Jenny & The UnderDisney

One

     "Can we go check out Tom Sawyer Island?" Jenny asked, with the relentless enthusiasm of a librarian trying to get permission to peruse a historical text.

     Katie, Jenny's loyal but significantly less tolerant of boring attractions friend, sighed heavily. "Jenny, there's nothing to do over there. You said it yourself, it's dull. We only have a half hour until our Pirates passes are ripe. Why don't we go get some food or see a character?"

     Jenny, who had already been checking her app for interesting events nearby was quick to retort: "There aren't any characters out right now that we haven't already seen, and I'm not hungry. I have a snack bar in my bag if you want that. Come on, Katie, let's go explore the subtle and nuanced racism of Injun Joe's cave!" Jenny's giddy joy overwhelmed Katie who smiled and relented. Together they walked to Frontierland, where they were shocked to find a group of grumbling parents and their perpetually bewildered toddlers.

     "How can it be closed?! It's just a place you walk around." Huffed a Mom wearing the wrong foundation in the Florida heat causing it to run down her face like a plastic doll melting under a hair dryer.

     "There's no rain in the forecast today." A Dad wearing a chest-baby announced to the crowd. "What could be the problem?"

     "Oh bummer," Katie sarcastically groaned, "Guess it's closed. Let's go hunt down some dole whip." But Jenny was already squeezing her way to the front of the crowd, eager to get a look at the closed sign. It was strange for an attraction to be listed as open on her app but be closed in person. Surely something interesting was going on.

     The complaints died down and the crowd slowly dispersed, allowing Jenny to scrutinize the sign. It was an old wooden sign, probably a relic from the pre-internet days. She snapped a photo of it on her phone and turned back to Katie.

     "Alright, we can go as soon as I get some video of this." Jenny said, beginning to film. Katie sighed and nodded.

     " Well, I'm just going to go to the coin press machine at the railroad to add another penny to my collection. Meet me there when you're done?" Katie asked as she began to back up slowly, not eager to be filmed because today's heat was frizzing her hair.

     "Yeah, be right there." Jenny said distractedly, trying to film the empty dock. She had collected all the footage she wanted and began to head over to the infamous railroad coin press machine when suddenly she heard a sound, like a whisper but melodic. It was like someone was singing or chanting, and they were chanting her name.

     "Jenny, Jenny, Jenny come here..." The musical voice whispered from behind a pine tree.

     "Uh, nope. That's spooky. Gonna have to go with no on that one." Jenny told the tree. It laughed and rustled, and a grinning man leaned out from behind it.

     "Steve!" Jenny scolded playfully. "I thought you were working in Tommorrowland."

     "I got moved to cover a shortage for today." Steve said, shaking his head and continuing to give her a dopey smile. His smile was one of this things that made him such a great Disney cast member. "What are you doing here?" He asked without leaving the shade of his tree.

     "I was going to go to Tom Sawyer Island, but it's closed." She said pointedly. Steve tilted his head.

    "Huh, that's weird!" Steve said. "Well if you want, I can take you on a tour of the cast tunnels under here. I know there are still some people on the island, and if I can find the tunnel that leads under the river you can just blend in with them!" Jenny was skeptical, but intrigued.