Walt Disney Academy

ten

Wednesday, September 4th

M O A N A

"...'n' Elsa just said 'that's rich comin' fae a douchebag that likelie watches lesbian porn afore he sleeps at night', isnae that wicked? Then he stairted huffing 'n' bolted oot o' class lik' a glaikit feartie-cat. Serves him richt, th' fud," Merida rambled passionately to me as we made our way down to breakfast.

As she told me about what happened in her English class yesterday, I started clenching my jaw harder and harder, getting to the point where I thought it was going to break. Gaston and I have always had a horrible relationship and it all started when we realized we were born on the same day, July 1st. This meant that we were the oldest in our grade, meaning next year, we'd both be the oldest in the Academy. We've never been able to see who was born first as Gaston claims that his mother 'doesn't know where his birth certificate is'. (If I was his mother, I wouldn't want to keep his birth certificate either, to be fair.) I told myself that I was not going to completely pummel him to his death after what he said about the LGBTQ+ community yesterday. Merida and I have dealt with homophobic pricks before, why should he be the lucky one that gets beaten until he can't breathe?

"...Ye would've wacked th' eyebrows aff o' him, richt darlin'?"

I blinked a few times, bringing myself back to reality. I smiled at Merida and lifted up our intertwined hands, kissing the back of her small, pale one.

"Of course, love."

We shared a smile and slid into our seats across from Nani and David.

"I can't wait until swimming tryouts tomorrow," He told us, grabbing a handful of berries and plopping them into his bowl. He grasped a pot of strawberry yoghurt and poured it over his fruit, digging his fork in. "I've been away from the water for so long... I've been living in the shower since Sunday afternoon."

He seemed to be enjoying his fruit and yoghurt, so I decided to try it for breakfast too, breaking my usual habit of having blueberry pancakes and syrup.

"It's true," Nani agreed, stealing a few raspberries from David's bowl. "He's blown me off twice to sit in the shower and stare at the tiles."

Merida snorted from beside me.

"You know I love you," He promised, pulling her in closer to his side. She rolled her eyes as he lightly rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

"I love you too," She mumbled into his shoulder, pressing a quick peck against his skin. Merida suddenly grabbed my face, pulling me closer to her. She pressed a kiss against my lips and muttered, "Na wey in hell am ah third-wheeling they twa lovebirds whin mah ain bonny lassie is sittin' richt by me."

My heart softened slightly at her words and I leaned in again for another quick peck. "You're cool."

"Oi, Americans," David clapped, making the two of us pull away from each other. "What class do you have next?"

"Ah think tis business studies wi' Mrs Davis," Merida guessed, taking a gulp of cranberry juice.

"Wait, Merida, you took business this year? I thought you hated it last year," Nani asked, her head resting against David's shoulder.

"Ah did aye, bit ma wanted me tae tak' it again this year, ye ken whit she's lik'. Forby, if ah fail it this year, ah cannae tak' it neist year." She smirked at Nani, who didn't seem to think flunking business studies was the best approach to the new school year.

"I have magic control," I groaned, cramming the remainder of my fruit into my mouth. It's safe to say I was absolutely dreading going back into Maui's classroom after he snapped at us on Monday. I mean, I was one of the main people who were arguing against the teacher, and I didn't want him to give us another 'You guys are the students, I'm the teacher' lectures.

"I better get going, Maui's classroom is one hell of a walk away. Bye, Mer," I said lowly to my girlfriend, kissing the top of her fiery curls. "E hopu mai iā 'oe ma hope mai," I told David and Nani, sticking my tongue out at them. I grabbed my bag and hopped out of my seat, heading towards the doors out of the dinner hall.

"Your pronunciation sucks, Waialiki!" David shouted after me over the noise of the other students. I smiled to myself and continued walking, shouldering the straps of my bag.

***

"Welcome back, Juniors," Maui said blankly as we filed into class, filling up the front row. Violet and I glanced at each other worriedly from across the room, and I could see that beside her, even Peter was biting his lip slightly. "I owe you all an apology."

My eyes widened and I subconsciously started tapping my foot against the floor. The eight of us all shared a confused look for a moment before turning our attention back to Maui.

"No, Sir, we owe you an apology. We shouldn't have argued against you-" Rapunzel started, but he chuckled quietly and smiled at her.

"It's okay, Rapunzel, you don't have to apologize. The truth is, I got very defensive because I have a magical object that gives me my magic." From under his desk, he pulled out a giant fish hook that was covered in all sorts of cool black carvings and markings. I had no idea how he managed to hide it under his desk.

"What does it do?" Andrina questioned hesitantly, sitting further back in her seat. He closed his eyes and suddenly turned into a furry, grey cat. Even for the eight of us, the only people in our year that had powers, this was different. A few seconds later, he turned back into his human form and smiled proudly at us.

"Shapeshifting," He told us, "Some of you may not know that I'm a demigod, so this is my truth. I got so defensive last lesson because... I almost killed someone with this hook. I was angry and things got out of control and... yeah. I do agree with you all, if anyone has a magical object in their possession, dangerous or not, they should have to take this class. Is there somebody in the Academy you know that has a magical lamp or a magical carpet?" He asked Hercules, hiding his fish hook away under his desk again. The ginger boy shook his head.

"It was hypothetical," He simply informed, and I saw Maui slowly nod his head in believement.

"You guys have been truthful with me over the years, so you deserve the same level of honesty. Mistakes happen and we must keep working on control and learning from ourselves, and I sincerely apologise to each of you for being so defensive and - bluntly - stupid. Now, I know it's early on in the year, but I want you guys to start a project on your powers. Ariel and Andrina, you can pair up and complete yours on the life of a mermaid, okay? Rapunzel and Peter, you two are together to do about your different types of Energy magic, Violet and Kida, you pair up to speak about your different forms of Intelligence magic and then your separate forms of Energy and Psionic magic. Hercules and Moana, you two will be telling us about Elemental magic and Superhuman magic, okay? Your projects will be due in two weeks, so use the time you have wisely."

I glimpsed past my classmate's heads to meet Hercules's eyes. He gave me a thumbs up and I relaxed in my seat, thankful I was paired up with a good partner.

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okay i've concluded that im just meshing together american high school and british high school, its a compromise?? - skate

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