Chapter 4~
Sipping a refreshingly sweet, ice-cold drink under the shade of trees with a good book and in the company of awesome friends was exactly how Cleo wanted to spend a perfect summer day. However, for others, that wasn't the case…
"Cleo! I can't believe you! That juice cost me thirty four dollars!" Rikki moaned, pulling at her blond curls.
"I can't believe that Zane had a secret menu added to the original menu," Bella mused, "34 dollars! How does Zane do his pricing?"
Cleo smiled, "Well, it was all worth it. This juice is delicious."
"Price-wise, though! My gosh!" Rikki exclaimed.
Suddenly, a ding emanated from Bella's pocket, abruptly bringing their conversation to a halt. Bella reached to grab her phone and checked the recent notifications. She grimaced as she said, "Ah, guys, sorry. Will said that he wants to show me something. Some random surprise."
"Ah, a present! Delightful!" Rikki proclaimed with a flourish.
Bella waved a half-hearted goodbye to her friends before departing off to Will's boatshed.
Watching Bella go somehow stimulated some memories. Bella's departure, no matter how minor, seemed to remind Cleo and Rikki of Emma "abandoning" them. So many memories fled back, as they remembered each memorable occasion, from first encountering each other, to their last adventure of bringing down Charlotte.
"Hey, Rikki?" Cleo said.
Rikki responded, "Yeah?"
"Remember the time when Zane tricked me into going adrift on his boat?"
Rikki smiled, "Yeah, and I saved you by heroically jumping onto the boat from the docks and steering it."
"Yeah, those were great times," Cleo said nostalgically, going through the memorable recollections of her adventures with Rikki and Emma. The first moment she met Rikki, she already felt a spark, or a connection of some sort. She was always quite the optimist when she was younger, but she felt as if Rikki was just destined to encounter her. Emma hadn't been too pleased to befriend someone so rebellious in contrast to her uptight personality, but even she had eased up to Rikki. An idea struck Cleo as she continued to rewind the events of how they all first met.
"Want to go for a ride in Zane's boat? I mean, he's still trying to get together with you again; he'll do anything for you," Cleo suggested.
"When did you become so carefree?" Rikki questioned, looking amused.
Suddenly looking sheepish, Cleo stammered, "Ah, well.. I-I mean, if you don't want to…"
Smiling and taking ahold of her friend's hand, Rikki firmly answered, "I'd love to."
It turns out, trying to request a ride in Zane's boat was a lot more difficult and time-consuming than Rikki and Cleo thought. He had spent the entire time babbling and trying to convince Rikki to go for a picnic with him on Mako Island. Of course, Rikki refused, impatiently insisting for the boat.
"Zane, we just want the boat! If you say no, then fine, we'll go. However, stop trying to flirt with Rikki! It's sickening!" Cleo admonished, looking irritated.
With Cleo being so direct with him for the first time, Zane awkwardly scratched his brown hair, and rambled, "Yeah, of course. Totally. Um, yeah…" Turning to Rikki, he grinned weakly, "So, you'll get back to me with your answer?"
In response, Rikki snatched the keys from his hand and sing-songed, "Thank you."
After exiting the cafe, Rikki annoyingly whispered, "Can you believe Zane? Trying to win me over!"
Cleo muttered back, "Zane was pretty annoying, but let's just focus on enjoying the time we have in that boat. It'll bring back old memories."
Together, they ran towards the cluster of boats at the docks and found the distinguishable, bright red boat Zane owned. Seeing it made them tear up, but they still calmly entered the boat and powered it on. Maneuvering the boat around, Rikki steered it through the calmly lapping waves, and offered, "Why don't we head over to the place I first met Emma?"
Cleo clapped her hands together, "Of course! It was the first time Emma actually agreed to riding in someone else's boat without their permission!"
Rikki immediately headed towards the area, slowing down when they came across the familiar pathway, where Emma had reprimanded them for riding in someone's boat without their consent. Rikki and Cleo felt mild heartache, before shaking their heads, prepared to turn around.
Suddenly, a noise resounded behind them. It was as if a thousand fireworks were launched into the sky at the same time. Wincing from the pain in their ears, Rikki and Cleo slowly turned around to discover a figure with long, blond hair and a radiant smile staring back at them.
"Please tell me I'm hallucinating," Rikki said into Cleo's ear, "Otherwise, I'm experiencing total deja vu."
"Hi, guys," the girl greeted them warmly, "It is nice to be back."
Cleo whispered in shock and disbelief, "Emma?"