Cute Girls and Magic

Cute Girls and Magic is an upcoming story written by BobLogical (player of John Smith, Carmen Mendoza, etc.). It is the first meeting between Carmen Mendoza and Molly Jonker.

Continuity
This story is canon to the forum. It would be placed on or near Christmas of 2014.

Transcript
It had been a rather eventful two weeks. Captured by a crazy wizard, ran away from home, met another crazy old wizard who gave her a job, subsequently met ANOTHER crazy old wizard (there were a lot of those, apparently) who told them where the job was, and fought a bunch of gremlins who wanted to tear apart a bunch of boats. All in all, the gremlins were the easiest thing to deal with. Honestly, she kind of felt like drinking for a change. Maybe it was just the post-college girl in her coming back to the surface, but it wouldn't be so bad to get something in her right now. Apparently, the old man had the same idea, since that was exactly where they ended up.

“You're cooler than I thought,” Carmen said. “Never figured you for someone who'd go out drinking after a job.”

“Not for drinks,” Henry answered, putting the car in park outside the old inn and removing the keys. “This place is called The World's End. It's powerful magic, but the people who run it don't want to cause any trouble.” She wasn't paying much attention, though, focused on more on tweeting about how she's going out for drinks with her new coworker. “Come on. They rent rooms for the night. Unless you want to sleep in the car again.”

These seats were pretty lumpy. Slipping her phone back in her pocket, she got out of the car and followed the alchemist into the bar. It was a rustic old place, far nicer than any bar she'd ever been in. What really caught her eye, though, was the bartender. “Oh, God, she's hot,” she said under her breath, now quickening.

“You say something?” Henry asked.

“Er, no,” she said defensively. Forcing her legs to work, she followed the old man towards a bar stool. Uncomfortably tense, she sat down and tried with all her might not to say anything ridiculous.

“You're back!” Molly greeted. “I haven't seen you in a while. And you brought a friend this time. Welcome to The World's End.”

Carmen mumbled and stuttered, unable to form sentences. “She's Carmen. We're coworkers now and I'm showing her the ropes.” Molly nodded at Henry, sending a smile at the new girl who let out a noise similar to a constipated bison.

“What can I do for you two tonight?” she asked, putting her hands on the edge of the bar.

“Coke for me,” the man ordered. He looked to Carmen, but she was frozen. “Make it a water for her.”

Molly smiled at the woman's flustered appearance and set about getting their drinks. Why did she seem so nervous? Was it her first time going out drinking with work friends? Maybe she was just uncomfortable in public places, the poor thing.

Finally, Carmen managed to speak after receiving her drink. “I went to a bar once. They had birthday cake vodka and I threw up.”

There was a pause, Henry placing a hand on his face. Despite the awkward comment, Molly laughed. “I have no idea what they were thinking with that one,” she said, taking things in stride. “Some people like it, but it makes me sick, too.” She'd seen a lot working at the bar the past year or so, but one of the strangest had to be the novelty liquor products they had from time to time. Weird shit, to be sure.

She felt relief wash over her like cutting a silent fart in a large crowd. She didn't actually do that, did she? Nah, she's good. Was she actually talking to a cute person, though? They hadn't run off in fear and disgust at her stupid comments? Was this what it was like to have confidence?

“You're going to have to forgive her,” Travers commented, interrupting Carmen's thoughts. “She's one of those anti-social loner types you see in those videos about internet addiction.” He took a gulp from the bottle placed in front of him.

“I am not!” she replied in a huff. If it was biologically possible, her cheeks would be a much brighter shade of red than the light pink they were at the moment. “You said we'd get dinner, too,” she added, changing the subject. “That's the only reason I wasn't eating my whole bag of Cheez-Its in the car earlier.” Remembering the bartender, she got quiet again. Ranting about food and junk food was about as weird as telling stories of drunken vomiting.

In the middle of another drink, Henry swallowed the cold soda and placed the empty bottle on the bar. “This place makes some of the best burgers I've ever had,” he said, stroking his mustache. “How about it, Molly? Two of your finest.”

She nodded. “Sure thing. Medium with cheese, right?” He nodded. “What about you,” she asked Carmen sweetly. Despite her previous complaints of hunger, they had all but disappeared now that she was repeating the bartender's name over and over in her head. Completely missing the question, she stared intently at the ground. “Um...” Molly began, a bit confused.

Snapping back to reality, she said, “Moll- uh, with...lettuce. Tomato. No cheese. Please.”

Molly smiled. “How do you want it cooked?” she asked, writing down the order so far on a pad.

“Medium,” she stuttered out, possibly the least strained thing she'd said all night.

“Okay,” Molly said with a nod, ripping the page of paper and turning to slide it into the kitchen behind her. As she did, Carmen looked to Henry, screaming silently at how much of an idiot she must seem. The alchemist just smiled beneath his facial hair, figuring this to be karma paying her back for strong arming her way onto his team.

“So,” the bartender began, turning back to face the patrons. “Henry said you work with him, Carmen. Is he your mentor?”

Carmen nodded slowly. “Yeah. He's kind of teaching me what he knows about all that stuff.” She wasn't entirely sure what was safe to tell Molly. Granted, they were in a supposedly magical bar right now, but that didn't mean the people who worked there were magic. For all she knew, maybe the cute girl talking to her right now was some kind of spider/vampire/goat creature in disguise. That would be her luck, honestly.

Placing her arms crossed on the bar, Molly leaned forward. “You know, I never asked what you did. Where do you two work?”

Though Carmen wasn't quick to answer, Henry interjected promptly enough. “Traveling journalists. She's my intern. We're investigating a pig festival in a week a few miles away, so we stopped here for the night.”

“Really?” she said. “That must be a really interesting job. How has it been treating you so far, Carmen?” Henry just chuckled under his breath. They were more interested in each other than they were of him. The kid would mess it up, though. He was pretty sure of that.

Carmen pressed her index fingers together, still avoiding eye contact. “Well, it's a lot of work, but it's fun. And it's not so bad working with the old man.”

“Still not old,” Henry interrupted. He was ignored, however, in favor of a ringing bell from the kitchen. “Sounds like food,” he commented, settling in for the first good meal since they got out of Vermont.

Molly placed the plates in front of their respective owners. “I hope you like it,” she said, talking more to Carmen than anyone else. Henry certainly did, diving right into the sandwich as soon as it arrived and tearing a large section of it away with his teeth. Carmen, however, reached into her purse to retrieve the alluded to bag of Cheez-Its. Removing the top bun, she began to place the crackers on top of the tomato slice, pressing the top back on after covering it completely to crush them into the fruit.

She found this very amusing. “I've never seen anyone do that before!” she exclaimed.

“Oh. I just kind of like them.” Carmen shrugged her shoulders, embarrassed at the observation. She'd done this sort of thing since she was a little girl, and it just felt natural at this point. It probably seemed childish to other people.

Rather than scoff at her and throw something in her face as predicted, Molly was enthralled by the, in truth, not very strange topping choice. “I'm going to try it next time,” she declared, making a note of when her break was scheduled for in order to find when to get one made for herself.

Before further bonding and burgers could happen, Henry's cell phone began to ring. He opened it, only being able to listen due to incessant talking on the other end. When he finally hung up, he cleared his throat to get Carmen's attention, now easily conversing with the bartender unlike before. “Got to put a no-go on those rooms. Got some big journalistic business going on. Something about the pigs getting it. It's just a whole mess.” Slapping some money down on the counter, he headed out the door and to the car. “Come on, kid. Bacon won't journalize itself.”

The smile she'd previously been displaying fell as she slowly rose from her seat at the bar. Nervously, she stuttered out, “Guess I have to go. The food was really good. Thank you.” She paused. “I guess I- er, we'll back back soon. I guess.” Backing up towards the door, she gave a small wave and another, less relaxed smile.

Molly took her awkwardness in stride. “I hope I'm here for that,” she said in response to the promise of their return. “Happy Christmas.”

As Carmen turned to leave, she was distracted by Molly's holiday wishes, smacking directly into the door. Stopping in her tracks, she dared not to turn back, sprinting out the door with a strange screeching noise as Henry impatiently honked the horn.

Molly laughed quietly at the girl's accident after she'd left. She still seemed so nervous for some reason. Maybe it was her first time in France. It was charming, in a way, and a stark contrast to the man she'd met previously. Whatever the reason, she was looking forward to the next time they'd see each other.