To Be Whole

Chapter 1: The First Day

Hi, guys! I'm Ani. Because I'm on a nostalgic Disney kick, I'd been looking at Disney fanart and stumbled across Pinocchio/Alice fanart. I thought those two would be perfect together! Not to mention that I don't see as many stories featuring them (or characters like Mowgli, Peter Pan, etc.) as main characters. So now I've been inspired to write a Pinocchio fic (with eventual Pinocchio/Alice). 

Asterisk * Note: The term "Nonno" (according to my research) is the Italian word for "grandfather." Since Pinocchio was originally written by an Italian, I figured why not pay some homage to his Italian heritage? I plan on doing something similar for the other Disney characters I feature in this story: by giving them some ties rooted in the original settings for their stories.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize as being from Disney. I'm merely "borrowing" these characters for fun.

And now without further ado... I hope you enjoy this story!

"I'll be here at 3:05 to pick you up," said an elderly white-haired, bespectacled man sitting in the driver's seat of his truck. "Try to relax and enjoy your first day. You might make some new friends."

"I'll try, Nonno*," replied a teenage boy who then gathered his backpack and opened the door. With a hesitant smile, Pinocchio waved goodbye at his grandfather Geppetto as he climbed out of the truck and turned his apprehensive gaze towards his new school. Walter E. Disney Academy. 'This is it,' he thought. 'No turning back.' As the morning sun shone on the school building and the surrounding dewy grass, throngs of students milled about the campus, some catching up with friends, and others walking inside.

Pinocchio still couldn't get over the fact that Geppetto and he had to move, but he knew that it was necessary given their financial circumstances. And because of that, the young boy hardly knew a single soul here. His grandfather wanted him enrolled as soon as possible to give him a chance at a normal routine again. Since Pinocchio had only toured his new school once, he was sure he'd forgotten much of the layout already.
'I hope I don't get lost. That would suck,' he nervously mused, then shook his head. All he had to do was look at the room numbers on the classroom doors and match them up to the numbers on his schedule. If he got turned around somehow, then he'd look for a teacher and ask for help.

And Pinocchio didn't even want to think about what would happen when everyone here finally found out he had a— He forced himself to cut off the thought as he looked down at himself, making sure he looked presentable. His yellow T-shirt and black denim vest were crisp and clean, and his dark red pants and black shoes perfectly hid the feature that was the subject of his apprehension — his left leg. 'Good,' he nodded to himself. 'No one will be able to tell... for now.'

With that, Pinocchio pushed open the large front doors and entered the school. More students lingered in the hallways chatting. He found himself inside a hallway that appeared to go in some sort of square or circle, with a few flights of stairs placed here and there. 'Oh, yeah,' he remembered. 'The hallways run in a circle here. If I get lost, I can always cycle back around. Not like the maze of my old school. Now that took some getting used to.' Glancing down at his schedule again, Pinocchio continued to search for his homeroom. Judging by the numbers, the nervous blue-eyed boy was sure he was getting closer –

"Oof!" Pinocchio felt himself crash into something. Or someone, rather. His schedule flew from his hand and drifted to the floor. He looked at the fallen paper briefly, then at the pair of black Mary-Janes standing near it. His eyes then trailed up, past the black polka dotted tights, ruffled denim skirt, and short-sleeve blue tee layered over thin black and white striped long sleeves. Quickly his gaze flew up to the pale yet rosy cheeks, sheepish smile, and clear blue eyes blinking back at him.