17.Tony
"The place looked great this morning Cela, what's your secret?" he teased as the girls came in Sunday morning.
"Let's just say I'm… persuasive…" she ventured with an evil grin as she made her way to the locker room. She had started to collect her hair into a bun. He was always amazed that she could fit all that hair into such a little pile on top of her head… one of the mysteries of femininity.
"And how's my fave little bus girl?" he turned towards 'Thena who was setting out place mats.
"Absolutely fantabulous Tony!" she shot back with a grin. Cela came out and started wrapping up silverware at the counter.
"So how were the crowds yesterday?" Tony asked.
"Monstrous; probably will be today too" Cela started with a smile "Hope you can handle it T-Dizzle" she giggled. He went back into the kitchen to take care of a few things before they opened. He heard the door a minute or two later.
"SKYLAR DAH-LING!" the girls shouted in tandem.
"Oh Lord… how are you two this awake?" he teased "What time did you get out of here last night?"
"You left them here alone!" Tony stormed to the window "How many times have I told you guys…"
"SEE! I called it! I knew he'd be pissed!" Skylar pouted at the girls.
"Relax T-dog; he didn't leave us alone…" Cela had a far-off look in her eyes as she turned towards him. "We were well taken care of" she got up and started to fill the coffee pot.
"Sis was even protected from her own clumsiness…" 'Thena giggled; Cela knocked over a napkin holder and blushed.
"Oooohh sounds… juicy…" Aurora walked in. "Spill it Cela" she slung an arm over Skylar as he slung one over her.
"Yea, I was barking up that tree all night; she's not telling…" 'Thena teased; Cela spilled some coffee grounds and cursed under her breath.
"Nothing happened; there's nothing to tell…" she grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the fallen coffee.
"Wrong! If 'nothing' happened you'd tell us all the details of the nothing…" Skylar started.
"We know your patterns Cela…" Aurora teased.
"What the hell is everyone taking about?" Tony poked his head through the window.
"Nothing" Cela responded quickly, looking about as red as a beet.
"Red" the other three answered in tandem.
"What or who the hell is Red?" Tony didn't like this nonsense at all…
"No one" Cela dropped her pen and order pad; two items she barely ever used.
"Someone" the other three laughed.
"I'm sure he'd be most hurt to hear that sis" 'Thena giggled like she was on laughing gas. "Especially coming out of you".
"Get to work bitches or I'm pulling out the Rod of Death" Cela tried to tease as she set out some placemats and went to unlock the door. Skylar and Aurora laughed and headed towards the locker room; Tony stopped them on the way.
"What the hell is going on…?" he barked; the other two looked at each other and giggled.
"Not up to date on the current gossip are we T-Dizzle?" Aurora teased.
"We should really start publishing a news letter…" Skylar added.
"Well apparently a lot has been going on behind my back" his annoyance level rose slightly now that he thought about it. "Why won't anyone tell me who or what this Red character is?"
Skylar burst out laughing; Aurora responded "let's just say he's Cela's…" she searched for a word "Knight" Skylar laughed even more as they started walking again.
"Knight; I like that, top drawer" they high five-d. The bell rang at the door indicating the first customers of the day.
18.Skylar
In a way he had to give her credit; the girl didn't crack all day. They were merciless too; especially after Steve and Gray came in. The rush had actually been worse than the previous day. The weather was better; more people were out and stayed out later. By the time they were finally ready to go it was almost eleven o'clock. Steve, Gray, 'Thena and Skylar were walking in a group chatting away when he realized that Cela was lagging behind. He couldn't really blame her; she worked fourteen hour days both days that weekend. He must've caught her dazing because she jumped a little when he sidled up next to her.
"Geeze Skylar; are you trying to give a girl a heart attack?" she sleepily glared.
"Just wanted to make sure you were still awake" he joked "I read this story once about this girl who 'sleep walked' herself right off a cliff" he slung an arm over her shoulder.
"Well then be a pal and keep me away from the cliffs" she chuckled softly as she snuggled up next to him.
"So…" he started
"Shirt" she responded
"Come again?"
"Oh I thought we were doing word associations; you said 'sew' I thought 'shirt'."
"Smart-ass"
"Skylar"
"Alright sis; I'll play your little game. Red"
"Nosy friends" she jabbed him on the side.
"Why are you so aversive to telling us what happened?" maybe he could get some info out of her in her sleepy state.
"'Cause you guys will try to talk me into doing something rash…"
"Well maybe you should. Trent can't keep a hold on you forever."
"Well I'll deal with it after sis is somewhere safe."
"Cela; it's not safe for you to be there…"
She yawned "Well if worse comes to worse he promised he'd keep us safe…"
Cha-ching… "Who's that?"
"Red. He told me to go to him if Trent ever went too far. I really like him; he smells nice doesn't he?"
"Yea; I guess he does…" Skylar smiled and gave her a little squeeze. She was almost out; only girl on the planet who could fall asleep walking…
"Sis, want some white tea? I'm gonna go to the shoe store…" Cela muttered; Skylar chuckled at her randomness.
"Hop up sis" he instructed as he turned his back to her, she hopped up and he carried her the rest of the way back to her building.
19.Celestia
The move did turn out to be the best for sis. She had been at Aurora's for about three weeks; and appeared to love it. According to what Aurora was telling her she had some boy calling for her and everything. That made Celestia happy. Sis had been painfully shy and withdrawn when she was living with her and Trent. It got a little better after she started hanging out with Red… Red, well Red was great. He always keeps his promises to 'Thena; he couldn't be nicer to her if she was his own sister. She found her mind slipping over to him as she paced the grocery store. She hated the grocery store; no one was aware of anyone else's existence, they were like mindless cattle. The whole process was almost robotic. She just wanted to pick up some stuff to feed Trent for the week. He had been coming 'home' in increasingly worse moods all week. She got the feeling that his job was hanging by a thread or worse.
"Oh my Lord another human face" a voice dragged her out of la-la land.
"Hey you!" she smiled at Rude; who was there with some other guy with hair almost as long as hers. They were both in suits; come to think of it she had never seen either Rude or Red not in a suit… weird.
"Oh, this is Tseng" he started "Co-Worker"
She had to giggle a little bit; he had read her mind… "Well I certainly hope that's not your weekly groceries" she laughed; he was carrying a basket with about 80 different chip varieties. "Pleased to meet 'ya by the way; I'm Celestia" she exchanged a handshake with Tseng. He seemed to snicker a little.
"I've heard quite a bit about you" he started
"That doesn't sound re-assuring; what kinda stories are you boys spreading about me?" she punched Rude's arm.
"Only the best I assure you" Tseng stepped in; she giggled.
Someone ran a cart right into her ankle; despite the fact that she was practically sitting on the shelves. "I hate this damn place" she grumbled under her breath as the woman continued without any acknowledgment; like she had run into a bump on the road.
The guys laughed "That's why we sent Elena down there for salsa…" Rude pointed at a little blonde girl trying to navigate through the madness. "See she can slip in and out easier than we can".
"You guys are terrible" Celestia laughed; Elena glared down at them and headed back out the isle; probably trying to come around another way. "You are aware she's gonna kick your collective asses…"
"Yeah; probably" Tseng laughed.
"Hey if you're not doing anything tonight you should stop by; we were gonna play some cards…" Rude added; Tseng snickered again.
"Well I'd feel bad having to kick all your asses" she responded with a smirk.
"Come on; don't make us beg" he tried to pout; he didn't pull if off nearly as good as Red. "Elena always complains about being the only girl".
"Well I don't have a suit; I'd stand out" she teased "Seriously though I have a mountain of laundry at home. Call me next time you're throwing a game together; I'll be happy to school 'ya" she winked.
"You guys suck!" a voice shrieked behind them as Elena appeared with the salsa. "Thanks for the back up…" she punched Rude on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince.
"I think that means we have to get the hell outta here…" Rude lowered his glasses and winked; Elena blushed a little as if she was previously unaware of Celestia's presence.
"Sorry I didn't realize you guys were…" she looked at Celetia for a minute "You're Celestia aren't you?"
"Wow; you guys gossip worse than Skylar" she laughed "Yea; that's me"
"Wow; it's a pleasure to meet you" she offered a hand. "I can see why…" Tseng jabbed her side she clamed up.
Celestia laughed "Well I have to try to fight my way to the dairy case; God speed on your ventures to the check-outs" she mock saluted and gritted her teeth as someone else rammed a cart into her ankle; harder than the last one. "You know it's a wonder that more murders aren't committed within grocery stores…" they all laughed as she walked off.
Author's Note: Welcome back kiddies! 1 issue for you all to chew on:
Chapter 19. I'm not sure how I feel about chapter 19. It has some good points (Illustrates that Trent's level of Douche-baggery is increasing, the subtle suggestion that maybe, just maybe that Cela is developing feelings for Red and vice versa, I love the grocery store commentary because I hate going to the grocery store myself; I suppose it's one of those 'dear to my heart' type things) and some bad (seems cheesy; like I was looking for any excuse to cram Elena and Tseng in; like I'm trying to win points w/ fans through corny antics and shenanigans). So I leave the fate of Chapter 19 in your hands; or at least this version of chapter 19. If anyone has any suggestions as to a better way to get the good points across w/o seeming cheesy; I'm all ears (and I give full credit to contributors)
KFConti