My best friend Kandechan wrote this chapter for me. She wanted to write this chapter to show how Jo and her San Francisco friends met. I am very grateful to her for writing this chapter. Thanks Kande!!
How Chicas Met
Amber, Kaila, Ella and Lena were out shopping at Pier 39; though Lena was only grudgingly coming along. They were trying to figure out what to do with their extra room in their loft. Though, technically Amber had owned it first; but now they all owned it.
"But it's just empty space!" Amber protested.
"Exactly, and we need to save all the money we can," Lena retorted. "We need to tear it down."
"No! That's our storage area!" Ella said.
"Not really; we have so little stuff we don't even need a storage area." Kaila said.
"I still say we should turn it into something, that way we get our money's worth." Amber said. She then spotted a jewelry shop. "C'mon you slow pokes!" And with that, she went dashing off to the door.
"I though you said she'd be too tired to do this thanks to those sleeping pills you slipped her." Ella muttered to Lena.
"Maybe I should give her a higher dose . . ." Lena pondered.
"I hope she doesn't like everything in the store like last time." Kaila said.
However, before Amber had even reached the front door, she ran into something . . . or rather, someone.
"Ouch!" Amber said, clutching her head. Her three friends ran to see what happened.
What they saw puzzled them. A petite girl with short raven tresses, pale skin, and grey eyes was rubbing her head muttering "Really need to watch where I'm going."
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Amber said, her eyes full of concern, "I didn't see you there,"
"Yeah, 'cause you're too tall." Lena muttered. Amber threw her a glare.
"That's alright, I wasn't watching where I was going." The petite girl said.
"I'm Amber, by the way. Amber Maguire; these are--. . ."
"Ella Burgess," Ella said.
"Lena Winchester,"
"Kaila Nallia,"
"Pleased to meet you all; I'm Jos—Jo Emay."
"Not to pry," Kaila said, "But you seem lost. Are you not from around here?"
"Nope, I'm from the east coast."
"I bet you're from New York! You have an accent!" Ella exclaimed.
"Yeah, so?" Jo said somewhat defensively.
"Oh! You're from New York?! I love New York! Papa took me several times to see Broadway shows! What city do you hail from?" Amber began talking a mile a minute.
"Scarsdale," Jo replied.
"Oh! Scarsdale! I've always wanted to visit there but Papa and I never had tome to go--. . ." Kaila had slapped a hand over Amber's mouth.
"Quiet you," She ordered.
Jo looked a little shocked.
"So, where are you staying?" Ella asked, trying to distract Jo from the insanity of their friend.
At this, Jo went, if possible, a little paler.
"A hotel," She said hesitantly.
"How long?" Len asked.
"As long as I need to," She said reluctantly.
Amber's eyes lit up, like they did when she had an insane idea (never a good sign). She bit Kaila's hand just enough to make her let go so she could speak.
"Jo! You possibly stay in a hotel around here! The only ones that are decent you need a reservation two months in advance! And you can't possibly stay in a one star hotel! You know what? You will live with us!"
"Wait, what?" The girls exclaimed.
"Oh, Amber that's not necessary; I can- . . ."
"No Jo, I insist." Amber said.
"But there's no- . . ."
"I said: I insist." Amber said getting a scary look in her eyes.
Normally, Amber was immature, silly, and easy going. But when she set her mind on something, the only person able to change her mind was Rose, Lena's older sister. Luckily, Rose was working on a big project and wouldn't be able to make a personal visit for a while.
Amber began to drag poor Jo to their loft.
"Amber, what about shopping?" Ella asked.
"Screw shopping! We have a new roomie!" Amber replied.
"Do I have a choice in this matter?" Jo asked lamely.
"Nope!"
"Is she always like this?" Jo muttered to the others.
"Only when she hasn't taken her medication," Kaila replied.
"Which is all the time," Lena added.
"So, yes," Ella finished.
RENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENT
Over the course of the next month, the five friends became closer and Jo grew used to living with the sarcastic Lena, the supportive Kaila, the smart yet mischievous Ella, and the insane Amber.
However, one day a new person was thrown into Jo's life: Rose.
Rose showed up one Saturday morning and unfortunately, it was Jo who answered the door.
When Rose saw Jo, she asked, "Who is this?" rather loudly.
"Shit," Kaila muttered from the kitchen.
"Our new roommate," Ella said from the couch. Rose glared at Amber who had exited her bedroom and froze at the sight of Rose.
Rose asked Amber, "You took her off the street, didn't you?"
Amber blushed scarlet but stood her ground. "But I took Ella and Kaila off the street and they haven't done anything wrong. And besides, Jo's been here a month. I can't throw her out!" Amber would never have argued with Rose had Jo not been there for so long. With Amber, the longer it is since she makes a big decision, the firmer her belief that it is right and the easier it is for her to stand up to Rose.
"Fine," she sighed, annoyed, "You can keep her." Rose said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Am I just property to all of you?" Jo asked in disbelief.
"No you're my property!" Amber said.
"Great that makes me feel so special." Jo muttered, rolling her eyes.
"No duh, Miss Insanity over here thinks of everyone as her property." Lena said.
"Do not! Only my special people are my property." Amber said putting her hands on her hips. All but the red-head rolled their eyes.
Even though Jo's first encounter with Rose was a little intimidating, Jo soon came to greatly respect Rose. And sometimes, whenever Jo was in one of her "moods" the only person who could cheer her up/calm her down was Rose.
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