Once Upon A Dream Ch.1

1

         

The pretty young brunette gently blew her hair out of her face as she carefully took the tray over to the table. "One tea."          

Her voice broke Basil's train of thought as he looked into her blue eyes and said, "Oh, thank you."
         
Bella Smith sighed. She'd only been on this job for two hours and already she was bored. Still, it was a good way to earn a bit of money while she was still studying, she guessed.
Luckily she had her new friend Stephanie in the kitchen to keep her company.

         "I can't wait until this day is over!" she wailed.

         "Calm down, Bel," Steph laughed, "we've only just started!"

         "Sorry," Bella replied. "I'm just thinking about tomorrow night..." Her eyes clouded over in a dreamy kind of way. The following night was her high school prom, and she was spending it with her first boyfriend, Nick, who she had been with for 3 months.

         "You are such a girl," Steph teased.

         Bella looked at her with a sarcastic look in her eyes. "Nah, really? Nice one, genius."

         Stephanie rolled her eyes as she continued to wash the dishes in front of her.

         *BEEP*
         
The familiar sound of Bella's phone rang out into the kitchen.

         "You have mail," Steph said.

         Bella checked her phone. It was a message from Nick.

         "What's wrong?" Steph asked, seeing the sad look in Bella's eyes.

         Bella showed her the message.

{indent}Hi Bel, I know this isnt the right way to do this but I think we need to break up. I know its prom tomorrow night and I'm really sorry, but there is some one else. Nick. x

         The girls walked back into the main area of the cafe, tears in Bella's eyes. "What am I going to do?"

         Basil noticed the girl was upset and his ears pricked up. He'd only admit it to himself, but he thought this new girl was pretty cute. Not that he'd ever have a chance with her; she must have only been about sixteen. And anyway, he thought, she would probably prefer to be with some other guy. Some other human guy.

         Stephanie put her arm around her friend. "You can still go to prom..."

"          Yeah, but it's much better to go with someone," Bella said sadly. "There just aren't any nice guys around here. They're all the same."

         Now Basil was really listening. Even he knew he was different to most of the boys in this place - in more ways than one. Not only was he short and fluffy with a large tail - he knew how to treat a girl right. Of course, Bella didn't know that last part yet.. but he hoped that maybe he might get a chance to show her.

         "Surely a tall, dark, handsome lad who knows what a girl needs is not too much to ask?" Bella sighed to Stephanie.

         Damn it, Basil thought.

         Tall, dark and handsome, he was not. That was for sure.

         Now, though, this new girl had totally won him over.

         He needed to take action. Fast.


         Maddie was reading her book when the doorbell rang. "It's open," she called, barely looking up from the page.

         She was surprised to see her friend standing in the doorway, with a worried look on his face. "Basil, what's up?"

         "Miss Madison, I have a problem," he began. "You see, there's this girl. A new girl who works in the cafe."

         Maddie giggled. "Sounds like someone has a little crush! Why don't you ask her out?"

         "That's the problem," Basil continued. "You know what these girls are like... they want a bloke who looks like he could be the fifth member of JLS or nothing at all!"

         "How do you know she's like that?" Maddie asked.

         "I heard her talking to her friend," he said sadly. "'Tall, dark and handsome'. That's what she wants. And that's not me!"

         Maddie rolled her eyes. "Just talk to her..."

         "What's the point? She'll never like me."

         Maddie thought for a moment. Then she had an idea...

         "There is a way I can help you... But, it comes at a price."

         "I'm listening," Basil said eagerly.

         "If you really want to make this girl like you," Maddie explained, "then the only way to make sure of that is to become human yourself."

         The thought made Basil's eyes almost pop out of his head. "No way. Not gonna happen."

         "Then I'm afraid I can't help you, Bas," Maddie sighed. "Unless of course, you wanted to just talk to her..."

         "No! You know what, just do it... I'll do anything."

         Maddie was gobsmacked. "This girl must really be special."

         "She is. She's like a princess."

         "Very well then," Maddie said. "All I have to do is put a spell on you and you'll be the dude of this girl's dreams. Oh, but there's one last thing. It only lasts 24 hours."

         "Thank goodness for that," Basil sighed with relief.

         "But that does mean you'll have to come back on time if you don't want to reveal your true self..."

         "OK, let's do it!"

         Maddie smiled. "Come back to my place at 10.30 tonight. That should give you plenty of time tomorrow."