Walt E. Disney High

Chapter 29

NALA

I was sitting on the floor, my back against Dmitri's bed, when Flynn walked into the dorm. "That's your Halloween costume?" Anya asked in disbelief. I looked up to see what Dmitri and Tramp had begun laughing about. Flynn looked normal; he didn't have his leather jacket, but he wore jeans and a white t-shirt, which had the writing: Error 404 Costume Not Found. I snorted, looking him in the eye.

"Come on, Rider. At least we tried," Tramp said. He was dressed as a skeleton, with black eyeshadow on, making a nose and a smile. Dmitri wore red striped pants, a white shirt, a Hawaiian shirt, and his hair done in a spike to portray Ace Ventura. Anya had pulled together some jeans, a white and red striped sweater, and a red beanie to be Where's Waldo. I went as a butterfly, using my makeup skills to complete it. I wore a black dress and some wings.

Flynn threw out his arms. "What? It's funny, right?" Anya rolled her eyes and I laughed, shaking my head absently. "Well, you guys do not appreciate my efforts. Shall we go?" he asked, waving us away and pointing to the door.

Anya and I heaved ourselves off the ground as the other boys rolled off of the bed, joining Flynn in the hall.

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We walked into the mansion, the loud music blasting my ears out. I made a face -- this was already not my favorite. The pulse of the beat matching my frantic heart, I glanced at Anya. "Wow, I hate this," I yelled, shaking my head.

She laughed. "Come on, Nala. Just try to enjoy yourself. After all, this is going to be the best party of the year!" I tried to smile, but she had already grabbed Dmitri's arm and led him into the crowd.

And then it was just Tramp, Flynn, and I. Tramp was already scanning the crowd on his toes. "What'cha looking for?" I asked him with a chuckle. He lowered himself and gave me a sheepish grin.

"No one in particular. Just a girl," he responded with a lopsided smirk, causing me to smile and roll my eyes. Then he said, "Bingo." He clicked his tongue, winked, gave me finger guns, and strode into the sea of people towards a pretty girl dressed like Audrey Hepburn.

"And then there were two," Flynn said with a chuckle, leaning down so I could hear him. I smiled and blushed a bit, clasping my hands behind my back. "Shall we?" Flynn asked, holding his hand out for me. I looked at it, my stomach jumping. He glanced at it too, and I could tell he almost took it away. "For comfort, of course," he said hastily, shrugging and putting his hand down. But I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, glancing at him. He grinned back at me, and I faced the hall that led to the throng of students and took a breath. Flynn and I stepped into it together.

Immediately I felt like I was going to die. I was pressed on by sweating, writhing bodies from all sides, constricting me and making it hard to breathe. I looked up at Flynn with panic in my eyes, and he read them quickly. He held my hand tighter as he quickly began pulling me along through the crowd. In front of me, he  was pushing people to make way, causing them to fall into each other, but they didn't seem to care. Eventually, we both made it to an unpopulated wall, where I finally released my breath. I leaned up against it in relief.

After a couple of quiet moments of the two of us watching the dancing people, I said, "Thanks."

Flynn looked down at me. "No problem. It can be a little overwhelming." I nodded silently, the blood in my ears dying down.

Suddenly, Meg stumbled right in front of us, looking a little loopy. She stopped to gain her balance, and then she grinned at me - that's when I knew something was off. "Hey, Nala, Flynny boy." She seemed to be dressed as a business woman, probably a character I couldn't place.