Where the Magic Happens

As Oliver Rede entered the lobby of Orlando’s airport, he immediately searched his pocket for his cell phone to turn it back on after the long flight from Houston, Texas. He was rolling a large suitcase behind him as he walked towards the exit of the airport, and along with his slightly larger than normal sunglasses and the fact that he was fiddling with his phone, he really looked like quite the diva. The effect would be that much greater if only he didn’t have a duffel bag hanging from one shoulder and a tote bag from the other. One could easily tell that he planned on spending a long time wherever it was going once out of that lobby.

Where exactly was he headed, you ask? Well, he was on his way to work at Walt Disney World to earn credit for college. Oliver’s essay on why he should be chosen for such a wonderful experience was truly exceptional, and he knew it as well. He usually wasn’t cocky about anything, but he knew far before they accepted him that they would. That’s just how confident he was on the many hours of writing he’d submitted.

Oliver almost didn’t notice the woman standing off to the side of the main doors, holding a sign shaped as the ever-so-Disney Mickey ears. That is what caught his attention in the first place, and it’s a good thing it did because he would have otherwise missed the woman. Upon his double-take, he saw his name printed on the sign. He laughed to himself and walked towards the woman, lugging along his luggage that seemed to increase in weight as he went on. Oliver stopped in front of her and sat his suitcase up, smiling at the woman once she looked at him.

“Hi, you must be Oliver Rede,” she said, flashing a bright smile at the college boy. “I’m Natasha Baines. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Natasha,” he greeted, pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head as to not seem rude. It was, however, very bright in the airport, which was his reason for wearing them inside anyways. He outstretched his hand for a handshake, but Natasha only chuckled at his gesture.

“Oh no; we’re all hugs here in Disney,” she smiled, going in for a hug.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you too,” he laughed, slightly taken aback by the spontaneous friendly gesture. “Is everybody that works in Disney as friendly as you?”

“Actually, most are,” the dark skinned woman nodded. “We try to keep this grumpy or mean people out. It is Disney after all, Oliver. Now, why don’t I help you with your bags and we get going? I’ve got so much to tell you about and to show you.”

“Oh, thank you,” he said, taken aback again once again by the kindness. He shrugged his duffel bag off his shoulder and handed it to her, smiling again. He supposed that kindness and friendly gestures were things he aught to be getting used to while working at Disney World.



“Oliver, this is Kent Michaels,” Natasha said, pointing to a boy, a little on the short side, that was a couple of years older than Oliver and half dressed in a Mushu costume. Natasha had taken Oliver to the apartment he would be living in and showed him around there before taking him ‘backstage’ at Disney’s Epcot park. He thought it was odd that she took him to the men’s dressing room, but didn’t question her vocally. The brown haired boy looked up at the sound of his name and smiled. “Kent, this is Oliver Rede. I guess nobody told you that you’re not working today, then?”

“Oh?” Kent questioned, cocking his head to the dies in confusion. Oliver’s eyes widened in surprise at hearing this boy’s voice. “No one told me.” The more Kent spoke, the more Oliver internally smirked. This boy was British, Oliver mused, and his accent was intoxicating to him. Suddenly, a look of recognition flooded Kent’s face and he exclaimed, “Oh! That’s today, isn’t it? I can’t believe I forgot about that! So you’re the college boy, yeah?” he asked Oliver, shooting him another smirk.

“Yes I am,” Oliver nodded, laughing. “And may I ask exactly who you are?”

“Well isn’t it obvious?” Kent asked, his voice inflecting slightly at the end.

The British boy reached down to the bench next to him and picked up the large fuzzy dragon head, placing it down on his shoulders. “Why, I’m Mushu; noble family guardian of Fa Mulan, masterful protector of the Fa family!” Kent actually took on a Mushu-esque accent as he spoke. He clapped his hands down on Oliver’s shoulders lightly as an added effect, and Oliver laughed once he figured out what the other was doing. Kent backed up a bit, laughing as well as he took the furry head off of his own.

“No, but in all seriousness, I’m Kent Logan Michaels. I’m from Sheffield, England originally but I came to the States five years ago to go to University at Florida State. That would make me twenty-three in case you were wondering. Er, well, let’s see here…” he trailed off, looking upwards as if my some magical chance, the words he was searching for would be there. “Um, when I was a second year, I found out about Disney’s college internship program and came to the conclusion that I ought to try it if I could. Then when I graduated last year with a degree in graphic design, I came back here to work full time, and I’ve been here ever since then. Ehm, would you mind if I change out of this monster?” he asked, gesturing to the dragon body he was still inside of.

“Oh, no, go ahead,” Oliver said, shaking his head. Kent smiled and reached behind himself to pull down the zipper on the red suit, hidden underneath the spine’s spikes. He stepped out of the costume and placed it on a special type of hanger, laying it gently on the bench next to the head. Underneath the suit, Kent was wearing a plain white v-neck tee and a pair of snug jeans, looking quite comfortable in fact.

“So Natasha,” Kent started, rummaging through a bag on the bench, pulling out a button up orange shirt and shrugging it on, not bothering to button it. Oliver was trying not to laugh at the boy, but he couldn’t help but let out a small snicker. “What’s funny, Oliver?”

“You still have dragon feet,” he answered simply, pointing to Kent’s feet. Kent looked down and laughed as well.

“Oops,” he chuckled, picking his left foot up and taking off the clawed foot-shoe before tackling the right. “There we go. All better now. Not too sure how that happened, though. Now, as I was saying; Natasha, I’m not working at all today, yeah?”

“You’re still technically working, because you are going to get paid for today, but you won’t be interacting with any guests,” she answered, knowing full well why he was asking.

“Alright, thanks,” he nodded, turning back to his bag and grabbing two things from a side pocket. One was a hair comb, and the other was a small grey case of some sort. He tucked the comb in his back jeans pocket quickly and opened the grey case. Oliver saw the contents and immediately understood why Kent had wanted to know if he was going to be working with guests. Kent grabbed a small stud out of the case and moved his face closer to the mirror so he could slip the stud into the hole in his lower lip, screwing on the end tightly. “Ah, much better,” he smirked, wiggling it around in his lip a couple of times. “It’s a bit of a pain in the arse sometimes, but I quite love working here and would love to keep my job as well as my piercing.”

“I know what you mean,” Oliver chuckled, nodding. “I’ve got an industrial in one ear and both lobes done. I’d rather not lose any of them.”

“The only downside of working here, eh?” Kent asked rhetorically, pulling his comb back out and fluffing up his hair and coming it over in a less than traditional manor. That would be another downside, some would say. Either gender must have traditional and far from extreme hair styles while working, though when not working, cast members can do what they wish with their hair, makeup, clothing, et cetera.

“It really is,” Oliver agreed.

“Well you two, I was told that if you got off well enough that I wouldn’t need to escort you around the whole time, and you seem to be doing great with each other, so I think I’m going to get going,” Natasha smiled at us. “Kent, they did tell you want to do, right?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ve done this before as well, Natasha,”

“Very well then,” she said, smiling the whole time. Oliver was pretty sure that a smile didn’t leave her face the entire time he was around her. She wasn’t smiling when he’d walked up to her at the airport, but after that, her face was always covered with a glowing smile. “I’ll be off then. See you both later!”

“Bye!” Oliver called. “Thank you for everything!”

“Oh, no problem at all,”

“See ya’ later Tasha!”

The chipper woman left the dressing room area and left the two boys to themselves. She was right though; both of them hit it off well with the other, and would deal fine by themselves.

“So why exactly am I being passed off like a little school boy?” Oliver asked, leaning against the mirror that covered the entire wall.

“When we get new college interns, we like for them to spend a day with someone that was in the program when they were in college. That’s where I come in to play. So, gear up Oliver,” Kent chuckled, zipping his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “It looks like I’m your new guide for the day.”