Charm Cafe-Chapter 5

Are You Listening? 

“You did what!?!” Nina questioned the next day at the Cafe, looking between Lani and Chloe in disbelief.

“We let her get away…” Chloe shrugged, as she tidied up the front counter “It’s no biggie.”

Lani nodded, neatening the café’s menus “We couldn’t exactly force Zara to join us. She had no interest what so ever.”

Nina shook her head for a moment, placing some fresh flowers in the vase on of the tables. She paused and looked at them.  “Look girls…I know you can’t see it now. But it’s crucial that you convince her to join you. If not the effects could be disastrous!”

Chloe shrugged, “I don’t really get what so important…that girl was snobby anyway.”

Lani nodded in agreement, crossing her arms across her chest.

Nina groaned, “I hate to be like this girls. But we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Chloe bit her lip. Nina was being awfully serious about this. She couldn’t understand why it could be that important. It was simple Zara was rude; there was no way even if the girl agreed that she’d even get along with them. Probably half the reason she hadn’t agreed was that she worried she’d brake a nail or something. Still, if Nina said that she had to join them then that was that. 

“Fine…we’ll try.” Chloe sighed, arms crossed “But that girl is not going to join us.” 

She had no clue how she was supposed to convince Nina that the girl was going to be of no use to them and what a waste it would be. If she couldn’t even convince Nina she was sure there would be no way to convince Zara. Suddenly; loud, childish, squealing interrupted her thoughts.

“Mummy! Mummy! Clo Clo! Lani Wani!” Kristal called racing across the room, in her hand she held a pad of drawing paper. All three of the girls turned to look at her. Until then, Kristal had been sitting quietly in the corner drawing pictures with baby Charlie who was just learning to walk.  She’d been that quiet they’d almost forgotten she was there, “Lookie Lookie!”

The small girl placed the pad of papers in front of Chloe and Lani, Nina soon joined them.

 Chloe looked at it for a while, not really understanding what the girl had drawn. She looked at Nina and Lani who wore the same puzzled looks “Uh…what is it, sweetie?”

Kristal stuck out her lower lip, reaching for the paper, “Silly! You not looking at it right!” She spun it around. “See lookie it’s me and my pretty castle that I is gonna live in one day!”

Chloe looked at the now apparent stick figure drawn girl and castle. It was pretty well drawn for a four-year old.

“Aww! That’s so cute!” Lani squealed, smiling at the small girl.

The small girl gasped, “Oh noes, I forgot to draw a prince!!”

With that the small girl raced back to the table. Leaving Nina, Lani and Chloe giggling. Nina’s face turned serious, “So you’ll convince her right? I trust you can do that?”

Chloe and Lani looked at each other, “I hope so.”

**************************

The next day at lunch time, Lani and Chloe sat underneath one of the school’s large eucalyptus trees finishing their lunch. Tiffany had soccer practise so she was at the oval with her soccer friends and Lissa had gone to the office to sort out some of the paperwork regarding her transfer to the school.

“Do you think we’ll ever be able to convince Zara?” Lani asked, leaning back onto the tree as she packed away her lunchbox.

Chloe sighed, taking her last bites of her sandwich, “I don’t know, she didn’t seem like she liked us much.”

There was silence for a few moments; Chloe looked up from her sandwich.

Lani was smiling, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree, “That’s it! Perhaps we’re looking at this wrong! Instead of convincing her we need to make her like us!”

Chloe tried hard not to laugh at Lani’s enthusiasm; she could not see how the two of them could magically convince someone to like them, especially when they had been so disgusted in them in the first place, “How?”

“I don’t know be nice to her, help her perhaps?” Lani shrugged, “You know at least try and be her friends.”

“Or we could just go talk to her again?” Chloe suggested, imagining some beautiful, perfect understanding between them. It was highly unlikely but Chloe imagined it anyway.

Lani seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding.

“Alright then, if I was Zara where would I be?” Lani wondered, putting on an accent like some British detective.

As if on purpose a familiar tune filtered through the air. Chloe closed her eyes and thought about where she’d heard it before. Hmmm…it was classical like the music that had rung out only days earlier in Zara’s performance. That was it!

Chloe smiled, “The dance room of course!”

“Of course!” Lani’s eyes lit up, as she clapped her hands, “You’re a better magical girl than I thought!” She teased jokingly before giving Chloe a high-five.

Packing up their little tree picnic the girls headed for the dance room.

There was a small ledge that could be stood on to see the dancer’s practising. Sure enough, she was in there. Both girls watched as the lithe girl pirouetted her way across the floor.

A voice was heard behind them, “Wow, girls what are you up to?”

Lani and Chloe both nearly fell backwards. Chloe quickly looked to the floor expecting to find a teacher if she looked up. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see black school shoes meaning it was most likely another student.

“Uh…nothing…” Chloe smiled innocently, finding her eyes meeting with those of Jack’s. She felt blood rush to her cheeks.

Lani giggled, “Nothing at all…”

Curious, Jack stepped onto the seat and looked in the windows. “Hey, isn’t that the girl that was attacked by the birds the other night? Kind of strange, huh?”

“Very…” Lani smiled turning to Chloe.

Jack continued, “I’m not sure how they got them out so fast, but I’m glad they did. I felt sorry for her though, she looked pretty happy up there. What’s her name anyway…Sara…something like that? I know she’s in our year. She’s only new I think…”

“Zara.” Lani nodded. “I don’t really know all that much about her either…but she can really dance.”

“All I know is that my mother teaches at the dance studio, the same one that Zara tutors at.” Jack explained, “If you want you could come and see her dance their tomorrow afternoon with me? My mum always needs some extra help getting ready for the dance recital on the weekend. It would be awesome for her to have another set of helping hands. All the other teachers have that bad flu that’s going around. So it’s just me and her right now…” 

Before Chloe could even consider it Lani was already nodding, “We’ll be there.”

“Great!” Jack smiled, “Well I have to run Mr Shepard needs some help setting up the new drum kit over in the music department. See you girls later then.”

“Bye!” Both girls chorused as he walked away.

“This is great and all but Lani…what about the Café? Who’s going to work tomorrow?” Chloe whispered.

“I have a plan for that!” Lani whipped out her phone and quickly texted someone. “I mean seriously Chloe, Nina isn’t going to mind if we’re on Charmer business.”

“I guess not…” Chloe sighed as the bell rang through the corridors, signalling that it was time for their next class.

**********************************************

The next afternoon, Chloe, Lani and Jack sat on the bench outside of the community dance hall. A thin, sandy blonde haired woman waved at the door to them. The two girls followed Jack inside.

Chloe looked around the place was massive! The roof seemed to go on forever as it was a high-celling. A stage had been cut out at the wall at the end of the floor and gleaming white chairs were neatly stacked at the side of the room.

“Hey, I used to do Jazz ballet here when I was little!” Lani smiled, turning to Chloe her eyes filled with excitement. “But they kicked me out of the class for being too disruptive…oops!”

Chloe was about to reply when Jack’s mother spoke up, “Thanks so much for offering to help out girls, this will be great!” She beamed. “Now Jack would you be able to adjust the audio system for me…it seemed to be mucking up the other night in class.”

He nodded, “Yes, mum.”

Jack’s mother turned to Chloe and Lani before she handed them some streamers and some thumb-tacks. “Could you hang these on the back wall, please?”

Lani and Chloe nodded, setting to work. Chloe manage to jab her finger a few times with the thumbtacks. 

After a few minutes, Jack’s mother announced that her and Jack were going to the shops to grab some extra supplies for the show.

Footsteps could be heard behind them, Lani and Chloe turned around to see a little girl with a pale pink tutu and fairy wings who was clinging tight to her mother, but when Zara walked in the room her eyes lit up as she ran over to her.

Zara helped the small girl to tap out the beat. The girl was clumsy but instead of yelling at her she helped her back up every time.

Before the girls knew it, they were doing less work and watching as the girl began to slowly improve. Moments passed and the music finished, Zara clapped her hands together announcing the end of the lesson.

She farewelled the girl and then turned to them.

Chloe gulped, they were in trouble now. She looked to Lani who didn’t seem fazed.

Zara looked between them, “What are you two doing here?”

“Uh…we…uh…”

“I thought I told you girls! I don’t fight monsters.”

“You did…but…” Chloe blushed, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

Lani sighed, “We need everyone to help out, no matter whether you’d like to or not. It’s totally irrelevant...”

Zara rolled her eyes, “I have a life you know. I teach ballet here, I have to go to school, perfect my ballet routines; I have to be my parents daughter. I most certainly not about to add being some magical monster killer to my routine, just to keep you two girls happy. I mean what are you fighting for anyway?”

Chloe bit her lip, “Nina hasn’t exactly told us yet…but you saw what happened, those birds tried to attack you. The enemy is only going to keep getting stronger…”

Zara groaned, “Look I’ve had just about enough of this! Let’s just settle this, right now…prove to me why I should even consider joining you.”

Lani and Chloe looked between one another nodding. Chloe considered what else she hadn’t talked about yet…

But, Zara shook her head, “I don’t mean talking…” She unclasped her pendant from her neck.

Lani gasped, completely shocked. “You want to fight??”

Chloe gasped as well. She didn’t know what to say, this Zara girl didn’t seem like the fighting type…but Nina had told them they had to convince her. If this was how, then she supposed they had to do it. 

Zara shrugged, “I don’t like fighting…but if you two promise to leave me alone if I win…”

Chloe panicked, when she’d first become a magical girl and found out she had team-mates she never would’ve expected that she’d have to fight against someone that was supposed to be her own team-mate! She shivered; she didn’t want to fight anyone! Not even Zara…Chloe took a deep breath.

“Alright fine, if we win then you agree to join us? Got it?”

Lani glared at Chloe as she mouthed the words ‘what are you doing?’

Chloe ignored her as both Zara and her raised their pendants into the air. Lani soon followed suit.

“CHARMER RUBY!”
“CHARMER SAPPHIRE!”
“CHARMER TOPAZ!”

“PENDANTS ACTIVATE!”

Soon the room was lit up with three lights, blue, yellow and red. The girls were soon back staring at one another. Charmer Ruby nodded to Topaz. Charmer Sapphire raised her wand at them.

“TOPAZ STAR ROPE TANGLE!”

“SAPPHIRE MOON MIRAGE DREAM!”

Charmer Topaz’s star began to form a rope and as it did the beam of light from Charmer Sapphire’s wand collided with it. The rope swang behind Charmer Sapphire as it was supposed to but quickly came hurtling back at them looping it’s way around Charmer’s Ruby and Topaz as well. The rope began to lasso the group of girls closer together until soon they were in a tight and tangled mess pressed up against one another. Charmer Ruby tugged at the rope, with her free hand, “Ugh! What did you do that for!”

Charmer Topaz groaned, “It’s like it malfunctioned or something…”

Charmer Sapphire tugged at the rope as well, “Well that was smart…”

Charmer Topaz and Ruby started laughing, “Oh well at least we’re all together now!” Topaz closd her eyes and concentrated as her uniform and the rope faded away. Relieved the other two girls broke free as well, both closing their eyes as their charmer outfits fade away.

“I’m over fighting already. Let’s just call this even…are you going to join us now, Zara? I mean it’s obvious you can’t fight us forever.” 

Zara groaned her gaze icy. She seemed annoyed that her plan hadn’t worked. “Look, you girls want the truth don’t you?”

Chloe shrugged, twiddling her fingers, “Well yeah. If it explains why you’re being so rude to us and wanted to fight us…we just want to be friends.”

Zara didn’t seem annoyed by this, she looked at them carefully, “The day I became a charmer I made a friend whilst I was out shopping. We were attacked by a monster but she was kidnapped and now I don’t remember her name or her face…look I just don’t want the same thing to happen again.”

She let the air settle for a moment. Lani and Chloe didn’t know what to say. What if that had been them in their first battle. Chloe wondered what would’ve happened if that monster had captured Lani that day instead of her transforming and attacking the monster or even if her own powers had not awakened at school that day. She shuddered at the thought. Though she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to that other girl, what would Nina say if she knew?

“Ah, are you girls alright there?” Jack questioned peeking his head from around the curtain. It seemed him and his mother had returned. There must be a back entrance, she decided. 

Chloe paused immediately, feeling embarrassed, what had he heard…or worse saw?

“We’re fine.” Zara snapped, her tone changing immediately, “I was just leaving anyway…”

 She looked between us and whispered, “We’ll talk about this later…”

For the second time this week, Chloe and Lani watched as the girl walked away. She thought about what the girl had said. In a way Chloe could actually see her point I mean would she still want to be a charmer if something had happened to Lani? Or even now that she’d met Zara? Though Chloe still thought the girl was being selfish was it really worth worrying about something like that when for all they knew the whole world could be at stake.

“Damn, what do we do now?” Chloe sighed.                                                                                                   

Lani looked at her and smiled seeming fairly confident, “We wait”