Disney World is supposed to be the happiest place on earth. When Isabella goes to Orlando, Florida with her three friends and boyfriend as their senior trip, happiness starts to crumble. Bella always thought the most important thing in the world was...
Eric grabs my hand, a habit that seems to be forming, dragging me behind him. "Are we really going to ride the magic carpet from Aladdin?" I question in excitement. I try keeping up with him, but end up almost tripping twice. He doesn't say anything until we get to a waiting queue. We of course skip the line when Eric shows a worker his ID. Panels of virtual reality helmets circle the room.
"Here, sit here and hold onto the handles in front of you," he tells me when he leads me to one of the panels. He helps me put on my helmet, and everything goes dark.
"Eric," I start to panic.
He places one of his hands on mine, "I'm right here."
I hear Aladdin's voice and then the Kingdom of Agrabah appears in front of me. I feel calm again and actually form a smile. I go through the "ride" on the Magic Carpet and save Jasmine. I take off my helmet when the simulation is over.
"That was so cool!" I exclaim. Eric's eyes light up, knowing I enjoyed the ride he chose.
"Wanna grab a bite to eat? They have amazing chocolate cheesecake here, you have to try it."
My stomach growls at the mention of food, and I realize I haven't eaten since breakfast. He starts lightly jogging again in excitement towards the stairs. Somehow, my mind starts to think about how cute Eric really is. His smile and energy is so contagious, I've never been around anyone like him before.
Stop Bella, you have a boyfriend remember?
"Are you coming, princess?" He turns around to ask me. I nod, I guess I wasn't walking very fast.
When we get to the little food court on the fifth floor, Eric orders a hamburger, fries, and the famous chocolate cheesecake. I end up just getting a hot dog and steal some of Eric's fries. The cheesecake really is as good as he said.
While we sit and eat our food, I check my phone for the first time since I got to Disney Springs. Time as flown by and it's already eight pm. I have multiple missed calls and messages from Sylvie, Taylor, and surprisingly a few from Dylan. They're all wondering where I am, and I suddenly feel really bad for ditching them.
My face must give away my feelings because Eric speaks up, "What's wrong?"
"I have to go." I stand up, throwing my trash away in a nearby garbage can, and then start walking towards the stairs.
"Bella," Eric gently grabs my wrist from behind, "Where are you going?"
"It's my friends, they're wondering where I am. I have to get back to them."
"Let me walk back to the buses with you," He pleads, still holding onto my wrist.
"I'm okay, I can find my way back."
"Pinky promise I'll see you again?" He asks like a little kid, with his finger outstretched towards me.
I laugh and connect our pinky's, "Pinky promise."
When our pinky's unlock, he doesn't follow me. As I start to make my way back to the buses, I text Sylvie and tell her I'm okay and on my way to the hotel. I enjoy the warm night air and think, I could get used to this weather. I don't know how Mia can't stand the Florida heat, I think it's way better than bipolar weather and freezing my butt off half of the year, if not more. If I was back home at this time of day, even in June, I'd probably need a jacket.
I get back to the busses easier than I thought I would. The ride to Pop Century isn't very long, and before I know it, I'm at the hotel room. I stand outside for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say to my friends. They must be so angry with me.
When I walk inside, everyone is in the living room part of the room, and they all stop talking and stare at me.
"Where have you been?" Sylvie is the first to speak.
I hesitantly walk over to them. "I was in Disney Springs."
"With that Eric guy?" Dylan questions.
"Uh, yeah." I stare at the ground.
"What's up with you and him?"
"What's up with you and Mia?" I snap. They glance at each other quickly.
"Okay, you two can talk about that on your own," Sylvie says to Dylan and I. "Bella, we spent over an hour looking for you. We wasted half of our day, and even missed the fireworks."
"I'm so sorry... I just felt like I needed to get away," I tell them.
"Away from what?" Taylor speaks up. "Us?"
"No...Yes? I don't know!" I struggle with the right words to say. "I promise I'll tell you guys where I am from now on. Can we just continue to enjoy this vacation?"
"As long as you stop running away? Yeah, let's just try to have some fun," Sylvie ends the conversation.
We all get ready for bed and I think about talking to Dylan. We're definitely drifting apart, and I think we need to fix it.
"Hey Dyl? I say before we climb into bed.
He rests both of his hands behind his head, "Look, can we talk about this tomorrow or something? I'm tired and I don't want to say anything I'll regret in the morning."
He doesn't give me a chance to answer as he crawls under the covers, facing away from me. Has he been thinking about breaking up with me?
I get under the blankets as well with my back towards Dylan. I try to fall asleep, but my thoughts overwhelm me. I eventually drift off thinking about the fun day ahead of us at Epcot tomorrow.
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Fun fact: I actually really like drawing. Here's a pic of one of my drawings that won artist of the day at the Art of Animation resort (:
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