Chapter Seven - Out of Control

A couple more days had gone by, and it was now the start of the new school year. Bella was especially excited, as she was finally going to have the somewhat normal teenage experience she's always yearned for—a group of friends that she could relate to instead of always being on edge and feeling like an outsider, though she had somewhat used to it. As part of her routine, Bella dashed towards the ocean for a quick swimming session, this time with Emma as her companion, given that the two lived in the same neighborhood. Now feeling content and satisfied, the two newly acquainted friends casually made their way to South Coast High, discussing their prospective plans for the future along the way.

Cleo: turns around "Hey! Emma! Bella! Over here!"

Lewis: "What took you guys so long? The bell's gonna ring in like…" checks watch "ten minutes."

Emma: "There's still plenty of time left, and we were out swimming unlike Rikki who's probably still in her bed. Where is she?"

Cleo: shrugs "Probably went out for a swim."

Bella: "Huh? Emma and I didn't see her. Did you?"

Emma: "No, but she'd better hurry up or—" turns around "What do you know, she actually made it on time."

Lewis: turns around "Let me guess, you were out swimming?"

Rikki: "Yeah, is that a crime?"

Cleo: "It's fine. Emma and Bella just got here too."

Rikki: "Emma did? I thought she'd be here at least five minutes earlier."

Bella: "Like you, we were out swimming. It really helps drive the sleep out of me."

Rikki: "Same here. Makes it easier for me to focus during Biology."

Cleo: claps her hands "Okay, so, Bella. Ready for your quick tour around the school?"

Bella: "By all means, lead the way."

Emma: "And I guess this concludes our tour."

Bella: "Cool, and with a couple of minutes to spare before the bell."

Cleo: "So what's your first class?"

Bella: "Uh…" looks at her schedule "looks like I have biology with Mrs. Phillips in room 102…"

Cleo: "Same as Emma and I. Rikki and Lewis have history in room 104."

Bella: sees Will talking to a student

Rikki: looks at Will "So he goes here too, huh?"

Bella: "Yeah…" waves back at Will "Hey, there stranger!"

Will: walks up to the group "Hey, Bella. I take it you had no problem finding your way around, unlike me who got lost twice."

Bella: laughs "It's pretty much impossible when you have four tour guides."

Will: "Well, aren't you lucky." chuckles "So, uh… Cleo, Rikki and… Lewis, right?" looks at Emma "And you are…?"

Emma: "I'm Emma. Bella and I just met a few days ago. Do you have class here?"

Will: looks at paper "Yeah, it seems so."

Emma: "We should get going. The bell's gonna ring any minute now."

As the girls step into the class, Bella notices a sudden shift in Cleo and Emma's body language. Following their gaze, she sees that they are all casting wary glances at a certain redhead girl, who, even though she never looked at them, appeared to be aware of their presence, and shifted uncomfortably in response to it. Once seated, Bella wasted no time probing them for answers, though she already had an inkling as to who the girl was.

Bella: whispering "Um, Cleo… is that… who I think it is?"

Cleo: feeling flustered "Huh? Who?"

Bella: "Oh, come on. That redhead girl. The one that you guys seem so apprehensive of?"

Cleo: "Uh, yeah… that's… Charlotte."

Bella: "Knew it. I know you guys aren't fond of her, but do you have to make it so obvious?"

Cleo: "I know it's not a good look, but it's just that we haven't seen her since last year, and the incident between us wasn't long before that, so we're always on edge that she might expose us out of revenge."

Bella: "Well, you guys might not want to hear this, but if you keep giving her these dirty looks, it just might push her to do exactly what you're scared of."

Cleo: "Yeah, you're right. Emma and I don't really hold much ill feelings towards her anymore, but Rikki on the other hand…"

Bella: "You don't have to tell me, I can already tell that she's not the forgiving type." bell rings

Teacher: walks in "Settle down everyone. I hope you enjoyed your break because this is your final year, and I'm sure you've heard about how demanding it is."

Rikki: stretching "Ugh, I can't believe we have to do this for the rest of the year!

Lewis: "Rikki, it's only the first day."

Rikki: "Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less tiring."

Cleo: "So, where are we going next?"

Emma: "Hmm… how about some more crystal training? I think I'm getting the hang of it now."

Lewis: "What's your record?"

Emma: "What do guys think?

Cleo: "Uh… one minute?"

Emma: "That was last week. I'm at thirty seconds now."

Cleo: "Really? Emma, that's great! I'm still at the one minute mark. What about you, Rikki?"

Rikki: "Same as Em, thirty seconds."

Bella: waving "Bye, Will." runs ahead "Hey, guys. Where are we heading?"

Emma: "To the cafe… we're thinking of doing more training there."

Bella: "You guys are really committed to this, huh?"

Lewis: "Of course they are. Do you know many sticky situations these abilities would have gotten them out of?"

Bella: chuckles "Oh, I know what you're talking about all too well. But Lewis and I are performing today, so you're on your own for a while."

Rikki: sighs "We're big girls, Bella. We can look after ourselves."

Cleo: "Rikki's right. We can handle this on our own."

Bella: "Great! Just do anything other than channeling. You guys aren't ready for the next steps yet."

Rikki: "Yeah, yeah. We get it. No need to lecture us… again."

Bella: sighs "If you say so, Rikki."

Lewis: "So Bella, what songs are we performing today?"

Bella: "Well, I was thinking—" bumps into a girl "Oh, sorry about th—"

Miriam: "Ugh, why can't you ever watch where you're going?"

Bella: "I don't know, I was going to ask you the same thing."

Miriam: "This is like the second time—!"

Bella: "That you've bumped into me? Yes, I agree! But accidents happen, right?" tilts her head and smiles

Miriam: rolls eyes and scoffs "Come on, Tiffany. I don't need to be wasting my breath here."

Rikki: laughs "You really know how to get under Miriam's skin. It's like a talent at this point."

Bella: shrugs "What can I say? I've attended many different schools and there was always this one girl. I'm pretty much immune to that sort of attitude now."

Rikki: "You don't say." laughs

Cleo: "It's really funny watching you deal with her."

Lewis: "What's that saying… kill them with kindness?"

Emma: chuckles "Yeah, it's definitely a Miriam repellant."

It was now part of their daily routine—tapping into the crystal's energy. So much so that it was now as easy as using their regular powers. The severe fatigue that initially washed over them was now a thing of the past for Emma and Rikki, though Cleo still needed a couple of breaks every now and then. Instead, the crystal's energy that coursed through their body was rather pleasant, even relaxing, a huge contrast from when they first started.

Emma: "Let's take a five-minute break. I'm gonna get a drink. Do you guys want anything?"

Cleo: "Just some water for me."

Rikki: "I'll get a mango-raspberry smoothie."

Emma: "Cool. I'll be back in a minute." closes the door

Rikki: "Hey, Cleo? Aren't you just about ready to try out the powers for yourself?"

Cleo: sighs "Rikki, you heard what Bella said, that we aren't ready for this yet."

Rikki: scoffs "What is she, our babysitter? Sure, she has more mermaid experience than us, but we've been tapping into the crystal's energy with no problem so far."

Cleo: "Yes, but—"

Rikki: "Look, we have a minute or two before Emma gets back. I say we just try out the powers really quickly and then act like nothing happened."

Cleo: "You can go ahead and do that if you want to, but I prefer to be cautious."

Rikki: "Okay, then. Just watch this."

It took her a full thirty seconds, but once the crystal started glowing, and its energy started flowing through her body, Rikki set her eyes on a nearby pen. With her right arm outstretched and an immense focus, she visualized them moving, but it only shifted slightly from its current position.

Rikki: gasps "Did you see that, Cleo?!"

Cleo: "The fact that it barely budged?"

Rikki: "Uh, yeah! That's what I call progress! I'm gonna give it another go!"

Cleo: "I really don't think this is a good idea, Rikki!"

Rikki: "Oh come on, Cleo! Don't be such a scaredy cat. Now watch and learn!"

Once again, Rikki repeated her previous steps from before, and just like the first time, she managed to move the pen slightly. Instead of losing her cool like she normally would, Rikki tightened her fist around the crystal, steadied her breathing, then visualized the pen lifting off the desk and floating towards her. Much to both her and Cleo's surprise, the pen not only levitated but went flying in their direction, bouncing against the door with a soft thud.

Rikki: smirks and looks at her hand "Whoa, this is so cool!" scans the desk "Uh, now what about this!" lifts a book

Cleo: ducks the flying book "Rikki! Be careful with that!"

Rikki: "My bad. Now, it's your turn. Why don't you try out the invisibility?"

Cleo: "What? No way! What if something goes wrong?"

Rikki: looks at the door "Come on, Cleo. Quickly, before Emma gets here. Look at me, I'm levitating stuff and nothing's bad happening. Isn't that enough proof that we can try the powers on our own?

Cleo: "Ugh, fine! If it means that you'll stop bugging me!" takes out the crystal and breathes in deeply "Okay… let's start with the channeling" crystal glows "Umm… how did Bella do, again? If I remember correctly she made a fist near her head…" raises hand and closes her eyes "like this…" makes a fist, then slowly opens her eyes and looks around "It isn't working, Rikki. I'm not ready yet."

Rikki: "Did you try imagining yourself turning invisible? Because I did something similar when I was trying to move the pen."

Cleo: "Like that time when we made the storm smaller?"

Rikki: "Yes, exactly! Do that!"

Cleo: "Okay, got it." closes her eyes, then makes a fist "Did it wo—" slowly opens her eyes, looks at her body, then gasps "What the… I did it! I turned invisible! That's so cool!"

Rikki: chuckles "Awesome, right? hears footsteps "I think that's Em. Quick, let's undo everything!"

Cleo: releases her fist and looks at herself "Rikki! Rikki! I can't undo it!"

Rikki: "What? Just open your hand!" struggling to control the pen and book "Why won't it go where I want it to?!"

Cleo: "It's your fault! Bella warned us that we weren't ready and what did you do? Exactly what she said not to do, and you even dragged me into it and now I'm stuck like this."

Rikki: "The crystal! It's still glowing! Make it stop. Maybe everything will go back to normal afterwards."

Cleo: "But what if the invisibility doesn't—"

Emma: enters the office "Hey, guys. Sorry for the holdup. Zane's swarmed with customers." sets down Cleo and Rikki's drinks then looks around "Where did Cleo go? I didn't see her out there—" squints then looks at Rikki "Why is that glowing crystal floating in the air?"

Rikki: "Uhh…" struggling to keep the pen and book under control "Oh, uh Cleo? She uh… went to use the—"

Emma: "Don't try to change the subj—"

Cleo: "Emma! I'm right here! Rikki used her telekinesis and—"

Emma: "Cleo? What the…? Did you—"

Cleo: "Yes, Emma. I'm invisible. I can't seem to undo it and the crystal won't stop glowing. I think you need to get Bella—" music starts playing

Rikki: sighs "Too late. It sounds like they're already performing. We're gonna have to wait for them to finish."

Emma: "Rikki! Was this your idea?!" sighs "Just great! Bella's the only one who can get us to fix th—" dodges the flying stationery "And get these things under control!" ducks again

Rikki: "Sorry! For some reason, it's not listening to me!"

Emma: "Just make it go down!" book knocks over the drinks, spilling them over her feet "Ugh, just great!" transforms

Rikki: winces "Sorry, Em."

In the midst of the chaos, Rikki's crystal began glowing even more intensely, causing the items in the room to fly around uncontrollably. Chairs, desks, books, pens, picture frames—nothing was safe from Rikki's chaotic telekinesis, including the spilled drinks which splashed all over both her and Cleo as well.

Emma: "Why is everything going crazy like this?! It's like we're caught in a tornado!" covers her head

Rikki: "I don't know! I can't get the crystal to stop glowing!" tries to dry herself

Cleo: "Me neither! I don't want to stay stuck like this! How am I going to explain this to my dad?"

Emma: looks around "My crystal! It was on the desk and it got picked up! And now it's glowing too!"

Cleo: "Oh no!" sees her crystal flying around "I dropped mine when I transformed!"

Emma: "Seriously? Why won't they stop glowing?"

Rikki: "It's like they have a mind of their own!" transforms back to human

Emma: "No thanks to you! This is all your fault! If you weren't so impatient—"

Cleo: "Um, guys…" points up

Rikki: tries to stand up "What is it, Cleo?" smoothie splashes on her again "Seriously? Again?!" transforms "Ugh!"

Cleo: sounding scared "Rikki! Emma! Look at what's happening!" points up

Emma: "You're invisible, Cleo. Remember? We don't know what you're trying to—" notices a bright blue light in her peripheral vision "What the… what is that light?"

Rikki: shields her eyes and looks around "I only see one crystal. What happened to the other two?"

Cleo: "I think that's them there. That's why the light's so bright. Rikki, do you remember what Lewis said happened during the full moon? That the crystal's started glowing and then they were drawn to each other? Well, I think that something similar is happening."

Emma: "So why is it happening now? It's not a full moon!"

Cleo: "Maybe because we can't control the crystal's powers yet and now they're going haywire."

Rikki: "Plus there's three of them. So three out of control crystals are nothing but bad news for us."

Emma: gasps "The other crystal just got pulled in to the others—" covers her eyes "Ugh, it's so bright! Is this what really happened during the full moon?"

Rikki: covering her eyes "Yes, it seems so." slowly looks up "But we have to fix this. We don't what's going to happen if the crystals stay like this any longer."

Emma: "But how? We need the crystals to use telekinesis and they're floating up there."

Cleo: "Umm… what if I send it crashing against the wall with my wind. Maybe the force would cause them to separate."

Emma: sighs "Sure. It's not like we have any other ideas at this point."

With a nod of her head, Cleo created a small gust of wind that sent the crystals flying into the wall. As she predicted, the impact was strong enough to split them apart. But what she didn't anticipate was the floating items suddenly raining down on them—that and the crystals releasing a powerful wave of energy throughout the cafe.

Bella: singing "Cause I… I… I believe in all that I can—" mic cuts off

Zane: blender stops working "Huh…?" turns the blender on and off "What's going on?"

Bella: taps on the mic "It's not working."

Nate: tries out his keyboard "Zane, did you pay your bills?"

Zane: "Of course I did, Nate! I just opened up!" sees the crowd mumbling among themselves "Calm down, everyone! The generator should kick in any minute now. Hey, Lewis! Could you give me a hand?"

Lewis: "Yeah, sure!"

Bella: whispering "Uh, Lewis… that energy just now. It felt like… the crystal."

Lewis: "Really? Are you sure?"

Bella: "Yes, I am." looks around "Where's Cleo and…" gasps "Rikki! I bet you this was her doing!"

Lewis: "What made you say that?"

Bella: "Well, she's been getting really impatient about wanting to try out the powers. I wouldn't be surprised if she went ahead and did it on her own."

Lewis: sighs "Sounds like Rikki, alright. I think they're in Zane's office. Go check on them in the meantime."

Bella: "Got it." heads to the office

Cleo: looks at her hands "Hey, it worked! I'm back to normal"

Rikki: "And everything's no longer going crazy! Finally!" dries herself

Emma: looking around "Are you guys okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Cleo: "Nope, I'm good!" lifts the smoothie off herself and Emma

Rikki: "Me too. Just a little tired, but I'll be fine." stands up "Ugh, and my body feels sticky."

Bella: opens the door "Hey, are you guys—" looks around "Whoa… what happened here?"

Rikki: "It's… a long story."

Emma: "Long story? scoffs "Long-story-short is that you guys were messing with the crystals and it got out of control."

Bella: "Let me guess, this was Rikki's doing?"

Emma: "Not just her, Cleo too."

Cleo: "Hey, it was Rikki's idea."

Emma: "But you went along with it. You could've said no."

Cleo: "I did but…" sighs and looks around "We've really made a mess in here."

Bella: "Not just here, but the rest of the cafe too."

Rikki: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Bella: "The electricity, it suddenly cut off. Lewis and Zane went to check on the generator."

Cleo: "So the power didn't go off only in this room?"

Bella: "Nope."

Emma: "Okay, this is going to take some time, but it's nothing we can't handle. Cleo and Bella, you guys should lift the spilled smoothie off the walls and floor, while Rikki and I put everything back in its place."

Rikki: "Cool, let's get this over with."

Lewis: "Uh, let's see… I think this should do it." powers comes back on

Zane: "Thanks, Lewis. You're a real lifesaver. But still, what could've caused this? It's so random."

Lewis: runs his hand through his hair "I have a feeling why, and I don't think you'll like it."

Zane: furrows his eyebrows "Wait… you don't mean?"

Lewis: "Yep. At least that's what Bella thinks. She's in the office right now checking on them."

Zane: sighs and rubs his temples "What are those girls up to?"

Emma: "Come on, let's flip the desk over—" looks at the door

Zane: "Hey, Rikki. Did—" gasps "Rikki?!" What the—" enters and closes the door quickly

Rikki: "I can explain, Zane! Well… sort of."

Zane: "What do you mean, sort of? It's a mess in here!" looks at the wall "Is that smoothie? How did that get there?"

Rikki: "Zane, we'll tell you guys everything later, right after we're done cleaning up."

Cleo: "Don't worry, Zane. We'll have this place spick and span in no time. It'll look like nothing ever happened!"

Emma: "Cleo's right. Just leave the cleaning up to us. Go on, your customers are probably getting restless."

Zane: sighs "You guys better have a good explanation for this. Come on Bella, the show must go on."

Bella: "Can you handle rest, Cleo?"

Cleo: "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Bella: waves and leaves

Rikki: sighs "This is not how I imagined I'd spend my afternoon."

Emma: "Need I remind you whose fault this is again?"

Rikki: "Why not? This will be like the fifth time from you."

Cleo: "Enough bickering, guys! We won't ever finish if you're always at each other's throats like this!"

Lewis: sees Bella "Hey, how are they doing?"

Bella: whispering "They're fine, but they somehow managed to turn the office upside down."

Lewis: sighs "Of course, they did."

Now that it was closing time, an exhausted Cleo, Emma and Rikki made their way out of the office and slumped into a nearby table.

Rikki: "Hey, Zane? Can we get something to drink?"

Zane: "It's closing time, you know."

Rikki: "Yeah, we can tell. But we're also really tired."

Zane: "You wouldn't be if you guys didn't turn my office into a junkyard. Mind explaining what happened?"

Rikki: "The crystal kinda went haywire..."

Zane: "That doesn't tell me much, Rikki. I'm going to need more than that."

Rikki: sighs "Cleo and I were trying out the new powers, but then things got a bit out of hand—the crystals wouldn't stop glowing and then they were drawn to each other… But we cleaned up the office pretty well, so..."

Zane: sighs and rubs his temples "Look, I don't mind you guys hanging out in the office, but this is no place for your magic or… experiments. Why don't you do that stuff at Mako instead?"

Bella: "That was my plan but—"

Rikki: rolls her eyes "Yeah, yeah, I know. I've heard it all from Emma already. I don't need another lecture."

Zane: "I'm not mad at you, Rikki. I just want you guys to be more careful next time." holds her hands

Rikki: looks away "Yeah, I know."

Lewis: "What about the electricity cutting off? Was that because of the crystals?"

Cleo: "Yeah, we think so. Like Rikki said, the crystals wouldn't stop glowing and then they were drawn to each other like—"

Lewis: "Like that time on Mako…"

Cleo: "Yeah, and then I used my wind to break them apart. But when they did, it's like the impact caused the energy to be released all at once and—"

Bella: "Uh, guys…" points at the TV

Zane: turns on the volume "A major blackout…? Affecting almost a quarter of the city…? That's around the same time the power went out here!"

Rikki: "So it's not just the cafe?"

Lewis: "They're so small but hold so much power… These crystals are insane!"

Emma: crosses her arms and sighs "It looks like our antics have made the news, again. I can only imagine what my parents are going to tell me this time."

Bella: chuckles "I got a lecture from mine the last time too, but at least I can say that I wasn't involved in this one. Though, I have a feeling that they still won't let me off the hook."

Emma: laughs "Sounds like my parents."

Lewis: "Did you know that the crystals could do this, Bella?"

Bella: "No, I'm just as surprised as you are. But I guess this is what happens when two or more crystals come into contact with each other."

Lewis: "Luckily no one got hurt, but who knows what could've happened if this went on any longer. You girls really need to be more careful from now on."

Emma: "Considering what happened today, are we still going to visit Mako during the full moon? I mean, the crystals were drawn to each other the same way, right?"

Rikki: "We won't have much of a choice, Em. They pretty much turn us into zombies."

Cleo: "Yeah, Mako seems to want us there whether we like it or not."

Emma: sighs "If you guys say so." looks at her phone "It's getting late, and I think it's time to get going."

Rikki: yawns "Are we done here, Zane?"

Zane: "Yeah, let me just get my keys to lock up. I'll meet you outside."

Bella: walks outside "By the way guys, if it makes you feel any better, what happened today wasn't a total bust. It just means that you're one step closer to mastering the crystal."

Cleo: "How come?"

Emma: "Yeah, did you forget what the office looked like?"

Bella: "I know, I know. I'm just saying that tapping into the powers now will make it a bit easier for you in the future."

Rikki: "So when exactly will we be doing that?"

Bella: "I'd say maybe in a week or two. Or as soon as you reach the five second mark. So just keep practicing and you'll get there in no time.

Zane: "Alright, I'm all done here."

Rikki: "Took you long enough."

Zane: "Did you miss me? Already? I was only gone for less than a minute."

Rikki: smiles and jabs him in the arm

Zane: chuckles "I'd take that as a yes." holds her hand