Walt E. Disney High

Chapter 10

ESMERALDA'S POV

"Oh, come on, Esme! It'll be fun! You can finish your math homework later. We only get one game night a year! This is the first one ever!" Charlotte cried, pulling on my arm. I was stretching my middle splits with my TheraBand, writing down solutions to polynomial problems.

"Stop, Charlotte," I laughed. "Hey Tiana, did you get 5vw – 4w + 4 for number three?"

My other roommate glanced over at her paper on her desk. "Yep."

"You two are so boring," Charlotte whined, flopping on the ground, defeated. Tiana chuckled at her.

"I'll go, Lottie," Tiana finally gave in.

Lottie perked up. "Really?"

I sighed, and then gave in. "Fine...I'll go too."

Charlotte clapped excitedly, squealing. "Oh, wonderful! Get your pajamas on, girls, we're going to play some games!"

Tiana and I shared a look, trying not to smile at her enthusiasm. Tia slipped on her mint pajama set, along with fuzzy socks. I put on a pair of short and comfy t-shirt, also stepping into my slippers. Eventually, Charlotte emerged from the bathroom in a pink nightgown, lined in lace. Her hair was still in perfect curls, and she was still wearing elaborate blue eye shadow and pink lipstick, complete with a beauty mark. "How do I look?" she asked, puffing her pale face in powder.

"Is this a beauty pageant?" I asked, laughing. "Because if so, fabulous."

"Oh, shush," she said, swatting at me. "I have to look my best. You never know who's going to be down there."

"Who do you want to be down there?" Tiana inquired, giving her a smirk.

Lottie looked at her through the mirror. "No one," she responded quickly, going back to fixing her hair. Tiana raised her eyebrows but went to texting.

Soon, all three of us were walking down to the lobby of the dorm building, Lottie chattering excitedly about what games we were going to play. When we entered the lobby, Cinderella was there to greet us as the new social activities director. 

"Hello, ladies, Miss President," she greeted, nodding politely to Tiana. I could see my friend smile humbly. "We are just about to start a game of Twister, and there are drinks and snacks over on that table. Just tell me if you need anything!"

We thanked her and moved on, but suddenly both Tia and Lottie left me for some other friends. "Tiana! Over here!" Judy had shouted, waving to her. Not liking Judy very much, I chose not to follow my Tiana over to her. 

"Hey, Tink, sugar!" Lottie had called, rushing over to join Tinkerbell by the crackers.

And, suddenly, I was all alone. I sighed, looking around at everyone around me. They were all engaged in conversation. I walked over to the drink table, where Aladdin and Nick Wilde were sneaking around the punch bowl. "What are you two doing?" I asked, scooping up a cozy mug of hot cocoa, adorning it with marshmallows, whipped cream, and a peppermint stick at the hot cocoa bar.

"Sh!" Aladdin warned me, chuckling. "We're trying to spike it!"

I rolled my eyes at them, but then saw Lady Tremaine approaching them with a menacing glare. "Yeah, good luck with that," I muttered. I hurried away before I could get caught up in the mess.

I stood with my mug of cocoa, watching people gather around the multiple Twister mats that were duct taped together. "Your first time too?" someone said, startling me. I looked over at a blond guy, calmly overseeing the debacle of people running around, trying to find a place to stand.