Thanks to the two reviews that I got! YAY!
Disclaimer: I own nothing...not even my favorite Superman shirt with the gold glitter and pretty sparkles...
Dedication: To claw125. They reviewed first!
Gale sat on a park bench a few days later, reading her favorite, well, one of her favorite books. It was a cloudy day, and not many people were about. It was darkish, nice. A stiff breeze was blowing in from the north. The trees were rustling, as though they were talking to each other. Gale was lost to her world in the favor of the world of old-time Florida, in the swamps of the Everglades. She was soaking in the romance of a woman who had finally found love, only to lose it.
Raimundo struggled against the wind, wandering the streets of Cincinnati. Dojo was wrapped around his shoulders, shivering with cold.
"Why are we here again?" asked Kimiko, shivering. She pulled her coat closer to her, then pulled her green and purple fuzzy hat down over her ears.
"I already told you." Rai muttered, shoving his arms under his armpits. "We're trying to find that girl that appeared in my dreams a couple nights ago. She told me to come to Cincinnati."
"If you ask me, we are on a tame duck chase." said Omi, walking right beside Raimundo. He was not cold.
"It's wild goose chase. And why are you not cold?" snapped Raimundo, hugging his body harder with a fierce gust that blew down the streets.
"I reckon it's because he's more advanced than we are." said Clay, tugging the brim of his hat lower to shield his eyes from sand and dirt blown everywhere by the wind.
"Hey, let's ask that girl." said Kimiko, pointing to the park, where a girl was seated on a bench. Raimundo nodded, and they made their way across the park.
"Excuse us, ma'am." said Clay as they got close. She didn't look up, but remained fixated on her book. Raimundo sighed, then went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Yes...?" she asked, her voice low and dreamlike.
"Can I ask you a question?" asked Raimundo, sitting down next to her on the bench.
"Mmm-hmm." she said, still not looking up. She still didn't look up.
"Maybe we should let her finish her chapter, Raimundo." said Kimiko as Rai started to open his mouth. Rai shrugged, then slouched as the girl quickly turned a page, then closed the book.
"Ah, what a beautiful book." she sighed contentedly. "Their Eyes Were Watching God. What a gorgeous love story. Now what did-?"
For she had looked up, and as her ice-blue eyes met Raimundo's chocolate ones, there was a sudden, violent silence. Then, the fuse exploded.
"YOU'RE THE GIRL/GUY FROM MY DREAMS!" They bellowed at each other at the exact same time. "NO WAY!" Then they stared at each other for a few more seconds.
"What are you-? How did you-?" They continued. The gang stood open-mouthed as Raimundo and Gale shouted at each other.
"What am I doing here? I live here!" said Gale, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Where did you come from?"
"Whoa, whoa whoa." said Clay, stepping between them. "You two know each other?"
"How can I not? He's been in my dreams for as long as I can remember." said Gale, shaking her head.
"Same here." said Raimundo slowly. He stared at her, surprised to see her here.
"Okay." said Gale. "Rewind, pause, re-play." She stepped up to Rai, all businesslike. "Hi, my name is Gale." she stuck out her hand. Rai took it.
"I'm Raimundo." he said, shaking her hand. Then he let go, and there was an awkward silence.
"So, is she the one that you were looking for, Rai?" asked Kimiko, puzzled at Raimundo's reaction.
"Huh, oh, no." he replied. He dug into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. He unfolded it, holding it flat against the wind. "This is her. Have you ever seen this girl?" he asked Gale.
The picture looked very familiar. Purple out-lined lips, black clothing, and purple hair..."Cleopatra." said Gale, sighing mightily. "I told her not to go searching dreams for me!"
"Huh?" asked all of the Xiaolin warriors.
"Ugh...Follow me." said Gale, getting up and stalking off through the park. The Xiaolin warriors followed, questions exploding in their brains.
"Where are we going?" asked Omi, running up beside her. Gale didn't look at him, but looked determinedly forward.
"To Cafe DeNite." she answered.
"Don't you mean Cafe DeLite?" asked Dojo, thinking of the popular cafe on Howard Street. Gale turned. An odd smile played about her lips.
"No." she said softly. "Cafe DeNite."
In Cafe DeLite...
Cafe DeLite is the most popular cafe in Cincinnati. Big and bright, it lit up Howard Street, a street already famous for popular cafes and bookstores. The front of it was covered with glided gold and silver, pink paint and lights. The windows opened to bookshelves, although nobody read in Cafe DeLite. The tables were covered in patented tablecloths that were pink, gold, silver and blue all interwoven into a gorgeous dizzying pattern. The pattern was enhanced by the pink, blue and purple lights that hung from Chinese lanterns on the ceiling. They served the best of gourmet coffee, pastries, and deli. Once a month they had contests, some were fashion contests, some were beauty pageants, others were poetry contests. (Nobody entered those poetry contests.) It was the hangout of all of the popular people, all of the cheerleaders, all of the models and potential divas. But...it was so expensive that a girl could spend one month's salary on one regular, decaf coffee.
To Nova, it was paradise on Earth. She sat in custom comfort, pink nails gleaming in the lights that reminded her of Hollywood. She sipped at her coffee, a vanilla bean blend from Columbia. She watched the sidewalk traffic, knowing that the people looking in immediately classified anyone sitting in Cafe DeLite as popular, pretty and wealthy. She watched the looks of jealousy on their faces and glowed underneath the silent praise. Suddenly, she spotted three girls looking in. They were the kind that weren't accepted at Cafe DeLite.
'They'd better not be coming in.' she thought, cruelly eyeing their artistically ripped clothing and mismatched outfits that matched, in a funky kind of way. One of the girls smiled, and the rest smiled with her. 'They're coming in.' She sighed. Why did they think that they could belong?
She felt the tension of the place heighten as the others spotted the misfits making their way to the gleaming double doors. Gina, one of the most popular people in the place, gently flipped her hair (which was dyed blond), adjusted her dress, and waited. Everyone stared at the doors. The three girls came in, chatting and laughing. When they realized that nobody was talking, they slowly fell silent. They slowly noticed that everyone was staring at them. They warily made their way to the counter. That's when the insults began, low, hissing whispers.
"Do you see those shoes? Where did she get them? The These-Shoes-Are-So-Ugly-That-They're-Free sale at the 5-and Dime?"
"That hair! It's like a rat's nest." The girl in question slowly reached up and checked her hair which was up in a messy pony-tail with gold and purple stars interwoven throughout.
"That shirt-!"
"That make-up-?"
"Do you see...?"
One of the girls suddenly grabbed the arms of her two companions, and frog-marched them out. As soon as they were outside, the younger of the girls started to cry. Her companions gently comforted her, and led her away from Cafe DeLite.
Nova let out a satisfied laugh. Just then, her eyes caught sight of her sister, who was walking on the other side of the street. She had company though. And not normal company. A cowboy, a little yellow dude, a cute brunette, and a girl whose fashion sense belonged in a theatre. They were all talking. Gale seemed to be leading them somewhere. Probably that horrid Cafe DeNite place. Anyway, who cared? As long as they didn't interrupt her bubble of popularity and light, then what did she care?
