"And that is the juice bar, where we often go for juices while trying to avoid Zane…" Cleo rambled.
Rikki giggled, "Cleo, remember that one time when we dressed up as…"
"Snobby, rich girls? That was hysterical! Zane was floored!" Cleo laughed, clapping her hands together.
As Cleo and Rikki laughed in amusement, reminiscing over past "excursions" to purchase beverages while avoiding Zane, Emma was oddly quiet. She wore a mask of solemn graveness, as she listened to her friends recount everything that occurred over the past three years. The only moment Emma seemed to be attentive was when Cleo mentioned Rikki's Cafe.
"What?" Emma asked, bewildered, "I thought it was the Juicenet Cafe?"
"Oh, yeah, Wilfred ditched it," Rikki smoothly said.
Cleo nodded, "Yeah, it went bankrupt, so Zane bought the place."
"So, care to give me a little explanation of everything that has happened?" Emma said pointedly, already starting to feel her fury rising again.
"Sure," Cleo responded, oblivious to Emma's irritation, "A few weeks before school started three years ago, Zane surprised Rikki with a business opportunity of re-opening the Cafe, but with renovations and a new name, Rikki's Cafe. On the opening a night a weird phenomenon occurred; water kept attacking us in the form of a tentacle in varying sizes. Bella, the singer who replaced Nate on opening night, confronted us about the "magic" she sensed in us. Rikki and I denied everything, but then an enormous water tentacle appeared, and "kidnapped" Rikki. I jumped into the water, with Bella following me. Turns out, she is a mermaid and had transformed when she lived in Ireland. We quickly befriended her and together, we had each other's backs as we struggled to protect our shared secret…. From that day on, we would always protect each other from people who were suspicious and wanted to unearth whatever secret they suspected we kept… We had so many great memories together… And we were there for each other when one of us was hurting…"
"Remember Sam's wedding? And Lewis leaving for America?" Rikki chimed in, looking nostalgically into the horizon, as if one part of her missed the days where she, her friends, and Lewis would experiment with their extraordinary abilities.
Emma was bewildered from the enormous amount of information thrown at her, "Lewis left for America? Who's Sam?"
Cleo informed, "Sam's my stepmother. All I can say is that Dad fell in love again."
Emma tried to hide her crumpling countenance. Her friends were so absorbed in their conversations, they barely noticed their friend's devastated expression. Emma stared up at her friends, so different from the inquisitive, boisterous girls she knew before. They were more mature, Cleo was definitely more dedicated to her studies from the way her eyes sparkled when she discussed her college classes, and… the most heartbreaking alteration in her friends was that they now were adorned with new necklaces… New necklaces to represent their new friendship to that Bella… Emma boiled with rage; their lockets were so meaningful to her, and her friends could just substitute them with new glowing, crystal necklaces?
Emma raised her head up slowly at her friends. Cleo and Rikki were still engaged in animated conversation, but she couldn't tolerate it any longer. Coldly, Emma interrupted and said, "I see… I've been forgotten, haven't I? It's all about dear Bella… This Bella can replace me so easily?"
Cleo looked prepared to defuse the tense situation, but Rikki narrowed her piercing eyes at Emma. "What's the matter with you?" Rikki asked, annoyed at her friend's sudden outburst, "It's always about being dramatic with you, huh, Em?"
"What's the matter with me?" Emma raged, quivering, "You've forgotten about me! You've moved on! You've even replaced the lockets… With these crystal necklaces! Were those lockets a parasite that infected you so much that you replaced them? Is that what it is? Am I that one thing from your past that you want to get rid of?"
Cleo soothed, "No, Emma… Please…"
"No!" Emma exclaimed so loudly that Cleo jumped back fearfully, "Just admit it, guys! I'm nothing to you guys! You've moved on, and I guess I don't matter in your lives anymore." With that, Emma turned sharply on her heel and stomped off, her blond hair billowing in the breeze.
"What was with Emma?" Cleo turned to Rikki, confused, "Everything was alright, and then Emma sort of snapped…"
"Emma's always like this… Sensitive and always overreacting at everything," Rikki scoffed. However, as she stared at Emma's receding figure, her eyes softened, and she murmured, "Though… I think I know where Emma's coming from… I should know because I have been treated like that for most of my childhood…"
Rikki turned to Cleo, the cold truth in her eyes, "We've been neglecting our friend and we haven't even realized it until now."