Hi everyone, welcome back. Now before we begin, there is something I want to say…
Many of you have noticed how my previous chapter seems similar to another Owl House/Amphibia crossover titled "The Owl and the Frog" written by "ChampionElCid". I perhaps should have clarified something sooner, so allow me to do so now.
"The Owl and the Frog" served as a source of inspiration from my story, primarily where Luz meets and befriends the Calamity Trio, so this introductory arc of mine will have some similarities to the one that they wrote (and you can see some similarities in this particular chapter as well), but it was not my intent to plagiarize (I had already spoken with them after my previous chapter was uploaded). And things in this arc will play out different from how their story went, primarily where we finally go to the Demon Realm/Amphibia.
I hope that managed to clear the air a little bit. And for those who aren't familiar with "The Owl and the Frog", I would recommend it because it is still a fun story to read and "ChampionElCid" is a very impressive writer himself and deserves plenty of credit.
With that out of the way, let's get this chapter started.
Opening Up
"Kicking butt until you yield, we're the wolves of Gravesfield!" Sasha cheered as she stood atop a pyramid of other girls outside on the football field that was behind the high school. There was some applause from several of the other girls who were watching the try outs, all of which had white shirts and orange gym shorts, while a female coach nodded and took some notes on her clipboard.
"Woo! Go Sash!" Anne cheered from another area, standing in line with a bunch of other girls who also wore similar outfits with white shirts and orange gym shorts. The line led to the fenced tennis court that wasn't very far from the football field.
"Wow! Nice one Sasha!" One of the girls complemented as the pyramid was taken apart and the girls stood on the ground.
"Yeah, great job!" Another girl added.
"Eh, it was okay. But I can do better." Sasha tried to act all humbly around the coach, but there was still a smug expression on her face.
"Maybe, but not better than me!" Stacy walked up to her as the two blondes glared at one another. "Even if you do make it onto the cheer squad, you're still a long way from the captain position."
"Well, I can go the extra mile. Can, you, Stace?" Sasha kept up her smirk as she leaned in with a taunting smirk, causing Stacy's scowl to grow even more.
"That's enough." The coach approached the pair to break it up. "Stacy, you're up next."
"Good luck, Stace." Sasha smirked, only causing her to growl even more as she walked forward to begin her tryout.
Meanwhile, Luz and Marcy sat on the bleachers with several other students spread out throughout the seats, some had come to watch the tryouts and support their friends, a few others were just sitting and doing some homework, the rest were probably just bored and watched all this to pass the time. It was a week after the beginning of the semester, and now was the week for tryouts for many of the Fall sports, that included cheerleading and girls' tennis, both of which Sasha and Anne applied for respectively. The football tryouts were already done the previous week, so it freed up the field for the cheerleading tryouts, and since the tennis court was so close and fenced off, it made it easier for the organizers to have both sets of tryouts down at the same time.
"Go Sasha! You rocked it, girl!" Marcy cheered from the bleachers. "You got this Anna-Banana!"
Luz almost busted out laughing at the last one. "Anna-Banana! That's so cute!" She pushed her laughter back down as they continued to watch the tryouts. "I didn't know Sasha was good at cheerleading."
"Oh, for real, she was the top girl back at middle school." Marcy explained. "No doubt she's gonna aim for the captain position once she gets in."
"Well, she's definitely ambitious for it." Luz commented. In the week since she's gotten to know Sasha, the first thing she figured out about her new friend, was that she was always ambitious. She always aimed for the top spot whenever she puts her mind to something, and once she did, nothing stood in her way. Luz could tell that Sasha was definitely strong and admired her for that. There was also the part where she kept Stacy and Maggie off her back, which she was truly grateful for.
"So, Marcy, how come you're not trying any sports?" Luz asked. "Waiting for the ones in winter or spring?"
"Eh, I've never been into sports before." Marcy replied. "I mean, I'll watch some baseball with my dad and the games are fun to go at, and maybe I'll do some bowling with you girls, but I was just not into any real competition."
"Yeah, you seem like more of a mathlete since you're so smart." Luz complemented.
"Thanks Luz. And I'm already applying for the school's mathletes, even though they don't start till next semester, but it's never too early." Marcy said. "What about you? You tried any sports?"
"For fun? Yeah." Luz answered. "For school? I tried cheerleading at my old middle school, but apparently this…" She pulled back her eyelids and flipped htem inside out. "…Isn't exactly 'cheerleading material'."
"You can turn your eyelids inside out?!" Marcy questioned before a wide smile formed on her face. "OMG, that is so cool! I've always wanted to roll my own eyes back like a shark, but I could never pull it off!" She tried to roll her eyes up, but was unable to get all the whites to show before groaning in exhaustion. "If only I was like the water princess Aquina from Azura book three, the 'Atlantean Throne', she could pull it off."
"Yeah, Aquina is really cool. My third favorite character overall. I love how close she is to Hecate too." Luz added. "It really helps to bring out her softer side, especially since they got all that family drama going on, with Aquina's younger brother trying to usurp the throne, and Hecate's dad being a controlling manipulator…"
"Oh yeah. Finding a kindred spirit is one of the things that open a path to redemption." Marcy agreed. But before they could continue, Marcy noticed how Anne had entered the tennis court. "Oh, Anne's about to start! Come on, Anne! Kick her butt!" She hollered.
Anne had stepped onto one side of the court as she faced another girl, both holding a tennis racket. Her opponent had won the coin toss so she would be the one to serve first. The girl threw up the ball and used her racket to knock it over towards Anne, who immediately swung it with enough force that it sent the ball to the opposing side, which the other girl tried to catch, only for the ball to bounce off the ground and just below her racket and toward the fence on the other side.
"Point! Begin new serve! Fifteen-Love, Anne!" The umpire announced.
It was now Anne's turn to serve as she smacked the ball to the other side of the court, with the opposing girl unable to catch that one, resulting in Anne getting another point. This repeated two more times until Anne had won the match.
"Game! Winner, Anne!" The umpire announced once again.
"Ah yeah! Hail to the tennis queen!" Anne held her racket up high with pride before the next girl came up for her to face.
"Wow! That was great!" Luz looked in amazement. "I mean, I'm not a tennis fan and I don't know exactly how the game works, but it looks like Anne obliterated that other girl!"
"Oh yeah, she blew her out of the water." Marcy said. "I can explain the rules and scoring of tennis to you if you want. It'll make it easier to follow."
"Sure, but I'm still a little surprised." Luz commented, much to Marcy's confusion. "Anne's always…" She stopped however and hesitated to say what came next.
"Always what?" Marcy asked.
"I… I shouldn't say. It might sound mean." Luz said, looking away slightly.
"Go ahead, you can say it." Marcy encouraged. "Don't let your fear of sounding mean silence your voice, girl! Speak your mind!" She declared in an overly dramatic fashion, simply to get a laugh out of Luz, which worked as the girl giggled.
"Okay, okay." Luz stopped her giggles before speaking. "Anne's… she feels kinda lazy sometimes."
"Lazy?" Marcy questioned.
"As in… she doesn't really put in the work." Luz explained. "No offense to her, but every time I see her doing homework, she's always asking you for help. I take the same kind of classes, and they're not that hard, but she just… it just feels like she's always taking the easy way out."
"Okay, I see what you're talking about." Marcy understood. "Yeah, sometimes Anne does try to go the easy route… but that's only with stuff she doesn't like or find boring like school. But, she loves playing tennis, and when it comes to the things she enjoys doing, she gives it her all. She was easily the top player at our old middle school. Heck, I can see her easily making varsity this year!"
"Really?" Luz was somewhat surprised before looking down to the court to see Anne absolutely obliterating every opponent she faced. She was really giving it her all and seemed to be actually enjoying herself. When it came to schoolwork, getting her to actually work on her stuff was like trying to pull out some teeth, she clearly didn't like it. But she definitely loved playing tennis and she had a big smile on her face as she continued to play.
"She does look like she's having fun." Luz commented.
"See? Told ya." Marcy smirked.
"She'd make a perfect teammate in Azura's team in 'The Field of Deadly Fates'." Luz said. "Those two together would be unstoppable!"
"Even though that movie is non-canon to the series because it's mostly sports and not fantasy, I totally agree with you!" Marcy stated. "The only thing Anne gives her all to more than tennis, is her family's restaurant… Oh! I just realized! You never been there, have you?!"
"No, I haven't." Luz replied. She heard that Anne's family owned a Thai restaurant, but she never had the chance to go there.
"Let's go down and talk to the other girls once their done and see if we can head over and feast in celebration!" Marcy proclaimed.
About an hour later, tryouts came to an end. Anne and Sasha both met each other in the middle of the football field as everyone else went their separate ways.
"Dude, I got in! I'm on the tennis team!" Anne proclaimed. "What about you?"
"You even need to ask? Of course, I got in." Sasha dismissed. "But enough about me, congrats to you, girl!"
Both girls screamed joyously as they high-fived both their hands together with them locking fingers as Sasha spun Anne around. Suddenly, Marcy leapt at both of them as she wrapped her arms around the pair.
"Congratulations! You guys are in!" Marcy said excitedly. "I'm so gonna try and make all your things!"
"You'd better." Sasha playfully warned. She then noticed Luz was off to the side, clapping for them. Though she was smiling, clearly happy for them, it was still off to the side. "Luz, why are you hanging back? Come on, get in on this!" She invited.
Luz still found it hard to believe, despite being part of their group for about a week, but she was actually part of a click now! She and Marcy were practically inseparable at this point, and it was easy enough to understand given their shared interests in fantasy, but it was still surreal to have other friends who were different. But upon hearing the invitation, Luz regardless joined the trio as they all celebrated in a group hug together.
"Congrats, Anne! Sasha! I'm gonna do everything I can to make all your matches!" Luz promised.
"It's okay if you miss a few." Anne said. "Not the end of the world."
"So how about we celebrate? Like, maybe at your parents' restaurant this weekend, Anne?" Marcy suggested, much to Anne's surprise.
"Yeah. Sounds good to me." Sasha accepted already.
"Uh…. Yeah. I'll talk to my folks and have them set up a table for us. Pretty sure they'd want to celebrate me making the team, too." Anne said. "Oh, I just realized… this will be your first time at my family's restaurant, Luz."
"Yeah, I guess it is." Luz herself replied. "Is that okay with you if I show up?"
"Dude, you don't have to keep asking 'is it okay if I tag along'? You're a part of the group." Anne assured. "Unless you don't like Thai food…"
"No, I've had it a few times before. It's pretty good. I'd love to visit your restaurant." Luz smiled.
"Okay, but any special diets or anything else you can't eat?" Anne asked. "I know your lactose intolerant, but most of the dishes we make have coconut milk and not milk-milk, so you should be good there. But…"
"I'm fine, it'll be fine. Thanks for asking." Luz said. "But yeah, I can't wait to see ya guys there."
"Alright, so set the date! This weekend, we're going to Thai Go!" Marcy declared dramatically. "Be prepared for a journey of exotic flavors of which your taste buds have never known!"
The Following Weekend
The Thai Go was a relatively small brick building with a large sign built on the roof, as well as another on the pole on the side, but that didn't make it any less welcoming as Luz and her mother arrived, stepping through the front door.
"Luz, hey! Glad you could make it!" Anne greeted as she, Sasha, and Marcy were also inside the restaurant. The inside was also relatively small and simple, a maximum of six tables set up around the side, a counter that had the cash register, and a cooler that had bottled drinks like water and soda.
"Hey guys." Luz smiled as they all met up. "I want you to meet my mom." She introduced them to her mother. "Mom, these are… my friends." She almost hesitated to say those last two words, mostly because she still found it somewhat unbelievable, but she still said it with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Noceda." Anne offered her hand to shake, which Camilla did with both her hands.
"A pleasure, thank you for inviting us and… for being a friend to my daughter." Camilla replied, causing Luz to blush somewhat in embarrassment.
"Looks like we got customers!" A man said as he and his wife stepped out from the kitchen in the back. The man was tall with light brown skin with dark brown hair, he currently wore a yellow pollo shirt with red stripes and a green apron, along with blue pants and white socks with brown sandals. The woman also had light brown skin with brown hair that was tied back by a red bandana, her attire consisted of a purple-blue sweater, lightly colored jeans, a pair of pink crocks.
"Mom! Dad! Luz, meet my folks. They own the place." Anne introduced her own parents.
"Hi, thanks for inviting me." Luz waved friendly.
"No problem. Any friend of our daughter is welcome in here." Mr. Boonchuy assured. "Now, go and take a seat and enjoy yourselves. Make yourselves comfortable."
Luz soon sat at a table alongside Anne, Sasha, and Marcy while Camilla sat at a table on the other side to give her daughter some time to spend with her friends.
"So, what do you think?" Anne asked, gesturing to the restaurant around them.
"It's a bit smaller than I thought…" Luz commented. "But still nice."
"Yeah, this place is mostly used for carryouts." Sasha explained. "But that also makes for a great hang out spot so no one bothers us."
"The food though is the best!" Marcy stated. "Seriously, Luz. Anne's parents are the best chefs out there! They do all the cooking!"
"Really? Your parents cook here?" Luz asked in surprise. "I thought they just own the place."
"We get a few part-timers who help out, sometimes I help too, but yeah my parents pretty much run the whole system." Anne said. "My mom is especially into all that 'hard work' stuff."
"And it pays off!" A man from the table on the other side of them got their attention. "You can't get this quality food anywhere else in the county!"
"Hey Ned, didn't notice you there." Anne greeted. The man who sat at a table across from them with a large bowl of noodles was a large Caucasian with dark brown hair and a slight goatee with stubbles on his face. He wore a dark blue jacket with flames on the bottom over a pink shirt that had the logo 'Romance Academy' with a pair of cargo shorts, dark blue socks, and white sneakers.
"Luz, meet Ned, our number one customer. Dude's been around for years." Anne introduced.
"Nice to meet ya kiddo. You new in town? Haven't seen you around." Ned said.
"Eh… been in Gravesfield for a few years. Only met Anne and everyone else here at high school." Luz replied. "First time at this place."
"Well, you're in for a treat! This place is quality five-star!" Ned told her.
"Tell that to all the food critiques." Anne rolled her eyes.
"Okay, let's not get into any negative stuff here." Marcy put a hand on Anne's shoulder. "We're here to celebrate! So, let's dig in!"
"Already know what I'm getting." Sasha didn't even pick up the menu. "Orange chicken."
"Hmm, think I'll go for the… Drunken noodles this time around." Marcy said.
"Oh, venturing into the spices, huh Marcy?" Ned commented.
"Hey, I'm feeling a little adventurous today." Marcy replied.
"I'll just get Pad Thai." Anne said. "What about you, Luz?"
Luz looked over the menu for a moment. This was her first time at a Thai restaurant, one that her new friend family's owned. A lot of the stuff looked and sounded good and she also wanted to make a good impression. But how does one make a good impression regarding a restaurant? Obviously it would be liking their food, but which one? She knew that Thai food had quite some spicy options, maybe if she was a bit daring… and she was no stranger to spicy food herself. That's when she noticed a certain dish that sounded spicy.
"How's the red Thai curry? That pretty spicy?" Luz asked.
"Sure, that's got a bit of a kick to it. But if you want spicy, I'd go with the green Thai curry." Ned told her.
"Wait, green is spicier than red?" Luz asked. "You'd think that red would be hotter."
"Well, it honestly depends on how you make it." Anne explained. "The red curry is hot, but my parents put some extra spices in the green for a real kick to it."
"Then I'm going for the green!" Luz declared, much to the surprise of her friends and even Ned.
"Whoa, kinda jumping the gun, don't you think, Luz?" Marcy asked.
"Seriously. First time I tried the green curry; I drank through eight glasses of water before I was even halfway done." Ned agreed.
"Seriously Luz. My parents don't hold back on the spice." Anne advised. "Since it's your first time here, I'd probably start with the milder yellow curry before working your way up."
Luz gave a scoff. "Please. I might not eat Thai as often, but you should try my abuela's enchiladas. That's an inferno for your tastebuds. So nothing scares me now."
Sasha gave an impressed whistle. "Little daredevil, aren't ya? I'd say let her go for it, if she thinks she can handle it."
Anne and Marcy exchanged concerned glances before the former relented. "Okay, if that's what you want. But we'll ask for some extra water, just in case."
Meanwhile, Camilla heard bits and pieces of the conversation Luz was having with her friends, but still sat at a reasonable distance to give her daughter some space while just looking at her email on her iPhone. It really did seem like Luz was handling herself just fine, so there was no need to step in or anything.
"Is there anything you would like?"
Looking up in surprise, Camilla saw she was approached by Mrs. Boonchuy who had a friendly smile.
"Oh, um… no thank you." She replied.
"Are you sure? No need to ignore an empty stomach." Mrs. Boonchuy offered.
Camilla glanced over the menu, specifically the salads. "You know what? I think I'll try the Yam… Khai Dao… Did I pronounce that right? It's my first time eating Thai myself."
"You got it right, and it'll be right out." Mrs. Boonchuy accepted. "Honey! We got Yam Khai Dao too!"
"On it!" Mr. Boonchuy called back from the kitchen.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked. "We're not that busy today, so my husband can handle most of the cooking."
"If that's alright with you, thank you." Camilla accepted as Mrs. Boonchuy sat across from her. "My name is Camilla, by the way."
"Oum. Nice to meet you." The two mothers shook hands.
"Thank you, again for inviting my daughter." Camilla said.
"That was mostly my daughter." Oum replied. "Though she at least gave us time to get ready and not a last minute type of thing. This one time when she was ten, Anne had used allowance to buy a ticket to a movie that she and her friends wanted to go see, but they needed a ride and didn't tell me until five minutes before the movie started."
Camilla put a hand over her mouth to suppress her laugh at that. "That's actually pretty cute."
"This whole week, Anne's been talking non-stop about her 'new fun friend'." Oum began as she glanced back to see Luz stick a pair of chopsticks into her mouth and pretend to be a saber tooth tiger, causing Anne and Marcy to laugh while Sasha smirked as she took a pic with her iPhone. "And I can see why she feels that, she seems like a ball of energy."
"That's one way to put it, and I'm glad that Luz has found a group she can be herself around." Camilla said before looking away slightly. "She's always had trouble making friends… ever since we first came to Gravesfield it's been… difficult for her."
"Pardon me if this sounds presumptuous, but have you been living in the States for very long?" Oum asked.
"I'm from the Dominican Republic." Camilla answered. "I moved to the States when I was in high school to go to medical school to be a veterinarian, so Luz was born here. My parents moved back south after I got married, though I do still keep in touch with them and my abuela."
"So, you have been here for a while." Oum replied. "My husband and I are from Bangkok. We moved to the States shortly after we were married and opened this restaurant just before Anne was born. It's been providing for us very well."
"I'm happy to hear that. I know how hard it can be to move to a new place… and fitting in with the people there." Camilla said.
"And what about Luz's father, if you don't mind me asking?" Oum asked.
Camilla's smile faded as she looked down, holding the glass of water in her hand. "Manny… passed away a few years ago."
Oum gave a slight gasp as she covered her mouth with her hand. "I… I'm so sorry…"
"Thank you…" Camilla had a sad smile on her face. "We moved to Gravesfield because we thought the hospital would be better for him… but it wasn't."
Oum immediately reached out her hand to gently grasp Camilla's. She can't imagine the idea of not only her losing her own husband, but her daughter losing a father. She could only imagine how Luz must feel about that herself.
"I am truly sorry. I know we may have only just met, but if you need anything… we're here." She said. "Luz seems to be a really great friend for Anne right now, so it's only fair that I extend the same gesture."
Camilla smiled with appreciation as she grasped Oum's hand back in response. Looking past her, she could see that Luz was indeed having fun with Anne and the other girls and that truly made her happy.
"Alright, food's up!" Mr. Boonchuy came in with two trays in his hand that had six dishes total, as well as some extra water glasses. Oum took a minute to stand up and help her husband serve everyone, including Ned.
"Mmm, smells delicious as usual." Marcy smiled.
"Thanks Mr. B." Sasha said as their food was placed at the table.
"Let me know if you need anything else." Mr. Boonchuy said as he put Luz's dish of green curry to her place, along with two glasses of water. "That includes any extra water." He winked at her before moving on.
"Alright, time to dig in." Luz had her spoon ready.
"Uh Luz… might wanna take it slow." Anne advised. "Even if you like spice, it's not good to eat it all at once."
"I'll be fine." She said before taking a spoonful, blowing the steam off the top and eating the contents in one bite.
As she chewed and swallowed, all the other girls, as well as Ned paid close attention, wondering what her tastebuds must be feeling right now. A wide smile formed on the girl's face as her eyes sparkled.
"Holy Azura… this is delicious!" She took another spoonful and ate it in one bite. "So good…!" She practically moaned as she continued to wolf it down, while the other girls blinked in surprise.
"She's… devouring it…" Sasha commented.
"No sign of spice overload anywhere…" Marcy added.
"Kid must have a tongue of steel!" Ned stated.
Anne was surprised to be sure, as well as very impressed, but above all, she also felt very glad. Glad that her new friend loved the food at her family's restaurant. Not that she doubted it or anything, Luz didn't seem the critical type, and aside from being lactose intolerant, she wasn't picky with her food either. But it was still nice to know that her friend enjoyed her what her family served.
However, Anne noticed a twitch in Luz's eyes as she ate another bite. The twitches then continued to grow as, despite the smile, it seemed like Luz was trying to hold something back.
"Uh Luz… you okay…?"
"I'm fine… Fine… just fine…" Luz said, sounding like she was struggling but tried to force it all back. "Yep! Totally fine!"
"The spice is getting to her." Sasha figured out. "Guess she has her limits."
"Points for lasting this long though." Ned granted.
"Hey Luz… maybe you might wanna slow down and drink some water…" Marcy offered.
"Nope! Totally fine!" Luz said as she shoved another spoonful of curry into her mouth. "Not fragile at all…! Can take the pain…! Pain is nothing…!" Her face was already turning red while sweat poured down like a waterfall. She tried to put another spoonful in… but the second it touched her mouth… it was too much for her.
She was practically spewing fire as she quickly grabbed the nearest glass and chugged all the water down in less than a second, including all the ice, before taking a moment to catch her breath.
"You doing alright?" Anne said with genuine concern as she patted Luz's back.
"Fine… just fine…" Luz said in-between her beaths. "Okay… maybe too much spice at once…"
"Still, not bad. You lasted a lot longer than I thought you would." Sasha commented.
"But even the toughest steel can only take so much heat." Marcy added.
"Well… that aside… the curry tastes great!" Luz beamed. "Seriously Anne, your parents' stuff is delicious!"
Anne smiled, both at the complement and knowing Luz was just fine. "Glad you liked it. But maybe… try to take it a little easier. It's not like you had prove anything with how much spice you can take."
"Sorry… kinda wanted to show off a bit, I guess." Luz apologized. "But like I said, this stuff is great." She ate another spoonful.
"You sure you can keep going?" Anne asked.
"Totally." Luz assured. "Just need to take it a bit slower… but I can keep going. Maybe next time I'll try the red curry and see how that goes?"
"What about the yellow?" Marcy asked.
"That's the mildest, right?" Luz replied. "Just because I had a little too much spice at once, doesn't mean I'm fragile. What's life without a little adventure?"
"Atta girl." Sasha pointed to her with approval.
Ned gave a playful scoff. "You think the curry's great, you should try the Pad See Ew. Stir fried noodles. Or better yet, the best dish in this place… the squid and basil special!"
"I never had squid before. Think I will try it next time." Luz said before looking to the friend next to her. "Anne, you might have another regular customer right here."
Anne couldn't help but smile at that. "Looking forward to your regular visits, Luz. Looks like you got some competition, Ned."
"Ha, bring it on kid!" Ned playfully pumped his fist toward Luz, causing her and several of the other girls to laugh.
Camilla, along with Oum and her husband watched the exchange with smiles on their faces as Mr. Boonchuy had brought the Yam Khai Dao to the table.
"I think they're gonna be just fine." Anne's father said.
Camilla herself couldn't help but smile warmly. Her daughter had friends, people that she could count and rely on, and they even seemed to enjoy her for her quirks and not think she was weird or abnormal like many of the other kids and even adults all thought of her. Perhaps things would turn out well for them after all.
Later that evening, Luz and her mother had already left the restaurant, with Camilla even offering to give Sasha and Marcy rides home, which they accepted. Anne was in the kitchen working to clean the dishes. Ordinarily she'd complain about such a messy chore, but since it was a slow day, there wasn't all that much to clean, and she did have a good time with her friends, so she wasn't complaining.
Right as she finished up, Anne took off her rubber gloves as her father handed her a folded piece of paper. "Huh, so I can take the tips now?" She said in a joking sense.
"Nice try, Anne." Her dad joked back. "But Camilla left it for you. Just open it and see." He said as he walked away.
Anne unfolded the paper and was surprised at what she saw. It was just a simple note with only a few words…
"Thank you, for being Luz's friend."
A gentle smile formed on the girl's face as she put the note away and resumed her work in cleaning up.
Done.
So, this chapter was certainly shorter than I thought, but I'm nonetheless pleased with how it turned out.
Not only do we get to see Luz becoming closer to the girls, but we also even have Camilla befriending Anne's parents. While their names are never officially revealed, their Thai nicknames are revealed on the wikia to be Oum and Bee respectively, so that's what I'm going with.
This chapter and two more after it will have Luz getting to know each individual member of the trio more personally and we start out with Anne obviously, looking at her interest in tennis as well as the restaurant that she and her family are so proud of (we even got to meet Ned, too).
(Note: I'm not completely familiar with how the scoring system in tennis works other than the basics. I've never played it professionally, only some fun with my family a few years back and we just lobbed it back-and-forth, so if there was any sort of detail that I might have missed, it's only because I'm not well versed in the sport)
And yes, I'm sure that many of you have noticed the latter half of this chapter was very similar to what had happened in "The Owl and the Frog" where Luz visited Anne's family restaurant there too, but I added a bit of my own context to it, such as the passing of Luz's father, and a few details regarding the rest of Luz's family aside from her mother (that part is never canon, so I expanded on it myself). And perhaps we will meet the rest of Luz's family too, her maternal grandparents and possibly great-grandmother, but not in this arc. Not for much later on.
Also, this is where the big similarities between "The Owl and the Frog" and my story stop! After that, it's all my story and it is going entirely in the direction I want. Any further similarities between the two stories are purely coincidental.
(Again, I highly recommend you check out "ChampionElCid"'s story, because it is great. They deserve plenty of credit for their story too)
We got two more chapters of Luz getting to know the rest of the trio more personally, with Sasha coming up next, and things are going to get interesting there too. (And yes, I do plan on expanding a bit with Sasha and Marcy's parents) Once that's done, we'll get into some drama and after a few chapters there, we'll finally get into all the magic inter-dimensional stuff with the Demon Realm/Amphibia. So bear with this prologue arc a little while longer, because what you see here is very important for the story as a whole, and our quartet's development.
Until then, stay safe.
Peace out.