I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.
Chapter 36: The Big Chill (part 1)
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[Everyone sits around the Juicenet, hanging around and having a fun time with friends both inside and out. Emma walks up to one table of four, wearing her new Juicenet Café uniform with a notepad and pen as part of her new job.]
Emma: to the customers at the table. "That'll be four minutes and thirty seconds, approximately." They both nod and she walks off to the counter.
"Till what?" Will asked. "That was how long until their order was ready," Emma explained.
"Are you working there now?" Ash asked, noticing her uniform and apron. "Yup. I believe I was there for a couple of weeks up till then. It's been almost a year now since I've started," Emma mentioned, remembering her first day there. "That's great. You seem like you would be a good manager." Emma blushed at his remark; she really hoped she would get the managing position Wilfred has been talking about.
"Did you apply for the job just because I tried to make a deal with him?" Lewis asked, raising an eyebrow. "Actually, he offered me a job after you left. Said that I knew how to manage stuff well and was friendly to customers," Emma grinned. "You weren't the only one who needed money."
Wilfred: on the other side of the counter, watching her. "Need a hand?"
Emma: "Um, no thanks. Everything's under control." She walks around the counter, meeting him at the end of it. "Table six wants one orange and pineapple juice, one low-fat mango smoothie, and a soy-banana shake, with a bendy straw." She puts the small notepad down and grabs two cups, beginning to make their drinks as she heads for the blenders.
"Impressive," Annette nodded in approval. She always appreciated hard work, especially in restaurants.
"Isn't that something you were trying to avoid? Jobs that involve risks? What if you get water on yourself?" Denman questioned with a hint of bitterness in her tone. She's doing this when she was arguing that they shouldn't earlier. So hypocritical.
"Well like Cleo pointed out earlier, we can't run from every drop of water we see. Sooner or later, we have to face our fear. I knew the risk that was to come from taking that job, and I was being careful with it. I haven't spilt a drink yet," Emma proudly admitted. "What about that time when-?" Rikki was about to ask but Emma cut her off with a hiss, slicing her hand at her neck. "Miriam doesn't count. She deserved it for trying to ruin my job," she muttered.
Charlotte felt a shiver run up her spine at those words once again. 'Sooner or later, we have to face our fear.' What about her? Will she have to face her fear? Can she do it? She definitely didn't want to find that out right now.
Wilfred: nods in approval and walks around the computer side of the counter and leans against it, bracing himself up with his arms. "Emma, I'm really glad I took you on for this job. I wasn't sure about some of your ideas."
Neil smiled, proud that her boss was happy with all her hard work. She deserved the praise. "Good job, Emma. We're proud of you," Lisa smiled.
"Do you get family discounts?" Elliot asked a little hopeful. "Sorry, Elliot, but no," Emma replied. "Bummer," Elliot pouted; Emma laughed.
Emma: "Like alphabetizing the fruit?"
Wilfred: chuckles. "Yeah, and color-coding the juice bottles. But it all works."
"You alphabetized the fruits? And the juice bottles? That's a little overboard don't you think?" Rikki frowned. "There's nothing wrong with organizing," Emma defended. "But what if he had a system he worked around?" Will thought. "Well now he was a new, organized and clean system," Emma said, crossing her arms.
Emma: smiles proudly. "Organization's my thing."
"Yeah, no kidding," Elliot snickered. Hey, sometimes it could be a little annoying.
Wilfred: "Look, um, I have to go away for the weekend to a food and beverage conference in the snowfields. And I'll need someone to look after the café. Is that too much responsibility for you?"
"That's a big step for someone who just started working there. A lot of pressure to deal with," Max said. "It's alright, I could handle it," Emma smiled before it fell quickly as she was reminded of what's to come. Miriam. Oh no, what was everyone going to think? They'll think I'm a monster or something! "Not without some help you couldn't," Rikki smiled smugly, knowing exactly what Emma was thinking.
Emma: "No, no. I love responsibility."
"Why?" Kim asked. "Why not? It's nice sometimes," Emma shrugged. "You kids are a big responsibility, but we love you no matter what," Don commented, earning a smile from his two daughters. Bev looked down slightly, noticing that the two didn't look at her with a smile either.
"I'm starting to think something is seriously wrong with you, Em," Rikki shook her head. "Are you moon-spelled?" Emma sighed, rolling her eyes. "No, Rikki, I am not moon-spelled."
Wilfred: nods. "Good. Ok. And if you need to hire someone in to give you a hand-."
Emma: shakes her head. "No thanks, Wilfred. I'll be fine. I won't let you down. I promise." Wilfred smiles and walks away, leaving an excited Emma.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It's a lot of pressure trying to do it all by yourself," Annette mentioned, knowing what it's like having to do everything on your own. It can be very overbearing. "Believe me, I know. But it can also be a lot of pressure with working with some people too," Emma said giving Rikki a pointed look. "You're the one who created the pressure," she muttered.
"You shouldn't make a promise like that. You never know what might happen," Mrs. Chatham warned. "Trust us, Mrs. Chatham. We learned that the hard way," Lewis shuttered.
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[Rikki and Cleo hang out in the Sertori kitchen as Rikki puts down a magazine advertising an upcoming concert on the bar. Cleo looks through the cabinet while listening to Rikki's rant.]
Rikki: "So over being broke."
"Aren't we all," Will snorted.
"I know how that feels," Lewis commented.
Rikki: "Worst part is, I can't even afford these tickets to the Feral Robots concert."
"Ah, I love their music!" Lewis said.
"They're the best," Terry smiled. "Now I know where you get your taste of music from," Emma muttered to Rikki who laughed.
Cleo: walks over to her and looks at the magazine. "Well, why don't you get a part-time job, like Emma?" Goes back to rummaging through the cabinet.
"Probably because last time she did it didn't go so well," Ash said, remembering her job with the criminal. "And the second time didn't go so well either," Emma winced. "You were partly at fault there," Rikki reminded.
"I would say babysitting, but we all know how that will go," Terry joked. "If I have to deal with any more kids than I do now and I won't hesitate to rip off a head or two," Rikki pouted.
Rikki: turns to her. "Oh, jobs have this hidden downside. They involve work."
"Gee, really? I had no idea," Kim sarcastically said, rolling her eyes.
"Now that's just lazy. True, but lazy," Sam said.
[Emma walks into the house with a blue clipboard and enters through the living room. She stops at the bar, where she finds her two best friends.]
Emma: "Hey, guys. You are looking at the brand new manager of the Juicenet café, for the whole weekend."
"Congratulations!" Lisa clapped. "Mom, you just saw it happen," Emma said, confused. "Yes, well now it's official," she smiled.
Cleo: smiles and walks over next to Rikki. "Perfect timing. Rikki was just saying she needed money to go to the Feral Robots concert." Cleo hands the magazine over to Emma while Rikki continues stirring her drink.
Emma: grabs the magazine from Cleo and gives a disgruntled look at it. "Ooh. You actually like that band?" She drops the magazine as Rikki gives her a slanted look.
"I beg your pardon?" Terry frowned, looking offended by her question.
"What's wrong with them?" Lewis asked. "Oh, nothing. I'm just not particularly... fond, of their music," Emma grimaced. "And yet you still went to their concert," Rikki smiled smugly. "Yeah, with earphones," Emma smirked.
Cleo: "So anyway, I was thinking, now you're the manager, you could give Rikki a job at the Juicenet café." Both Rikki and Emma look at her.
"That's actually a pretty good idea," Ash thought. "That's what you think," Rikki chuckled. "Easier said than done," Emma scoffed. "Let's just say things go south pretty quickly."
"Those two working together? Oh, I would love to see that," Kim laughed. Fire and ice don't go together, it only ends in disaster.
Emma: "Um-." The two quickly turn to her with Cleo giving her a big smile behind Rikki's back. Emma tries to think of an excuse, fast. "I don't, really think, Wilfred would want me to." Emma smiles and nods before letting it quickly fade, just like Cleo's. "No offense, Rikki."
"Really, Emma?" Lisa frowned. "Wilfred just said that you could if you needed the help," Neil said. "It's just, I didn't think Rikki would be able to handle it well. We don't exactly work well together," Emma slowly answered. "Not to mention she's definitely not afraid to speak her mind, especially to some customers."
Is it because of that? Or because you have certain standards you expect from everyone, Cleo thought, crossing her arms. "She's not wrong, some of them were very annoying. Especially a certain blonde brat," Rikki shrugged.
Rikki: looks up at her. "No, that's fine. I'm not much of a smoothie person anyway." She grabs her cup and walks off, Emma nods and frowns as Cleo marches around the bar to her.
"Or a kid's person, or a people person. You're not much of a person of anything," Lewis chuckled. "Thanks, Lewis, for the support," Rikki said deadpanned. As if I wanted to work with her anyway. Cleo roped us into it.
Cleo: whispers to Emma. "I cannot believe you just did that." Cleo grabs her by the arm and walks her further into the living room and glares at her, hands on her hips. "Rikki is our friend. Why wouldn't you hire her?"
[Meanwhile, Rikki begins heating up a pitcher of water with her powers, closing her fist slowly.]
"Sometimes it's for the best not to work with friends. You could get too distracted with your work, procrastinate, or even get you both in trouble and make mistakes," Denman informed them. "Or in this case drive each other mad," Rikki muttered, both her and Cleo snickering while Emma tries to hide a smile.
Emma: "Look. This job is a big step up for me. I can't just go and hire someone like Rikki. You know what she's like."
[Rikki clenches her hand into a fist as the pitcher of water begins to boil, steam rising the hotter it gets.]
"What were you making, Rikki?" Elliot asked. "Tea." "Why didn't you just put it on to boil?" Charlotte asked. "Why not when I could just heat it up myself? It's quicker," Rikki shrugged.
"What am I like, Em?" Rikki raised an eyebrow with a small grin. "You're a hot-headed, impatient, no-good rebel. But you're also one of my best friends. One that is hard to work with but still," Emma grinned back.
Cleo: "She really needs this. Why don't you just give her a chance?" Emma drops her shoulders and huffs. Rikki walks around the bar and into the living room, with a hot mug of tea. Cleo talks louder when she sees Rikki and her and Emma walk closer to her. "Guess what? Emma just hired you."
Rikki: looks surprised. "She did?"
"Didn't have much of a choice," Emma sighed. "You did, you just gave up," Cleo smirked.
"I didn't really need it, I just needed money for the concert," Rikki mentioned. "Which you needed," Lewis said. "Yeah. Right. Whatever."
Emma: "Uh, yeah. Welcome aboard." Cleo walks past them.
Rikki: "Thanks, I think."
"That wasn't awkward at all," Ash chuckled. "It felt weird, and very confusing considering her first reaction. Now I know why," Rikki answered.
Emma: holds up her clipboard. "Well, I might as well give you the schedule now. You'd better write this down." Cleo hands Rikki a pen and notepad as Rikki sets her mug down and grabs them. "We start work at precisely 7:25 AM and take deliveries until we open at exactly 8:00."
"That's so early," Kim scrunched up her nose. "Not everyone can sleep in all day. Most jobs you have to get up early for," Don told her. "I'm usually fishing right when the sun rises."
Rikki: writes it down. "Ok, I'll be there at 7:30."
"Please tell me you were joking," Terry sighed. "Sure. We'll go with that." "Rikki, it's your first real job. You should take it more seriously," he scolded. "Relax, dad. I'm only kidding," she said.
Emma: looks over her shoulder. "7:25." Cleo smiles at the exchange.
Rikki: looks at them. "That's what I said."
"No, it wasn't," Elliot shook his head.
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[The next morning Emma walks out of the freezer with a large jug of yogurt in her hand. She closes the freezer door then walks through the double doors into the main room. Right then, Rikki walks through the beaded curtains. She smiles and gives Emma a wave.]
Rikki: "Hi, boss."
Emma: looks at her watch. "You're six minutes and ten seconds late."
"You were timing her," Bella said. "She was late, I had to keep up with how long she was going to be," Emma said. "But it happens to everyone every once in a while," Ash told her. "Not on their first day!" Emma exclaimed.
"Rikki," Terry sighed, shutting his eyes.
Rikki: walks alongside the bar with her on the other side, pointing to a corner of the restaurant. "Should I go stand in the naughty corner now, or-."
"Rikki," Terry said a little louder, rubbing his forehead to stop the oncoming headache. "Sorry, dad. Couldn't help it," she said with a sheepish smile.
Emma: "Let's get to work."
"You sure didn't feel like dealing with that nonsense," Sam chuckled. "I knew it was going to be a long day," Emma sighed.
"Good. No boss should have to deal with such intolerance," Annette said.
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[Rikki, now in uniform, stood at the outside bar dumping a bag of rolls into a basket with the delivery man watching her as he writes down her receiving slip. Emma was watching from a distance as she passes by. When Rikki was jiggling the bag around, one roll fell out onto the bar. She quickly picks it up and wipes it on her shirt then puts it back in the basket. The delivery man was checking each bag of rolls in the bread crates next to the basket when Emma quickly strolls up and snatches the basket off the table, glaring at Rikki then walks off. Rikki shrugs and picks up the now empty bag.]
"I don't see what the big deal was," Zane said. "She dropped a roll on the counter!" Emma said. "But what about the 5-second rule?" Elliot asked. "That doesn't count for restaurants!" she exclaimed. Laughter quickly swifts through the room, as they watch Emma's reactions on trying to deal with Rikki's mess, along with her reactions now.
"It's really weird seeing you in a uniform. Wish I had a picture because it'll probably never happen again," Terry joked.
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[A few minutes later, another delivery man, this time for the fruits, was talking with Rikki while she laughed flirtatiously, flipping her hair back. Emma quickly walks up and takes the fruit boxes from him and shoves them into Rikki's arms then walks off. Rikki gives him a small smile and he waves goodbye to her.]
"Nothing wrong with a nice quick chat with someone, Em," Rikki smirked, finding it a little funny the Emma was getting worked up about this again. "You two were talking for like 10 minutes!" Emma exclaimed.
Zane's laughter died down, seeing Rikki flirt with another person. But he quickly reminded himself that this was before him. She wouldn't do that now, would she?
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[Emma stood outside looking at a picture of the tables, making sure it looked exactly alike; she then lets out a breath, deciding that it was perfect. She and Rikki then head back inside, the latter wandering around before doing so.]
"Why were you looking at a picture of the patio?" Ash asked. "I wanted to make sure everything was the way it should have been," Emma said calmly, trying not to get worked up again. "I'm sure everything's fine," Ash replied. That's what you think, Emma thought, a little worried about the next few minutes for when Miriam comes in. Although she had to admit she was a bit curious as to how Miriam got in the freezer room in the first place.
"I don't see the problem with it. Even if there was, it doesn't hurt to change things up a bit sometimes. Mom owns a restaurant too, and she likes to switch things up occasionally," Charlotte said, nodding towards her mother. "No, but it's not a bad idea. But Charlotte is right, it doesn't hurt to switch things up a bit every now and then," Annette remarked.
"I just wanted to impress Wilfred. To prove to him that I was responsible enough to handle it on my own," Emma sighed. "I'm sure everything was fine, Em," Lisa said, not noticing the group of four shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Everything would've been fine if Miriam had never shown up, they all thought.
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[The Juicenet is finally open, and Emma was serving drinks over the counter. She hands two juices to a customer, and they walk off.]
Emma: "There you go. Enjoy." She walks around the counter to help some customers at a table, right next to Rikki who was waiting on Tiffany, then walks over to the door.
Tiffany: to Rikki as she looks at the menu. "So what would you recommend?"
"So far so good," Terry thought, or at least hoped. "For now," Rikki muttered.
"She seems like a nice girl once she's away from her friend," Bev said. "Yeah, and then once Miriam comes back around, she has a quick change in her personality," Rikki scoffed. "I wouldn't even call Miriam a friend," Cleo said.
Rikki: "Don't ask me. It's pretty much all just juice. I'm more of a coffee person."
Emma: scurries over to Rikki and pulls her away. "Can I chat to you for a second?" Tiffany watches them go through the beaded curtains.
"And never mind," Terry sighed.
"Then why are you always hanging out there and getting a drink?" Lewis asked, raising an eyebrow.
Emma: outside, scolding Rikki. "You can't talk to customers like that."
Rikki: shrugs. "I was being honest."
"Since when?" Lewis scoffed.
Emma: "You're not paid to be honest, you're paid to be nice." Emma shoves a rag into her hands and Rikki shoves the notepad into hers. Emma heads back inside while Rikki walks over to the tables and begins wiping them down when Lewis and Cleo walk up to her.
"I think I'd rather have an honest server than one that's being forced to be nice," Harrison mentioned. "Sometimes it's best not to know the truth," Emma grimaced.
Lewis: "How's life in juice world?"
Rikki: "There's only so much control-freakiness I can take."
"I was your boss. I'm supposed to take control," Emma said. "Yes, but you were also my friend," Rikki replied. "It's not easy to work with friends. It can really upset the balance of work progress," Denman reminded them.
Cleo: "Think of the concert tickets. And besides, it's only one weekend." Cleo gives her a smile when Rikki looks up at them. Lewis and Cleo head inside as Rikki grabs the empty cups to throw into the trash.
"One really long weekend," Rikki groaned; Emma laughed.
"Was the tickets really worth it at that point?" Will asked. "It's debatable."
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[Back inside, Rikki was wiping some more tables down when she hears some customers come through the beaded curtains. She turns around, only to find that the people who entered were none other than Zane and Miriam. She turns back around and resists the urge to roll her eyes as they sit down at a booth behind her.]
"Well, I can already tell that this won't end well," Ash chuckled. "Oh you have no idea," Rikki muttered.
Emma flinched, a little worried about how the others were going to react soon; it was getting closer to the incident.
Emma: goes up to Rikki and glances back towards Miriam and Zane, who were sitting across from each other at the booth. "Go and serve them. And be nice."
"You were just asking for trouble," Lewis joked.
"Why didn't you do it?" Cleo asked. "We both know you could've handled it better." And then maybe the fight wouldn't have happened. Although Miriam still probably would've done something. "Because I was busy," Emma said as if it were obvious, trying to hide her nervousness.
Rikki: frowns. "Nice? Zane's a psycho and Miriam hates us. Why should I be nice?"
"Hey! You're not wrong, but still!" Zane said, slightly offended. Harrison laughed and patted his back. "Shockingly it wasn't you that gave us problems, it was Miriam," Rikki explained. "Why am I not surprised? What did she do now?" Zane asked. "Guess we'll find out soon. We're not exactly sure ourselves," Cleo told him. Zane frowned, a little confused. But did wonder if this had to do with Miriam going missing for a whole night. Miriam never would tell him what happened. All she did was gripe and grumble every time it was brought up.
Emma: "They are still two customers. Go." Pats her on the shoulder and leaves. Rikki slams the rag down and walks over to their booth.
Miriam: looks up at her and then at her surroundings, confused. "Why isn't Emma serving us?"
"A very annoying customer," Rikki grumbled.
"Gasp. She knows your name. She's finally learning," Kim sarcastically said.
Rikki: "Emma's the boss, so she's making me do the dirty work. What do you want?"
"Was that an insult or were you telling the truth?" Charlotte asked. "Yes."
Miriam: "Uh, I'll have a mango smoothie with a dash of mint." Rikki watches Emma cut some grass plants on the counter, shaking her head at her friend's tidiness.
Zane: "And I'll have a banana shake."
Rikki: "Uh, is that it?"
Miriam: "Yeah. Don't mess it up."
Rikki: nods. "I'll try my very, very hardest."
"Yeah, try my hardest not to rip your throat out," Rikki clenched her fist.
"I thought Emma told you to be nice?" Zane teased. "But Miriam wasn't. And besides, that was being nice."
"You didn't listen to her, did you?" Will chuckled. "Emma distracted me," she shrugged.
[A few minutes later Rikki sets a tray down with two drinks on it and sets the drinks in front of them.]
Rikki: "One strawberry smoothie, one banana shake." She turns to leave with the tray by her side when Miriam calls her back.
"You should've written it down," Emma sighed, realizing that she had it wrong. "It wasn't that hard to remember," Rikki remarked. "Then how did you get it wrong?" Emma shot back.
Zane hid a smile, noticing that she had paid attention to him more than Miriam since she got his correct.
Miriam: "Hey! Hey, um, I ordered a mango smoothie."
Rikki: "You said strawberry."
"No she didn't, she said mango," Ash said. "I know, I know. I was wrong. Sheesh no need to rub it in," Rikki rolled her eyes. "But I didn't," Ash frowned.
"You need to work on your attention span," Terry chuckled.
Miriam: frowns. "Uh, no. I'm allergic to strawberries. So why would I order a strawberry smoothie?"
"Oof, food allergies. I feel so bad for anyone with those," Annette shook her head in dismay. It was hard for anybody. Owning a restaurant, it was something she had to see or hear every day. "Yeah, especially anyone with a peanut allergy. Those are the worst," Charlotte commented.
Rikki: rolls her eyes and gestures around her. "Temporary amnesia." Zane laughs quietly.
Miriam: to Zane, angry. "That isn't funny."
"It kinda was," Elliot laughed. "Nothing is funny about food allergies, Elliot," Lisa scolded him. "I wasn't laughing about that. I was laughing at what Rikki said!" he said, defending himself.
Miriam: back to Rikki, pointing at her drink. "If I drank this thing I'd swell up like a balloon and explode." Unfortunately, Emma was passing by right as the two were arguing, several drinks in her hand.
Rikki: nods. "I'll get you a straw."
"Rikki!" Terry yelled through his laughter. It wasn't something he should be laughing at, but he couldn't help it. "I was being nice," Rikki mocked.
Miriam: "What did you say?"
Rikki: looks at Emma, who was giving her a look then turns back to the annoying customer. "I'll go and get you what you ordered." She grabs Miriam's incorrect order and walks away, with Miriam glaring at her as she goes.
"Thank you," Emma sighed. That would've made my job so much easier if she would do what she says.
"You should've repeated yourself," Kim told her. "I would've done so much worse, but there were too many witnesses," Rikki said as she looked over at her former boss. "It was the right thing to do," Emma grinned.
Miriam: to Zane, who was looking at some other girls at the counter, grinning. "How rude. And why don't you do something to get those losers sacked?"
Zane: turns back to her. "Because I don't care, Miriam."
"To be fair, you were the one who started it. This time," Cleo said.
"You didn't take your girlfriend's side? That's shocking," Ash scoffed. "She's not my girlfriend," Zane sighed.
[Miriam turns to glare at him and was about to respond when she saw a glimpse of Emma walking towards the double doors to the freezer room with a box of fruits. Emma walks through it and disappears when it flips back with a squeak.]
Emma felt a chill run down her back. Her nerves beginning to rise even more as she realizes that this is where it all began. She was really worried. What were her parents going to think? What was Denman going to do? Would Mrs. Chatham be disappointed in her?
So this is how it all started, Rikki thought.
Miriam: still looking at the doors, talking to Zane. "Hey. What's that funny little room over there?"
"It's called none of your business," Kim scoffed. "If only she would have listened to that advice," Lewis muttered, knowing what's up.
Zane: "The cool room."
Miriam: "Oh." She nods and sees Emma push open the door and enter back behind the counter. Miriam slowly turns back to Zane, a sly grin showing on her face as a wicked idea pops into her head. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom. Ok?"
"I don't like the sound of that," Neil shook his head. "She's up to no good," Zane crossed his arms.
"That whole mess happened because of her stupid curiosity?" Cleo nearly shouted. "What mess?" Don asked with a frown. "Oh you'll find out soon enough," Lewis winced.
[Zane continues staring at the girls, not paying attention to her as she stood up and walked over to the double doors and looked around before quickly slipping in. Quietly, she closes the door behind her to prevent it from making any noise, then walks over to the freezer room with a small smile. She slid the door open to find that the cool room was at its coldest. All the frozen goods cold and covered in ice, frosted to last longer.]
"Woah, that looks cold," Elliot said in awe. "Yeah, and it's about to get even colder than that," Lewis mumbled quietly, a small chuckle escaping.
[She looks at all of it before taking a step back and places a hand on the cooler switch on the wall. Glancing back to make sure the coast was clear, she quickly turns the switch off, making the power to the room go out and the room's temperature go back up. She smiles at her handiwork until she hears footsteps getting louder and quickly ducks into the cooler room to hide. She stays near the edge, listening as Emma walks into the adjoined room, going through some boxes.]
Emma scowled, not liking the prank that Miriam tried to pull. At the time she thought it was Rikki who did it, only to find out the next day that Miriam was frozen along with it. It had to have been her. At least now she knows she was right. But she can't believe she didn't notice Miriam, or the door being open. She could've stopped it before it descended even further downhill. Oh gosh, what am I going to do?
[Back at their booth, Zane's phone begins to ring. He takes it out of his pocket and sighs once he sees the caller ID.]
Zane: answers the phone. "Dad. Sorry." Frowns. Rikki comes up with the receipt then walks off. "No, I haven't even used your laptop, so how could I break it? Now, but-."
"How did you break the laptop?" Zane questioned him, a smug look on his face. "It turns out it wasn't. It was updating," Harrison sighed. "Old people and technology. The two don't go well together," Kim laughed.
[Zane hangs up the phone and stuffs it back in his pocket. He slowly gets up, then puts the money on the table and leaves, leaving the juices behind.]
"I wish I wouldn't have left, then maybe Miriam wouldn't have gone missing. As weird as it sounds, I was worried about her," Zane crossed his arms. Maybe it will show what happened. "Missing? What are you talking about?" Max asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Apparently she disappeared for a whole night, without a trace. Didn't even tell her parents," Zane explained. Max kept a curious eye on the girls, thinking it might have to do with them.
"Maybe if you would quit gawking at those girls, then you would've known," Rikki said, hiding the tiny bit of jealousy that tried to breakthrough. "Wait, are you saying her little prank had to do with it?" Zane asked, looking at her. "Maybe a little," Rikki admitted, keeping her focus on the screen.
Emma: walks out of the back and sees their now empty booth and walks over to Rikki at the end of the counter. "Was Miriam happy with her drink?"
"How was I supposed to know? I didn't ask," Rikki said. "Customer satisfactory is the main priority," Emma smiled; Annette nodded in approval. "No, the main priority is to make some money," Rikki corrected. Annette nodded once again, knowing that was also the case.
Rikki: walks around her, looking at the table. "Is Miriam ever happy? It doesn't matter anyways, they left." Waves towards the table. "They left the money, which is all that matters."
"If you want to have more money come in, then you should try to make your customers as happy as possible for them to come back," Annette mentioned. "Even if they irritate you."
Emma: leans against the counter, a serious look on her face. "Rikki, we need to have a discussion about your attitude."
Rikki: hands on her hips. "Why do I feel like I'm in school? Or is it preschool?"
"Because you have one both here and there," Emma told her.
"Rikki, you should've tried harder on your first day. You can't treat others like that when you're working. You wouldn't want others doing that to you, would you?" Terry lectured. "Yes, dad. And no, I wouldn't," Rikki sighed, wanting to move on. I'd rather be my own boss thank you very much. "Thank you!" Emma shouted. Rikki sighed, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes you have to set things straight. And I don't mean in alphabetical or color-coding order."
Emma: holds up two fingers. "There are two rules to customer service. Rule number one, the customer's always right. Rule number two, the customer is always right." She begins getting louder. Miriam sneaks out of the freezer room and puts her ear against the door, eavesdropping in on their conversation.
Rikki: "Even if the customer is a lying, gossiping airhead like Miriam?"
"You know what, I'm kinda glad she heard that. She definitely deserved that," Rikki smirked. "Along with a few other things," Cleo added.
"I disagree. I've had quite a few customers who were definitely wrong about some things. Most of them just try to get a free meal over something they did, like putting hair in their food. All of our cooks have hairnets," Annette remarked.
Emma: gets angry. "Even then, and – oh, and another thing-."
Rikki: holds her hand up. "Just save it. Nothing is worth this. I quit." Rikki takes her apron off and crumbles it up into a ball.
"And that's when I reached my breaking point," Rikki told Will, who nodded in response.
"Didn't even last a day," Terry shook his head.
Emma: smirks with a small laugh. "You can't quit."
"Who said she couldn't? She wasn't forced to work there. And you couldn't stop her," Max said. "She just didn't like that someone wouldn't follow her rules," Rikki smirked as Emma pouted.
Rikki: "Watch and learn. This is me, quitting." She throws the apron onto the floor and marches toward the exit, with Emma on her tail.
Emma: "But you need to fill out a resignation form."
"Did you ever fill one out?" Ash asked. "No, I don't think so," Rikki shook her head. "So, technically, you still work there." Rikki smirked, looking over at Emma. She was about to speak when Emma cut her off, seeing the look on her face. "You're fired." Her smile falters and she drops her hand, looking back toward the screen in defeat.
[On the other side of the double doors, a red light starts blinking rapidly with an alarm, warning them that the temperature in the freezer room was rising. The loud noise scares Miriam and she runs back inside the freezer room to hide, this time in the corner behind a shelf, unable to be seen from the entrance.]
Emma took a deep breath and clenched her fist, hugging herself even tighter as she tried to keep from shaking. This was it. The moment of truth. Her family was going to discover what she had done and then they'll never look her in the eyes again. They'll be afraid. All they will see is something that can hurt others. A killer. A monster. Cleo and Rikki gave her a sideways hug, trying to comfort her in any way they can, knowing that this was going to be tough for her. And she desperately accepted it.
[Emma rushes to the back, hearing the alarm go off, closing the door slowly as she sees that the freezer door was left wide open. She quickly walks up to it to find the room no longer covered in ice like it once was, then looks up at the temperature gauge, frowning in confusion as it was in the red area.]
Emma: "Why is the temperature rising?" She looks at the switch, noticing that it was turned off, and quickly switches it back on. She steps into the doorway of the cooler room, seeing that the power was now turned back on, and the alarm has stopped. She looks over to the shelf and finds that some of the products were already melting, water dripping down the shelves into puddles. "Oh no." Emma quickly looks around the room, then holds her hand up, palm flat, using her powers to cool the room down. The products in the room immediately go back to their normal stature, frozen and covered in ice; the room now back to its normal, freezing temperature. She drops her hand, and looks around once more, slightly satisfied with her work. "Problem solved." She leaves the room and closes the door shut. However, during her power usage, she never saw Miriam hiding behind a shelf in the corner and had accidentally frozen Miriam. Ice covered her skin, her hair, clothes, she was completely frozen solid, unable to move, breathe. Unable to live, like a caveman frozen in an iceberg.
Gasps and screams of shock fill the room, some of them covering their mouths to keep from screaming even more; others, however, did not. "Oh my gosh!" Charlotte yelled. "How is that even possible?!" Bella shouted, leaning forward in her seat. You know how, dimwit, Rikki thought, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Is-is, is she, dead?" Will stuttered out, his voice trembling.
I guess now is a bad time to call her ice queen then, Kim gulped as she grabbed her dad's arm.
"So that's what happened to her," Zane nearly whispered, taken aback by his ex's newfound appearance. No wonder she wouldn't talk about it ... ice, ice baby. He couldn't help it! The song immediately popped in his head.
"What did you do?!" Sam exclaimed, unable to hide the shakiness in her voice. "It was an accident! I didn't know she was there!" Emma blurted out, tears trying to break through. "I didn't see her!"
Emma looked around the room, her breath hitching as she saw all the wandering eyes staring at the screen, filled with fear. Sam, Charlotte, Annette, Denman, Kim, Don, and Bev, ... Ash. They all had that speck of fear shining in their eyes, something they weren't too worried about hiding at the moment. She couldn't even bear to look over at her own family right now. It was already hard enough seeing how the others were reacting. She wouldn't be able to handle the heartbreak of what they thought of her monstrosity.
"So I was right." She looked up to see the marine biologist staring at her with a hardened look gleaming in her eyes, and her blood ran cold as Miriam's. "Your powers really are strong enough to kill somebody. Even when you've saved people before, even your own friends, they are still too powerful for you to control. They're dangerous. They make you dangerous. A m-," Denman tried to say before Rikki decided to put in her two cents.
"Hey! That's enough, alright?" startling the scientist. "She said it was an accident. She didn't do it on purpose. She didn't mean for that to happen. So knock it off," Rikki fumed, her arms crossed. Emma looked at her in surprise, before letting a small smile grace her lips. She was at least happy that someone had her back. And that someone had turned into others once Mrs. Chatham spoke up.
"Mistakes happen. It's a part of being human," Mrs. Chatham said, turning to her. "But she's not human! She's a-," Denman exclaimed, once again getting cut off. "A mermaid? Are you forgetting that she's not the only one?" Mrs. Chatham asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Doctor Denman stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. "It could have happened to anyone. If you were in her position, you probably would've done the same thing. And besides, I'm sure they figured out a way to fix this and had learned from their mistakes. I mean, the girl is still alive, no?" she remarked, glancing up at the group; Cleo nodded and sent a look towards the scientist. "Yes, Mrs. Chatham. She's alive and completely fine."
"And let's not forget Dr. Denman, that some people in this room have done far worse things than she has," Lewis reminded. Denman glared at him, but remained silent, getting the hint. She turned back around in her seat and narrowed her eyes at the screen angrily.
"Mrs. Chatham is right," Emma heard her mother finally speak up. She turned to her, finding that she wasn't looking at her, just continuing to stare at the screen while combing through Elliot's hair. But she didn't look scared or angry or upset while doing it. She wasn't sure what her mother felt but she did feel relieved that it wasn't any of those emotions. "That could've been any one of us. We would've done the same thing if we hadn't known."
Maybe it's because she saved someone before, Emma thought. She must know how it feels. She probably thinks that we will fix it somehow.
"She gave me a hail storm in a shower by accident before, but you don't see me holding a grudge against her or being scared, after I found out the truth," Elliot shrugged, giving his sister a small grin. Emma let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, no longer hugging herself as she didn't feel shaky anymore. Because she was more worried about Elliot's reaction more than anyone else's. It seems like he was fine. He was hugging his mother, but it wasn't tightly out of fear; she wasn't sure if it was because of this or not.
"It would be different if she had done it intentionally. But she didn't mean to do any harm, so we shouldn't treat her no differently than we have been," Neil told everyone, looking at all of their fearful faces.
Maybe they understand how she felt back then. They must realize that she was traumatized by it and took so long to get over it. Maybe they know she doesn't want to be seen as someone who was evil. Maybe they know she doesn't want to go through that awful feeling again. Whatever it was, they were still treating her the same way they always have. With love and care, and would protect her from anything, no matter what she did.
Some had eased up on their fears and worries and have come to accept what has been spoken by the wise ones. Although some of them did still seem scared, Emma believed that maybe they'll ease up on that as well once the episode continues on and they finally save Miriam.
Her family doesn't think of her as monsters, aside from Denman, most of the room doesn't probably think so either. At least they didn't think too much different of her. It was an accident after all. Everything will be fine once they see them save her. She was sure of it. And that decreased the built-up nerves and stress that was building up inside and was replaced with a little bit of peace and calmness and a whole lot of hope. "Thank you," she breathed out to all of the ones that spoken up for her, as a small smile returned.
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[Later that night at Emma's, she argues with Cleo about everything that happened that day with Rikki as they walk down the stairs into the kitchen, still unaware that there was a giant pink popsicle in the freezer room at the Juicenet.]
Emma: walking downstairs with an empty plate and cup in her hand. "Why should I take her back? She's rude, she gets orders wrong, and she can't follow simple instructions."
"It was still her first day though," Zane mumbled, still a bit shaken up at the thought of Miriam being frozen. He could've stopped her, gosh why did he have to be so distracted by those girls? I couldn't even think of my friend. Although she did get herself in that situation by lying and trying to pull a prank, but still, it felt wrong. It made him feel a little guilty. Just a little. It was still her own fault.
"One time, I got the order wrong one time. And it was Miriam, she would have complained about it either way," Rikki said, holding up a finger. "Yes, but you could've at least tried harder. From the looks of it, you acted like you were being held prisoner the whole time," Terry told her, making Rikki sigh. Sometimes it did feel like it.
"Wait a minute. Does this mean that Miriam stayed in the freezer the whole night?!" Ash exclaimed. Emma looked down and sighed, feeling guilty. "Yeah..." "How did she survive for that long?" Annette asked worriedly. "A whole lot of willpower and a whole lotta luck," Rikki said, arms crossed as she glared at some of the others who began muttering comments again. They quieted down once they saw the feisty mermaid's harsh stare. "And a group of mermaids," Lewis said with a small smile.
Cleo: "She was trying, Emma."
Emma: "Well, she wasn't trying hard enough."
"I was trying. You try working with yourself and see how it goes!" Rikki exclaimed. "I guess I might have been a little pushy," Emma winced. It felt like she was getting hit hard today. First on how her working skills are, along with being a boss, then she has to get reminded of the accident with Miriam while also hearing everyone's criticism about how awful it was. She knew how bad it was. But she couldn't take back what she did. And it wasn't going to go away anytime soon.
It feels like I'm reliving this day all over again, Emma thought with a shaky sigh, then paused. Well, technically I am reliving it. But still, it hurts having to see Miriam like that again, knowing that it was my fault.
Emma: in the kitchen. "And anyway, she quit. I didn't fire her."
"No, but you were fixing to, weren't you?" Ash assumed, a smirk on his face knowing that he was right. "Well, I was thinking about it," Emma sheepishly admitted; Ash chuckled as Rikki looked at her in shock. "Awe come on," Terry complained. "It was just a few mistakes. Give her a chance."
Cleo: "Well, you two are friends. Can't you just work things out?"
"Did you guys ever work things out?" Bella asked, getting over the whole thing quicker than the others. Mainly because of her being a mermaid too and she understood painful experiences that they've been through. Not that she froze someone nearly to death, but similar experiences at least. "Yeah, they did, it just took a lot of talking, trust, Cleo, and a human popsicle to fix it all," Lewis answered, earning a thump in the back of the head from Emma. "Yeah, I probably deserved that," Lewis flinched, rubbing the back of his head.
Emma: sits her cup down by the sink and turns back to Cleo who had her arms crossed. "I was willing. I gave her every opportunity. What's done is done." Emma walks back up to her room as Cleo watches her leave, sighing as she goes, wondering what she was going to do with the two of them.
"Wasn't much of an opportunity from what I've seen," Cleo commented. "We worked half a day together at that time. She had plenty of time and chances to prove herself," Emma denied. "But by making her deal with Miriam? You knew that was a trainwreck from the beginning," Cleo defended. Emma sighed in defeat, knowing she was right. She didn't need to focus on that anyway, she was more worried about Miriam at the moment, and how people will see her in the near future.
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[The next morning, Emma arrives at her work and unlocks the door to get it ready for the day. She opens the sliding door and shuts it back once she's inside and lays her keys and bag down on the pool table.]
"Gasp! Emma just broke one of her own rules: Don't lay stuff around, you'll end up making a mess," Rikki taunted, faking a gasp. Emma heard Elliot giggling, she looked over at him and seen him leaning against his mom's shoulder. He noticed her watching him and he smiled, then stuck his tongue out at her. She made a pouty face and done the same thing, making laughter rise out of them again. "I can't keep things tidy all the time," Emma admitted. "But you sure do try," Cleo shook her head.
[She walks over to the side of the counter and grabs a rag tossing it on her shoulder and enters into the back room. The door to the cooler room slides open and Emma walks in. She bends down to grab a tub of yogurt from the bottom shelf, when out of the corner of her eye she notices some pink shoes and pants hiding in the far corner behind the shelf.]
"Oh so now you notice," Denman huffed; Emma and the rest of the Gilbert family chose to ignore her. Neil would rather not want to lash out at somebody again, for now.
"Did no one notice she was missing? What about her parents?" Charlotte asked worriedly. "Her parents knew, but the police can't do anything about it unless they've been missing for 24 hours," Lewis told her. "They accused me of doing something to her, but Lewis helped me out," Zane mentioned. "And in this case luckily it wasn't 24 hours, otherwise she probably would have died," Emma said softly, brave enough to say it.
She never noticed her parents tense up, but only for a moment. They weren't worried about if Emma would've hurt her. But how would Emma react if she actually did kill someone? She would be a totally different person that's for sure. "Yeah, I think it had to at least, I don't know, maybe 17- or 18-hours tops," Cleo shrugged.
[Emma lifted up the tub of yogurt and slowly walks over to it, keeping her eyes on the pair of shoes. She reaches the corner and looks up, finding a frozen Miriam. Emma drops the yogurt in complete shock, gasping as she covers her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming. Slowly she lowers her hands, her eyes still wide, and whispers so quietly, surprising that she's able to talk as she realizes what she has done.]
Emma: whispers. "Oh, gosh."
Quite a few of them flinch, finding it a little frightening to see Miriam like that again. Definitely not something you see every day! Some couldn't help but feel bad. Ash reacted scared of her, but she seemed scared too according to that reaction, confirming that this was an accident.
So it was true that she really didn't mean to do it, Kim thought, feeling a little relieved. Her fear of evil mermaids won't be coming true today!
Denman felt a slight pang of guilt, regretting her choice of words from earlier. Maybe she was wrong. No. She definitely was wrong, as that was one hundred percent a human reaction. Mermaid or not, she still reacted normally, well as terrified normally as you can get when you're facing a human popsicle. A monster would have laughed or cheered with joy or jump with glee, something that they thought of as a positive outcome when this was clearly a negative one. She was wrong. Emma wasn't a monster. She was just a teenaged girl who had made a mistake.
"Is this a bad time to say that the Titanic theme song is stuck in my head?" Lewis leaned over to whisper to Cleo. She looked taken aback at his question and slapped him on the shoulder. "Yes! Yes, this is a very bad time!" Cleo hissed; Lewis laughed quietly.
"Too bad we couldn't keep her like that. She was so much nicer that way," Rikki said, arms crossed. "But she's frozen. Barely alive," Will said, confused. "Exactly. Hear that? Peace and quiet. That's music to my ears," she smiled. "I thought you liked that trashy robotic music," Emma teased.
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[A shaky hand reaches up to Miriam's face and pokes the icy skin, cold and hard to the touch, and pulls back. Cleo looks her up and down a little unnerving and trying not to freak out about it as Emma stands behind her by the shelf.]
Emma: looks nervous. "I just, kind of, accidentally snap-froze her. It could happen to anyone."
Cleo: looks back at her. "Anyone with mermaid powers."
"She makes a good point," Don said. "Both of them do," Max agreed.
"Everyone makes mistakes, and anyone with powers can lose control of them occasionally," he continued as he sent a glance over to Mrs. Chatham. "But I didn't lose control I just didn't know she was there."
"The first person you called was Cleo?" Will asked. "She was the first person that came to mind," Emma answered. "Why not the cops?" Bella asked with a raised eyebrow. Emma gave her a pointed look as she gestured to the screen. "And how would I explain that to them?" Bella looked down, hiding her embarrassed blush as she forgot the reason Emma couldn't. "Oh, yeah. Whoops."
Cleo: "She must have been hiding in here and then turned the power off. That is so mean."
"At least someone figured it out," Zane chuckled, "You seem more focused on that than the main problem." "Like Rikki said earlier, the peace and quiet was kind of nice. No, but in all seriousness, I was just trying to figure out why she was there in the first place," Cleo responded. And trying not to freak out.
Emma: takes a deep breath and holds her hands up. "Ok. We can fix this. All we need is a simple solution to a simple problem." She looks around as she begins to get anxious, folding her hands together.
"And that would be...," Harrison said. "More mermaid powers," Emma shrugged sheepishly. "Isn't that what started this whole mess?" Kim asked, not noticing Emma flinch from it. "Yes, but this time Rikki's power would be the solution," Lewis answered, surprising Terry. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Max thought.
Cleo: walks closer to the non-frozen person. "Emma, she's frozen solid. This isn't a simple problem, it's a simple disaster." Emma lowers her head when she hears a voice come from the main room.
Lewis: "Hello. Anybody home?"
Cleo: "In here, Lewis."
Emma: glares at her and whispers. "What's he doing here?"
Cleo: whispers back. "I called him."
"Of course, invite more witnesses to the crime scene," Denman muttered.
"What could he do?" Don scoffed, a little upset that she called Lewis instead of him. "He's the idea guy. We needed him to think of a plan," Rikki answered. "And you aren't there because?" Terry asked. "We were still fighting," Emma answered for her, feeling guilty about not asking her for help.
[Emma began biting her fingernails anxiously as Cleo looked away when Lewis walks through the double doors and spotted them.]
Lewis: walks into the freezer room. "Ah. There you are. Now, ladies, what seems to be the, uh, the big," He walks in-between them and over to the corner where he sees the frozen barbie. His eyes widen and has a horrified look and begins freaking out as Emma steps closer to him. "Crisis? Woah!"
"Now that's a human reaction," Kim laughed. Although it was not something they should laugh at, everyone did lightly as it was too hilarious not to.
"Was that a big crisis to you?" Charlotte chuckled along with the others. "At first it was. But on the inside, I was kind of happy seeing her like that. She almost felt like a decent human being," Lewis joked.
Lewis: points to Emma in surprise as Cleo gets in between them. "You did this with your powers?"
Emma: corrects him. "Accidentally."
"Yes, we can see that," Bev sighed.
Cleo: steps closer to Lewis. "This is a catastrophe, right?"
"Yes!" Denman nearly shouted as if it were obvious. "One-hundred percent," Ash nodded. "How is it not?" Emma said.
Lewis: "Well, in the, in the normal world, definitely." Emma begins pacing back and forth behind them, covering her face with her hands as Lewis tries to think of a solution. "But-but Emma's power is paranormal and can freeze things in milliseconds."
"Woah. That's really fast," Elliot said in astonishment.
"Impressive," Max smiled. Though I already knew that.
Lewis: "Miriam's vital functions might not necessarily be compromised." Emma comes closer, looking at him with hope.
Cleo: "So you mean we could revive her?"
Lewis: sighs, shaking his head. "I-I-I'm not sure. Maybe."
"But you had to have, right?" Kim asked hopefully. She couldn't stand the barbie but that didn't mean she wanted her dead. "Considering she's still alive, yes," Lewis answered. "How?" "With a little help," Emma said, giving a small smile to Rikki, who returned it.
Emma: "Well, how?"
Lewis: nods. "We need help. And it won't be easy. We need – we need Rikki's help." Walks towards Miriam's frozen body to examine it closer.
"Rikki's powers could be useful since hers is the opposite of yours. Since she was frozen, a little heat could warm her back to life," Lewis reasoned. "She just needs to do it very carefully," Lisa nodded.
"I'm sure my daughter can do it. She might look tough but she's a softie underneath and is willing to help her friends out in any way she can. Unless you try giving her orders," Terry chuckled as Rikki blushed.
Emma: looks shocked. "Rikki? No, not her. No."
"And why not?" Terry asked. "She can save her." "I just thought she was too unstable to do it," Emma sheepishly admitted. "Honey, no offense, but you were the unstable one at the moment," Lisa mentioned. "I know," Emma sighed. "Besides, this could help stop the fighting," Max commented. He hated seeing friends fight. It reminded him too much of his past. He and Mrs. Chatham both. "In a way, it did," Emma said as all three of them smiled.
Cleo: "I tried calling her and she's not answering her phone."
"Why weren't you answering your phone?" Terry asked her worriedly. "I was out for a swim. Needed somewhere to calm myself down," Rikki told him, making him relax.
Emma: gives her a crazy look. "You called her already?"
Cleo: hesitates as she realizes something. "I bet I know where she is."
"Me too," Elliot said, raising his hand. "Mako Island," Mrs. Chatham whispered.
Emma: "Don't bring her back here, Cleo." Gestures to Miriam. "We can do this on our own." They look at Lewis as he tries to move some of the frost away from Miriam.
"No, we couldn't. We needed her," Lewis told her. "I know that now," Emma sighed, nearly rolling her eyes.