Oh My Disney

❝oh my disney❞ » (OFFICIAL PREVIEW) chapter one of the full-length novel

01: PETER PAN
❝Second star to the right, and straight on 'till morning.❞

        

        A YOUNG ALICE WINTERS, only twelve years old, sat on her window seat at five minutes to midnight, staring dreamily up at the stars. She'd discovered that on nights like these, if she craned her neck just far enough to see them, twinkling stars would appear scattered all across the night sky - but only at this hour, when it was perfectly dark enough to see them. And each night, she'd stay up and search for the second star perched just off to the right, clad in a light blue nightdress and clutching a newfound acorn to her chest with wonderment in her eyes.

        Momentarily shifting her gaze from the purple sky above her, Alice surveyed her outfit skeptically. This must have been her fourth (maybe fifth?) night of waiting - perhaps she hadn't dressed enough like Wendy for him to notice. In the mirror across the room, Alice squinted and stood tall on her toes, trying to get a better view. She wore the same curled ponytail, same flowing nightdress, same puffed sleeves and hair ribbon of Wendy Darling's likeness. And despite her blonde hair and bright eyes that were far closer to green than blue, Alice was Wendy to a T.

        So why wasn't Peter Pan here?

        She'd been waiting for him to take her to Neverland for quite some time now. It'd taken her a few days to come up with the idea to dress just like Wendy - but she was sure it would get his attention. She even spent her afternoons searching for his shadow around the house, and telling stories of pirates and mermaids to her stuffed animals with her window open, in hopes that he might hear. And though she loved the tale of Peter whisking Wendy and her brothers away to Neverland for a night, her ensemble was about all that she had in common with the Darling girl. She'd made up her mind that when the boy in green finally brought her to Neverland, she wasn't going to be like Wendy.

        When Peter Pan came for her, Alice was never coming back.

        She wouldn't if he wanted her to. Determinedly throwing open the windows, she was certain; like Peter, she never wanted to grow up. She was set on living in the world of fairies and lost boys to her heart's content, and would wait until the early hours of the morning if she had to - maybe even forever. Forever wouldn't matter if she wouldn't be growing up anyway, right?

        Alice closed her eyes and let the breeze from the window blow her hair gently out of her face. Surely there must be a way for him to see her, though she couldn't just call out for him into the darkness. She squinted at the night sky in hopes that she might be able to spot Tinkerbell's light flittering through the stars. Rats, she thought silently to herself, still seeing nothing. Maybe Hook's got him tied up, that old codfish.

        Worried, Alice searched her room for a shadow. She opened every drawer, wondering if history could repeat itself in such a way. She pulled the sheets off of her bed, searched the highest shelves of her closet and lifted the rugs on the floor - but Peter Pan's shadow was nowhere to be found. She slumped down on her window seat in a huff - was it normal for him to take this long?

        Alice thought that maybe it was the outfit. Had she left something out? No, she couldn't have - she'd watched the movie so many times, it seemed ridiculous to think that she didn't know what Wendy Darling looked like. Alice had wanted to be as lucky as Wendy for a long time now; to be whisked away by an adventurous boy off to an island where she could fly and sing and dream whenever she wanted, and never had to worry about growing up - a state of being that she knew wouldn't allow those things any more.

        She knew what being a grown-up meant - but as long as Peter rescued her in time, she wouldn't have to stick around long enough to find out for herself. When Peter rescued her, she'd never have to learn about the arguments her parents didn't think she heard, or the kids at school who'd only get crueller with age, or the teachers who never understood. In Neverland, all of that would finally fade away.