Scene 29 - At last the weekend has arrived and everyone has decided to get together and explore the city. The DC students have a full day planned, but it starts with the much awaited shopping spree...

Once they reached downtown, they found a long street with lots of different stores. Clothes, books, musical instruments, video games... Everything your heart desired!

They all agreed to do whatever they wanted, then meet by the lamp post at noon to go to the amusement park.

Ariel squealed as the street rose before her. Instantly her eyes zeroed in on a boutique called 'Smooch'. She pointed at it for no one in particular and said out loud "I will be there if you need me".

Ana couldn't believe all the stores in front of her. Ariel seemed to have found what looked like a high-end boutique, but Ana saw a store several feet from it called 'Pink' with several large 'sale' signs in front. Since she didn't know what to do, she looked around at those with her. "Anyone want to go to Pink?" she asked timidly.

Aurora gazed at all the stores, not even sure where to start. When Ana suggested one called 'Pink,' she replied, "Sure."

Shang ignored the girls' squealing over clothing stores and looked around. He still wasn't sure how he ended up coming along, except that he needed school supplies. Noticing a book store, he headed towards it, leaving the others behind.

Phillip had decided to accompany the freshman on their tour through the city. He knew the city like no other and had been hoping for a distraction this weekend anyway. As he slipped on his sunglasses, he looked around with a small sigh. "I need to go to the bookstore and find a book," he announced.

Jane was still looking around when Phillip said the magic word. Her head turned. "Bookstore?"

"It's just down the street," Phillip said with a smile. "You're welcome to join me... I assure you you'll find any book you're looking for."

Jane had already made up her mind. She adjusted her bag on her shoulders and followed Phillip.


Hercules had just gotten there and he was already bored. Boutiques, clothes, books.... Not exactly his thing. He considered sitting outside in the sun and waiting for everyone to finish shopping, until... he saw the sign.

SPORTSZONE.

Hercules' face lit up like a little school boy who had just been offered candy. "I have found my heaven," he announced to the group. "Find me at the sports store!" he said before running off eagerly.

"Bah, sports," Naveen muttered. "Who needs sports when there is... music!" He pointed straight at the music store with a grin on his face. "Now that is a store worth visiting! I must go visit the jazz section at this very instant..."

He ran off, a little voice in his head reminding him that he had no money to spend. But that was just a minor detail.

At first Belle couldn't decide where to go. Clothes, sports, and music all held her interest, so she stood looking at the stores trying to make a choice, but when Phillip said that there was a bookstore, that was the deciding vote.

She made her way over to Phillip and Jane. "I'll come with you to the bookstore. They're my favorite shoppes, especially the second hand ones because you never know what treasures you'll find in them."

Gaston rolled his eyes when Phillip and Jane started talking about the bookstore - yeah, like THAT'S a really fun place he thought.

Then Hercules mentioned Sportzone, and Gaston perked up. That's more like it! He followed Herc inside and gaped at all the aisles and aisles of sports equipment.

"Wow, they don't have anything like this in my home town!" he said to Hercules. "Man, I could buy out this whole store!"

If I had the money, that is, he thought a bit wistfully, looking at the $150 cleats. He did need new ones, though... Finally he settled on a $30 pair.

Snow gazed at all the stores, her eyes wide with excitement. She reached into her red purse and pulled out her credit card, running her fingers over the glossy front. She smiled wide, looked up, and saw a store. A store called Pink. "I like pink!!!" she sang out, and hurried into the store. Pink filled her vision. Literally. Everything was pink. The people who worked there wore pink. The lady behind the counter even dyed her hair pink! Wow, they sure take their jobs seriously! she thought, grabbing a pink dress with dark pink straps and running into a changing stall.

Pocahontas and Jasmine looked around as they saw everyone heading off to the several stores around the area.

"I think I'm going to head over to Smooch. What about you?" asked Jasmine.

"The music store looks interesting. I think I'll go over there." said Pocahontas.

"Come with me to Smooch first. Make you'll see something you like. If you don't find anything you like then you know you tried." said Jasmine.

"That store looks too expensive for me. I'm going to head over to the music store." said Pocahontas.

"I guess you're right. I forgot about prices. Well I'll see you at the amusment park." said Jasmine.

Pocahontas nodded and headed off to the music store while Jasmine headed into Smooch.

[Book store]

Jane gasped at the mountains and mountains of books in front of her as soon as she entered the store. Books in every shape and color, as well as huge colorful signs flashing the magic word: 'SALES'.

Phillip glanced at his watch before turning to Jane. "Well, I need to go to the Economy section. If you're looking for the Natural Sciences section, just go down that corridor and turn left," he advised.

Without wasting time, Jane followed his directions and eagerly approached the section, her heart pounding faster as she raced past the hundreds of books.

--
[Sports store]

Back at the sports store, Hercules had followed Gaston to the shoe section, though he wasn't particularly interested in it. Once Gaston had chosen his pair, he dragged his friend along to the gym section.

He gazed at all the machines in awe. "Wow," he muttered as he walked up to the latest Yukon Raptor Home Gym System. "Wouldn't you just love to have one of these at home? We could, like, work out and study at the same time! It would be awesome!"

He sat down on the machine and started exercising his pectorals. "So..." He breathed in and out slowly as he felt his muscles work. "Have you heard about Eric and Jane?"

[sports store]

Gaston stared in awe at the gym equipment. That really WOULD be awesome to have in the dorm room!

Then the rest of what Hercules had said registered on him. "No, what?" he said curiously.

Hercules stopped working on the machine then leaned forward. "Seriously? You don't know? Man, I thought the whole SCHOOL would know by now!"

He got over the machine and walked over to the treadmill. "Jane and Eric are... you know... together. More than friends. Girlfriend and boyfriend. That sort of thing." He shrugged.

"Wow, that was fast!" Gaston grinned, pleased with himself. "You know who's responsible for that, don't you? ME! I told her to kiss me at the party to make Eric jealous. She totally owes me one!"

Hercules gasped. "Seriously? That's how you got her to kiss you?" He laughed. "And all this time I thought you had slipped something into her drink..." He gave Gaston a pat on the shoulder. "You matchmaker, you!"

He jumped onto the treadmill and switched it on. The mat began rolling very slowly. "Last night was a pretty interesting party... Hey, did you meet the new girl, Meg?" Hercules stopped the machine and leaned over the bar. "Man, she was really something."

"New girl? Really?" Damn - how had Gaston missed a chance to show off and check out a new (and probably hot) girl? "What's she like?"

"Tall, skinny... and with this big hair," Hercules described, waving his hands around his head to emphasize his point. "Man, and her eyes... The kind of eyes you'll never forget!"

He jumped off the treadmill and started looking at the shelf with all the different weights. "Maybe I can introduce you to her... If I ever see her again." He looked back at Gaston. "Did you do anything interesting last night... apart from getting Jane to kiss you, of course?"

"Nah, not really," Gaston said, looking over the weights as well. "These are great, wish I could buy them all! I'm thinking of seeing if I can get a campus job at the college gym - that'd be fun. I'd get to work out all the time!"

"Luckily I get a scholarship," Hercules replied. "You know, being an exchange student and all. Of course it means I have to pass all my classes," he added with a sigh. "I have no idea how I'm going to do that."

He walked over to a different section where there was a huge basket with balls inside. He grabbed a basketball. "Is everyone around here like Jane? Because in Greece we just study two days before the exam... Head's up!" He threw the ball at Gaston.

Gaston caught it easily and tossed it back. "I don't know about anybody else, but I'm with you!" he said. "At home I never studied. I'm worried about passing too. Didn't Jane say she was going to form some kind of study group or something? We should ask her about that."

Hercules bounced the ball then tossed it back into the basket. "I doubt Jane will have time for any of that now that she has a boyfriend," he pointed out.

He grabbed a bat and swung it in the air. "Who else do we know that's smart?"

Gaston thought about it. "All I can think of is Eric, but that's the same problem as Jane then. But I don't know, I think Jane would still do the study group. I mean, school is her favorite thing EVER. Even with a boyfriend, I don't see her getting all giggly and flirty like Ariel."

That made him pause. "Speaking of which...I think I heard Ariel say she was going to the clothes store. I'm gonna go catch up with her. I'll see you later, okay?" He waved and headed out the door.

[Smooch clothing store]

Gaston headed into the clothing store and looked around, but didn't see Ariel right away. Man, this place is way too girly, he thought, feeling uncomfortable among the racks of dresses and halter tops.

His eye fell on a skimpy red dress with holes cut out on the sides. Wow, Ariel would look hot in this! he thought, looking at the price tag.

"That's a little small for you, don't you think?" a voice said.

Startled, Gaston whirled around to see a teenage salesgirl chewing gum and watching him. "ME? Uh, no, I wouldn't wear THAT! I mean, I'm a guy and all," he stammered. Did she really think he was one of "those" men?

The girl laughed. "Chill out, I was joking! I wouldn't think a hot guy like you would be buying that for himself!" She smiled. "Want me to model it for you?" she offered flirtatiously.

Gaston was slightly tempted...but the girl was clearly only in high school, so he realized it was a bad idea. "No thanks. I was just looking for a girl."

The girl's smiled widened. "Well, you're in luck. I'm off in half an hour, if you can wait."

Gaston chuckled. I'm so irresistible, he thought happily. "Sorry, but you're a little too young for me! I meant I was looking for the girl I was with. Long red hair...you see her?"

The girl sighed with disappointment. "Yeah, she went into in one of the dressing rooms. I'm sure she'll be out in a minute."

"Great." Gaston hoped Ariel would come out wearing something as sexy as that red dress he was looking at. Then, remembering the last time he'd described a girl as a redhead, he hoped it WAS in fact Ariel in the dressing room and not Ana. Well, he'd have to wait and see.

Jasmine found a few dresses she liked and went into one of the changing rooms to try them on.

[Music store]

Pocahontas walked inside seeing the instruments, cases, manuals, etc.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many instruments in one store before." thought Pocahontas.

She headed over to the drums, as she remembered playing them in her old high school band. She hoped the music club would start soon. She just loved singing and playing the drums. And if everyone was as talented on their instruments as they were at singing, they'd have a great band as well.

[Book Store]

After noticing the size of the bookstore, Belle happily headed towards one of the rows of books. Phillip hadn't been kidding about the size of the bookstore. She thought she had seen a lot of books in her life, but this store was massive. She grinned, feeling just like a kid in a candy store. She wandered down the romance section, glanced to if there was anything new from one of her favorite authors and seeing there wasn't, headed over to the fiction section to check if any of her favorite authors had released anything lately. Belle always felt at home in a bookstore.

On her way over there, she passed the Natural Sciences section. Seeing Jane there, she headed down the row. "Isn't this book store amazing, Jane? I've never seen this many books in one store and I've been in some big book stores in San Francisco."

Jane was feverishly flipping the pages of a Science book when Belle joined her. She didn't even bother to look up. "Oh, this is wonderful! I found this book about gorillas! It has everything! Their evolution, their behavior, their eating habits, their habitats... oh, and a whole chapter about their interaction with humans!" She held the book up and showed Belle one of the pages. "Isn't it amazing? Why, I could sit down right here and spend the rest of the day reading all of this!"

"I know," Belle sighed blissfully at that thought. "There's many a time where I could just do nothing but read a book the whole day. I've been known to read a really good book thats over 750 pages in just two days."

[Pink]


Snow stepped out of the changing room and bounced over to a mirror. Ooh, I like it! she thought, grinning and turning around. She changed back into her normal clothes and bought the dress. She left the store looked around, and saw a store called Le Candy Shop. Yummy! she thought, walking into the store.

[Le Candy Shop]

She pressed her face up to the glass case, picking out everything. In the end, she bought 5 chocolate bars, 12 packs of gummy bears, and 1 mini cake. She left the store, then entered the book store.

[Pink]

Aurora entered the store, but was temporarily stopped when she noticed everything was pink. 'At least the store's name isn't misleading,' she thought as she headed further into the store. Browsing, she found a long pale pink skirt and a hot-pink dress and went to find the dressing rooms.


[Bookstore]

After finding what he needed(including a schedule book to keep track of his school work), Shang headed towards the History section. A book about the Civil War immediately caught his eye and he picked it up to browse through it.

[Bookstore]


Snow glanced around. There were so many books there! She walked along aisles of books, trying to find the one section she wanted. She ran her finger along the spines, too lost in her own thoughts to watch where she was going. Because of that, she walked smack into Jane and Belle. "Oh!" she said, walking back a few steps. "Hi guys! What kind of books are you looking for?" she asked them.

"Hi there, Snow." Belle smiled at the other girl. "I was on my way to the fiction section or fine lit to see if any of my favorite authors had any new releases. How about you?"

"I was looking for the Fairy Tale/Fantasy section," Snow replied. "Though I can't seem to find it. Do either of you have any idea where it is?" she asked.

"Hmmm...I think most fairy tales are usually located near the children's section or young adults' section, if not in them," Belle told Snow. "I'm sure this store has to have them. Why not try looking there?"

She glanced around quickly. "THere's the children's section over there. The Fairy tales have got to be around that."

"Okay, thanks!" Snow chirped, and headed in that direction. Ah, here it is! she thought as she approached the sign with big words saying, Fairy Tales. She squinted at the spines of the books, looking for one that seemed like something she would like. "Ooh, how about this!" she said to no one in particular, grabbing a book with the words, 'Jack and the Beanstalk' off the shelf. She sat down on a couch in the back of the room and began to read the thin book.

[Book store]

With her book held against her chest, Jane passed onto a new section. Her mouth was open the whole time, as she looked up at all the books and tried to catch an interesting title.

She was so distracted that she did not realize she was about to bump into someone until... she actually bumped into him.

"Omph, I'm awfully sorry," she apologised quickly. When the man turned, Jane seemed to recognise. "Oh! It's... it's you!" She slipped her book under her arm and held out your hand. "I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Jane Porter, exchange student from London, England. You were at the party last night, but... well... it was an awfully strange night all together," she said with a small uncomfortable chuckle.

Shang was so distracted by the book that he didn't notice someone was walking his way until she bumped into him. He recognized her from last night's party, but hadn't met her. He smiled as she apologized and introduced herself. "It's okay. No damage done," he said as he shook her hand. "I'm Shang Li."

"Shang Li, of course," Jane blabbered automatically. "I think Hercules told me your name, but unfortunately I don't listen to half of the things he says..." She looked at the book Shang was holding. "Ah, the American Civil War... Are you a fan of History?"

'Hi again, Shang," Belle told the new student. She too noticed the topic of the book. "Your favorite era in American history? OR are you interested in the battle tactics used to fight in the Civil War?"

"I'm a huge fan of history," Shang said, glancing at the book in his hand. He gave a greeting nod to Belle and replied, "One of them. I'm also interested in The World Wars."

"Ah, yes, of course. World Wars." Jane sighed. "A word of advice to you, dear Shang... never say that it was the Americans who won World War II. It drives the British insane!"

"Why?" Belle glanced at Jane. "America had a big role in the victory against the Axis. That's no lie. We had the man power on the battlefront and back home so I do say we did help win the war and helped Europe back on its feet after the war. I realize that for two years we were isolationists and most of it fell on the British, French, and Soviets, along with other Allied nations, to do battle against the Axis, but you can't deny the US's contributions which ended up having a huge part in the war."

"They all had their part in the war," Shang said, looking at the bookshelves to see if there was anything else that interested him.

"True," Belle agreed. "Very very true."

Wisely dropping the topic, she asked Shang, "Do you have any idea of what you want to do when you graduate from DC?"