This chapter is a little more focused on OCs, so yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!
Chapter 5 - Turnabout Reunion
You know? I should come to this park more often. It's actually pretty nice here. Serena Sterling was strolling through People Park. Although, I wish I was back in the ER. *sigh* I really don't want to have to wait another month to start working again.
She was so consumed in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone call out to her. "Serena! Hey Serena!"
She finally looked up and around. "Who said that?" Turning around, she saw that it was Trucy who had yelled at her. She smiled a little and waved at the young magician, who ran over to her, with Iris following right behind her. "Hi Trucy. Iris. How are you?"
"Oh, we're good Serena. How about you?" Trucy asked happily.
"Oh, I'm doing well, thanks."
"Are you here by yourself, Serena?" Iris asked.
"Yeah. Just thought I'd get out of the apartment and get some fresh air."
"Then why don't you join us? You shouldn't be all by yourself. Plus we'd love the company!"
"Er…well…" I don't want to intrude on them, but Trucy does look pretty insistent. I guess it couldn't hurt. "Sure."
The young magician smiled brightly as she and Iris went to stand side-by-side next to Serena.
"So what else have you been up to lately?" Trucy asked curiously.
"I've just been trying to find ways to pretty much waste time. I've still got another month to go before I can get back to actually working."
Trucy frowned as she crossed her arms. "You know? It isn't fair that they won't let you go back to work, especially since you actually want to work. It doesn't make any sense."
Serena chuckled. "Yeah, I can see what you mean, but it's okay. I guess I do sort of need a bit of break, but I don't really know what I can do with all of the free time I have."
"How about you go on a date with someone?"
The doctor's eyes widened, and her cheeks turned a slight red color. "A…a d-date? Me?" She shook her head, smiling. "No way. I could never do that."
Trucy gaped at her. "Come on, Serena! You should totally go out on a date! Don't you want to meet your special someone and get married someday?!"
Serena considered the question. "That…would be nice. But, let's face it. I'm a 33 year old woman. I think my time for romance has long passed."
"Daddy's 34 years old, and he's dating Iris!"
Heh, I don't really think Mr. Wright would appreciate you saying that, but I can't respond to that, can I? "Well, if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Wright and Iris have known each other for a long time, right?" She saw Iris nod. "See? It makes sense that they would date. But me? No, it just wouldn't do."
Trucy crossed her arms. "I really think you should try it out."
"Anyway, enough about me! What's been going on with you, Iris? Are you all set for enrolling at the university this fall?"
Iris nodded. "Everything is going by smoothly, and it's all thanks to you, Serena. If you hadn't helped me out, I probably wouldn't have gotten accepted."
"Please don't thank me. I don't deserve it."
Trucy gasped. "Oh no! I almost forgot! We were supposed to meet Polly and Juniper back at the office!" Trucy exclaimed. "Sorry Serena, but it looks like we'll have to leave. But hey! My next magic show is coming up soon, so I want to see you there, okay?"
"Alright. Just let me know when it is, and I'll try to make it."
"You better!" She and Iris waved as they ran off.
Those two are so nice. I don't even know how I could've come to know such great people. Serena pushed her hands in her pockets as she continued her stroll around the park.
Serena sighed as she walked through the garage toward the stairs. After running into Trucy and Iris at the park, it had gone on to be another dull day in which she tried to find something productive to do, only to find herself driving to the ER.
I need to stop driving to the ER like that. People might think I have some kind of problem or something.
She walked through the lobby of her apartment complex and past the waiting area. She was so distracted that she failed to notice that someone was sitting there.
"Well, I sure feel great being ignored by my best friend."
Serena looked up. Wait. I know that chipper voice. She turned around, and a smile lit up her face. "Sabrina? Is that really you?"
A woman with dirty blonde hair ran up to the doctor and pulled her into a big hug. "It sure is me! Oh, I missed you so much Rena!"
"I missed you too Sabrina! It's been so long since I've seen you!" Serena exclaimed, returning the hug. She pulled away. "What are you doing here? In Los Angeles? Here at my apartment complex?!"
Sabrina giggled. "I have my ways."
"Come on! Let's go up to my apartment, and we can talk more there! You have a lot of explaining to do!"
"Jeez, Rena. You haven't changed one bit," Sabrina commented, looking around her best friend's apartment while she seated on the couch. "You're obviously still the same stick in the mud you were so long ago!"
Serena chuckled. "I'm afraid so, Sabrina. I guess it can't be helped." She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, where her blonde friend was. "Would you like something to drink?"
"You have coffee? Wait, no. Bad question. Of course you don't. You probably only have tea."
Serena smiled rather triumphantly. "Actually, this may come as a shock, but I happen to have some coffee in stock. I'll go make some for you."
"Serena Sterling has coffee in her home?! Stop the presses! This is a major story right here! Since when did you fall into the clutches of the delicious dark substance, Rena?"
"Ha ha ha. That's funny," Serena answered sarcastically. "I didn't fall into it. But I had some guests come here, and I realized that I should keep things other than tea in stock for any more visitors I might get."
"I see. So…how's Thomas? He's out of jail now, isn't he?"
Serena's smile fell. "Actually, he's…he passed away."
Sabrina frowned. "Rena. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I'm over it now."
"That must've been so hard for you."
Serena shrugged, brushing off the subject. "It's not a big deal. He knew it was going to happen. He just never told me until he…well…" She motioned her hand, indicating what she meant.
"Right."
"Here's your coffee, Sabrina." Serena sat down on the couch opposite from her friend. "So what are your plans, Sabrina? How long are you going to be here?"
"I'm staying for a while, although I don't know exactly how long 'a while' is going to be."
"What about work?"
"I'm going to work in a fashion boutique right here in LA. It's totally epic!"
"Wow. What's it called?"
"Totally epic."
"Wait. I thought you were that it is totally epic, but that's the name of the place?"
Sabrina nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Haven't you heard of it, Rena?" The doctor shook her head. "Man, Rena. You seriously need to get out more! I don't live in LA, and even I know about the place."
"You've always been knowledgeable when it comes to things like that, Sabrina," Serena pointed out.
"I guess you do have a point. We'll have to change that, now won't we?" A mischievous smile appeared on the blonde's face.
Oh dear. I don't like the sound of that. I better change the subject and distract her before she starts getting some crazy ideas in her head. "And where are you going to be staying, Sabrina?"
Sabrina crossed her arms. "Well, I'm staying at a hotel right now, but I want to find an apartment where I can stay for a couple of months. As nice as the hotel is, it's insanely expensive." She looked over at Sabrina. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's an apartment where I can stay, do you?"
Serena thought about it. "Well, actually, there is an apartment right here in the complex that's empty. My landlord, Mrs. Richards, has been looking for some to rent it out to."
"Oh! Will you talk to her and ask her if I can stay there?!" Sabrina asked eagerly.
"Of course I will, Sabrina! I'll make sure to ask her as soon as I see her!"
Sabrina got up and hugged her friend. "Yes! This is so exciting! I'll finally be able to keep an eye on you, Rena! I want to make sure you're taking good care of yourself!"
Serena just laughed while she returned the hug.
"They can't find out about me. Not yet. I'm…I'm not ready for that."
"Will you ever be ready?"
"I don't know. But…I can't do it now. I'm sure the time will come soon. But just not now."
Yup. So I've been thinking about where I wanted this story to go, and I realized that I kind of want to make it another mystery (although I've been known to not write good mysteries…but I guess practice makes perfect!). I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter done! I was kind of going through I guess what you could call writer's block, but if to be completely honest, I went through sort of a "breakdown." I started thinking, "Oh my gosh. I don't know how I want this story to go!" and "This story is so awful! What am I doing?!" But then I kind of calmed down, and I've gained a little bit of confidence.
Anyway, enough of my rambling! I hope you guys enjoyed this relatively short chapter! I think I'm going to speed things up a bit, because things aren't going to be happening much if I don't have a bit of a time skip in the story. Please do feel free to leave a review and/or private message me. Thanks!