Aru's pov---
When Aru heard about a chaperone, she did not expect this.
In the past, "chaperone" had always meant some random parent who pulled the short straw at PTA meetings and would rather be sitting down, drinking wine and watching some boring documentary.
Not typically young.
And definitely not happy.
Obviously, the woman outside Aru's house was not your usual chaperone. She didn't look much older than Aru, maybe mid-twenties, and she was bouncing on her toes, like a new presenter about to give a presentation. Even her outfit showed happiness. She wore a white hoodie - dotted in colourful badges - and a turquoise t-shirt underneath, paired with jeans and white sneakers. She hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell down her back. All-in-all, she gave off incredible levels of positivity. The only problem was Aru couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.
Aru looked down at her own outfit. A Guardians of the Galaxy crop top, an aviator jacket and cargo pants. Completely normal, thank goodness.
She did not want to stand out on the first day.
Once she saw the woman waiting, she lugged her case down the stairs, wrote a note for her mom (she'd been away for ages, but better safe than sorry), and headed out the door.
"Hi! Your Aru right?" The impossibly happy woman asked, "It's great to meet you! I will be your chaperone! - oh, did you know that the word "chaperone" comes from the Middle English and French word, "chape" which means hood or cape, like one that gives protection...."
She trailed off, as if suddenly realising she was giving her an English lecture.
"Sorry, I do that sometimes... I'm Kara by the way, nice to meet you." [A/N this is not Evil Kara, I repeat, this is not Evil Kara]
"Hi Kara," Aru croaked, slightly overwhelmed by the sudden facts. "Ummmm... Where do we go?"
"The limo," Kara announced, like it was normal.
"The what-now!?"
"The limo," Kara repeated. "They didn't mention it in the letter?''
Aru shook her head vigorously. Kara grinned at her and started to walk down the street
"Well, for the whole trip, you get complete, 5-star treatment. And if you need any help, just ask for me!" Kara chimed happily. Then her expression darkened, "Oh, also, they've decided to add another chaperone to the trip. But I'd watch out for her. She would go through extreme levels to get what she wants. And she really wants her niece to win. Oh look, we're hear!"
Aru looked up from estimating how deep the puddle infront of her was (1.25 inches) to see the biggest car she'd ever seen. Ever. It was about 20 feet long, with a bright but stormy grey exterior and blacked out windows, like a spy mobile. All the edges were lined with some kind of LED that made the vehicle look like it was somewhere between imagination and fantasy. It even had cool sports car stripes over the top in indigo. Everything about it looked straight out of a movie. Basically, it was awesome.
"Woah. This is - woah." Kara smiled at Aru's reaction.
"Cool right?" She grinned, looking slightly in awe herself. "I still can't believe that I get to do this as part of my job."
Genuine positivity, Aru decided.
"So, you ready to meet the others?" Kara asked as she opened the door.
"Others?" Aru questioned.
"There are 4 other teams apart from you in there already, means that there are less pick-up runs." Kara explained.
People!? Aru didn't know there was going to be people. Ugh, why did she decide to stay up and watch TV till 2 am? And the coffee machine didn't work. Ah well, the other teams would just have to deal with her. With any luck, they'd ignore her like everyone at school did. Or, you know, as they did until the rumours started...
Not that that mattered.
And the odds didn't seem to be in her favour anyway.
(She inwardly high fives herself for being able to quote the Hunger Games.)
After a moment, she shook herself back to the present to see Kara watching her in concern.
"You ok?" She asked hastily.
"Er, yeah, just pondering deep, philosophical questions." Aru replied, thankful for all the dictionary she'd read in preparation of the competition.
"If you say so," Kara said sounding unconvinced. Then, with her eyes glinting, she cleared her throat.
"Arundhati Shah, I officially welcome you to the chance of a lifetime!''
Sooo, so much for once a week updating... Updates probably will be slower once half term is over tho, so then I'll stick to it.
Buuuyyeeeee! 💕💕💕
-Bea
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Brilliance - Aruden AU
FanfictionAru Shah's life is just getting better. Her mom had almost recovered from the past few years, she had finally finished middle school and she'd been selected to take part in the National Competition of Brilliance! The prize, a scholarship to the most...
