Chapter 6. Prince William Charming

Allison sat down next to Mulan.

She wasn't exactly sure why she decided to sit next to a potentially hostile girl who had a potentially dangerous dragon, and Mulan didn't seem to know why, either.

If Mulan was surprised, she didn't show it besides raising an eyebrow. "What do you want?" she asked, as if they were old buddies.

If fairy tales were real, which Allison sure they were not, they were old buddies...technically.

"Uh--what do you mean?"

"For dinner, of course. There's anything you want up at the buffet. I'll get the stuff for you as long as you save my spot."

Mulan glanced off towards the right, then back at Allison. "Please, just hurry. I'll get your food."

"Oh, um--"

Mulan bounced up and down as if she was eager to go. "Allison, come on..."

"Potatoes," Allison said. "Orange juice. Steak. Chicken salad." She wasn't sure where those foods had come from, but they seemed like an obvious choice.

"Really?" Mulan said softly. "That was--" she glanced towards her right again. "--okay, never mind, I'll get your food."

Then she raced off.

Allison wondered why Mulan was so eager to go. Was there something wrong with something or somebody on the right?

Allison didn't have any stuff to watch over. It hurt to realize that her backpack, which had carried her stuff for all those years, was gone. Mulan didn't have anything, either.

"Hey, girl."

Allison glanced up and saw the most handsome face she had ever seen.

A lean, buff guy with short blond hair slicked back grinned at her, displaying a perfect set of thirty-two gleaming white teeth. He had that good surfer-like look, tanned, but not too tanned, sauntering a little like the leader of a gang would saunter.

He wore a simple blue T-shirt which brought out the color of his eyes, a light bottle blue. Allison knew what bottle-green was...but bottle blue...it looked like the ocean when sun caught a rising wave. It was impossible to describe.

His smile was ridiculously good-looking, no doubt driving any girl who saw him into nuts. He wore blue jeans and white sneakers.

The guy looked like Ken from Barbie.

Allison could only stare at the dude. He was simply awesome. So awesome that she wanted to marry him.

No. The guy's looks were charming her. She slapped her face once and pinched her wrist. It hurt.

"Girl, you and I've got some catching up to do. We were real good back then."

Allison glanced at the buffet table. She wished that Mulan would hurry up with the food. If the reason Mulan left was because of this guy, Allison definitely wanted to do the same.

"Hey," the guy said. His voice was rich and light at the same time, drawing Allison back to him. "Where's my manners? The name's William Charming. Prince William Charming." He leaned against Allison's table, still grinning. "And, of course, you're the beautiful Snow White."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Allison said, putting her hands up. "I'm not Snow White. You can't be William Charming. As in--"

"The William Charming?"

"--yeah, the one from the fairy tales. Fairy tales aren't real--"

"Uh-uh. Totally not true, girl." William Charming leaned in closer, and Allison backed away.

"That's close enough. I barely know you."

Charming winked at her. "You ain't need to worry, girl. You'll soon see that I'm the right dude for you."

Allison had a bad feeling of what 'the right dude' for her meant. "What do you mean, the right dude for me?"

"Oh, sweetie--"

Charming was interrupted by a shout across the room. Both he and Allison glanced at the doorway.

Jason was standing there. "Hey!" Jason yelled again. "Hey! Get away from my girl!"

Charming seemed shocked. "What?"

"Yeah, you, buff guy!" Jason shouted. "Get away from her! She's my girl!"

Allison regarded both of them with a mixture disbelief and anger. Jason started striding down the aisle, pointing at Charming. "Get away from her! No flirting! She's mine!"

"What--" Allison started.

"Don't talk to him, Allison!" Jason yelled. He turned back to Charming. "Don't get any closer to my girl--"

"I," Allison snarled, "am not anyone's girl!" Her blood roared in her ears, and she stood up. "I repeat--I'm not anyone's girl!"

"You're mine," Charming said stupidly, as if that helped matters.

"No!" Jason yelled again. "You're mine!"

The shouting match was arousing the attention of the people eating at the tables. Slowly, the chatter and the clink of silverware faded.

"No, I called her first!" Charming shouted, waving his hands around.

"No, I met her first!"

"Technically, I met her during World War I, so I met her first!"

"I don't care! You're too old for her!"

"I don't care about age! You're too stupid for her!"

"Says the guy who--"

"Shut up!" Allison yelled. "Stop it, you two!" She slammed her palm down on top of the table. "I'm not anyone's girl and I mean it! Don't treat me like a piece of meat! Or money!"

"She's right," both Charming and Jason said at the same time.

They glared at each other.

Allison wanted to kick both of the boys in the shin. She wanted to stick something up Charming's nose and something down Jason's throat.

Mulan came back from the buffet, carrying two trays of steaming steak and potatoes. "What's--"

She blushed as she saw Charming. "Oh gosh," she muttered.

Charming turned towards her. "Moo-moo cow, we were just discussing Little Miss Allison here."

Mulan turned a fiery shade of tomato red. "Don't call me Moo-moo cow," she said, her voice wavering, her hands clenched into fists.

Charming wiggled his eyebrows at Allison, who scowled and put an arm over Mulan. Mulan shivered, but didn't complain.

"Get lost, both of you," Allison snapped. The boys did not move.

"I said--get lost! And stop making fun of Mulan!"

Jason backed away an inch, but Charming stayed at the table, still grinning stupidly.

Allison slapped her fist onto the table. "Get away from us!"

Charming reluctantly stood up. "Alright, girl, but if you wanna follow up on me..." He handed Allison a large white business card.

Allison's hand involuntarily closed around the card, and she felt herself tuck it into a jacket pocket. "Go away," she said.

Charming went away. Jason glanced hesitantly at Allison before following.

There was a sudden squealing at one end of the cafeteria, and the now-unmistakable voice of Prince William Charming protesting.

"Whoa, girls, stop! Girls, I need to go!"

Allison and Mulan turned. Charming was surrounded by a group of half a dozen teenage girls--all wearing carefree summer skirts and leather sandals, lightly colored T-shirts matching fashionably with their dresses.

"I hate them," Mulan muttered, gritting her teeth. She seemed on the verge of tears.

As Allison watched, one of the teenagers, a girl with platinum blonde hair, a pleated sky-blue skirt, and a white blouse fluttered her eyelashes at Charming flirtingly. She had a dainty blue ribbon braided into her hair, baby blue eyes, and a delicate, beautiful expression. She wore leather sandals with light blue beads on the brass buckles.

The blue girl laughed and fluttered her eyelashes again. Charming looked like he was about to hurl. Allison caught snips of conversation.

"Uh, Cindy...please move..."

"Hi, William..."

"Cindy, can you move...?"

"Hi, William..."

Another girl, this one with a striking pink T-shirt and a white skirt embroidered with roses, giggled, clapping her hands. She had short bright red hair and violet eyes, looking no less insane than the first girl. She had a magenta headband in her hair, pink sneakers and pink socks.

"Briar, please...I need to eat dinner.

"Hi, William..."

"Don't play that game with me!"

"Hi, William..." Another girl, this one with dark brown hair and a light green dress, bounced to the front of the group. Her dark chestnut hair flowed smoothly down the back of her ornate dress, pinched at the waist and decorated all over with a pattern of pea plants. She, like Cindy, wore sandals, except they were green all over.

Allison glanced around the group. There were several others: a girl wearing a sulky expression, with dark blond hair and stormy gray eyes, a silver dress, silver boots on her feet and silver clips in her hair. Another girl, with dull blond hair (there seemed to be a lot of blondes in the group), who was riding on...a lion? Her hair was cinched into a ponytail with a black rubber band, and she had jeans and a blouse on in a somewhat fashionable way.

"Princesses," Mulan spat.

"Princesses?" Allison asked incredulously. She wasn't sure she had heard right. "You mean princesses as in princesses?"

Mulan looked at her like she had sprouted a third eye. "Yes, princesses as in princesses."

"But..."

"Oh, they're real. Mushu is real. I am real. That means they are real." She scowled in the direction of Prince William Charming again.

"Oh."

Mulan glanced at Allison. "Um...and I should say...thanks. For standing up for me."

Allison blushed. "Oh, uh--"

The two girls laughed simultaneously, and Allison had a feeling that her stay in the hospital wouldn't be that bad.

She was friends with Mulan now. And that wasn't too bad, either.