Expelled

04 || A Whole New World

"Unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings, soaring, tumbling, freewheeling..."

Sitting in French class, it was all Charlene could do not to completely zone out. She was still freaked out about what had happened earlier in the morning, and having both Lola and Summer in her class didn't help matters one bit, but she needed to keep her grades up, especially if she was—gag—skipping class next period.

Unable to help it, Charlene stole another glance at the large clock hanging in the classroom. 8:50 a.m. Just five more minutes until she was supposed to "escape" the school with Taylor and Madison.

"Charlene, why don't you conjugate avoir for us?" Madame Monet called out. Charlene blanched.

"Uh," she muttered, and heard a few titters from around the room. She quickly collected herself and spit out, "J'ai, tu as, il a, elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont, elles ont!" and crossed her fingers, hoping she hadn't messed up terribly. Madame Monet pursed her lips, but nodded nonetheless.

"Practice your conjugations next time, Charlene," she told her student, stretching "Charlene" to sound like "Charlen".

"I will, Madame Monet. Desolee."

Madame Monet sniffed and looked back at her text book. "Who can conjugate parler for us?" she asked the class. Charlene sighed, hoping against all hopes that for once, Madame Monet would actually let them out on time. But when the clock struck 8:55 and Madame Monet began discussing accents, Charlene realized that it was just too much to wish for. She gathered her things, then raised her hand and stood when Madame Monet nodded at her.

"Excusez-moi, Madame Monet, puis-je aller aux toilettes?" Charlene asked, cursing her lack of French practice with every word she spoke.

"Oui." Madame Monet nodded, then instantly returned to the topic at hand. "Now you see, a grave accent—"

Charlene quickly stood and scrambled out of her seat, not-so-discreetly bringing her bag with her as she stumbled out of the classroom. Taylor and Madison were standing by the door, looking impatient.

"It's about time," Taylor snapped when Charlene finally emerged from Room A45. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Charlene asked, glancing anxiously through the window of Room A45, where Madame Monet was still animatedly going on and on about the grave accent.

"Isn't the surprise the fun part?" Madison's eyes twinkled with genuine joy as she grabbed Charlene's arm and began pulling her down the hall.

"Surprise? What surprise?" Charlene squeaked. Taylor and Madison laughed.

"You'll find out soon enough. Come on, we're going in Madison's car," Taylor told her, rushing the last couple of steps to the front door. Charlene chased after her, making her way past the principal's office and out the front door.

Charlene skidded to a stop and took a deep breath of the cool fall wind as it enveloped her. It was so refreshing compared to the stuffy, humid air of Room A45, also known as Madame Monet's fortress.

"Hurry up, Sleeping Beauty, second period's about to start and we need to get away before then." Taylor stood by a car in the parking lot, tapping her foot impatiently. Charlene jolted out of her trance and hurried down the steps and toward Madison's shiny sports car.

Charlene masked a gasp of awe as she slid into the backseat of Madison's car, admiring the smooth, leather seats and spotless carpet floor. She scooted to the far side when Taylor nudged her, then watched as the other girl sat down on the other end and slammed the door shut behind her.

"To the mall!" Taylor cheered loudly as soon as the door was closed. Charlene blinked.

"The...mall?"

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that?" Taylor asked, half joking, but half not.

"Won't we be kind of...conspicuous? I mean, three teens at the mall in the middle of the school day?" Charlene inquired.

"Not if the store-owners know us," Madison called out from the front seat. "Buckle your seatbelts, kids."

Taylor grumbled, but buckled hers anyway. Charlene's, meanwhile, was already buckled. Madison smirked, then started the car.

X X X

Charlene couldn't help but smile as Madison pulled into the mall parking lot. She was a little on-edge as she walked through the rows of cars already there, but she also felt genuinely happy with friends, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Charlene and Taylor waited by the mall entrance as Madison looked at her car, then checked twice to make sure her car was locked. When the over-anxious girl finally reached them, Taylor pushed open the doors to the mall and ushered the group inside.

"Remember, we only have half an hour," Taylor reminded Charlene and Madison as they stepped over the threshold and were each blasted by a blast of warm air.

"We know." Madison rolled her eyes, then took Charlene's hand. "Charlene, how 'bout some hot cocoa?"

"Sure!" Charlene agreed, feeling giddy. "Where to?"

"Just on the other side of the mall," Madison replied. She paused, taking a moment to re-apply her lip gloss in the window of the nearby toy shop—much to the annoyance of the salesgirl fixing the window display—then started off at a brisk walk. Charlene hurried to follow, and Taylor was right on her heels.

The girls made their way through the mall, laughing over funny anecdotes that filled Charlene with an indescribable combination of feelings—something between joy, fear, and elation. From the outside, they must've looked like the perfect group of friends going shopping on an in-service day at some far-away private school. From the outside, they didn't look like school-skipping delinquents.

"Hey, Madison, are you sure you know where this place is?" Taylor asked after a couple minutes of twists and turns. Madison visibly rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Taylor, I'm not stupid," she huffed. Taylor held up her hands in mock-defense.

"Wow, calm down, I was just asking," she retorted. Charlene, however, managed to ignore all this, too distracted by the pop-up shop nearby with the huge poster reading "TWO HOT COCOAS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! TODAY ONLY!". Or rather, by the customer waiting at the end of the line. Her mother.