penny, can we talk outside for a minute?" Violet dragged Penny by the arm and pulled her to the bench outside, where they could still see the boys from the window.
"What's going on with you and Hiro? He's looking at you, but not saying anything!"
Penny glanced back and saw Hiro talking with Wilbur. "He was looking at me?"
Violet nodded. "Did you guys...?"
Penny let out a frustrated sigh. "No, he thinks I'm hiding a secret from him. Which I guess I am but I can't tell him that I like him! That'd be so...weird!"
Violet played around with her ring finger. "Well, he kinda has a thing with Tiger Lily right now—"
"I know that."
She shrugged. "Maybe you should just move on. Slowly, but surely, you know?"
"I kinda get what you're saying. But thanks Violet."
"For what?"
Penny chuckled. "Just...being my friend. If you haven't noticed, I kinda have no other ones."
"Same here."
◈▣◈
While Penny and Violet were talking, Hiro turned to Wilbur.
"I'm sorry. She doesn't know—"
"I know she doesn't know Hiro. That's why she talks about it. Then sometimes I feel bad for feeling jealous. You do the same thing though, talking about...Tiger Lily."
Wilbur cringed. He hoped Hiro didn't catch what he meant. The guy may have been good with a book and some machinery, but when it came to feelings, he didn't have a clue. Wilbur of course meant about how he talks about Tiger Lily while Penny's around. At least Penny was better at hiding her feelings, and was probably happy for Hiro, unlike Wilbur for Violet.
"What do you mean?" Hiro asked.
Wilbur shrugged. "When are you just going to ask her out? You guys seem to like each other a lot, just meet the parents and—"
Hiro shook his head. "I don't think I'd want to date now. I'm just...not ready for that responsibility."
Wilbur's gaze led to the window, where Violet and Penny were talking. It made him think of Tony, and he got angry again.
"Let's head to class," he said.
"Aren't we going to wait for Penny and Violet?"
"We can't be late." Wilbur walked off, and Hiro watched him.
Hiro looked at the window too, at the same time Penny looked back. Hiro guessed she saw Wilbur walk off, so she gave a tiny wave. Hiro just looked down, turned around, and followed Wilbur.
◈▣◈
"Kida? Have you gotten your volunteer hours in for grad?"
Megara walked up to the young woman, out of breath.
Kida sighed. "How many do we need again?"
Megara pulled out her phone to check. "Uh, forty hours in total for all our four years."
Kida's eyes widened. "I've only done ten! How am I supposed to get thirty more hours before the end of the school year?"
Megara thought for a moment. She had almost finished her volunteer hours. She just needed five more, and she was going to help out at the soup kitchen with some other students.
"Milo Thatch. He volunteers a lot. I'm sure he could find you something. Anyway, I need to get going. Catch you later Kida!"
◈▣◈
Jane was in Miss Flora's class for her third period. She had ended up sitting next to Boo and Tarzan in the lecture hall. Talking to either would be awkward. She hardly knew Boo, and Tarzan—well, she couldn't really speak around Tarzan, which would explain why she was very silent.
"Jane! Can you recite the formula please? If you were to raise roots from the ground? It requires ingredients as well as a formula."
"Like the bombs they use during the wars, kind of?" another student claimed.
Miss Flora nodded. "Now Jane?"
"Um..." Jane flipped through the pages in her notebook. "The formula requires that you mash the ingredients in a bowl and add the following herbs. Then you stir with...water?"
"Correct, though I would've preferred it if you listed the herbs."
"I wouldn't have even known the formula," Tarzan said and smiled at Jane.
Jane smiled back politely, hoping her cheeks weren't red.
"Yes, they used bombs during the humanized wars, but what about the ones Principal Mickey fought?" Merida asked.
Miss Flora laughed. "I'd love to talk about that, but this isn't History class. It's Herbs and Potions."
Merida groaned and some of the class giggled.