《 Skip a Beat 》

Charlotte

Tina hovered uncertainly behind her younger sister as a passing nurse pointed a stubby finger down the corridor, explaining the directions to Angela's office. Queenie thanked her and set off, Tina easily keeping pace beside her.

Neither of the sisters said anything until Tina knocked on the door.

A stocky, dark skinned lady with a pristine white coat cracked open the door. "H'llo?"

Tina spoke up. "Hello. We're friends of Nick. Uh- Nick Holden," she clarified at the lady's frown. "We're visiting his sister."

"Oh. Oh, fo' sure. Come on in."

She held the door open, and the sisters slipped inside.

The office looked like it had been the cleanest place in the world at one point; the floors were sparkling, the shelves and desks clear. But there was a frayed, aged sense to it. There were small, thin cobwebs in the corner and tattered books sitting in most of the shelves. A stack of paperwork sat on one of the larger desks, which Tina presumed was Angela's.

Mainly because the lady sat down at the desk and introduced herself before pointing to one of the smaller tables further into the office.

"That's where Charlotte is. She has been fo' the whole day. Drawin' I think."

Tina thanked Angela and followed her sister towards the table at the back.

Charlotte was indeed drawing something that looked like a horse, her hand scribbling away furiously, but her face remaining blank. Her ash wood wand was sitting on the table adjacent to her hand.

Charlotte finally noticed them out of the corner of her eye and carefully placed her brown pencil down. Her hand drifted to a small keyboard connected to her wheelchair and pressed something.

The chair turned, and Charlotte looked up to meet their eyes.

She was a pretty little thing; her crushing sky-blue eyes gazed up at the sisters, a flicker of curiosity darting through them. A curtain of thick, cascading red-brown curls tumbled past her shoulders. Charlotte contemplated them for a moment before her left hand moved to type something on the keyboard.

"Are you Queenie?" said a voice.

Tina glanced around for a moment before it dawned on her. It was the voice from the little speaker on the keyboard of Charlotte's wheelchair.

Queenie noticed the same time Tina did. A smile bloomed on her lips. "Yes. I'm Queenie, and this is Tina."

Charlotte smiled, then keyed something else in.

"Who's the older sister?"

The voice was robotic, but realistic enough that the words flowed together. Tina grinned. "I'm a year older than Queenie."

"Nick told me about you. Griffins or Hippogriffs? I prefer Hippogriffs. I'm drawing one now."

Queenie peered over the chair and smiled. "It's beautiful, Charlotte."

Tina leaned over a smidge and glimpsed Charlotte's drawing. It was indeed a Hippogriff, sitting in a meadow of lush grass with its head tucked under a wing. Charlotte appeared to be in the middle of colouring its wings, Tina noticed. Her discarded brown pencil matched the colour of the beast's left wing.

"She's right. It's amazing! You're very talented, Charlotte."

A shy smile spread itself across her face. Her left hand moved again, jumping across the keyboard. "Thank you. I got the idea from your boyfriend."

Queenie tried poorly to conceal her sniggering, pretending to hide it behind a sudden fit of violet coughs. She ultimately let her guard down at Tina's flushed cheeks and howled a laugh. Tina glared at her sister.