Hey guys! This is chapter 16 and my continuation of "Rumors and the First Day on the Job" chapter!

Alright, as so you all know, for my first story, I'm nearly at 100 reviews, have 14 followers, and 8 favorites! Not bad but I need YOU GUYS, THE READERS, to spread the word about my story to as many people as you can so I can get 100 reviews!

After school, 5:15 pm, Paradise Cove Cafe...

WOOF!

WOOF!

"Alright, alright, you mangy mutt, I get it!" Phil said as he parked the bus into the Paradise Cafe parking lot and opened the door. Thomas barked at him before running off the bus with Charlotte following close behind him.

After a rather long day, especially with Alaine's continuous worrying over her, the day ended early for as it was time for Charlotte to head to Paradise. But right before Phil started to drive her to work, Annette came to drop off Thomas, who looked glad to see her.

"Thanks for the lift, Phil," Charlotte said to the bus driver, "and sorry if riding with Thomas was inconvenient. I didn't know my mom would drop him off like that."

"Wasn't your problem, to begin with. I just hate the dog." Then, Phil smiled and tipped his driver's hat at her. "Have a good day at work."

With that, he closes the bus doors and drove out of the café parking lot. Charlotte looked down at Thomas.

"Great, now I need to find you a babysitter," she said to him. He whined and pouted.

WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

"Listen, I have to work and I can't trust you on your own. Much less, bother with animal control and... what the heck I'm talking to a dog!" Charlotte exclaimed.

WOOF!

"Quiet you!" she said as she gave him her infamous glare. Her dog gave her a lopsided grin with his tongue sticking out.

Charlotte was about to go and tie his leash around a pole like last time when she heard someone yell "Cool! I didn't know you had a dog, Char!"

She turned around and saw Brendan running towards them. He was wearing flip-flops, khaki shorts, and a tropical blue Hawaiian floral shirt. He quickly knelt and started to pet Thomas.

"Stop! Thomas is..." she started to warn him. But to her surprise, Thomas was leaning into his touch and was rather enjoying it.

"You little pussycat," she said under her breath. The dog turned and gave her a less scary dog version of the evil eye.

As Brendan petted him, he turned to Charlotte and said "Hey Char! My mom is waiting inside for you. But I should probably warn you, the place is crowded and loud today. So you might wanna be careful while you're in there. You'll find my mom in the office."

Charlotte nodded and said "Thanks Brendan and can you watch him for me? He has a little trouble staying put."

Brendan's smile grew across his face and said a little too quickly "Sure! Oh man, I always wanted a dog, but because of my stupid stepdad, I couldn't. Come on boy!"

He wrapped Thomas's leash around his hand and Charlotte watched the two run off to...somewhere on the beach.

Charlotte smiled and rolled her eyes and headed towards the café. But before she even got 5 ft away, the smell of food and music hit her hard.

Brendan was right.

The place was packed, even from the outside. Everyone was so crowded together that Charlotte had to squeeze in between everybody, and that was harder because the music was playing so loud that she, and probably everyone else around her, couldn't hear at all. And that was when she was outside. The tables on the patio were either filled or covered with dirty plates from old customers.

The inside of the café was worse. The music was up to MAX and Charlotte lost her complete ability to hear. Everyone seemed to be shouting something but she didn't know what. And it also didn't help that she ended up being squeezed in the crowd. And from what she's been able to see, a lot of tables were in a worse state than the ones outside.

By the time she managed to get behind the food counter and got into the, she hadn't realized that her hearing had returned.

"Welcome!"

Charlotte jumped and turned around and sighed in relief. It was Karen behind her. Her hair was in a bun and she was wearing a red maternity dress.

"Sorry to scare you! As you saw out there... we need your help. The other night, some teenagers opened this place up while I and my family were home for the night and they threw a big party and trashed the place.

Luckily, the police came and got everyone out. Unfortunately, today we had a huge special that had everyone out there here in the first place, and my family didn't even have time to clean up before everyone got here. The cleanup crew I called had engine trouble so my Mother and Jonathan went to go help them, leaving me and Brendan to deal with this.

So, instead of being a waitress like we planned, you don't mind busting tables do you?" Karen asked.

Charlotte nodded. "Sure, but first thing's first, we need to get all these people out of here and fast!"

"Alright, the beach can offer towels and stuff since nearly everyone came here with a bathing suit at least, but their also hungry," Karen said.

Charlotte thought on this until she smacked her forehead.

"Of course! How could I be such an idiot?!" Charlotte explained, "we need to get ice cream trucks! It's 60 degrees out there and everyone's going to get heated up! We need some ice cream trucks fast!"

Karen's face brightened up. "Charlotte, you're a genius! And I know someone who can get here quickly and they also owe me a favor! And as soon as that's done, we can clean up everything and wash the tables and..."

"Karen, um, sorry to burst your bubble, but for me to wash the tables, I need to touch a wet towel, and if I do, um..." Charlotte trailed off shyly. Thankfully, Karen caught on to what she was trying to say and laughed.

"Sorry about that. I was so caught up in this I forgot," Karen said as she went behind her desk and pulled out a bag of clothes and gave it to Charlotte, "and this is your uniform. There are some differences in it, but overall, you'll fit. Don't you worry, sweetie, we were prepared if that happened. I'll give you a few minutes to change so I can make a call."

And with that, she left.

Charlotte looked into the bag and pulled out her uniform. The tropical shirt was still the same but instead of a knee-length khaki skirt, there was a pair of khaki pants and a white apron. At the bottom of the bag was a pair of thick, white gloves. They were long and resembled real dish-washing gloves.

She looked at her clothes. They were all her size and the gloves looked nice and fitting. So, she took off her clothes and put on the uniform. She put her hair up in a pony-tail and went to look at herself in the mirror on the wall. It was big and wide enough for her to see her full reflection. But the moment she saw herself, she couldn't believe it.

She almost didn't recognize herself.

The girl in the mirror was tall, but not supermodel tall nor basketball player tall. She was naturally tall. Her arms were thin, but they had an athletic muscle in it. From her upper to the lower body, she wasn't thin like the girls, but she lost a few noticeable pounds. Her frame was thin, but she could see the muscles and whatever fat she had left around her waist and stomach. (1)

And her legs, despite being covered by her pants, they had thinned out and developed muscles as well. This girl's face was now more defined, beautiful even, with her slightly tan pink skin and brown hair (NOT LIKE CLEO'S LOOKS). This girl looked out-of-place in the uniform. It looked like she would rather be on the beach in a bikini.

Who was this girl?

It wasn't until Charlotte looked into the girl's eyes and found out.

It was her.

Her eyes were all that she recognized and though she found the redness in her hair, it was very, very tainted.

She found it hard to believe that the girl in the mirror was her, but it wasn't impossible. During her "exile", she spent all her time eating healthy, drinking water, sinking until her throat hurt, on the field with Alaine practicing softball, walking Thomas, and between practicing her powers, she hadn't noticed that she was changing.

And she was glad.

She smiled at herself and, to her surprise, her smile was still the same.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Charlotte turned to see Karen open the door with a microphone in her hand. She eyed her in the uniform.

"It's a little big on you, but you look nice. Listen, the ice cream should be here in a few, don't ask me how, and I need to you try to talk to the crowd out there. And don't ask where I got the microphone, but my family has special days. Are you ready to do this?" she asked as she handed Charlotte the microphone.

Charlotte took it. "As ready as ever." The two started to walk out of the room but Charlotte smiled at her reflection once more before leaving.

At the cash register, the crowd was getting angry. Charlotte turned down the music, climbed on top of the counter, and raised the mic to her mouth.

"Alright, alright, can I please have your undivided attention," she said. Everyone quieted down and looked at her.

"Listen, I know some of you are hungry and want to enjoy your day at the beach. But as you can see, we're not ready for you yet. One of the managers has a few ice cream trucks on the way here and though some of you may not want that, it gives us enough time to clean up and get this day started properly," and just as she finished that sentence, there was a chorus of music coming from outside the café.

Immediately, everyone in the building evacuated the building and went outside. Charlotte hopped off the counter and turned to see Karen staring at her with an awestruck look on her face.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

Karen shook her head and said, "Where were you when we were having dinner rush?"

Charlotte smiled and laughed. "Come on, let's give that cleanup crew a head start so we can get to business faster."

By 6:15 pm, Laguna and Jonathan had come with the cleanup crew and were surprised to see that most of the trash outside and the trash on the floor in the inside of the café was up and already in the trashcan.

"Karen, what happened here? It was a riot before we left," Laguna asked her as the crew finished cleaning up the rest of the trash. Karen didn't say a word but pointed to Charlotte, who was cleaning up tables and putting menus down.

"I don't know how to describe it, Mother. One moment, everyone was yelling and the moment she started talking, everyone calmed down and listened. Well, at least until the ice cream came. I'm telling you, she's something special," Karen said with a smile.

However, Laguna was not.

"Karen, as much as I'd like for stuff like that to come naturally to her, you have to remember, Marana gave her powers that can make her influence anybody. Remember that," Laguna told her and walked away.

Soon afterward, the café was running big time. As soon as Laguna announced to the beach that the café was officially ready for business, everyone practically stampeded in. The cooks were quick to make all the orders while Brendan, who was upset to be away from Thomas, helped Charlotte wait for the tables. Laguna was greeting people at the entrance. Karen was working at the cash register, and Jonathan was in the kitchen with the cooks.

"Man, can we hurry this up so I can go hang out with Thomas? He and I were in the middle of pulling a few pranks on some married couples," Brendan complained to Charlotte as he was cleaning up an empty table.

Charlotte laughed. "But you had an hour and a half with him. Don't you think that's enough time with him?"

"No! It's because of Jonathan that I don't even have one! He got attacked by one when he was little and has had a vendetta against them ever since!"

"Well, you should talk to him about it. Maybe you two just misunderstand each other," Charlotte suggested.

"Oh please, he'll give me a huge lecture about caring for others and not myself and he practically kisses my mom's butt and worships the ground she walks on. I mean, I know she's pregnant with my little sister, but she's not disabled," he sulked.

Charlotte looked at him as she got out her pen and a small notebook.

"You know, it's okay to be jealous about not having your mom's undivided attention anymore," she said.

Brendan looked at her with wide eyes and started to stutter.

"W-w-w-wh-what a-are y-you... I-I-I...I'm not jealous!" he exclaimed. And with that, he ran off.

Charlotte shook her head at him. He was jealous.

Charlotte was looking at her notebook as she walked up to a table where a bunch of teenagers was sitting and said: "Welcome to Paradise Cove Café, what can I get you all?"

"Well, actually, I'll have a...YOU!" one of the teenagers said. Charlotte looked up and her face paled.

It was Jason and his gang.

Charlotte started to walk away but was pulled back by a hand, roughly. She turned to see it was Jason's.

"Well, so this is where you work," he said, eyeing her up and down, "nice outfit you got there. Though... I wonder what you look like under it."

Alright, now she had to getaway.

She started to pry herself away from him but he wouldn't budge.

"Did you know your little dog had left me scar for life? Now there's no way I'll ever get laid again!" he said as he gritted his teeth.

"Listen, I am so sorry-YELP!" Charlotte cried. His hand was starting to leave a bruise on her arm.

Then, just as he started talking again, out of nowhere, Jonathan ripped Jason's hand off of her and threw him to the floor.

"I suggest you leave now if you know what's good for you... and your friends too," he said stiffly as he glared down at him.

There was easily a glance of fear on Jason's face. He looked at his crew, who were probably thinking the same, got up and ran out of the café altogether.

Charlotte just stared at him as Jonathan passed her. Shaking out of her gaze, she reached her hand out to him and said "Um, thanks for helping me there. I had no idea-"

He looked at her with a cold glare and she put her hand down. "Let me make this clear: I didn't do that for you. I did that because it would have been only a matter of minutes until you remembered what you could do and expose my family. To be honest, I could care less about you being harassed by some boy you led on."

And with that, he walked away, leaving Charlotte confused, and angry.

Alright, this is the end of this chapter! Woohoo!

1. Alright, though I'm gonna get some either good or bad reviews for this, I had to say this. My mom(who has 3 degrees, so she knows what she's talking about) told me that big-boned people - such as Charlotte - couldn't lose those muscles. However, you can lose the fat in your skin, so you can look skinny.

So, as I was trying to work out in this chapter, Charlotte still has her big muscles, but she lost the fat in them, so she appears skinny, but not as skinny as the girls (COUGH Cleo COUGH Emma COUGH Rikki COUGH Bella)! I added the tan-skin part because, well, she's in California, one of the sunniest places on Earth! How could she not get a tan?!

Don't reply to me with a 'good story' or 'I like it' or ect. Tell me how you honestly feel about it.

Read & Review