Taking Back the Title?

02

Ari's POV

We lost. But to be honest, Brandon deserved it, they wanted it more than us, and so they got it. Not to say I'm not upset, I am, but this is Florida, Worlds, Disney. The happiest place on Earth. So I put a smile on my face and continue through my day.

Sierra, Mathieu, Sarah-Kim, Maia and I are on the monorail heading to Magic Kingdom. Maia and I play a game of concentration while Sarah-Kim calls her family at home to tell them about the weekend. Mathieu and Sierra sit quietly talking in the seats across from us. They are like brother and sister, considering Matt lived with her. They are both so sad he is leaving. I hope he comes back, but Sierra seems to be convinced he won't be able to.

The monorail pulls into the park and we hop out. Disney is one of my favourite places in the world. Maia and I run to the entrance with Sierra, Sarah-Kim and Matt close behind. We breeze through security since everyone is at Worlds watching teams like TGLC and Stingrays Steel. Sarah-Kim takes pictures of me and Maia in front of the castle. My favourite is one of me and Maia holding hands and looking at each other. We planned to wear matching Smoed tank tops and we bought matching yellow Mickey ears from Etsy. Best friend goals, I know. Then we take some pictures of Matt and Sierra hugging and then Sarah-Kim and Matt pull out Canadian flags and wave them in front of the castle. I snap some cute pictures of them. Then Mathieu and I take some pictures. I post an Instagram boomerang of me and Maia blowing kisses at my camera in front of the castle.

@arimodee Disney with my best friend @maiaishikawa <3

Then I post a picture of Mathieu giving me a piggy back in front of the castle.

@arimodee Shout out to this one for not dropping me at Worlds! I love you <3

"Which ride should we go on first?" Maia asks.

"It's a small world!" Sierra yells out as I scream, "Splash Mountain!"

"What about Space Mountain?" Sarah-Kim asks.

"Sure, that sounds fun," I nod.

So we head to Space Mountain.

I sit next to Maia and Sarah-Kim while Mathieu and Sierra sit behind us. The ride starts up and soon Maia and I are screaming at the top of our lungs. Sierra and Sarah-Kim join in and soon Matt is yelling too. It's a good thing we're the only ones on the ride, Smoed is known to be obnoxious in public places. All of a sudden, Matt has a huge voice crack and Maia and I almost fall off the ride laughing.

We find our way to It's a small world and sit down in one of the boats. I sit next to Matt and Sarah-Kim while Sierra and Maia sit in front of us.

"Hey, um, guys? I should probably tell you I'm afraid of dolls..." Sarah-Kim says.

"Awe, Sarah-Kim!" I reach out and grab her hand. She holds on for dear life.

The ride starts up and Mathieu and I start singing obnoxiously. Maia joins in and soon Sierra is singing too. I nudge Sarah-Kim, but she firmly shakes her head. I laugh a little but continue singing.

After a few more hours at the parks, it is getting dark and we are all super tired. We head back to the hotel and fall asleep.

***

The next day, Maia, Sarah-Kim, Sierra and I wake up early so we won't miss our flight. As much as I'd love an extra day at Disney, we have to go home. I throw on a Smoed tank top, ripped jean shorts and black high top converse. Sierra french braids my hair as Maia and Sarah-Kim make a quick Starbucks run for Frappuccino's.

Soon, Maia and Sarah-Kim come back with four different Frappuccino's; Sierra's cotton candy; Maia's caramel; Sarah-Kim's white chocolate mocha; and my s'mores. And then we are off to the airport.

We go through security and board our plane. I sit in the window seat with Mathieu and Sierra beside me. I check out what movies they have playing and decide to watch The Hunger Games. I've read the books three times and seen the movies twice, but Hunger Games never gets old. Soon enough, Sierra is asleep and my movie is over. I take off my headphones and look over at Mathieu, who is finishing up a round of Candy Crush. I decide to take out my phone and play too. We chat about Worlds and Disney and how Matt needs to come back next season. Maia and I have already planned out fundraisers like a lemonade sale (I know, we're like five years old) to help him pay for things like a house and cheer fees. I start to feel really tired, so I curl up in a ball, about as comfortable as you can get on an airplane, and fall asleep.

Mathieu's POV

Ari is asleep on my shoulder right now. I try to stay quiet so I don't wake her up. I scroll through pictures from this week. One of me and Enrique at Top Gun, one of me and Ari doing a one man on the boardwalk, one of me and Sarah-Kim in Epcot pointing at a Canada flag, one of me and Sierra holding hands before our Day 1 run, another picture of me and Ari in front of the castle.

I need to come back, I tell myself. I don't think I'll be able to handle being away from these people. I suddenly know that I'm going to work super hard to get enough money to come back. As hard as Smoed is, and as much as Eddie yells at us, this is my family, and I'm not leaving anytime soon.

A.N

thank you all for reading! the next chapter will be starting the 2016-2017 season even though I'm writing this after Worlds 2017. anyways, hope you're enjoying this book so far!

-mare <3