Anouki90: Thanks for the support, much appreciated. Your suggestion to bold the setting/narrator changes will be used in all the following chapters. Merci!

Lizardmomma: More to come.

Joy: Stay tuned!

AN: A general overview of the girls' powers at this point (pre-chapter two). Melinda can Orb… and that's it. Poor Mel. PJ can Beam (Cupid transportation) and she has very brief flashes of the future and the future only. Tamora Orbs and she can slow molecules down to the point just above freezing them completely. Her power only slows objects down in their path. Thanks for reading! Comments of all kinds are welcome. * Cough * Favorites are welcome too * Cough *

July 13, 2025

Melinda

"I didn't know you had to interview to be a secretary, dear," my lovely doting mother nagged over the phone.

"Well it is a job, mom," I said as I straightened my collar.

"Barely," she said under her breath. I ignored it. "But your father and I have already paid for tuition, your books, housing… what else do you need?"

"Money, mom, money. I'm not trying to live off of you and dad for my whole college career."

"This isn't gonna to go my way is it?" she asked.

"Uh-uh," I assured her as the smell of coffee beans rendered my mouth all watery. The office building had a Starbucks on the ground level and I am a self-diagnosed coffee junkie. I made a mental note to get an espresso and a scone on the way out.

"Fine, I guess I should count myself lucky to have an independent daughter," she said.

"Yes, yes, you should, love you ma, if there's a… demonstration problem… be sure to text or call," I said, putting emphasis on demon.

"I will," she said.

I checked my watch and I was right on time. Thank God I inherited my father's timeliness. I asked one of the baristas, a red headed girl, probably a year or so older than me, where Mackenzie Jarvis's office was. She told me it was on the 24th floor and his office was directly in front of the elevator.

I rode the elevator listening to what probably was a bad rendition of 'Stop In The Name of Love' on a saxophone and praying that I liked my new boss. This was a follow-up interview so I figured I got the job based on my application.

"Knock, knock," I said as I actually knocked, bad habit.

"Come in," came a familiar voice.

"Oh God!" I said under my breath. I walked in to find Kaleb Jarvis.

"Melinda? Melinda Halliwell?" he asked as he stood. Dammit! He still looks good.

"Kaleb?" I asked superficially, I knew that smile anywhere. Well, I guess I should let you guys know who Kaleb is. When I was a freshman at Baker High, Kaleb Jarvis was a senior. Star quarterback, good grades, looks of a god, and a Class A asshole. The senior football players tended to prey upon us weaker underclassmen. I suppose we put out easier. Kaleb went after me for the whole first semester. Then we made out, he tried to add another metaphorical notch in his belt and I shut him down. This interview wasn't going to go well.

"How's life?" he asked with a smirk. Obviously if my life were good I would be going to Dartmouth like I planned instead of being enrolled in UC San Francisco and trying to get a minimum wage summer job as a secretary.

"Fine," I lied, "yours?"

"Pretty good. My dad got me this job. Right outta high school. I'm his right hand man," he smiled at me and his teeth were perfectly white and straight.

"Oh well, I have the wrong office. I'm interviewing for… Mackenzie Jarvis. I guess that's your dad?"

"No… that's um... me... that's my first name… I… um… they were expecting a girl… But I'm Mackenzie Kaleb," he stuttered. I bit my cheek hard as not to laugh.

"It's a… nice name," I said, a bit of a giggle in my voice.

"Prudence isn't much better," he said as he looked at my application.

"It's a family name you douche, and at least it is gender appropriate," I defended. My voice pitch rose, as it does when I'm pissed off. The pitch of my voice and my blood pressure were in direct correlation.

"Whoa, call your boss a douche, great start to your new job," he said as he stacked my application on his desk.

"I see you're still an ass. I knew… wait… my new job?" I asked, "I got it?"

"Yeah, if you want it. I do recall you being a bit OCD in high school. That's what I need," he said as he gestured to his cluttered desk. I felt my eye involuntarily twitch at the sight of the mess.

"I do. I want it!" I said. Then I thought about the double meaning behind what I just said. Then I fell quiet.

"Ha!" he exclaimed and he was reduced to guffaws and giggles.

I was pissed but decided not to say anything. He sat in his chair and continued to laugh. I prayed his chair would give out under him and… he fell. I saw one of his wheels roll from under his desk. My turn to chuckle.

"When do I start?" I asked as he righted himself and fixed his shirt.

"Tomorrow," he said, completely sober.

"8? 7?" I asked. I was grinning horribly.

"Yeah, 7:00," he concurred and I left. In the back of my mind I knew I caused his little 'accident' but I didn't have telekinesis. I could Orb by some mutation my dad had by being a Whitelighter for so long but I didn't have any other powers. I shook it off.

I damn near pranced to the elevator and I whistled along with the horrible elevator music. I bought my scone and espresso to go and I left for home, thoughts of telekinesis and Mackenzie Jarvis out of my head.

PJ

"Have you been to the doctor yet, Mom?" I asked as I rang out a customer. Usually the employees weren't allowed to use their phones while working but this was important.

"Yes, Ladybug, Piper drove me earlier," she assured me.

"And to physical therapy?" I asked.

"Yes, dear, I'm fine. Aren't you at work?" she asked.

"Mhmm, but you're more important than any mall job," I said, as I smiled at the customer in front of me. She looked offended.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't like waiting on the general public hand and foot," I scoffed as she snatched the bag from my hand.

"Come back soon!" I called after her.

"Get back to work, Ladybug," she said.

"Yes, mom. I love you," I assured her.

"You too dear," the phone clicked off.

I looked around. The mall was slow today, despite it being the summer. I was used to seeing kids in high school hang around. After all this was an Aeropostale store. With no displays in need of folding and no customers in line, I sat and read 'War and Peace', my favorite book.

My phone buzzed and when I reached up to get it, I accidently touched the register. I no longer saw what was in front of me. I went limp and I fell to the floor. I was sitting behind the counter with my phone in my hand. I was scrolling down my ChatSpace timeline and laughing. I looked up to find my boss, Mr. Henkley staring down at me. He yelled and I handed over my lanyard. I was fired. I woke up and looked around. My ears rang and I was very dizzy. I'd never had that experience before. Usually my flashes involved feelings and maybe a flash of an event. Usually they were few and far between. I would see a glimpse of what was to happen. I was just… inside of my future body.

"You okay?" a man asked. He held in his hand a pair of jeans. He looked about thirty, a bit too old (and too wide in the waist) for Aeropostale.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was looking for a pen," I said. I was an awesome liar so he showed no signs of disbelief. He left and I recapped the vision I had: my boss came in and fired me because I was texting. I couldn't let that happen, I needed this job.

I put away my phone and my book and re-tidied everything. As I was cleaning, Mr. Henkley came in, gave me a thumbs up, a smile, and left.

I thanked God for that premonition. Now I just needed to know where the power boost came from.

Tamora

"I love you, ma," I said as I wiped a tear from my eye. I kissed her face and I placed the picture back on the mantle.

"You went through mama's room?" I heard a voice ask. It sounded like my mom and I had to shake myself.

"Nah, Kat, I emptied Hal's room and the kitchen," I said as my twin came into view. She stood in the foyer while I was in the living room.

"I took on the bathrooms, our room, and the TV room," she said, "And we're selling the dining room set so Mom's room is the only one left. We were cleaning out the house. Mom had had a mortgage on the house after my dad died and the city basically took the house away considering none of us had a set income. The money from my parents' insurance was split into three. A portion for each of us and then a small chunk of each of Kat's and mine's went to Piper for raising Hal.

"I can't do it," I said. I felt the need to be truthful. Although neither of us had Telepathy, we could basically reads each other's minds.

"Me neither," she said.

"Do what?" Hal asked as he came in from outside. He was drenched in sweat form carrying most of the heavy furniture to the U-Haul. Considering that the U-Haul was open, the neighborhood would be able to see Kat or me Orbing stuff into it. Plus Hal is freakishly strong so why not put him to work.

"We can't go through mom's room," Kat and I said at the same time. Henry looked down at his feet.

"Let's just get it over with," he said. I figured if my barely sixteen-year-old brother could grin and bare it, I could to.

I grabbed Kat's hand, and entwined our fingers and Henry walked to my other side and put his hand in mine. We all walked through the foyer and opened the door that hadn't been opened in a month, since the morning my mom left for that brunch date.

My mother's scent slapped us in the face harder than a hand could. I teared up from the memory of hugging her. Her bed was unmade, which was typical of her and her bathroom door was open. She was in a rush, which was, again, typical of her.

Without a word, Hal began to strip the bed of the sheets and Kat began to fill a box with the contents of my mother's dresser. I went into the bathroom. I smelled some of her perfume and decided to keep it. She had three bottles of it so I gave one to Kat. She smiled and I saw a tear roll down her eye.

She sat it up on the edge of the dresser. Hal began to break the bed frame down. He dropped a wooden slat on his foot and hopped backward as Kat and I laughed. He bumped the dresser and the perfume sailed to the floor.

Instinctively, I put up my hand. I expected to see the bottle slow down in it's path, which is what my power does. It's like a weaker version of my aunt Piper's. I went to pick it up only to find that it wasn't moving. At all.

"Kat," I said, not taking my eye of the bottle. It was upside down and the cloudy liquid was frozen too.

"Yeah," she said, just getting over her giggles. Hal turned too, massaging his foot while leaning on the wall.

"Is that… completely frozen?" he asked. Kat walked closer and cupped her hand around it. It unfroze and sat in her hand. "Did… you freeze it? Completely?" She asked.

"I've had my powers since I was six-months old and they choose now to advance?" I asked no one in particular.

"Oh cool, do I get an advancement?" Kat exclaimed.

"I don't know… summon a spirit," Hal said.

"You really don't know how my powers work do you?" she said as she thumped his head.

"I don't know where the boost came from but I'll find out," I said pulling out my phone. I selected Piper's number.