Chapter 2
Cinderella Chapter 2
Lana Lang wiped the counter with a yellow colored rag as Marianne watched. "So how was your weekend in Metropolis?"
Marianne shrugged. "It was okay. . . Nothing really happened much. . ."
The raven-haired girl smiled at her. "Well, I have to go to the back room to check on something. Will you hold the fort?"
"My pleasure," she replied.
The Talon was kinda slow today. Only 5 tables were occupied and all in all they had six customers. Marianne was glad of it, not that she'd tell Lana, since she was behind in her experiment. She was checking the espresso machine when she heard the tinkling of bells indicating a new customer has walked in.
"I don't suppose you're going to order a Cosmo from THIS bar, are you?"
Lex Luthor. She turned slowly, blush creeping into her usually pale cheeks. "Mr. Luthor, what can I get you?"
"The usual, Ms. Croft."
She went on to prepare the cappuccino. She could feel Lex's eyes traveling all over the place. "Slow day, huh?"
"Kinda." She bent down to get a few more napkins. She wrapped them around the cup and handed it to him. "There you go."
"Thank you." He took a little sip. "Haven't lost your touch yet. Did your sister get home all right, by the way?"
"Yes, she did. You were right, she got worried sick and took a cab home."
"Apparently I do know a little about older sisters, then."
"Apparently, yes."
Lex smiled and raised his cappuccino as a sign of goodbye before leaving. Marianne stared after him.
"Don't tell me you have a thing for Lex," Lana teased from behind.
"I don't."
Her friend raised her eyebrows dramatically. "Oh really now?"
"Yes, Lana Lang, oh really now."
"I saw the way you were looking at him."
"Just drop it okay? I just find him nice, that's all." She untied her apron. "Listen I have to go."
"Experiment?"
"Yeah. I'm hoping to accomplish something by the end of the week."
"I think I'm going to close up soon, anyways."
Marianne grabbed her book bag and file folder. "Bye, Lana!"
"Bye!"
Her week started out okay. Her experiments were going well and she was two weeks advance in her classes. Working with Lana was really fun, she even thought they were becoming close friends, which she's hoped for when she first worked there.
By Friday night, however, Marianne was feeling more agitated than excited. She helped Lana close the Talon early since she and Clark were invited to go to a benefit party in the Luthor Manor.
"Is something wrong, Marianne?" Lana asked, concern written all over her pretty face. "You seem. . . I don't know. . . restless."
"I think it's excitement and nervousness rolled into one giant heap of I don't know what!"
Lana giggled. "What's up?"
She sighed as she pulled a chair and Lana sat beside her. "Okay. . . you know I do experiments, right? What you don't know is I make stuff. . . you know like perfumes and make-up."
"Really? When you said experiments I had a mental image of a frog being cut in half!"
Marianne laughed. "Is that why you never bothered to ask me about them?"
"Yeah. So it's make-up, huh?"
"Uh-huh. . . it has always been my dream to have my own line of cosmetics, you know."
"So what happened?"
"Well, I just finished a batch of perfume that I've designed for months now. It's a small batch-"
"Can I smell it? I'm sure it's pretty good."
"Sure." She ran to her bag and got out a tiny flask. In it was an amber- colored liquid. "You can tell me if it sucks, I won't mind."
Lana carefully opened it and took a tiny whiff. "Dear God! Marianne! This is amazing! I love it!"
"Really? You're just not saying that for me?"
"NO! I haven't smelled anything so sweet yet sporty and musky... it has a great combination of scents that go very well."
Marianne couldn't help but give Lana a hug. "Thank you so much!"
"Now, if only we could convince Lex to fund a cosmetics lab, you'd be on your way."
"Yeah. . .right." She stood up and collected her things. "So, that benefit tonight. . ."
"It's gonna be boring."
"At least you and Clark get to be bored together."
Lana closed up the café. "So I'll see you-" Her cell phone started to ring. "Wait a sec...hello? Pam? Yeah... what? Darn... no... it's okay... I don't know if I can...don't worry about it, okay? Just get well. Bye."
"What's wrong with Pam?" Marianne asked when Lana turned to her looking like the world just crumbled.
"She won't be able to make it tomorrow."
"But tomorrow's like a huge thing, right?"
"Yeah... people are gonna be all over the place and I can't just handle it with one waitress short."
"I can take her place."
"But what about your mom?"
She shrugged. "She'll live. I'll tell her I had some schoolwork to do over the weekend."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome. Now go home and get dolled up for your date."
****
Marianne got home, kissed her Dad and went straight to their basement-her lab. After making sure she was clean and sterile, she opened her small cooler. Two flasks stood there, one filled with a bright green liquid, the other with a red one. She took both of them out and carefully measured up equal amounts with a beaker. She swirled the liquid gently.
She lied to Lana. She wasn't excited about the perfume, she was excited about this. If her studies were right, this liquid can make anyone beautiful. even her. That's why she's gonna experiment it on herself. Her hopes weren't up since she's had loads of dead-ends before. One time all she got was a serious case of diarrhea. That shouldn't happen now since she promised Lana she'd help out tomorrow.
"Here goes.." She wrote the time in her lab notebook. "Bottoms up!" She downed the substance in one swing. It tasted spicy and sour and made her throat burn a little. But after a few seconds it was okay.
"What in hell are you doing?"
Bracing herself on the tiled counter, she swung around to find her sister looking at her, eyebrows raised. "Raquel! What are you doing here?"
"Mom told me to come.. Marianne! Did you just do an experiment on yourself?!?!"
That was the last thing she heard before everything turned black.
*dynlubio 02/13/2003 1:52 AM
Cinderella Chapter 2
Lana Lang wiped the counter with a yellow colored rag as Marianne watched. "So how was your weekend in Metropolis?"
Marianne shrugged. "It was okay. . . Nothing really happened much. . ."
The raven-haired girl smiled at her. "Well, I have to go to the back room to check on something. Will you hold the fort?"
"My pleasure," she replied.
The Talon was kinda slow today. Only 5 tables were occupied and all in all they had six customers. Marianne was glad of it, not that she'd tell Lana, since she was behind in her experiment. She was checking the espresso machine when she heard the tinkling of bells indicating a new customer has walked in.
"I don't suppose you're going to order a Cosmo from THIS bar, are you?"
Lex Luthor. She turned slowly, blush creeping into her usually pale cheeks. "Mr. Luthor, what can I get you?"
"The usual, Ms. Croft."
She went on to prepare the cappuccino. She could feel Lex's eyes traveling all over the place. "Slow day, huh?"
"Kinda." She bent down to get a few more napkins. She wrapped them around the cup and handed it to him. "There you go."
"Thank you." He took a little sip. "Haven't lost your touch yet. Did your sister get home all right, by the way?"
"Yes, she did. You were right, she got worried sick and took a cab home."
"Apparently I do know a little about older sisters, then."
"Apparently, yes."
Lex smiled and raised his cappuccino as a sign of goodbye before leaving. Marianne stared after him.
"Don't tell me you have a thing for Lex," Lana teased from behind.
"I don't."
Her friend raised her eyebrows dramatically. "Oh really now?"
"Yes, Lana Lang, oh really now."
"I saw the way you were looking at him."
"Just drop it okay? I just find him nice, that's all." She untied her apron. "Listen I have to go."
"Experiment?"
"Yeah. I'm hoping to accomplish something by the end of the week."
"I think I'm going to close up soon, anyways."
Marianne grabbed her book bag and file folder. "Bye, Lana!"
"Bye!"
Her week started out okay. Her experiments were going well and she was two weeks advance in her classes. Working with Lana was really fun, she even thought they were becoming close friends, which she's hoped for when she first worked there.
By Friday night, however, Marianne was feeling more agitated than excited. She helped Lana close the Talon early since she and Clark were invited to go to a benefit party in the Luthor Manor.
"Is something wrong, Marianne?" Lana asked, concern written all over her pretty face. "You seem. . . I don't know. . . restless."
"I think it's excitement and nervousness rolled into one giant heap of I don't know what!"
Lana giggled. "What's up?"
She sighed as she pulled a chair and Lana sat beside her. "Okay. . . you know I do experiments, right? What you don't know is I make stuff. . . you know like perfumes and make-up."
"Really? When you said experiments I had a mental image of a frog being cut in half!"
Marianne laughed. "Is that why you never bothered to ask me about them?"
"Yeah. So it's make-up, huh?"
"Uh-huh. . . it has always been my dream to have my own line of cosmetics, you know."
"So what happened?"
"Well, I just finished a batch of perfume that I've designed for months now. It's a small batch-"
"Can I smell it? I'm sure it's pretty good."
"Sure." She ran to her bag and got out a tiny flask. In it was an amber- colored liquid. "You can tell me if it sucks, I won't mind."
Lana carefully opened it and took a tiny whiff. "Dear God! Marianne! This is amazing! I love it!"
"Really? You're just not saying that for me?"
"NO! I haven't smelled anything so sweet yet sporty and musky... it has a great combination of scents that go very well."
Marianne couldn't help but give Lana a hug. "Thank you so much!"
"Now, if only we could convince Lex to fund a cosmetics lab, you'd be on your way."
"Yeah. . .right." She stood up and collected her things. "So, that benefit tonight. . ."
"It's gonna be boring."
"At least you and Clark get to be bored together."
Lana closed up the café. "So I'll see you-" Her cell phone started to ring. "Wait a sec...hello? Pam? Yeah... what? Darn... no... it's okay... I don't know if I can...don't worry about it, okay? Just get well. Bye."
"What's wrong with Pam?" Marianne asked when Lana turned to her looking like the world just crumbled.
"She won't be able to make it tomorrow."
"But tomorrow's like a huge thing, right?"
"Yeah... people are gonna be all over the place and I can't just handle it with one waitress short."
"I can take her place."
"But what about your mom?"
She shrugged. "She'll live. I'll tell her I had some schoolwork to do over the weekend."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome. Now go home and get dolled up for your date."
****
Marianne got home, kissed her Dad and went straight to their basement-her lab. After making sure she was clean and sterile, she opened her small cooler. Two flasks stood there, one filled with a bright green liquid, the other with a red one. She took both of them out and carefully measured up equal amounts with a beaker. She swirled the liquid gently.
She lied to Lana. She wasn't excited about the perfume, she was excited about this. If her studies were right, this liquid can make anyone beautiful. even her. That's why she's gonna experiment it on herself. Her hopes weren't up since she's had loads of dead-ends before. One time all she got was a serious case of diarrhea. That shouldn't happen now since she promised Lana she'd help out tomorrow.
"Here goes.." She wrote the time in her lab notebook. "Bottoms up!" She downed the substance in one swing. It tasted spicy and sour and made her throat burn a little. But after a few seconds it was okay.
"What in hell are you doing?"
Bracing herself on the tiled counter, she swung around to find her sister looking at her, eyebrows raised. "Raquel! What are you doing here?"
"Mom told me to come.. Marianne! Did you just do an experiment on yourself?!?!"
That was the last thing she heard before everything turned black.
*dynlubio 02/13/2003 1:52 AM