Author's Note: Before we begin, we'd like to introduce ourselves. We are the CC Squad, otherwise known as AFH (Angel), paranoid girl (pgirl), Encrypted Pseudonym (Encrypted Cookie), straitjackit and, later on, leonegrl91. We're members of the wonderful The Aquatics Centre forum, a forum made for the A.T.O.M. fans, by the A.T.O.M. fans, with no restrictions. This is a more developed version of an RPG on that site (you can find the link in our profile), which has been going for a little over 45 A4 pages now. While the tale will consist mainly of original characters, this is our own little universe where Paine is not in jail and the Alpha Teens will pop in when they're really needed. And we're Mary Sue free!
Will you join us in our tale?
Landmark City.
A futuristic urban centre struggling to maintain the simple traditions and rich culture of the small town it once was. Scattered among the cold steel of the megalithic architecture, quaint shops and family businesses struggle to hold the line against the impersonal assault of twenty-first century life...
Leaning against the cool window, Angelin sighed as the morning sun finally found its way around the grey steel behemoth on the next block. After Paine and his band of thugs had demolished her shop's previous incarnation, she'd seriously considered taking the first offer from the real estate broker. Selling the property to the developers for yet another skyscraper would certainly have been the easier road. She traced her hands along the newly painted name in the window of the front door.
Charity Café.
How could she not change the shop's name to that? No, she couldn't have taken that offer, not after more than half of Landmark City had rallied to raise the funds and help her rebuild. If people cared enough about her little coffee shop to open their hearts and pocketbooks to put her back in business then perhaps there was still hope for this city. Besides, now she owed them, and if people thought her café was good before then this town was in for one hell of a wake-up call!
Grabbing the lock and grinning with gusto, she flipped the catch off and span around to behold the unused room on more time.
"I'm back in business and ready for anything!"
The bright jingling of a tiny brass bell announced the entry of Charity Café's first customer. A small head poked through the small gap the opening made, followed by a smaller body, and in a sudden mad rush of green, the figure had sped from the door to an over-large puff chair in the back corner of the room. She paused in front of it, prodding it with a pale finger before grinning widely. She literally jumped and landed into the chair, cuddling two obscurely human looking plush toys to her chest as she sank into her seat.
"Yes," she muttered to herself. "Just like it used to be..."
She lifted her head, pulling off her glasses to clean them with one hand while she looked around for signs of life. The sign on the door had said open, and it hadn't been locked...
Fretting, she pulled her over-large sleeve over her arm and began to chew on the material. The light from the sun had not yet reached the peak of the monolith in front of the café, and the corner in which she sat was shrouded in darkness, causing her to blend in with the furniture. She mumbled into her hoodie as she spoke to herself.
"Where's Angel?"
She pulled the plushies closer with her spare hand and sniffled a little.
"I really want a mocha..."
Angelin, meanwhile, had heard the door go and returned to the front of the store. She gasped and scolded herself mentally when she realised she hadn't turned the lights on, and flicked the switch on the nearby wall. The room was flooded with magnificent yellow light, and a chair in the back left corner of the room groaned in pain.
The petite blonde smiled to herself as she strolled over to the chair in question and peeped over the top, waving.
"Jaevyan!" she cried in delight, pleased that she had guessed correctly. Who else would hide in the corner, really? "It's great to see you again! Same as usual?"
Jaevyan blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light.
Gah, she thought. I might not be able to come here as often. These lights give me such a headache...
She propped herself up and lifted her head to return Angelin's dazzling smile.
"Please, and thank you!"
Angelin quickly returned to the kitchen, while Jaevyan fidgeted in her seat. As usual, she simply couldn't get comfortable and after a few minutes struggle, she settled on draping her legs over the right arm and hoping that the shop owner didn't mind. Angelin returned almost the moment Jaevyan had settled, and handed her a creamy mocha.
Jaevyan gave a small grin of satisfaction before smiling at her companion.
"Do you remember the Lee Industries game show last year?" Jaevyan asked, her free hand moving to push her tinted glasses back up her nose. Why everything seemed to be too big for her, she'd never know.
While Angelin had been getting the mocha, she had missed the tinkle as the doorbell went once more.
This time, the arrival was far more confident – her coolness was almost tangible and the occupants of the café felt as though the temperature may have dropped slightly. In contrast, her clothes were of warm, fiery colours – a deep red button up shirt, wrinkle free and of a fit only obtained by tailoring to the individual adorned her top, her bottom an interesting contrast of ripped denim, the same ebony colour as her hair. Her tanned skin suggested Asian heritage, but her startlingly blue eyes hinted at Western ancestors.
She remained by the door, admiring the picture of swimming fish on the wall while Angelin returned to her first customer, and walked up behind them as they spoke. Her approach allowed her to catch the beginning of the conversation, which was briefly interrupted as the youngest of the group took a sip of her drink.
"Mm, you make the best mochas in town," Jaevyan sighed happily, shifting one of the plushies, adorned with a bright yellow jumpsuit, into a better position so it wouldn't cause her to spill her beverage.
"How can you even tell through all that sugar? Five spoons, isn't it?" Freida Lee asked teasingly as she unconsciously mimicked Angelin's earlier actions and leaned over the top of the large chair. Jaevyan squawked in shock and very nearly spilt the mocha down herself, but fortunately avoided it by sitting up.
"Freida!" Jaevyan cried, putting her mocha down so she could stand up on the chair and hug her old friend. After a few moments, she heard the distinct wheezing of suffocation and let go, sitting back down.
"I'm sorry!" she said, silently praying that Freida wouldn't be angry. An idea popped into her head, and she pulled out the two plushies she'd been carrying.
"Look! Aren't they just adorable?!" she asked, holding the red haired plushie out just a little farther. It had the intended result as Freida gave a squeal of delight and latched on to it, hugging it as tightly as Jaevyan had been hugging her a moment before. It took a few moments for Freida to realise that she was actually in public, and that this wasn't the correct way for a Lee to behave, so she reluctantly let go of the plushie and returned it to it's rightful owner.
"Erm, yeah, real cute..."
Angelin bit back a giggle. Freida was usually so calm and collected, so to see her so enthused about something was a rare treat. At the offer of being made a plushie for her birthday, the light that had entered her eyes magnified and she nodded furiously.
Angelin settled down her green tea, preparing to get up and offer Freida a drink, when Jaevyan asked a question.
"Has anyone seen Nathan, or Jimmy?"
As if on cue the bell hanging over the door jangled yet again, a sharper and longer sound this time, due to the door being thrown open, and a tall, lanky boy ambled in, only just managing to stop himself from tripping on his own shoelaces. He looked around nervously for a second then his eyes fell on the little gathering and his face lit up with a lopsided grin. The girls all looked over at him and began to laugh, making his ears turn red. He turned his attention to the ceiling fan, spinning lazily around so as to keep the room a reasonable temperature.
A few moments of watching this left him wide open for attack as the shortest member of the group launched herself at him and clung to his neck for dear life.
"Nathan!" she practically screeched, excitement overriding her embarrassment. The lanky boy nearly toppled over as he gained this extra weight, but by some miracle of the gods he maintained his balance.
"Hey, guys," he managed to choke out, attempting to extricate himself from the iron vice grip of his pseudo-sister's Hug o' Death (a term affectionately coined by Angelin the first time she received one).
He managed to remove his new scarf after a moment, and promptly sat down in front of a table, his legs so long that they bashed into the top. He rested his elbows on the tabletop and placed a hand on either side of his face.
"What's happening?"
Author's note: So that wasn't the most exciting introduction, but that's just it – an introduction. We promise that the next chapter will have you reaching for a pillow...
Things are about to get rough in the Charity Café.