Once Upon A Time High

Chapter Ten

MULAN

Mulan Fa was hopelessly headstrong. When she made up her mind on something, she followed through no matter how long it took her or how hard she had to work to make it happen. She wasn't very good at accepting what she couldn't change. Unfortunately, despite her stubbornness and need to make some sort of difference, she was clumsy, forgetful, and childish.

But it was these qualities that endeared her to others; her honest responses to circumstances delighted and amused her friends and family. It seemed as though the sweet seventeen year old was a contradiction, her very own yin and yang. The determined, serious side of her battling with the quirky, funny, laid-back side. On the rare, magical day that her opposing natures coexisted, there wasn't a more enchanting, inspiring, and powerful girl alive.

The night of Naveen's heavily anticipated party, the war inside the young woman was in full swing.

It had started early that morning when the dark haired beauty had spent an extra twenty minutes getting ready, which was extremely out of character for her, only to drop her hot bowl of oatmeal, coating herself and the floor with warm, lumpy breakfast food. Because of this, she was late to school and all of her hard work had gone to waste.

She showed up at half past eight in a plain white t-shirt, grey sweats, and an old pair of sneakers that were held together by vibrant blue duct tape. Not to mention, a large gauzy pad covering the angry gash that ran from her thumb, across her palm, to her pinky. The broken glass hadn't been kind to her.

Despite her less than satisfactory morning, the bright teen was optimistic about the rest of her day. She just knew that it would be an unforgettable day.

"Ms. Fa, I trust you have a late slip," A short, busty woman with long dark hair and a striking resemblance to the megastar, Cher, demanded as Mulan entered her history class. She quickly handed the moody teacher a pink slip and slid into her seat. The bubbly redhead beside her waited for Ms. Gothel to turn her back before greeting her friend.

"Hey, why were you late?" She asked in a loud, concerned whisper, after receiving only a tired shrug from the Asian beauty, she continued, "Are you excited for tonight? I'm so psyched. I mean, it would have been nice to have a date for the party, but I guess it's our tradition to go solo, right?"

Mulan bit back a laugh at the crestfallen looks on three different faces of guys who had heard Ariel's momentary plea for a date. Mulan found it far too funny how blissfully unaware Ariel was of her effect on the male species. It also seemed a bit cruel how her best friend could easily get ten dates, but she couldn't even carry on a conversation with the guy she liked. Sure, she was great at talking boys, so long as they weren't good looking.

Flynn Rider seemed to be the perfect specimen of a man and Mulan couldn't even remember how to breathe when in the same room as him. He was long and lean with a touch of stubble and silky, yet always tousled, brown locks. The best part? He was nineteen and wasn't stuck in school like the rest of them; he had freedom. A concept that the determined young woman craved even more than affection.

She wished that she could decide, at the drop of a hat, to go on an exploration of the United States or get a tattoo of spiky, blue dragon on her back. Unfortunately, she was still in high school and had to play by the rules for another year before she could begin to truly start living her life.

The day passed rather uneventfully, much to her relief, and Mulan tingled with nervous energy as she crossed in Naveen's mansion, dressed a bit glitzier than she would have liked.

"Hey, I was just about to come find you, apparently, there's some team bonding out by the bar. I figured, since you're new and all, you might want to join." Phoebus offered as soon as he spotted her.