The Outside Characters (2015) Chapter 6

When we all entered the portal, the next thing I heard was the sound of jazz music filling the air. I opened my eyes and I saw that I was in an alley, and a warm and gentle breeze touched my skin. I heard Rose say, "Where are we?"

"My glasses! Where are my glasses?" Alicia said as she felt the ground with her hands. I found a pair of black rimmed glasses on the ground in front of me. I picked them up and said to Alicia, "Are these yours?"

She looked at the glasses in my hands and nodded, "There they are!" She took the glasses out of my hands and placed them over her eyes, and she said to me, "Thanks Hannah. I can't think straight without them." She looked at me for a split second and said to me with a smile, "Hey, you look great in those new clothes."

"New clothes?" I wondered as I looked down at my... dress? I noticed I didn't wear the black shirt and blue jeans I wore earlier when I met the other girls. Instead they were replaced with a purple dress over a white shirt, a white apron and white flats. I even noticed all of us were wearing different dresses instead of what we wore when we arrived at the place we met. Alicia was wearing a navy blue dress with a light blue shirt, white apron, and navy blue flats. I said to her, "You look good yourself."

"Thanks." Alicia said back, admiring her new clothing.

"Hey, look at me! Don't I look beautiful in Disney clothes?" Kayla smiled as he twirled, wearing a green sleeveless shirt with an off-the-shoulder neckline, a forest green skirt, and matching green flats. She even had a green hairband in her hair.

"I think I've seen outfits like these before, but I can't remember where they came from." Victoria said to us, wearing a crimson red dress with a white shirt and apron and black flats, and a red bow in her hair.

Rose, who was still holding little Dawn in her arms, was wearing a green skirt with a celadon shirt, white apron, and black flats. Dawn kept sniffing the air, and Rose asked her, "What do you smell, sweetie?" She sniffed the air, and grinned, "I smell fried food, and pastries!"

"What the hell is this?!"

We turned to Yvette and we looked at her to see what she was yelling about. She was wearing a pink dress with hot pink sleeves and pink flats. She even had dangling crystal earrings. She groaned, "Why did that little bug and his star of a girlfriend have to dress me up like this instead of keeping me in my clothes?!"

"What's your problem?" Lulu asked her, wearing a blue dress over a dark purple shirt and blue flats. Yvette pouted with a frown, "I hate pink!"

"Hey, guys! You gotta come over and see this! I think I know where we are." Alex called to us from the end of the alley, wearing a yellow dress over a blue shirt and black flats and having a blue headband in her hair. We came over to where she was and we all gasped at what we saw.

"Mon Dieu!" Alison gasped. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, a red skirt, white apron, and black flats. "Is this what I think it is?!" Suddenly, the outfits and the smell of pastries and fried foods that Rose and Dawn were smelling started making sense.

We were in New Orleans!

I watched Alicia fish into her pocket and she said to us, "Hey, there's something in my pocket." She took something out of her pocket, and in her hand was a note. She read it out loud for us to hear;

Howdy ladies,

If y'all are readin' this, then I guess y'all are wonderin' what you're doin' in my old home world. Well, for starters, your mission is to locate the Shadow Man, Dr. Facilier, and destroy his horo-doohickey- whatever y'all call it, and maybe ask him if he knows Jenna's whereabouts. Once that's done, Evangeline can take you girls back here.

Also, y'all are free to explore New Orleans and pay a visit to some old friends of mine and Evangeline's at the finest eating spot in town. But I recommend visiting our old friends first. Y'all are gonna love Tiana's cookin'. Have fun girls.

-Ray and Evangeline

P.S. We left a little something for each of you in your pockets. Buy yourselves somethin' nice for yourselves or a good ol' bite to eat at Tiana's.

After Alicia finished reading the note to us, we checked in the pockets of our aprons and dresses, and we found some small bags of money; there were nine of them, one for each of us. Lulu grinned, "Sweet! I wonder what we can get here. I hope I can find a cool mask saved from Mardi Gras."

"Ooh, I heard the food in New Orleans is kick-ass! I'm gonna try a po' boy!" Alex grinned with excitement. Alison added, "Oh, oui oui! You and me both!" Kayla squealed with excitement, "THIS IS AMAZING! I'M ACTUALLY IN A DISNEY WORLD!!"

"The jazz music here is better sounding than I imagined!" Victoria smiled as she came over to a jazz band playing and she danced to the beat of the music. Alex, Rose, and Lulu all joined her in dancing along, and Alex threw a couple of coins from her coin bag in the guitar case in front of the band.

I laughed at everyone's joy and excitement, and Yvette just stood there not being joyful about it. Alicia said to the girls, "I know we're all excited, girls. But remember, we've got a job to do here!"

Victoria laughed, "Oh, come on, Alicia! It's not every day you spend a day in New Orleans, especially the Disney version."

"Yeah, and that's not the best part!" Lulu added. "We should stop at Tiana's place to try her cooking. Isn't that every Disney fan's biggest dream to try the cooking of a Disney Princess?"

"Yeah! Besides, I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night, and I feel like I need some food in my system." Alex added as she rubbed her stomach. She added with a wink, "New Orleans food, to be exact."

We all agreed that we were hungry, but I wasn't that hungry. But I didn't tell anyone that. After some thinking, Alicia said to us, "Alright. We'll go to Tiana's restaurant for lunch first, and then we'll go find Facilier."

Lulu and Kayla both squealed in excitement and they darted off down the road. Yvette asked us with a raised brow, "Do they even know where the restaurant is?"

I shrugged, "I think they figured it out." We followed them down the road, and after asking for some directions, we arrived at the finest restaurant in town; Tiana's Place.

Before we entered, Rose was a bit hesitant, and I knew why. Most restaurants don't allow pets in, and she was worried that if she left Dawn out, the poor creature would be eaten by a dog or a large bird. I said to her, "You don't have to leave her out here, Rose. I'm sure they'll allow you to bring Dawn in."

"Yeah! They have Louis in the restaurant and he's an alligator." Victoria added. "And believe me, I think Tiana will love an adorable little cat like Dawn."

Rose thought for a second and she and Dawn looked at each other. The panther mewed, and Kayla pointed out, "She says 'I wanna go in, Mommy'. That's what she said."

Rose looked at Dawn, and she said to her, "Well then, let's go inside before our stomachs keep growling." We all grinned with excitement as we made our way inside. Alicia asked the hostess for a table for nine, and she gleefully brought us to a large table near the dance floor.

We watched Louis blow his trumpet and Naveen play his guitar for the audience and they all danced to the music they were playing with their band. I heard Alex tapping the table with her hands to the beat of the music. I could tell she was this excited to be in a Disney world of great music, and I knew she had a great taste in music of many kinds.

A fine dressed man came over to our table with a couple of menus and a list and he smiled, "Good afternoon ladies. My name is Randy and I'll be your server. I hope you're enjoying your stay in town."

Lulu whispered to Alicia, "He must think we're tourists." Alicia nodded, then she looked at Randy and said to him with a smile, "We are enjoying it very much."

"How good are your po' boys here?" Alex asked, getting impatient with excitement. Randy laughed, "You're gonna love 'em here. Personally, I would recommend the beef po' boy."

"I'll try that then! And I'll have a ginger ale to go with it." Alex grinned, licking her lips in hunger. Randy wrote down her order, and Alison grinned, "I'll have what she's having, but with chicken in it and a cola."

"I'd like some gumbo with a cola." Kayla smiled.

"I'll have a chicken po' boy. And a cola to go with it." Lulu added.

"I'll have the gumbo and a cola please. But not too spicy." Victoria smiled politely.

"Jambalaya please, with a cola." Alicia asked.

"I'll have some gumbo, with a ginger ale please." Rose smiled.

"Eh, I'll have your best bread." Yvette shrugged, obviously not in the mood. The waiter and girls looked at me, and Lulu asked me, "What are you going to have Hannah?" They waited for me to say something. I wasn't really that hungry, but since this is my first time in Disney, I might as well get something. I sighed and said, "I'll have some gumbo, and a side of bread with water please."

Randy finished writing down all our orders. Once he finished, he looked at the list and said to himself, "Wow! Our gumbo's a lot popular than I thought!" He grinned at us, "I'll be back in a little bit with your orders, ladies. Enjoy your stay at Tiana's." He winked at us and went to the kitchen. We waited for a little while for our food (what would you expect nine girls ordering a pretty big meal?) and Randy and a couple of waiters came back with a bunch of plates of food and platters with drinks on them.

"Here you go ladies." Randy smiled at us. "Sorry for the long wait. This is the busiest order we've had since Tiana let her friend Miss Charlotte invite a bunch of friends down here."

Victoria smiled at him, "It's alright." Kayla asked him, "Hey, before you go, can we please see the owner of the restaurant?"

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Kayla shook her head, "No, I just wanna meet her."

Randy nodded and left the table after he and the waiters gave us our orders. The girls who ordered gumbo, including me, began enjoying their meal, and Alicia started eating her Jambalaya. Yvette started buttering her bread and enjoying it with every bite. Alex began drooling over her po' boy and dug right in. After one bite, she grinned, enjoying her sandwich, and she began scarfing it down with a satisfied grin. Alison and Lulu began enjoying theirs as they shared a couple of giggles over the things they loved.

Kayla swallowed some of her gumbo and asked Alex, "Hey Alex, can you pass the tabasco sauce please?"

"Sure, Kayla." Alex nodded, handing her a bottle of the hot sauce. I watched her put a few drops in it before mixing it in with her dish, and she asked Alex as she held out the bottle for her, "Want some for your po' boy?"

"NO!"

We were startled by Alex's reaction. Blushing in embarrassment, she apologized sheepishly, "Sorry. I just don't like spicy foods, and I especially don't like hot sauce."

Lulu said to her, "That's okay. Not everyone likes their food spicy."

We were close to finishing our lunches until the restaurant's owner Tiana came over to our table. She greeted us, "Good afternoon, ladies. Randy says that you wanted to talk to meet me. Am I correct?"

Kayla grinned, "Absolutely, Tiana! I'm Kayla. It's so nice to meet you." She held out her hand for the princess chef, and Tiana laughed as she shook her hand, "Very nice to meet you too, little lady."

Kayla squealed with delight, "I can't believe it! She shook my hand! She really shook my hand!"

Tiana looked at us and asked, "Is she okay?"

Alex nodded, "Don't worry about her. She's just excited to meet you. In fact, we are all very excited to meet you in person. You've been one of my inspirations to love cooking."

Tiana smiled, "I never knew I was someone's inspiration."

"Believe us, I think you have a few more around." I smiled at her. Alicia swallowed the Jambalaya in her mouth, and she asked as she wiped her lips, "Tiana, do you know where we can find Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Emporium?" Tiana's smile turned to worry. She asked us uneasily, "You girl's aren't going to ask anything from him, are you?"

"Of course not." Alicia assured her. I spoke up and said to her, "We just wanna look around and meet him, that's all. We're not going to trade in our souls for something that would curse us."

Alison added, "Oui! We're smarter than when your would-be husband Naveen paid him a visit before you two met." Tiana raised her brow and asked, "How did y'all know about that?"

Victoria replied, "We heard the story of how you two met and became frogs, and how you became a princess when you two fell in love and got married."

"Oh. Well, Lottie has been talking about that a lot with us." Tiana said. As we finished our lunches, she gave us directions to Facilier's place.

Alicia smiled at her, "Thanks Tiana." She took out a couple of bills that were marked five and said to her, "Here's a token of our appreciation. A tip from all of us."

"Best po' boy I've ever had!" Alison grinned. Rose added, "And the best gumbo I've ever tasted!"

"And tell Louis and Naveen their music is amazing!" Alex grinned. Tiana thanked us and left our table to let our waiter give us our bill. It cost a lot, and Alicia suggested that we put some of our money together and pay the bill together.

"I hope I still have enough for a little souvenir here." Lulu said, seeing the little money she had left. Alicia said to her, "Just don't spend it with the Shadow Man. Let's get going before it gets dark out."

We all nodded and left our table. While everyone else left, I stayed behind for a bit and left a small tip on the table for Randy.