Friday Funday, Part 1: Cinccino City

The clothes that were fashionable for the late autumn season were on full display throughout the store. The assistant manager of Cinccino City made sure that everything was in order before opening the store. Jennifer Klein thought that she would be more appreciative of her title if she were not constantly doing the manager's work as well as her own.

"Alright, Molly," she said to Delcatty. "I think we can open the store now."

Delcatty yawned in response and simply curled into her tiny pillow as her trainer left the backroom to open the store. Jennifer did not usually work this early on Fridays, but school was out for a staff meeting so she and Laila decided to get some extra hours. Unfortunately, the mall was mostly empty on a Friday morning, so Jennifer spent most of her first hour checking the computer for any new shipment orders.

"Hey, Jen!" Laila called out as she entered the store in her silver and white Cinccino City uniform. "Reporting for duty…"

"Not much duty," Jennifer replied.

"At least we don't have to close tonight or this weekend," Laila said. "So, how do we pass the time, assistant manager?"

"I guess one of us can do homework or something while-"

Jennifer stopped mid-sentence when she saw Relena Serene casually strolling into the store. She immediately walked up to the younger girl and motioned for her to stop while Laila headed to the backroom.

"Just hear me out, Jen," Relena started. "I-"

"Relena," Jennifer interrupted as politely as she could. "You know you're banned from C.C. after that fiasco last year when you ran up your mom's credit card."

"It was a one-year ban," Relena said.

"And it's only been ten months," Jennifer corrected her.

"Your manager's not going to even care about that," Relena said. "Where is he at anyway? I need to speak to him. I'm not trying to buy anything; I'm trying to apply for a job. No one else will hire me."

Relena was right that their manager would not care about her ban and likely would not remember it anyway. Jennifer had always been instructed to call security in cases of banned customers trying to reenter the store but felt that there was no need in this scenario. Unlike a lot of people at school, she did not view Relena as dangerous or threatening. If anything, talking to her like an actual human being would be more effective. She was curious as to why Relena needed a job considering how financially successful her family was, but Jennifer understood that it was none of her business. If Relena wanted a job, who was she to stop her?

"I'll video call him," Jennifer told her.

The store phone would have been more appropriate than a personal phone under any reasonably professional manager. However, Braxton Porter did not fit that description. He had only gained the position because his aunt was the founder of Cinccino City, and he wanted extra cash to keep from bleeding into his trust fund while he partied through college. Sighing in preparation, Jennifer pulled out her phone and pulled up Braxton's name on her screen. The phone rang a few times before the manager's face appeared on the camera.

"Hey, Jen, what's up?"

"Hey, Braxton, sorry to disturb you, but this girl from my school wants a job," Jennifer explained. She looked closer into the phone and saw that his hair was dyed a dark green. "What's going on with your hair?"

"Pledge stuff," Braxton drawled. "Trust me, you'll understand when you get to college. Anyway, let me see the girl."

Jennifer handed her phone to Relena. From the apprehensive expression on her face, Jennifer could tell that the younger girl was praying that Braxton did not recognize her.

"Um, hi, Mr. Porter," Relena greeted. "I'm Relena Serene."

"Just Braxton," Jennifer heard him say. "Alright, Relena, I just need to know your age and if you have any felonies on your record?"

"I'm fifteen," Relena answered. "But I'll be sixteen in a few months. And no felonies."

"Alright," Braxton continued, his bored tone never changing. "I can start you out on four hours a shift until you turn sixteen. After that, you can work longer hours. Jennifer will get your name in the system, get your uniform sorted out, and handle training. If you have any questions about anything, ask her. She's the best at what she does. Can you start today?"

"Sure!" Relena said excitedly. "Thanks for the opportunity, Braxton! You won't regret it!"

"Welcome to the team…" Braxton yawned before hanging up the phone.

Relena handed Jennifer back her phone, positively giddy. Jennifer had to admit to herself that it was adorable seeing how excited the younger girl was. It was obvious that she was going to get the job the moment Braxton saw her. Pretty girls led to an increase in customers and having three was good for business. Still, training a new member of the team in addition to everything else she had to do would be taxing. She took solace in the fact that she would get paid extra for technically referencing Relena and doing the training.

"Looks like we're co-workers," Relena said in a sing-song voice. "So, is Braxton the college guy that everyone at school is talking about when they mention you? If so, you have good taste."

"We'll leave my love life a mystery for now," Jennifer told her. "Makes me look a little more exciting. For now, just look around the backroom and familiarize yourself with the store. I know you've been here a bunch of times, but it's different as an employee."

Relena headed to the backroom, flashing Laila a smile as they passed one another. Laila, for her part, approached Jennifer with a look of unease and she instantly knew why. News of Relena's nervous breakdown and subsequent institutionalization had spread throughout the school like wildfire during the previous year. Truthfully, Jennifer was a bit concerned about whether Relena could handle the job and figured that keeping an eye on her would be the best way to make sure things ran smoothly.

"Um…" Laila started. "You sure about-"

"Be nice," Jennifer interjected. "This might be good for her."

"First customer of the day…" Laila suddenly looked over her shoulder, shifting Jennifer's attention to the entrance. "And look who it is…"

Tyler West entered the store and Jennifer realized that she could count the number of times she had seen him in the past year since he transferred schools on one hand. From the outside looking in, his actions over the past year were bizarre. Most of the school believed he would be team captain of the battle team until graduation and get together with Amelie. Instead, he abruptly switched schools and ended up dating Felicity Cole of all people. Jennifer and Laila never brought it up around Amelie. That did not quell Laila's anger towards her former bandmate as it was obvious that despite her silence, Amelie was indeed upset about it.

"Welcome to Cinccino City," Jennifer greeted as professionally as she could. "How can we help you?"

"Hi, Jennifer," he greeted cordially. "Laila. I'm…looking for something that might cheer someone up. Is there anything here that can help an upset person be…less upset?"

"That depends," Laila gritted through her teeth. "Were you responsible for upsetting them or not? And it also depends if it's someone you upset in the past or-"

"It's for Felicity," Tyler cut her off. "Listen, I'm not here for an argument, can you help me or not?"

"I can," Jennifer answered. "Laila, can you please go to the back and help Relena with her uniform?"

Laila rolled her eyes but did not press the issue. She headed to the backroom and Jennifer forced herself to calm down. She was not the biggest fan of Tyler West at the moment either but knew how important it was not to antagonize a potential customer.

"Thank you," Tyler said politely as he followed Jennifer to the jewelry section. "I apologize. I'm really not here to start anything. It was a rough night."

"It's fine," Jennifer assured him. "Why is Felicity upset anyway?"

"We were about to go out last night when Craig showed up out of nowhere," Tyler explained. "He threatened us and now he knows Mike Snowe is back in Saffron City. Johnny told me that he went to his house and threatened him too."

"Johnny?" Jennifer swallowed hard. Even after all the time, it was hard for her to even think about him. "Is he alright?"

"I'm not sure," Tyler admitted. "With our schedules, it's kind of difficult to find time to hang out these days, but he seemed fine when we talked on the phone. He and Felicity were thinking about filing a restraining order against Craig, but I'm not so sure that will even work."

It was enough to make Jennifer's head spin. In all honesty, she wished she could stay out of the whole thing, but she understood that she was a potential target as well. She still remembered Delcatty clawing up Holt Wullinger's face as she and Darren Hernandez just barely saved Drake Hicks from drowning. The Party from Hell made sure that anyone at school that had ever been remotely connected to Craig Kelton was now a target to the federation.

"Some of the other C.C. employees saw Felicity and Kat come in here the other day during school hours," Jennifer explained, shifting the topic. "So, it might be hard finding something that she hasn't already bought. I suggest instead of just buying something expensive, focus on something more meaningful. Maybe a birthstone necklace or ring?"

"I don't really know that much about birthstones," Tyler admitted.

"Well, Felicity's stone would be garnet," Jennifer explained as she scanned the available jewelry.

"How about the bracelet?" Tyler asked casually.

Jennifer felt like her eyes were about to pop out her head when she was the bracelet that Tyler was pointing to. It was a classic emerald-cut garnet bracelet encrusted with diamonds worth more than even the car she had been saving up for. Obviously, Tyler decided to get something meaningful and expensive. It was the way he was so nonchalant about choosing to purchase the bracelet that was so astonishing. Jennifer had spent her whole life hanging out with rich kids, but Tyler West was another level of wealthy.

"I'll ring it up at the register," Jennifer noted, taking the bracelet out of the glass display. "Or would you prefer I ship it to her house?"

"It's a Friday, so I can just take it myself," Tyler replied. "Thank you for your help, Jennifer. It was nice seeing you again."

Once he paid for the bracelet and left the store, Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. She was thankful that the awkwardness of his presence was only brief. Glancing at the clock on her phone, she noticed that it had only been an hour and a half.

"Four hours and thirty minutes to go…"

"Come to Cinccino City for all the latest styles!"

Relena had spent the previous two hours doing paperwork and watching the training video and she was glad to have something more interesting to do. Even if it was just standing outside the store advertising and handing out flyers, at least it was something. A few customers had entered the store since she started, so she figured she was doing a somewhat decent job.

"How is it going so far?" Laila asked as she walked outside the store.

"The uniform could be cuter, but I guess I can't complain," Relena replied. "I look good in anything anyway."

"I meant the job," Laila said with a laugh. "But yeah, you look even better in the uniform than I do which is a pretty big accomplishment."

"Well, the training part was boring," Relena answered. "I guess that's something every new employee has to do. Getting to stand outside and yell at everyone that walks by me is pretty fun though."

"If you want to stick around for about an hour after your shift, me and Jennifer are going to the Pilates studio," Laila informed her. "Wanna come with us? You can use your employee discount to get some cute fitness wear."

While there had always been intermingling between the students in Relena's year and the students in the year ahead, the two groups of students typically kept themselves separate. With that in mind, Relena hesitated for a moment, worried that she would feel out of place among the two older girls. However, her therapist had been encouraging her to spend time with other people and she had been failing miserably on that part. She had also distanced herself from most of her other friends and knew that anything was better than going home to her family.

"Okay," Relena accepted the invitation. "I'll go. Just one thing. We…aren't taking Jennifer's car, are we? No offense, but it's kind of a piece of-"

"A piece of shit…" Jennifer finished as she joined her co-workers. "You know, I think that's the third time I've heard that this week."

"Sorry…" Relena said sheepishly.

"Don't be," Jennifer said bluntly. "It is a piece of shit. That's why I'm saving up for a new one."

"I'm borrowing Xander's car," Laila told Relena.

"We don't have to worry about it breaking down on us," Jennifer added. "Anyway, Relena, it's your break time. You get thirty minutes. Take a nap, get something to eat, walk around, whatever you want to do. When you get back, Laila and I will show you how to do shipping orders."

Relena wasted no time and headed for the food court. She knew that she should eat some actual food to help her get through the rest of her shift, but she was craving something sweet. She made a beeline for Beartic Blizzards, thankful that there was not a line of customers.

"Can I get a double scoop," Relena started when she approached the counter. "One scoop of ginger maple miso and the other scoop, tahini chocolate."

The cashier turned around and Relena's eyes widened as she recognized him. Nat St. James looked ridiculous in his Beartic Blizzards uniform, complete with an apron and hat. However, despite how silly he looked, his trademark blank expression made it impossible to even tease him. Of course, his expression changed the moment he realized who his customer was.

"Must be fate," he smirked.

"No, must be hate," Relena shot back and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, think I just lost my appetite."

"Relax," he sighed. "I'm just joking. One scoop of ginger maple miso and one scoop of tahini chocolate coming up. Cup or cone?"

"Cup…"

Nat's long arms reached inside the display freezer and scooped the ingredients needed and put them in the plastic bowl. He added a waffle cone chip and a spoon before handing the small bowl to Relena.

"Enjoy," Nat said as Relena reached for her credit card. "Don't worry about paying. It's on the house."

"Really?" Relena ate a spoonful of ice cream. The taste suited her sweet tooth, and she did not know if she would make it to the table before she finished the entire bowl. "Well, if you're going to give me free ice cream, that automatically moves you up from zero to one in my book."

"Alright, progress," Nat remarked. "You did tell me to shoot harder."

"You remember that?" Relena asked as she took another spoonful of ice cream. "Thought you were too drunk at Lilly's party to even tell any girls apart."

"No amount of alcohol could make me forget how hot you were that night," Nat grinned. "Or today…"

"From a one to a two," Relena smirked.

"That a good enough score to join you during my break?" Nat requested.

"I…I guess…" she relented.

Relena felt it was the least she could do after he had given her a free dessert. Worst case scenario, she figured she could just string Nat along for the free ice cream. They found a clean table to eat at and Relena saw that Nat had opted to go for only a single scoop of blueberry cashew ice cream.

"So," Nat started. "Why are you working at Cinccino City?"

"Why are you working at Beartic Blizzards?" Relena countered.

"I asked you first," Nat grumbled.

"I don't care…"

"Fine," Nat sighed. "My dad made me get a job because he thinks it'll look good on my college applications. He can't wait for me to graduate and move out so that he can turn my room into a mancave. Mom couldn't talk him out of it."

"Parents suck," Relena told him. "That's why I got a job. It'll look good for when I get emancipated in a few months."

"Well, if you're going to be on your own, I'm definitely going to have to give you as much free ice cream as I can, so you don't starve to death," Nat said.

"No parents and free ice cream," Relena mused. "I'm liking emancipation already."

"See anything else you like?" Nat tried his luck.

"I don't know…" Relena told him. "Why the sudden interest in me anyway?"

"You're hot and single," Nat answered bluntly. "That's it."

"Is that what you told Anika?" Relena questioned. "And Kat? And Ellie?"

"Does it matter?" Nat countered. "The Kat and Ellie stuff was two years ago, and Anika is like ancient history. I thought she was cute way back in our second year, but it turned out that she was more into books than me. That's as far as it went with her. And Kat was a hookup that should have never happened. Listening to Craig, did me in."

"Craig is a notorious life-ruiner," Relena noted. "Honestly, I don't care about Anika, and I don't care about Kat. I hardly know either of them. But Ellie is my friend…or was anyway. It just wouldn't be right…but then again, she's the one who is dating Ace Torres. I don't know, this whole thing's confusing."

"Fair enough," Nat accepted as he finished his ice cream. "You have a lot going on, I respect that. Let me know when you get it sorted out."

Relena was impressed by his maturity, but even more, she was impressed by how direct and open he was to her. Nat did not care about her being labeled as the 'crazy girl' and it was obvious that he did not care much for anything in general. Relena knew that he was only interested in her for shallow reasons, so she could use that as justification for stringing him along if she wanted to. The last thing she wanted was to end up screwing up her life up again for another boy.

With that in mind, Relena finished her ice cream and headed back to Cinccino City.

Mike finished his third Glaciate Gulp, sucking on the straw until there was nothing left. Loki sat across from him, finishing his nachos as he watched Mike scanning the area way too vigilantly.

"Relax, dude," Loki said. "Even if Craig does see you, he's not going to attack you out in a public mall."

"I can't believe he knows I'm back," Mike tensed up. "I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I've only been here for a week."

"The federation's not going to want to come after you until Elyse and Amelie are back," Loki tried to calm him down. "No matter how hotheaded Craig is, they know if they attack you, the McKinleys won't think it's safe enough to come back. That's what Elyse's mom said and she's like one of the smartest people in existence."

Everything had gone sour so fast. After everything he had went through in Cianwood, Mike had been confident that he could return to Saffron without much issue. Now he was back to having nightmares and hiding from Craig Kelton. It was like he had never left, but worse because at least in the past, his friend group had not been fractured.

"Don't worry, Mikey-boy. Craig's not stupid enough to come after you after that ass kicking you gave him last year…"

The muscular boy with the sandy blond hair plopped down at the empty chair at their table. His tray was full of food and Mike was certain that Xander Hamilton was going to eat every last bite.

"I don't know about that," Mike said. "I still remember you flooring Craig with one punch at the party last year. It took me way more effort to take him down."

"He got what he deserved…" Xander frowned. "Bringing a group of psychos to a place where all his friends were was bad enough but being on the same side as the guy who almost killed Johnny is unforgivable." He looked directly at Mike and sighed. "I'm sorry for everything he put you through over the years and for any of the times I contributed to it."

Xander held out a fist and Mike bumped it. The worst thing Xander had ever done to him personally was just point and laugh along with the crowd whenever he suffered misfortunes at the hand of Craig. After everything that happened, it was easy to forgive such a minor slight.

"Did you choose here to stuff your face just to apologize to Mike?" Loki asked him.

"No," Xander answered and took a bite of his jumbo burger. "I need a ride home. I'm letting Laila borrow my car tonight so that she can go to Pilates, but I waited too long to ask Nat for a ride, and he's already left the mall."

"Sure," Loki said. "I guess I'm just the taxi these days. I'm going to start charging you guys' cab fare!"

"You're the best, Del Grove!" Xander said with a hearty laugh as he reached for his cell phone. "Let me call Laila and tell her to come get the keys."

"Laila works at Cinccino City, right?" Mike asked. "I'm on the way there to pick up an order for my sister. She realized she wouldn't have to pay a shipping fee since her brother is back in Saffron to run all her errands while she's living it up in college. I can take your keys to Laila."

"Thanks, dude!" Xander tossed him the keys and went back to his meal.

As he walked around the mall, towards the clothing store, Mike tried to clear his mind of all negative thoughts. It was much easier to do back in the calming environment that was Cianwood City. Although he had returned to Saffron with the knowledge that he would have to face his problems, actually being in the situation was a different feeling altogether.

Mike had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he barely noticed that he was in front of the clothing store until he almost bumped into the window. Fortunately, Laila was behind the counter while he spotted Jennifer helping a customer and her daughter in the kids' section.

"The famous Mike Snowe finally makes an appearance at Cinccino City," Laila said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to pick up an order for my sister, Julie," Mike explained as he placed the car keys on the register. "And to give you the keys to Xander's car."

"Much appreciated!" Laila remarked giddily as she grabbed the keys. "I'll be right back with your order. Feel free to look around for something you might like."

Laila disappeared into the backroom and Mike decided to take her up on the offer. The clothes in the men's section were a bit too expensive for his tastes, but he figured he could look for items for his Pokémon. With how picky they all were, it was difficult to find something they would all like. Scanning around the store, Mike saw that the customer and her daughter had left at the same time two older Cinccino City employees entered the store. The college-aged women went into the back as Laila reemerged with Julie's package.

"You're lucky," she said as Mike returned to the register. "We were just about to leave. Ten minutes later and you wouldn't have gotten my friends and family discount added."

"Much appreciated!" Mike echoed with a smile as he paid for the order. "So, how long have you and Jen been doing Pilates-"

"I was going to try red, but baby blue has always been my color…"

Relena came out of the backroom with Jennifer and her Delcatty. She was the last person that Mike expected to see, mainly because she had been banned from the store. Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, and she wore body hugging, light blue camouflage leggings. The matching sports bra drew the most attention from her ex-boyfriend, though he tried to prevent himself from ogling.

"Alright," he told Laila. "I'm going to try to sneak out the store before I get-"

"Mike?" Relena called out and started approaching him. "You know I could hear you, right?"

"I…was just leaving…" Mike gritted awkwardly. "They…uh, unbanned you?"

"Unbanned and employed," Relena said. "And now, I'm off to Pilates. So…yeah."

"Laila, you ready?" Jennifer asked.

"Yep!" Laila shouted as she returned with her bag, twirling Xander's keys with her free hand. "Let's head on out!"

"Later, Mike!" Jennifer said.

"See ya!" Laila added.

Relena just gave him a quick wave goodbye as she followed her co-workers out the store. He made a genuine effort not to stare at Relena's butt but failed miserably. He had been failing since he came back home. Mike sighed as he stood in the middle of Cinccino City and pondered his life.

"You know what?" he told himself. "I could use a new sweater…"

A/N: And there we have it! I always feel like chapters split into two parts always use the first one as a set up chapter, but this one probably fits that description best of all (especially Mike's section). But I promise, there's going to be pay off. Plus, it's always fun to see some faces that we haven't seen in a while and to see how things are slowly developing.

The P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Jennifer Klein, Relena Serene, and Mike Snowe.

As always, feel free to come to the forums or directly PM me if you want to chat!

Until next time!